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Need to rent a bike or rent out your bike? Apps could help

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I have my bikes on Spinlister. 

I rented a bike in June in Stanford via Spinlister. 

This is good to know about-- thanks.

Do the owners generally include locks? Who's liable if someone gets hurt because a bike wasn't in good working order?

how many renters do you get?

Steven Vance said:

I have my bikes on Spinlister. 

I rented a bike in June in Stanford via Spinlister. 

The article said that owners include locks and lights as perks (what "perks" means I'm not sure but the apps' website should clarify). In any case, the app makers are trying to design a trusted social group and mechanisms (insurance, renter/rentee reputation, etc) so that things go smoothly even protecting in cases of crashes, thefts and personal bad behavior. Other services such as airbnb and lyft is attempting to do the same. I would imagine that your credit card, FICO score and maybe even your facebook postings would be useful for the app providers :-)
 
h' 1.0 said:

This is good to know about-- thanks.

Do the owners generally include locks? Who's liable if someone gets hurt because a bike wasn't in good working order?

Reviving this nearly year-old discussion, because today I was thinking... what if there was something like Air BnB for bikes?  And then I found Spinlister.  I'm in a predicament- I am about to order a new ride (a Bike Friday Haul-a-Day) but am sick over thinking of selling our Yuba Mundo.  It's definitely a specialty bike, and I think a lot of people might be interested in having the option to rent a family bike/cargo bike, especially in this location. We have access to a secure bike room, so no storage issues. We're close to the museum campus, Loop, etc.  So- anyone end up having any experience with this?  I'm about to do some heavy research.  I did pull this up, but I'd appreciate any personal anecdotes. Thanks!

how usable is this given that we have Divvy now?  what's the pros of renting a bike vs hopping on a divvy?  is it mainly the condition of the bikes?

They both have their places. Divvy is terrific for short trips. However, if you need a bike such as when you're out of town and want to do a long ride (e.g. organized century). Or in the case of a specialty bike such as a bike with Burley then bike rental would fit the bill.

I could see renting out your cargo bike, tandem or even a trailer for special occasions.

The Yuba holds up to three kids- large kids. I've also hauled an adult and a kid.  I actually think there's a market among the families we know who might want to use it on occasion.  I only see one cargo bike listed in Chicago right now- Bike N Roll rents a Gazelle now, but for families Divvy doesn't really help. I was looking into renting a Yuba for a potential trip to Colorado, I'll bet there are others who'd be looking for a family ride in different cities. Too bad they aren't marketing this- I could totally see its usefulness!  But I'm not certain I can justify keeping the Yuba once we have a second cargo bike.

Divvy is great for getting where you need to go when the buses and el lines stop running. Saw a guy in the loop run out look for a cab then quickly turn around hop on a Divvy and pedal away full suit and everything.

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