Features booming on shared bicycles

With competition between China's bike-sharing companies growing even hotter, rivals are rolling out new models to tempt customers.

To do that, companies are using things like flashy paint jobs, high technology and niche features. Notable among these are three companies - Ofo Inc, Coolqi and Bluegogo International Inc - which are racing to produce more of their new models.

Ofo, founded in 2014 and now valued at $1 billion after receiving $450 million in new investments in March, unveiled the Ofo Princess bicycle for women last week. It has a rattan basket on front as well as rounded screws and a better chain guard to keep from snagging dresses. The bike-sharing giant claims to have more than 100 million registered users.

Coolqi launched its "golden bike" last week, which has an onboard phone charger as well as an eye-catching color change from its traditional green cycles.

Bluegogo plans this summer to launch a bike with an internet portal that will connect to smartphones via the company's app. It gives instant online access to features such as maps and the weather forecast.

"With the bike-sharing boom, there is a growing need for personalized user experiences," said Dai Wei, CEO of Ofo, which is backed by ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing.

"Ofo aims to provide different user groups with a more diverse and comfortable experience," he added.

Still, many new models are getting mixed reviews on Chinese social media.

Many commenters loved the Ofo Princess bike on Sina Weibo. "It is tailor-made for women through thoughtful design," one netizen said. "It's good-looking," said another.

But some were concerned about the rattan basket on the front. Will it stand up to wear and tear?

"How can you prevent it from being damaged?" one person asked. "After all, lots of vandalism and theft happens in China."

Coolqi's deluxe golden edition bike also split the online community. "It can't be any uglier," one commenter said.

The paint job didn't bother others so much, even though the bicycle is, by comparison, pricey. It has a 298-yuan ($44) deposit, while many other bikes have deposits of 99 to 199 yuan, and a rental price of 3 yuan per hour, while bikes can be had for 1 yuan or less per half-hour.

"Since it has a smartphone holder, I can navigate while cycling and that's cool," said one commenter. "Of course, I will be forever blinking at the dazzling golden color," said the user, Sunshine Ziqing.

There also was concern about the ability of the bike's battery, recharged by solar power, to recharge cellphones.

"I just wonder what will happen when it rains and those batteries get wet," said Weibo user Energy from Balabala.

Zhang Xu, a senior analyst at Analysys, a Beijing-based consultancy, is not convinced that extra features are going to be the key for all companies.

The Ofo Princess bike should have broad appeal, but one overlooked key is that this will help the company retain a strong position it already has obtained in the marketplace.

"Since they already have a high number of users, Ofo needs to further improve the riding experience for specific groups," said Zhang.

Jing Shuiyu and Cheng Yu contributed to this story.

ouyangshijia@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 06/13/2017 page3)