Bikeshare programs aren’t anything new. We have them in the United States, so it should come as no surprise that there are several here in Copenhagen. In an effort to keep my expensive bike safe (and, let’s face it, to blend in with the locals who most definitely aren’t riding crazy-expensive bikes), I signed up for Bolt and started riding bikeshare bikes around.
I chose Bolt because, well, it was the first one I saw when I left my AirBnB. In seconds, I downloaded the app, linked a credit card, scanned a QR code on the bike itself, and was off and riding.
So hypothetically, if you live in Copenhagen, not only do you not need to own a car, but you also don’t need to own a bike. That should serve as the absolute template for what mobility throughout the world should be.
Bikeshare experience
When you open the Bolt app, you’re immediately taken to a map screen. This is where you’ll see all the Bolt bikeshare bikes near you. That helps you track one down, but it also allows you to reserve one close to you before you even find it.
The Bolt bikes aren’t exactly the most comfortable rides. This wasn’t really a problem until I hit cobbles near my AirBnB. The bike has just about no compliance features, and the bike shudders so much it made my bladder sit up and take notice.
But they pedal easily enough and adjust quickly to different rider heights. The ones I’ve been riding are ebikes, and when you activate your ride, you get a notification about how much battery range that bike has. Perhaps more importantly, the motor assist kicks in almost immediately when you start pedaling. So starting from a dead stop is quite easy.
Once you reach your destination, the app instructs you to find a place to park it that doesn’t block any roads, sidewalks, or business entrances. With so many bikes in Copenhagen, this can actually be a bit of a challenge. But I’ve found a safe spot each time. The app asks you to take a photo of the bike where you parked it, just to verify it’s in a proper space.
That helps reduce or eliminate one of the big bikeshare and scootershare problems we face in the US. Riders often leave the bikes wherever they want when the ride is over, which creates sidewalk and road hazards everywhere. If you do that with a Bolt bikeshare bike, your credit card will be charged with a hefty fine. The responsibility lies with the user, and the app ensures you are on the hook.
An infrastructure observation
Throughout my time here in Copenhagen, small realizations tend to creep into my head as I’m rolling along. They’re all small realizations with a huge impact. While I was out on the Bolt bikeshare bike yesterday, it occurred to me how simple, yet effective, the bike lanes are designed here.
For starters, the bike lanes run parallel to established roads. Duh, right? But if you’ve ever ridden a bike path in the US, you know they have a tendency to wander off the roads and curve left, right, and up and down for literally no reason. It’s an entirely different network of trails. That means dedicated signage and more investment in new trail construction.
In Copenhagen, the bike paths parallel existing roads. They’re basically like a sidewalk: there’s a raised curb to keep car traffic on the roads. And then there’s a dedicated sidewalk next to the bike path. Cars, bikes, and pedestrians all have their own spaces in which to operate. That’s another common pitfall with US ‘multi-use’ paths: when you mix vehicles and pedestrians, the speeds are so disparate that conflict is inevitable. Copenhagen solves that simply and effectively on its existing road layout.
Bikeshare to bike event
I took the Bolt bikeshare bike to an event Cannondale was hosting at the Rapha Clubhouse in Copenhagen. Take a look at the video above and try to spot a few pro riders in attendance. How many can you count? There’s a former pro or two in there as well.
And I got my hands on Rigoberto Uran’s SystemSix that he will (possibly) ride on some of the flat stages of the 2022 Tour de France. It’s got quite a unique aesthetic, as does the team in general.