Artkansas 

Last weekend I was on the Texas A & M campus and noticed some bikes called Maroon Bikes. One had a basket on the back and a small sign indicating that bikes like that could be leased for $30.00 per month. In addition to the step-through, there is also a more classical cruiser style. The build quality is much above a department store bike, and the bike was built to withstand weather and abuse.

Intrigued, I found the website today, and discovered that not only are they leased, but have airless tires, a drive shaft instead of a chain, which is connected to an 8 speed IGH. The bike has fenders, friction-less generator driven lights and built in locks. Maintenance is included and they will store the bike over the summer.



Here's the Maroon Bikes website.

krobinson103

For a campus commuter that has it all. I'd be inclined to give it a chance. Sure its not a long distance touring bike, but it looks great for the purpose for which it is intended.

Bikey Mikey

Sounds like a nice deal. Does the $30/month include insurance/accident coverage?

rumrunn6

re: "insurance/accident coverage"

+1 on that idea! Meaning watch/prepare for theives and vandals ...

jon c. 

Accident and theft coverage would be a must to make it halfway economically viable. Obviously, you can get a much nicer to ride used bike for the cost of one academic year's lease on one of these. So this would seem worth it only if it was totally worry free.

Esteban58

Nice idea. I grew up in Davis, CA (flat, more bikes than people at one point), and every fall with the influx of 5000 new freshmen to the university there'd be a rash of wrecks while they learned how to navigate in a crowd, get around a traffic circle, and stop - insurance of some kind makes a lot of sense .

CACycling

My sons are in college. Older son picked up a cheap single speed (Nasbar Hounder) new for $200 w/ shipping. I swapped out the tires for better quality ones and went through it to make sure it was ready to go. Made it through the first year with no problems but, as I had some parts laying around, I changed the risers to drops and changed the brakes from single pivots to double pivots over the past summer. Total invested well under $300.

Younger son picked up an '81 Centurion Super Tour for $25. I went through it and it got new tires, brake pads and bar tape. Well under $100 invested.

Spending almost $300 a year to lease a bike doesn't make sense to me (that would be around $1,200 during the 4 years of college). And shiny new bikes tend to be targets of theft more often. If I was even remotely thinking about it, I'd look closely at deductibles on the insurance and factor that in as well.

Terex

Agree with all. But $30 to find out if your kid will even use a bike sounds like a deal IF it's a month to month rental. At the end of the day, let the kid decide.

gregf83 

The built-in lock is a good feature. Even if you buy a rusty $100 bike you still need to spend about that to get a decent lock.

prathmann

The FAQ doesn't make it sound like there's any coverage for theft: "Your MaroonBike should never be stolen if locked correctly. As an added deterent, the theft of a MaroonBike is a felony (because it’s valued over $1000)."
(Not sure how they get the 'valued over $1000' since they sell it for just under that and any stolen bike would be used and therefore worth less.) The wheel locks wouldn't prevent someone from lifting the bike and taking it away in their pickup or van - then they can cut the lock at their leisure. But these bikes are probably less likely to be stolen due to poor resale value.

I wouldn't consider this unless 1) your kid will never want to ride anywhere other than short rides to and from classes, and 2) your kid refuses to learn how to change the tube to fix a flat tire. The foam-filled airless tires have a terrible ride and much higher rolling resistance than normal pneumatic tires/tubes. And the 'frictionless' dynamo lights are woefully inadequate in the amount of light they generate. The bikes also look very heavy - not a problem for riding around a fairly flat campus, but doesn't make for enjoyable riding when you get to any hills.

It seems pretty pricy overall. If the kid gets their monthly school-year lease at $35 for 9 months each of 4 years you will have spent $1260 and not even have a bike at the end. In comparison, we bought our daughter a fairly low-end, but decent, Trek for about $450 toward the end of elementary school. She rode it through middle school, switched to driving in high school, but then rode the bike again through college. Now it mainly sits in her garage unless I come to visit in which case it's my means of transportation during my stay.

qcpmsame 

At first they seem like a good thing but I agree with most of what Prathman said above. For the $1260 you could buy a good, reliable and LIGHT bike, and have enough left over for a few textbooks, maybe one at current prices, I suppose. I stressed the light part because the website never address the weight of the bike, unless I missed that point. It looks heavy and those tires are not going to ride well either. The maroon colourway is for appeal to the A&M spirited students and looks nice but I think this is overpriced, as said, and nothing to show at the end, either.

I rode a bike all through Jr. College and University as a commuter and around the campuses, I would not have even considered this type of bike. I worked mine and my wives way through college and that $30.00 would have bought groceries each week for the two of us. I'd think one of the single speed or IGH bikes with flat bars and a rear rack would be a good choice and would not cost very much at all, used even cheaper.

The city rental bikes like Washington D.C. and several others are a lot lighter and a more reasonable conventional design. these would go over better on a campus to me.

Bill

myrridin

Well the contract isn't online; however, from their faq "Your MaroonBike should never be stolen if locked correctly. As an added deterent, the theft of a MaroonBike is a felony (because it’s valued over $1000)." I would guess the answer is no, and that any student who signs their lease will be on the hook for loss or damages, since any theft will mean that they didn't lock the bike 'correctly'

myrridin

Well that $960 price is not for the version they lease. The version they lease includes locks, etc, and retails for an additional $200

B. Carfree

I think these campus bikes are a pretty good idea from the perspective of the campus and students who have no experience with a bike. For folks who can manage to fix a flat, maintain a drive train and brakes and would use/are using a bike away from campus, then it's not such a good deal. Some students who give it a whirl may even decide that they prefer using a bike to more sedentary means of transportation and that would be a very good thing indeed.

Looking at this thing from a backwards approach, if I was going to live someplace for part of the year where I would consider a car to be a useful means of transportation and I knew that this was a temporary, if recurring, relocation, I would welcome a subscription-based car rental scheme so that I could use a car when it was appropriate without the hassle and long-term cost of owning one. Sure, it would be more expensive on a per month basis than car ownership, but I also don't have any risk of a major repair bill nor do I have to take the time to acquire/sell a car and that's worth something.

prathmann

Ok, but that still makes the brand new price $1200 and the value as a used bicycle at the time of the theft would be under $1000. And regardless of the bike value, my experience is that police departments put bike thefts at very low priority making prosecution unlikely. Certainly there's been no indication that bike thieves avoid expensive bikes due to the potentially greater penalty if caught. Thieves tend to go after bikes with the best resale value - so the real 'added deterent' for these bikes is that they have a low value, not a high one.

myrridin

This is NOT a subscription based rental. This is a lease. Two entirely different entities. If any damage occurs, the student is responsible for the repair/replacement costs. If the bike is stolen the student is responsible for the replacement costs. If the bike needs maintainance, the student will need to get the bike fixed--presumably at some location specified by the lease holder. Granted the student wouldn't be responsible for the costs of that maintainance, but they are inconvenienced by the time it takes to get it fixed as well as the likelihood they will be without the bike while it gets fixed.

The only thing this lease provides is a guarantee that it will cost the student between $300-$500 per year. It could cost a lot more than that... AFter all college campuses are some of the worst places for bike theft...

nkfrench 

Seems like a good option for a student who otherwise wouldn't ride to get around College Station.
The bikes look very bullet proof and very quick/convenient to lock up. Not all students want to deal with normal bike maintenance like pumping tires, changing flats, oiling chain, cleaning drivetrain.
Can be ridden in street clothes with the covered drivetrain, fenders.
Students will be legal with built-in lights and reflectors for night riding
No hassles for campus maintenance with abandoned bikes at the end of the spring semester.
Campus will look better without rusted beaters chained to every tree/pole.
Also the needed parts will be kept in stock in case maintenance is needed.
If the student decides they enjoy cycling they can let the lease run out, then buy something better.

Artkansas 

I noticed that they seemed to be marketing it as replacement for a car, which suggested to me which segment of the student population they were aiming for. I think what they are selling is convenience.

krobinson103

Internal hub makes it pretty much bullet proof. No chain to wear out, no derailer to get damaged or bent. Built in power source (low power sure - but still there). I like my fully customized mtb and commuter, but neither would be parked anywhere near a university campus. I put too much into getting them the way I want them to paint 'steal me' on them. I also think a bike like this would go down well in the middle aged women shopping bike market. Put some baskets and a way to carry kids and they would be very practical. As for the lease option... perhaps not so good, but I'd be willing to buy one for the convient 'run around town' factor such a bike would offer. It also looks so boring that its not going to be much of a magnet for theives when they can get the latest mtb or roadbike.

Dudelsack 

I bought my son a $300 BD SS special. It got flattened by a car. I bought him a second, and it has gathered rust while he recovers from his PTSD. I don't recommend getting flattened by a car, but for $300 the bike was perfectly servicable. No one in their right mind would steal it because it was basically a POC. That's the way I would go.

Esteban58

gotta love the web, when I searched BD SS special it came up with 'belly dance super stars'...

qcpmsame 

Bikes Direct Single Speed, try this, probably better results, maybe

Bill

dbg

I'd first want to know if they are actually going to ride a bike. #1 son was supplied with a nicely updated older trek. He never rode it once. Several friends apparently did, but not him. The other problem is the level of vandalism on college campuses. I saw MANY super nice bikes in racks just outside the back door of dorms with their wheels stomped in. I wouldn't even consider it unless I was sure my kid would not only ride but also take care of the bike.

GrandaddyBiker

I bought my son a MTB about 10 years ago hoping he would go riding with me. He told me he didn’t want it (I should have asked before I bought it). Then I refused to ride it. It turned into a stubborn contest with both of us refusing to ride it. So right now I have a brand new ten year old bike that has never been ridden by anyone sitting in my garage. It still has the price tag on it, just like it came from the LBS. One of my grandsons should be big enough to ride it in a few years. If not then I will give it to someone who doesn’t have a bike.

So I have 5 bikes, 3 that I ride, 1 that my wife rides and 1 that no one rides.

unterhausen

every year, hundreds of bikes are confiscated on the University Park Penn State campus because they are abandoned. They hold them for a year, and then sell them. Finding a spot in a bike rack in the spring can be a problem because of all the people who rode once and then left the bike. I bought my daughter a decent bike, and she has been riding it, but this isn't particularly common.