San Francisco is on the brink of a citywide bike share program, but that didn't stop Will Dennis from starting his own bike share project.
Earlier this month, Dennis launched Spinlister, a peer to peer bike share program in San Francisco. It's like RelayRides, only instead of renting your neighbor's Mini Cooper or SUV, you rent their bike. Looking for a cute tandem to take on a hot date, a full suspension mountain bike to take to Marin or a sleek road bike to go on a long ride? You can find those on Spinlister--and plenty more.
Though it's only a few weeks old, Spinlister has amassed a pretty hefty database of bikes for all types of riding needs. And if you have a bike, you can add yours to the collection and make some cash by renting it out. Spinlister is part of a new trend being labeled collaborative consumption, which focuses on sharing or renting existing products instead of producing something new. The peer to peer model has been successful in other ownership realms--cars, apartments, and Dennis says his company is proving bikes are no different. He rented his own bike 21 out of the 35 days it was available.
The site is simple: type in the name of your city and start perusing the list of bikes for rent. There are pages of available ones on the San Francisco site; most are from individuals, but a few bike shops and rental agencies also offer rental rides. Click on the one you like best and pull up the calendar. Select the times or days you want to rent the ride, and in no time you'll be pedaling on your newly-rented ride.
The only thing that is complicated is the release form, which, as you'd imagine, addresses every possible scenario, from theft to crashes. Even with the lengthy form, I was still compelled to try out the service. I'll be putting up one of my bikes for rent in the next few weeks. If you want to rent your bike (or your spare bike, if you're like me), you just set up an account and list it available for the days when you don't need it. Pocket that cash to help offset the cost of your bike addiction.
