This is project that initially was started in 2017 and was first launched in the city of Trondheim, Norway in mid-2018.

Urban Sharing installed and started running the bike sharing system in Oslo at the beginning of 2016, and soon discovered they wanted to develop and design a better system than the one they had bought and now ran. The development work started in 2017 and I lead the hardware development part of  the project, but with several people involved. The strength of our combined team was a very good knowledge of all the different challenges related to the user experience, installation, running and maintaining a bike sharing system, and that was the basis for the project.

The overall goal with the new system was to create the best user experience of any bike sharing system available. In light of the current developments at the time, we also wanted to create the most flexible system, meaning most flexible for users, cities and operations. It should be possible to lock the bike both in stations and outside stations, depending on what best suits the city and the operations. while the docks themselves should be flexible and easy to change and move depending on changing conditions and needs.

The complete system, which include our own developed software and hardware, was the result of a great team effort involving different competencies, and local suppliers and manufactures.

The Service and system

The system is based on Urban Sharing's own easy-to-use platform for bike sharing and the hybrid lock system is an extension of this. The application is very intuitive and easy to use, and removing the barriers and making the whole experience as seamless as possible.

The Bike

Our insight told us the operational cost of running a bike in a system is rather more critical than the production cost. The bike is built of with quality components with the ultimate goal of lowering the operational cost of running the bike and  has a simple and striking appearance.
The bike is produced in Europe and has 26" wheels for a great riding experience and a frame designed to cater for a multitude of users. It has a stepless Enviolo gear hub which needs virtual no adjustments and with very long service intervals, while the belt drive is maintenance-free. The sturdy fenders are made from extruded aluminium and the basket is elegantly integrated in the handlebar.

The Hybrid Lock

The hybrid lock is mounted to the front of the bike and enables the bike to be locked in a station or outside a station. The bike is locked by very easily rolling into the dock, and when it's unlocked it's simply rolled out of the dock. By mounting the lock on the bike, instead of on the station, we effectively halved the amount of locks needed in the system and the locks are 3G and GPS enabled and powered by the dynamo in the front wheel of the bike. The lock has an integrated unique light signature, which also acts as an interface giving different light feedback through the multicolor leds. 

The Dock

The docks and the stations are designed to be as simple and flexible as possible. The docks themselves are made from recycled, casted aluminium and have no need for electricity or connectivity. The docks can be bolted straight into the ground or mounted on simple steel plates which are simply laid on the ground, so no digging or permanent installation is necessary. This dramatically reduces the installation cost and gives the cities and operators a previously unknown flexibility, when it comes to adapting the system to special events or changing needs.

The project was the result of a team effort from Anders Lilleby, Markus Høy-Pettersen, Paul Thornton, Gunnar Larsen and Johan Høgåsen-Hallesby and all images are courtesy of Urban Sharing https://urbansharing.com/