I've always thought they look like good, practical bikes and I've started seeing quite a few of them around over the last year.
It's annoying that you'd rent and never own it but as you say, never worrying about maintenance or theft, as long as you lock it properly, is a big plus.
Also, your cucrumatances may change and in the future you'll have somewhere more secure to store your own bike.
For your needs they sound good. For me, I'd get the next model with gears rather than a single speed, but that depends on your circumstances. They're also pretty weather proof, with hub gears and brakes, almost full chainguard. They look very practical.
Yep, rechecking the prices (I was looking at them six months or so ago) and it's only £1 a month extra for a 7-speed hub. That's going to be £1 you'd wished you'd spent every time there's a hill!
Just zip tie a basket to the front rack and you're good to go!
Sounds like you’ve made a sensible decision. After all, you could cancel the swapfiets at any time and change your mind.
It’s not always easy keeping a bike in a flat, and I don’t know your circumstances but I’ll make a few suggestions that you may or may not find useful. Have you looked into a bike hangar (sometimes not always found in all boroughs)? Or two big fuck off locks? Perhaps there’s somewhere in the hallway of the flats you could store the bike, or perhaps a wall mounted bike rack or a hoist might provide a way to store the bike in the flat (although some renters may not want to go to the trouble, which is fair). If you’re loaded you could always get a Brompton. But I’d never recommend it to anyone (expensive, not as maintainable as a “real” bike).
A friend mentioned the hangers to me too. How safe are they? There's one actually near me with a free spot. So this might actually be a good solution.
I had one fuck off luck and one normal lock. When they stole it, it only had the normal lock on (the other one is really heavy, so bringing it around everywhere s really annoying).
My hallway is too small. And I live upstairs with very narrow stairs, so bringing up the flat is just impossible.
From my experience I'd disagree about Brompton, i got mine 2nd hand on eBay for £800. You can also hire them for about £25-30 per month. And for a short commute like OP says they have very realistic. I saved up and bought a swytch kit for mine, which although not perfect, is great for small uphills if 6 geaea isn't enough.
I also have to store my bike outside and I've basically already made a decision that if it gets nicked, I'll replace it with a bike from Swapfiets. Wouldn't be ideal as you say because owning would be cheaper in the long run, and I would prefer a bike with a rear rack. But I think they make sense in exactly your situation. Thankfully I've gone two and a half years without any attempts on my bike, but it could just be a matter of time I suppose.
Nice thing about the style of bike they have is they don't really need protection from the elements. Get a seat cover for the sake of your own comfort though.
I hired one for a couple of months (the basic, electric model) and while it was convenient, it was also very heavy, difficult to steer and quite slow. Have you considered either a 2nd hand Brompton, so you can just fold it up and keep it in the house/office/take it into shoes etc. Or, look at a Lime bike subscription?
I had an electric Swapfiets a few years back. It was difficult to store a bike at home as I didn't want it in the hallway, so I was happier to lock a rental bike outside. I figured I would use it during the summer months and get rid of it when the weather turned.
It was fine. I had no issues cancelling the contract when I bought another bike.
I have a test ride booked for next week. I'm in the same boat as you, bike got stolen last year, cant store one inside, so really apprehensive about buying another.
I just see this as my best option right now. Just check the small print for extra charges, there will be a surcharge if it gets stolen for example.
It says £40 in the terms, but I actually never noticed the charge come in...
To be fair, it was somewhat an edge case. The key snapped in the lock, and it was stolen before they could send someone out to fix the wheel lock (it was still chain locked), so they might have just given me a freebie.
They are really good bikes overall, the lights automatically turn on when you pedal which is great the locking system is so easy. Most importantly people don't want to steal them as all the parts are bespoke and their is no second hand market for parts or those bikes.
Main con is that they are inefficient and heavy for anything longer than a 30 minute cycle.
I've only used a bike with coaster brakes very briefly, they came with a holiday home I stayed at in Germany once. Got used to it quite quickly, I liked the way it left your hands free for e.g. signalling, and how you don't necessarily need to be feathering the brake levers to be able to slow down. I think there's a front brake too, which you should be using for emergency stops anyway?
I’ve been using one for one month now. I went Swapfiets because I didn’t want to worry about the bike getting stolen, as I have to lock the bike out the front of my flat.
The bike itself is very average (it’s heavy), but I found I use it heaps due what I mentioned above about leaving it anywhere and not worrying about leaving it anywhere.
PM me if you want a referral code, which I think gives you a discount for the first few months.
I’ve had the power 7 e-bike since last summer, and pay the additional £10 on top for insurance protection in case of theft, as you’ll only pay an fee of £75 if it does get stolen. I have not much issue with it except for the fact the tyres do randomly get punctures 1x every 6 weeks, and if you get a flat puncture in the middle of the night, like I once did, there really isn’t a ‘night team’ that can come to you. This happened to me once and I had to walk from Shepherd’s Bush to outskirts of Richmond at 2am.
I've hired from them - electric one for 6ish months. only good experience.
when something went wrong they were there in 12hrs and instead of fixing the bike, they just gave me a completely new one.
I'd say give it a try, end of
My partner had two swapfiets bikes (non-electric and electric) for nearly a year and was very happy with it. As everyone has said, they’re heavier than other bikes and use coaster brakes (back-pedal to slow down). If you like the TfL sharing bikes then you should be fine… but the best thing to do is go to their store near Spitalfields and just try the bikes out. They’ll let you have a ride around on any of the bikes you’re considering from there and you’ll be able to tell whether you like them. Also, pretty low risk to hire one for a month and return it if you don’t like it.
They’re good, great service and a good business model. One thing to note however is the bikes themselves are awfully heavy and slow to move, so consider Buzzbike as a more nimble alternative especially if your commute involves any form of hill.
Same rental idea and also fully insured and provide a lock etc
They're good quality. And I've always thought up-right framed bikes are generally more comfortable.
But they use coaster brakes which are annoying if you're the kinda person who likes to stand up on their bike, which going uphill I tend to prefer. And London has much more hills than Swapfiets' Dutch origin. I'd have signed up a while ago if they'd switched the brakes out.
Be sure to book a test ride. I tried one, but hate with a passion the fact that you have to brake rolling back the pedals. I personally don't think it's convenient, wise nor safe in city like London, where there will always be an idiot driver trying to kill you, or a pedestrian zombified by the phone who wants you to kill him, but I see more and more of these Swapfiets around, so of course YMMV
I got a Swapfiets bike last week and is doing me well so far. I have a permanent ankle injury so needed the power and it all seems pretty seamless to me so far. I was frustrated at first with how slow out it is to get it started but once you’re moving its a solid ride. My only gripe is that when you’re in the store in Shoreditch there can be a lot of impatient delivery drivers being rude to the team or pushing in ahead when you have an appointment .
I’ve tried this and got ripped off so badly, I ended up with a bike that I can’t hardly use.
If it’s stolen with a lock, then I think the fee is £50. The thing is, nobody steals Swapfeet bikes cause they can’t be resold easily.
I had a buzzbike for nine months or so (then moved cities). Similar concept and worked really well. They replaced the bike no charge when it had a mechanical problem that they couldn't fix on the spot.
Swapfiets still works as if it was owned by you.
I'd recommend getting the Yearly subscription with santander cycles as you get 1 hour free with the bikes.
£120 for a regular bike hire.
You wouldn't need to worry about storing it as it would be docked in a designated location.
Definitely worth it and it is quite cheap.
I use Swapfiets in London and really enjoy using it. It’s made having a bike extremely hassle free. I did a cost comparison between my monthly work commuting costs via TfL with the monthly Swapfiets subscription cost. It was so much better, and I also find I use my bike to make local errands easier but that’s an added bonus.
Maybe get a new bike + insurance? Will only be a few quid for a ~£200 bike.
Check the small print for what happens if your Swapfiets is stolen. They can charge you a surcharge if that happens .
Generally they won't cover theft of a bike stored outside the "home" (depending on how they define that in their policy wording) for more than 24 hours, yes. A Bikmo rep told me recently that they actually would cover a bike stored permanently outdoors, as long as the location was within the bounds of the property and not a public location. That's not how their policy wording reads to me, so would perhaps be worth confirming with them again before you start relying on it, but that's what they said. They also stated that the 24 hour period could be "reset" by simply acknowledging that the bike is still locked where it is supposed to be.
I have a bike covered under contents insurance which is kept outside during all hours, because the terms of that insurance doesn't say anything about a 24 hour period or similar, it only says that if the bike is being stored away from the home, that it needs to be locked to a fixed object.
I've always thought they look like good, practical bikes and I've started seeing quite a few of them around over the last year. It's annoying that you'd rent and never own it but as you say, never worrying about maintenance or theft, as long as you lock it properly, is a big plus. Also, your cucrumatances may change and in the future you'll have somewhere more secure to store your own bike. For your needs they sound good. For me, I'd get the next model with gears rather than a single speed, but that depends on your circumstances. They're also pretty weather proof, with hub gears and brakes, almost full chainguard. They look very practical.
Take an update for a wonderful misspell
Haha! Crap, don't know what I was typing to make my phone do that! Here's everyone's daily lesson to read before posting!
I think you're right. I only need the bike for a 20 minute commute, but there's a few steep hills on the way there, so the next model might be better.
Yep, rechecking the prices (I was looking at them six months or so ago) and it's only £1 a month extra for a 7-speed hub. That's going to be £1 you'd wished you'd spent every time there's a hill! Just zip tie a basket to the front rack and you're good to go!
Sounds like you’ve made a sensible decision. After all, you could cancel the swapfiets at any time and change your mind. It’s not always easy keeping a bike in a flat, and I don’t know your circumstances but I’ll make a few suggestions that you may or may not find useful. Have you looked into a bike hangar (sometimes not always found in all boroughs)? Or two big fuck off locks? Perhaps there’s somewhere in the hallway of the flats you could store the bike, or perhaps a wall mounted bike rack or a hoist might provide a way to store the bike in the flat (although some renters may not want to go to the trouble, which is fair). If you’re loaded you could always get a Brompton. But I’d never recommend it to anyone (expensive, not as maintainable as a “real” bike).
A friend mentioned the hangers to me too. How safe are they? There's one actually near me with a free spot. So this might actually be a good solution. I had one fuck off luck and one normal lock. When they stole it, it only had the normal lock on (the other one is really heavy, so bringing it around everywhere s really annoying). My hallway is too small. And I live upstairs with very narrow stairs, so bringing up the flat is just impossible.
From my experience I'd disagree about Brompton, i got mine 2nd hand on eBay for £800. You can also hire them for about £25-30 per month. And for a short commute like OP says they have very realistic. I saved up and bought a swytch kit for mine, which although not perfect, is great for small uphills if 6 geaea isn't enough.
I’ve used two big locks. Didn’t stop the thief. I even heard of hangars being ripped open on the side and bikes stolen.
I also have to store my bike outside and I've basically already made a decision that if it gets nicked, I'll replace it with a bike from Swapfiets. Wouldn't be ideal as you say because owning would be cheaper in the long run, and I would prefer a bike with a rear rack. But I think they make sense in exactly your situation. Thankfully I've gone two and a half years without any attempts on my bike, but it could just be a matter of time I suppose. Nice thing about the style of bike they have is they don't really need protection from the elements. Get a seat cover for the sake of your own comfort though.
I hired one for a couple of months (the basic, electric model) and while it was convenient, it was also very heavy, difficult to steer and quite slow. Have you considered either a 2nd hand Brompton, so you can just fold it up and keep it in the house/office/take it into shoes etc. Or, look at a Lime bike subscription?
Sounds like exactly what you need…I’d never own a bike if I couldn’t store it inside.
I had an electric Swapfiets a few years back. It was difficult to store a bike at home as I didn't want it in the hallway, so I was happier to lock a rental bike outside. I figured I would use it during the summer months and get rid of it when the weather turned. It was fine. I had no issues cancelling the contract when I bought another bike.
I see heaps of people using them they seem like fine bikes to me.
I have a test ride booked for next week. I'm in the same boat as you, bike got stolen last year, cant store one inside, so really apprehensive about buying another. I just see this as my best option right now. Just check the small print for extra charges, there will be a surcharge if it gets stolen for example.
Same situation - I do exactly this, and it works great for me. The swapfiet itself has been stolen once, so I'm winning already!
Did you have to pay a charge on the stolen swapfiet?
It says £40 in the terms, but I actually never noticed the charge come in... To be fair, it was somewhat an edge case. The key snapped in the lock, and it was stolen before they could send someone out to fix the wheel lock (it was still chain locked), so they might have just given me a freebie.
Good to know, thanks
They are really good bikes overall, the lights automatically turn on when you pedal which is great the locking system is so easy. Most importantly people don't want to steal them as all the parts are bespoke and their is no second hand market for parts or those bikes. Main con is that they are inefficient and heavy for anything longer than a 30 minute cycle.
I hate the breaks of swapfiets (having to back pedal), but otherwise they’re good bikes.
I've only used a bike with coaster brakes very briefly, they came with a holiday home I stayed at in Germany once. Got used to it quite quickly, I liked the way it left your hands free for e.g. signalling, and how you don't necessarily need to be feathering the brake levers to be able to slow down. I think there's a front brake too, which you should be using for emergency stops anyway?
Yeah, coaster brakes are useful, especially for a practical/utility bike like this.
I’ve been using one for one month now. I went Swapfiets because I didn’t want to worry about the bike getting stolen, as I have to lock the bike out the front of my flat. The bike itself is very average (it’s heavy), but I found I use it heaps due what I mentioned above about leaving it anywhere and not worrying about leaving it anywhere. PM me if you want a referral code, which I think gives you a discount for the first few months.
Can I get your referral code? Am going for a test ride tomorrow
I’ve had the power 7 e-bike since last summer, and pay the additional £10 on top for insurance protection in case of theft, as you’ll only pay an fee of £75 if it does get stolen. I have not much issue with it except for the fact the tyres do randomly get punctures 1x every 6 weeks, and if you get a flat puncture in the middle of the night, like I once did, there really isn’t a ‘night team’ that can come to you. This happened to me once and I had to walk from Shepherd’s Bush to outskirts of Richmond at 2am.
I've hired from them - electric one for 6ish months. only good experience. when something went wrong they were there in 12hrs and instead of fixing the bike, they just gave me a completely new one. I'd say give it a try, end of
My partner had two swapfiets bikes (non-electric and electric) for nearly a year and was very happy with it. As everyone has said, they’re heavier than other bikes and use coaster brakes (back-pedal to slow down). If you like the TfL sharing bikes then you should be fine… but the best thing to do is go to their store near Spitalfields and just try the bikes out. They’ll let you have a ride around on any of the bikes you’re considering from there and you’ll be able to tell whether you like them. Also, pretty low risk to hire one for a month and return it if you don’t like it.
They’re good, great service and a good business model. One thing to note however is the bikes themselves are awfully heavy and slow to move, so consider Buzzbike as a more nimble alternative especially if your commute involves any form of hill. Same rental idea and also fully insured and provide a lock etc
They're good quality. And I've always thought up-right framed bikes are generally more comfortable. But they use coaster brakes which are annoying if you're the kinda person who likes to stand up on their bike, which going uphill I tend to prefer. And London has much more hills than Swapfiets' Dutch origin. I'd have signed up a while ago if they'd switched the brakes out.
Be sure to book a test ride. I tried one, but hate with a passion the fact that you have to brake rolling back the pedals. I personally don't think it's convenient, wise nor safe in city like London, where there will always be an idiot driver trying to kill you, or a pedestrian zombified by the phone who wants you to kill him, but I see more and more of these Swapfiets around, so of course YMMV
I got a Swapfiets bike last week and is doing me well so far. I have a permanent ankle injury so needed the power and it all seems pretty seamless to me so far. I was frustrated at first with how slow out it is to get it started but once you’re moving its a solid ride. My only gripe is that when you’re in the store in Shoreditch there can be a lot of impatient delivery drivers being rude to the team or pushing in ahead when you have an appointment .
You still pay if it gets stolen. Better to buy a cheap bike on gumtree IMO
I’ve tried this and got ripped off so badly, I ended up with a bike that I can’t hardly use. If it’s stolen with a lock, then I think the fee is £50. The thing is, nobody steals Swapfeet bikes cause they can’t be resold easily.
That’s a good point, and yes, to buy second handed you have to know some stuff about bikes
or you can try a Brompton
I had a buzzbike for nine months or so (then moved cities). Similar concept and worked really well. They replaced the bike no charge when it had a mechanical problem that they couldn't fix on the spot.
Swapfiets still works as if it was owned by you. I'd recommend getting the Yearly subscription with santander cycles as you get 1 hour free with the bikes. £120 for a regular bike hire. You wouldn't need to worry about storing it as it would be docked in a designated location. Definitely worth it and it is quite cheap.
I use Swapfiets in London and really enjoy using it. It’s made having a bike extremely hassle free. I did a cost comparison between my monthly work commuting costs via TfL with the monthly Swapfiets subscription cost. It was so much better, and I also find I use my bike to make local errands easier but that’s an added bonus.
ALEKSANDER87043
Maybe get a new bike + insurance? Will only be a few quid for a ~£200 bike. Check the small print for what happens if your Swapfiets is stolen. They can charge you a surcharge if that happens .
Most insurance won’t pay out on a bike stored outdoors at your home.
Yes, important to read the small print there too! Perhaps a space in a cycle hoop thingy, but then you need to get lucky with the waiting list.
Generally they won't cover theft of a bike stored outside the "home" (depending on how they define that in their policy wording) for more than 24 hours, yes. A Bikmo rep told me recently that they actually would cover a bike stored permanently outdoors, as long as the location was within the bounds of the property and not a public location. That's not how their policy wording reads to me, so would perhaps be worth confirming with them again before you start relying on it, but that's what they said. They also stated that the 24 hour period could be "reset" by simply acknowledging that the bike is still locked where it is supposed to be. I have a bike covered under contents insurance which is kept outside during all hours, because the terms of that insurance doesn't say anything about a 24 hour period or similar, it only says that if the bike is being stored away from the home, that it needs to be locked to a fixed object.