We started dealing with bike-sharing in 2008. Since then, our design office has created and developped many types of bike and we have assembled and delivered close to 50,000 bikes for self-service use. Among our most prestigious references are Abu Dhabi, Antwerp, Bordeaux, Caen, Dijon, La Rochelle, Lima, Liverpool, Marrakesh, Mexico City, Miami, Milan, Montpellier, Nice, Oslo, Oxford, Rennes, Santiago de Chile, Seattle, Stockholm, Strasbourg, Vancouver…
A bike that is meant for a self-service use is not a simple bike. Managers’ preoccupations are the users’ safety, vandalism, bad weather, out-of-action bikes. A bike that is out of action because it is broken and need repairs means double penalty: it doesn’t produce income and it requires repair costs.
We have learnt from costly experiences and we know what makes a good self-service bike. And still, we keep learning and improving our products and services.
Broken frames? Since 10 years, our bikes ride on the cobblestones of downtown Milan, all our frames and forks pass three times the minimum required by the endurance standard for the mountain bikes ISO4210.
Corrosion in humid salty air in a seaside city like Miami? Our bikes are designed to withstand the salty air of the coast. All our components are made of stainless steel or aluminium (except for the chain or cogs which must be greased).
Vandalism? Our customer in Barcelona had to replace thousands of knife-cut saddles. The saddles we now fit are harder but still comfortable. They are also UV resistant and waterproof without seams.
Powder coating? We only use high quality powder coatings. After curing the polyester powder, the coating is resistant to impact, scratching, UV fading and chemicals. The coatings withstand the salt spray test for 1000 hours without corrosion or blistering.
Users’ safety? Our bikes are approved by an independent French test and measurement laboratory, according to the EN15194 and ISO4210 standards.
Short deadlines? The mayor of the city has already set a date for the launch of the service, even though the contract has not yet been signed? We have the reactivity and flexibility of an SME. With our regular customers, we hold permanent stocks of the specific components of their bicycles so that we can assemble short to medium series in a few weeks.
Battery sealing? The batteries used in electric bicycles have an IPx7 waterproof rating. This means that they are guaranteed to be waterproof for one hour at a depth of one metre below the water level.
Connected electric bikes? This is the standard in Free-Floating. We are able to offer several complete solutions for connected locks or GPS/GSM trackers including hardware, software, CAN communication protocol, connectivity services, data storage and retrieval via SDK or API. The most sought-after functionalities are bike location and geofencing, battery charge level monitoring, remote-controlled electric assistance shutdown.
Maintenance? The bikes are designed and developed to make replacement of wearing parts as quick and easy as possible. Our customers think in terms of total cost of ownership and know that they can make significant savings on the maintenance of their fleet.
Spare parts? We are committed to supplying all original spare parts for at least five years after delivery of the bikes (or substitutes with equivalent value for money). We deliver all parts from our warehouse, with little or no minimum order quantity and at competitive prices.
