The Complete San Francisco Bikeshare Review Guide

ford-gobike-vs-ford-gobike-plus-vs-jump-bike

If you want to ride a bikeshare in San Francisco, the Ford GoBike, the Ford GoBike Plus, and the JUMP Bike are your only options right now. Both of the GoBikes use the same docking system, with the major difference being that the GoBike Plus is a pedal assisted electric bike! The JUMP Bike is also a pedal assisted electric bike very similar to the GoBike Plus. All three bikes are fun to ride, but have more to be desired. As much as I’d like to announce a winner, there are lots of tradeoffs to consider, so read on and decide which one is best for you in this San Francisco bikeshare review!

Here’s the breakdown on each bike. Use this as a Table of Contents and click the topic titles to snap below and read more details.

Single Ride Pricing

Ford GoBike & GoBike Plus – $2 per 30 minutes (supposedly for a limited time only), $3/30 mins thereafter
JUMP Bike – 2 per 30 minutes, $0.07/min thereafter

45 Minute Single Ride Cost

Ford GoBike & GoBike Plus – $5
JUMP Bike – $3.05

Subscription Pricing

Ford GoBike & GoBike Plus – $10/day (24 hours), $15/month, $149/year
JUMP Bike – Single rides only. JUMP can cost much more if you bikeshare regularly

Docking Style

Ford GoBike & GoBike Plus – Any GoBike dock
JUMP Bike – Anywhere in zone

App

Ford GoBike & GoBike Plus – Auto-zoom makes it a pain to use
JUMP Bike – Easy to use

Max Speed

Ford GoBike – You decide, but it’s heavy and gearing doesn’t go very high, so not that fast
Ford GoBike Plus – 18 mph
JUMP Bike – 19 mph

Ride & Gears

Ford GoBike – Fun to bike around on, but slow, clunky, and not as good as your friend’s regular bicycle
Ford GoBike Plus – Fun & fast once you learn how to properly use an e-bike with a cadence sensor. Almost too fast
JUMP Bike – Fast, zippy, and intuitive, but better to use the highest gear, and hill climbing is harder than the GoBike Plus

Electric Pedal Assist

Ford GoBike – No
Ford GoBike Plus – Yes, cadence sensor. Motor power depends on pedal rotations
JUMP Bike – Yes, torque sensor. Motor power depends on pedal pressure

Speedometer

Ford GoBike – No
Ford GoBike Plus – Yes
JUMP Bike – No

Comfort

Ford GoBike – Good, feels like a tank. Brakes are awkwardly placed.
Ford GoBike Plus – Comfortable
JUMP BikeGood, but bumps can hurt if you’re not expecting them.

Good for Short Errands?

Ford GoBike & GoBike Plus – Only if destination is very close to dock
JUMP Bike – Yes, if destination is in zone

Cargo Capability

Ford GoBike & GoBike Plus – Weird “not really a basket” thing with an elastic strap. Good for small bags. UPDATE: Some of the new Plus bikes have a bigger and better basket.
JUMP Bike – Very nice large basket, but contents can bounce out if you hit a bump

Weight

Ford GoBike – ~49 pounds
Ford GoBike Plus – ~68 pounds
JUMP Bike – ~78 pounds

History & Politics

Ford GoBike & GoBike Plus – Docked bikeshare expansion is hard
JUMP Bike – 250 bike pilot in progress

 Ford GoBike

GoBike Plus

JUMP Bike

Single Ride Pricing$2 per 30 minutes (supposedly for a limited time only), $3/30 mins thereafterSame as Ford GoBike2 per 30 minutes, $0.07/min thereafter
45 Minute Single Ride Cost$5Same as Ford GoBike$3.05
Subscription Pricing$10/day (24 hours)
$15/month
$149/year
Same as Ford GoBikeSingle rides only. JUMP can cost much more if you bikeshare regularly
Docking StyleAny GoBike dockSame as Ford GoBikeAnywhere in zone
AppAuto-zoom makes it a pain to useSame as Ford GoBikeEasy to use
Max SpeedYou decide, but it’s heavy and gearing doesn’t go very high, so not that fast18 mph19 mph
Ride & GearsFun to bike around on, but slow, clunky, and not as good as your friend’s regular bicycleFun & fast once you learn how to properly use an e-bike with a cadence sensor. Almost too fastFast, zippy, and intuitive, but better to use the highest gear, and hill climbing is harder than the GoBike Plus
Electric Pedal AssistNoYes, cadence sensor. Motor power depends on pedal rotationsYes, torque sensor. Motor power depends on pedal pressure
SpeedometerNoYesNo
ComfortGood, feels like a tank. Brakes are awkwardly placed.ComfortableGood, but bumps can hurt if you’re not expecting them.
Good for Short Errands?Only if destination is very close to dockSame as Ford GoBikeYes, if destination is in zone
Cargo CapabilityWeird “not really a basket” thing with an elastic strap. Good for small bagsThe new Plus bike has a decent basket, but the old ones are the same as the normal Ford GoBike.Very nice large basket, but contents can bounce out if you hit a bump
Weight~49 lbs~68 lbs~78 lbs
History & PoliticsDocked bikeshare expansion is hardSame as Ford GoBike250 bike pilot in progress

A note on helmets. None of these bikes include a helmet with the ride, and most people just ride without a helmet for the short distance they’re going, but if you’re interested in a solution for this, check out my post on Foldable Helmets.

Now for the details.

Single Ride Pricing

Verdict: JUMP Bikes

Ford GoBike – $2/30 minutes. $3/30 minutes thereafter. Many other subscription options
Ford GoBike Plus – Same as Ford GoBike…for now
JUMP Bike – $2/30 minutes. $0.17/minute thereafter

Pricing is important. Thanks to competition from JUMP, GoBike seems to have lowered their single ride prices to compete. That means 30 minutes is $2 across the board. However, GoBike charges more for overage, and that overage is charged in 30 minute increments instead of per minute, which can make a bigger difference especially for rides in the 30-40 minute range.

Keep in mind that you can’t buy a single ride pass at the Ford GoBike docking station kiosk, you have to buy the pass through the app on your phone.

I make use of this single ride pricing when I happen to not have my own bike around. This is a great way to supplement owning a bicycle for routine trips while still being able to bike if you have a one-way trip.

Subscription Pricing

Verdict: GoBike & GoBike Plus

If you want to be a serious bikeshare user, go for the GoBike subscriptions. With a Ford GoBike membership, you get the first 45 minutes free, not just the first 30. If you’re riding to work every day, you’ll be saving a ton. At $149 a year you break even at 75 rides. Since just 1 ride 5 days a week would be 260 rides in a year, that’s an easy decision.

Riding 260 rides on JUMP bikes would cost $520 per year, which wouldn’t make sense. Even more so when you add that you only have 30 minutes of initial ride time instead of the 45 minutes on a GoBike membership. If you only ride once or twice a week though, the single ride options are still a great value.

As someone who would rather ride my own bicycle, I still consider owning a bicycle to be cheaper than these subscription models. My time is worth the most, and owning a bicycle means no searching for docks, door-to-door service, and simply a faster, better ride. The one concern is that you have to lock it up yourself, which with the right tools and proper locking technique shouldn’t be a problem.

It’s worth noting that both bikeshares offer low income plans for their bicycles. $5 for the first year and $5/month thereafter. JUMP doesn’t have normal subscriptions (yet), but for legal reasons they had to offer the low income boost plan. Ford GoBike has a low income plan as well.

Docking Style

Verdict: Draw, leaning towards JUMP Bike

No bikeshare is perfect.

GoBike & GoBike Plus – These docked bikes are great because you have a wealth of bicycles in the same reliable place all the time…unless the dock is empty (or full if you’re trying to return a bike). Some of the stations are electrified, which is great news for the GoBike Plus, allowing them to recharge without extra operations work. Both GoBike & GoBike Plus fit in the same docking stations.

JUMP Bike – These dockless bikes are great because you can pick them up and drop them off anywhere (in a zone)…unless anywhere means there aren’t any bikes near you at all. Fortunately with JUMP’s model of locking to a bike rack, we don’t have to worry about bikes being strewn all over the sidewalk. I like this dockless model better since once you have a bike you can park it right in front of your destination like a normal bicycle, but finding one can be hard. Dockless bikes also do better with The Errand Problem.

If you find yourself unable to lock your bike up near your house or any other destination, you can request a bike rack from the SFMTA! I did this and it took about 4 months, but now the JUMP Bikes come to me as other people park bikes on the rack near my house.

Right now JUMP Bikes in San Francisco are limited to 250 bikes for the current pilot program. If you’re interested in more politics & history of bikeshare, read below. This isn’t enough bikes to cover the entire city, but if the amount ever increases, there will probably be hub locations where you can more reliably find a JUMP bike similar to docked bikeshare. Oh wait, while writing this article a hub popped up in SOMA!

This is how the JUMP hub looked on June 7th, 2018…but they seemed like they were hard at work doing upgrades, so it will probably be changing fast. It’s on private property due to political reasons.

Back to dockless bikeshare, there are two things I’ve found out over time that are nice to know.

  1. If you see the seat turned backwards, that means there’s probably something broken with the bike…unless someone is trolling.
  2. If there is a solid red light on the panel where a bike is docked, that bike is unavailable because of maintenance. If you see this and the seat is forward, it would be nice to other users to turn the seat around and make it easier to spot a dud bike.
Note the seat turned backwards. It means there’s probably something wrong with the bike! Check for the red light on the panel, kick the tires, see if the wheels spin freely, check the seat for incorrect position or wobbling, check the brakes. If all those check out, maybe someone is trolling. You can always request a refund if the bike doesn’t work.

Out of about 20 Ford GoBike rides I’ve done so far, I rented one where the front brake was sticking just a little bit. I knew the bikes were slow, but after riding a block I knew they weren’t THAT slow. I confirmed by lifting the front and spinning the front wheel to see it stop almost immediately. When I put the bike back I turned the seat around and emailed support (which is not a pleasant experience, no pre-filled information in the email). They refunded me for that ride after a few days of customer service turnaround.

Here’s a typical dock with some electric and non-electric Ford GoBikes.

The biggest issue with docked bikeshare is the political fighting that has to occur to get stations placed. People don’t want parking removed, people don’t want their sidewalk used for bikes, this and that. This makes expansion a slow and error-prone process. Some docks go in the ground only to be removed a week later with complaints. Ford GoBike is working to expand, but it will take years before it covers the entire city. Dockless bikeshares like JUMP could start service across all of San Francisco within weeks if allowed by the city.

Of course, things can change pretty quickly, as noted by an addition of dockless Ford GoBikes in North San Jose! With San Francisco’s blessing, that could even make it here.

App

Verdict: JUMP Bike

GoBike – Even though there are reliable docking stations, I recommend you take a look at the app (iOS, Android) before you start walking towards one to make sure there are enough bikes there. And don’t forget to make sure there are enough docks at your destination!

UPDATE: The Ford GoBike app had a significant update that made it much worse, unfortunately. It now automatically zooms in way too close whenever you tap a station, which makes it very hard to tap around and see the status of your start and end stations. Additionally, it keeps freezing on me. The screenshot below is also out of date, but the functionality is the same.

Ford GoBike has bikes in East Bay and South Bay as well!
Change to dock mode to see the available docks at each station. This mode changes automatically when you’re on a ride, but good to check your destination for space as well. Note how there’s only one full station in the screenshot on the left. The gray dots on the right screenshot are stations that are coming soon.

The symbols in the app are a little tricky, as the fill levels have 5 or so discrete fill levels that represent a range of bicycles. This means two stations that have the same fill level on the map could have a vastly different number of bikes. It seems the green symbol has medium, almost full, and full levels. You have to tap in to see the actual number. The 3 colors are more directly representative of the bikes or docks there:

  • Green: 4 or more bikes/docks (although I have seen 3 bikes in the green too)
  • Yellow: 1-3 bikes/docks
  • Red: 0 bikes/docks

So as long as a station is green you’re probably in the clear, but be aware some of the bikes might be broken too as described in the Docking Style. You can also see the little lightning bolt if there are electric bikes. Right now if you see a lightning bolt there may only be 1 electric bike there, so you better act fast.

However you use Ford GoBike, I highly recommend that you go and enter your Clipper Card number in the app, so once you buy any pass you can just walk up to any bike and scan your Clipper Card to unlock it. Unfortunately, you can’t use your Clipper Card and deduct your general cash balance to rent the bike. You have to buy some kind of pass in the Ford GoBike app first. But that’s easy! On my iPhone I’ve used Apple Pay most of the time.

You can buy any pass in the app, but keep in mind that if you buy directly from the kiosk you have very limited options. The kiosk only lets you buy 24-hour and 3-day passes, and Ford GoBike plus is NOT included in that rental! I think the kiosk is mostly meant for tourists, as most locals will have access to a phone and clipper card.

A Ford GoBike docking station kiosk
A Ford GoBike docking station kiosk. There are only 2 types of passes you can buy here if you don’t have the app.
A Ford GoBike docking station kiosk.
A Ford GoBike docking station kiosk. You can’t buy a single ride pass or use a Ford GoBike Plus e-bike!

These are photos of a kiosk at a Ford GoBike docking station. You can’t buy a single ride pass or use a Ford GoBike Plus e-bike! You can only see these screens AFTER you slide your credit card (but before it’s charged).

JUMP Bike – This app (iOS, Android) does exactly what it’s supposed to do (and you can also do all of this from the Uber app, since Uber owns JUMP). Unlike the GoBikes, you have to open this app every time you want a bike, because you have no idea where they’ll end up. If you do see a bike you want to use, you can reserve it right away. However, as soon as you start the reservation, that starts the clock on pricing. So if you’re 15 minutes away from picking up the bike and have a 20 minute bike ride, you’ll end up spending more than $2 for 35 minutes of time. I would still recommend reserving the bike anyway, since these JUMP bikes disappear fast with their low numbers.

Jump App Screenshots
The green lightning is one of their charging hubs. If you take a bike with a yellow dollar sign and bring it to the green lightning up they’ll give you $2 in ride credits (was previously $6, so they may be changing it all the time). Ford GoBike has a system like this too called BikeAngels.

You can also hook up your Clipper Card so you can scan and type your pin if you find a JUMP Bike without the app, but if someone reserves it before you scan your Clipper Card, you won’t be able to get it.

Make sure you check the zone area in the app too when you’re dropping off a bike. They charge $25 if you drop the bike off outside of the zone.

Max Speed

Verdict: Draw

Ford GoBike – Can pedal as fast as you want, but maxes out around 20 mph
Ford GoBike Plus – 18mph
JUMP Bike – 19mph

Unfortunately, all the bikeshares have quite limited speed. It’s probably best for safety, but normal bicycles can easily go 25-30 mph if you’re pedaling hard, and these bikes max out under 20 mph. A very different experience.

This isn’t all about safety though. In order to allow electric bicycles in the bike lanes, California law states the motor cannot propel the user faster than 20mph. You should be able to pedal faster, but these e-bikes have some technical limitations that make that generally unfeasible.

You’d think that with the non-electric GoBike you’d be able to go faster, but the highest gear doesn’t go high enough to allow that after all, as I discuss below.

Don’t expect to make that green light up ahead, just ride slow and enjoy it.

Ride & Gears

Verdict: Draw. Very dependent on mood, exercise desire, and terrain on route.

Non-electric GoBike

The normal GoBike has a continuously variable shifter. This is really cool since there are no discrete gears to shift through, you just turn it to immediately accommodate the difficulty you want. The ride feels pretty nice, but you have to put lots of effort for little speed, and the gearing range is suboptimal.

The GoBike is made to go slowly, which means the lowest gear is quite low, and the highest gear is, well, still quite low. If you shift to the highest gear and pedal as hard as you can, you will probably start spinning out at around 20 mph, which means you’re pedaling so fast you can’t possibly make the bike go much faster. Motivate, the company behind GoBike, claims this bike is faster than other bikeshares, but I wouldn’t mind a faster bike for some of those green lights.

The lowest gear seems nice for hills, but if you ride in that lowest gear, you will barely be going faster than people walking. I clocked the lowest speed at around 4-5 mph, and average walking speed is around 2-4 mph. My test was going up Valencia St with a very slight uphill incline, so on a bigger hill I may have gone even slower.

When I normally ride up Valencia St, I try to make all the 13 mph green wave stoplights. On my personal bike I barely notice that I’m working, and have to make sure I don’t go too fast, but on the Ford GoBike I have to work hard for that 13 mph.

I seem to put forth maximum effort and get little speed out of it. If you’re on a GoBike, you may notice that other bike commuters are passing you with ease on their normal bikes. This is not an illusion, it is the bicycle.

Electric Ford GoBike Plus & JUMP Bike

The electric motors make the ride a breeze. However, they don’t come without their drawbacks. Sometimes they feel overpowered, sometimes they feel underpowered. The ride with an electric motor can be confusing. Each technology requires a different type of riding style. You could completely ignore the details of how these different sensors work, but then you’ll have these moments where the bike is not riding in a predictable way.

If you do ignore the tech and have an altercation with the motors, it is probably one of 2 things:

  1. Too Much Acceleration – If I took off too fast, the motor might resist or not turn on at all. I felt this happening even before reaching the top speeds of almost 20mph.
  2. Top speed – If you hit the top speed, the motor will back off, but sometimes it feels like it’s dragging you down. Although I’d like for the motor to cut out completely and let me pedal freely above 20mph, it seems to still be engaged and drag a little bit. If you’re riding right around the top speed, the motor will cut out only to come back again when you’ve dropped below the threshold, making for an unpleasant ride as the motor stops and starts.

When testing these bikes, I rode the JUMP Bike first. The torque sensor is much more intuitive, so I could just ride it without having to think much, but I did have to figure out ways to ride it more efficiently, like switching to the highest gear on flat ground and on hills to make the motor work harder for me.

When I first rode the Ford GoBike Plus, I expected it to have a torque sensor like the JUMP bike, and I kept feeling the motor cut in and out in an unpredictable way. When I finally figured out how the e-bike was responding to the sensor, I learned how to control the bike in a much more predictable way. My main issue was pedaling in too high of a gear, which would slow down the pedals and not register as enough of a cadence for the motor to kick in all the time.

I go into more detail in a chart in the next section.

Electric Pedal Assist

Verdict: Draw. Many tradeoffs to consider.

Ford GoBike – No pedal assist. Lots of free exercise.
Ford GoBike Plus – Yes, cadence sensor. Motor power depends on pedal rotations per second
JUMP Bike – Yes, torque sensor. Motor power depends on pressure exerted on pedals

I’m a big fan of free exercise that you get when riding a bicycle, and you simply get more of that with a non-ebike, but the GoBike is slow enough that it does benefit from some electricity making it more comfortable. If you’re at a dock with both, it may depend on whether or not you went to the gym already today.

Now just comparing the e-bikes, I was surprised to discover that they use completely different pedal assist technology. These two different technologies make for some interesting differences when riding the bicycles.

 Ford GoBike PlusJUMP Bike
Starting from a stopIt’s better to have the bike in an lower gear when stopped so you can easily get the bike going and get the motor to kick in. You have to start spinning the pedals before the motor startsWINNER: The motor starts immediately. You can even feel it trying to go when you put pressure on the pedals while still holding the brakes
Riding along at a normal speed on relatively flat terrainThe motor works great...almost too well. You can trick the bike into propelling you without needed to put any force on the pedals. Just keep moving the pedals around in a lower gear and the motor will stay engaged. Feels a bit too much like cheating. Sometimes the motor takes off a bit too fast.WINNER: The motor works great. Ironically it’s easiest to use the highest and hardest gear! Instead of switching gears, I would just push less hard and pedal slower on the highest gear to go slower. This way the motor would still take on most of the effort. If you shift to the lower gears, you’re never pushing quite as hard on the pedal and the motor doesn’t kick in as much.
Sudden surge of power needed (below the max speed)If you’re in a lower gear you can pedal faster and get more motor power, but if you shift up too fast your pedal cadence will slow down and the motor may completely disengage when you want it most. Once you learn this you can surge easily but only in lower gears.WINNER: A surge of power on the pedals means more torque and a surge of power from the motor. Very intuitive.
Riding at max speedWINNER: Motor cuts out and doesn’t drag you too much, but still difficult to pedal much faster than the 18 mph max speedThe motor cuts in and out as you hover around the maximum speed. Lots of drag if you try to pedal faster than the 19 mph max speed
Riding up a hillWINNER: This is where the cadence tech seems superior to the torque tech. Can shift to a lower gear and still feel the motor take you up the hill easily. However, if you start pedaling too slowly, the motor will stop since the pedals are not moving around fast enough.If you stay in a higher gear and push hard or stand on the pedals, the motor will propel you up the hill well. If you shift down, the pedals will feel less pressure and the motor will not go as fast when you need it most.
Riding down a hillMotor may accidentally engage if you spin the pedals and are going under the top speed.WINNER: Motor will likely not engage when going down the hill since pedal pressure is low.
Braking PowerWINNER: Good braking power.Ok braking power, but start braking early.
SpeedometerWINNER: Seeing your speed is helpful for deciding how hard to pedal. The best speed to keep was 17 mph, where the motor would be on but not stopping and starting. The battery level was also shown on the display.No knowledge of speed, this makes it difficult to know if you’re at the max speed sometimes, but you will probably feel it.

Starting from a stop

Ford GoBike Plus -It’s better to have the bike in an lower gear when stopped so you can easily get the bike going and get the motor to kick in. You have to start spinning the pedals before the motor starts.
JUMP Bike – WINNER: The motor starts immediately. You can even feel it trying to go when you put pressure on the pedals while still holding the brakes.

Riding along at a normal speed on relatively flat terrain

Ford GoBike Plus – The motor works great…almost too well. You can trick the bike into propelling you without needed to put any force on the pedals. Just keep moving the pedals around in a lower gear and the motor will stay engaged. Feels a bit too much like cheating. Sometimes the motor takes off a bit too fast.
JUMP Bike – WINNER: The motor works great. Ironically it’s easiest to use the highest and hardest gear! Instead of switching gears, I would just push less hard and pedal slower on the highest gear to go slower. This way the motor would still take on most of the effort. If you shift to the lower gears, you’re never pushing quite as hard on the pedal and the motor doesn’t kick in as much.

Sudden surge of power needed (below the max speed)

Ford GoBike Plus – If you’re in a lower gear you can pedal faster and get more motor power, but if you shift up too fast your pedal cadence will slow down and the motor may completely disengage when you want it most. Once you learn this you can surge easily but only in lower gears.
JUMP Bike – WINNER: A surge of power on the pedals means more torque and a surge of power from the motor. Very intuitive.

Riding at max speed

Ford GoBike Plus – WINNER: Motor cuts out and doesn’t drag you too much, but still difficult to pedal much faster than the 18 mph max speed
JUMP Bike – The motor cuts in and out as you hover around the maximum speed. Lots of drag if you try to pedal faster than the 19 mph max speed

Riding up a hill

Ford GoBike Plus – WINNER: This is where the cadence tech seems superior to the torque tech. Can shift to a lower gear and still feel the motor take you up the hill easily. However, if you start pedaling too slowly, the motor will stop since the pedals are not moving around fast enough.
JUMP Bike – If you stay in a higher gear and push hard or stand on the pedals, the motor will propel you up the hill well. If you shift down, the pedals will feel less pressure and the motor will not go as fast when you need it most.

Riding down a hill

Ford GoBike Plus – Motor may accidentally engage if you spin the pedals and are going under the top speed.
JUMP Bike – WINNER: Motor will likely not engage when going down the hill since pedal pressure is low.

Braking Power

Ford GoBike PlusWINNER: Good braking power.
JUMP Bike – Ok braking power, but start braking early.

Subscription Pricing

Ford GoBike Plus – WINNER: Seeing your speed is helpful for deciding how hard to pedal. The best speed to keep was 17 mph, where the motor would be on but not stopping and starting. The battery level was also shown on the display.
JUMP Bike – No knowledge of speed, this makes it difficult to know if you’re at the max speed sometimes, but you will probably feel it.

As you can see by this comparison, neither bike is perfect in the pedal assist technology. It’s best to decide which tradeoffs you can handle and choose the bike accordingly. Or really…just use the closer or cheaper one. I enjoyed the Ford GoBike Plus ride better once I figured out how to use it properly, mostly because hill climbing was easier, but the JUMP Bike was more intuitive and rode more like a normal bicycle (including more work on the hills!).

Comfort

Verdict: GoBike Plus & JUMP Bike

The electric bikes win here. Both the GoBike Plus & the JUMP bike are pretty comfortable and easy to ride. The JUMP bike is a bit more upright, which feels nicer at first until you hit a bump and your rear end is no longer happy about that. If you see a bump I’d recommend lifting yourself off the seat for a second as you go over it.

The normal GoBike is also comfortable, but the lack of power you have makes the comfort short lived once you actually have to pedal hard. If you go slow it’s pretty nice, but I see people spinning unnecessarily all the time and barely moving on these bikes. It doesn’t seem great.

I’ll also have to say the normal GoBike has very odd brake placement. The brakes seem angled too high, so to grab onto them you have to twist your wrist up at an awkward angle. I’m an average 5’10”, but maybe shorter users would have less of an issue. The GoBike Plus completely fixed this problem, so if you see both of those bikes at a dock you can see what I mean with the incorrect brake handle placement.

Note how I have to twist my wrist up to properly reach the brakes.

The Errand Problem

Verdict: JUMP Bike

One thing bicycles are great at is short trips like errands. Picking up something at Walgreens. Picking up some take out food. Doing some quick shopping somewhere. With my personal bike, I can ride to the store, lock it up there, run my errand, and ride back.

With bikeshare this isn’t always so simple. The GoBikes can’t be left unattended or someone else may take it, so you need to find a dock every time. If the dock is right next to where you’re going that’s great, but even a couple blocks on each end makes it feel more like riding the bus than riding your bike.

JUMP Bike solves this problem by being able to put a bike on “hold” on the bike instead of completing your ride. This starts a 1 hour timer before the bike will get released to the general public again. Remember, you’re paying for the bike during that entire hour! So if you ride 20 minutes, pick something up for 10 minutes, then ride back for 20 minutes, you’ll still have to pay $3.40 for 50 minutes of time.

A JUMP Bike on hold

If there isn’t an easy rack to use at your house or errand location, you can probably request a rack!

If you’re so inclined, you can also hack this with the GoBike, as long as you bring your own lock. You may be able to fit a U-lock right under the seat, but I think they’ve made this bike purposely not friendly to locks. And if you lock it with a cable someone could cut the cable and you’ll be on the hook for a GoBike (up to $1200). I wouldn’t recommend this.

I do mention this though, because Motivate (the company behind GoBike) could add locks to the bikes specifically for this purpose. When I visited Tel Aviv in 2013, the bikeshare there had a cable lock with a physical key you could use to temporarily lock the bike. Of course cable locks aren’t recommended, but it seemed to work in Tel Aviv.

Cargo Capability

Verdict: Jump Bike

The JUMP bike basket is just way better. It’s a true basket that you can put things in, and it even has a cup holder! You can put your coffee in there and a small bag plus another item. It also looks like you can fit a grocery bag in there as long as it’s not completely full. The only issue is that bumps can really rock your contents. I hit a bump and my entire bag flew up in the air and fortunately landed again in the basket, but upside-down.

Look at that basket. Huge.

Both Ford GoBikes, on the other hand, have this weird thing with an elastic band on it. You can definitely put most bags and purses there, but the elastic is quite stiff, so if your bag is bigger it feels like the contents are getting crushed by the elastic. You also have no place to put a cup or smaller items. I think you can get creative with the elastic strap, but I would still rather have a basket.

UPDATE: The new Ford GoBike Plus’ have a bigger better basket on them, but it’s not as deep as the JUMP bike. Once I try it out I’ll see how much things bump out of it.

Don't crush your groceries!
My small Bike to Work Day bag fit, but it’s still kinda awkward. On the plus side, nothing is bouncing out.

Weight

Verdict: Draw

Ford GoBike – ~49 pounds
Ford GoBike Plus – ~68 pounds
JUMP Bike – ~78 pounds

I need to first start this section with the caveat that weight really doesn’t matter that much. Do a few searches and you’ll notice that over a mile stretch, a lighter bike may save you a very insignificant amount of time.

What you’re feeling when you ride a slow bike is more likely due to tire rolling resistance (big, fat tires) and frame geometry (pedaling on an upright bike is less efficient). It’s harder to quantify these things than weighing the bike, but just a thing to note.

That being said, these bikes are quite heavy and could probably be lighter.

My fully loaded commuter bike is 32 pounds (that includes lock, lights, bag, toolkit, all that jazz), and I probably add up to 10 pounds in cargo from time to time.

The GoBike is 49 pounds. Now of course the GoBike has to deal with some serious durability, but 49 pounds is a bit much. They can do better.

For the electric bikes, the weight is even less important, since they have a motor to offset the weight. The GoBike Plus is 68 pounds, and the JUMP Bike is 78 pounds. For comparison, one of the nicer simple electric bikes, the Faraday, is only 40 pounds.

I weighed all the bikes with this scale. For the heavier bikes I needed some help reading the scale as I held up 60-80 pounds out in front of me haha. There may be a few pounds of error in these measurements.

History & Politics

If you’ve gotten this far, I figure you’ll want to hear about some extra history of these bikeshares. Here’s what I know.

For years the Bay Area had no bikeshare to speak of. One day in 2013 the Bay Area Bike Share popped up, run by the company Motivate. Motivate is the same company that runs the Citibikes in NYC, as well as many other docked bikeshare around the United States. In very recent news, there were recently bought by Lyft!

Back to 2013, that initial pilot phase was just a tease, only useful for small trips within SOMA. They told us about expansion, had a station suggestion tool, and even had community meetings I attended to help finalize the new station locations. But it wasn’t until Ford sponsored it (with a 10 year contract lasting to 2027) when the expansion really began with Ford GoBike.

The contract was made specifically for docked bikeshare, which makes sense. You don’t want to have multiple companies trying to add these big physical dock locations. But right around the time Ford became a sponsor, a few dockless bikeshare companies were trying to enter the market as well. They have a completely different model that doesn’t require as much hardware on the streets.

Bluegogo & Limebike were immediately shut down by the city in 2017. Any bikes they put on the street were impounded before you were really able to see or use them. They didn’t conflict directly with the Motivate contract, but they would be competitors. The city passed new laws limiting these dockless bikeshare until permits were acquired. I don’t think the city was offering permits, because none of them ever came back. It did seem that dockless electric bikeshare got a pass. It took awhile, but JUMP Bike was able to secure permitting for the 250 bikes they have on the street now.

It seemed that JUMP Bikes were quite successful, because Uber has since bought them! It seems that San Francisco will again be caught in a Lyft vs. Uber war, this time involving bikeshare. I for one welcome this competition — it means cheaper prices and better bikes.

Now back to docked bikeshare, expansion is currently in progress, and if there isn’t a dock near you now, it might happen soon! Motivate (aka Lyft) is still holding community meetings and working on San Francisco specific issues. Reach out to them if you have a good idea for a bikeshare location! They always need more support.

All this being said, this wouldn’t be complete without a mention of all the electric scooters coming out on the streets. They have just escaped the limbo of dockless bikeshare. The city passed some laws limiting them, and has issued permits to only two companies (Skip & Scoot). Specifically not any of the companies that originally littered the street with them (Bird, Lime, and Spin). I think part of the reason the scooters popped up here is because of San Francisco limiting normal bikeshare. Normal bikes are faster & cheaper than scooters, and have a lighter carbon footprint. All of these options have their place in the transportation system, and I hope the city allows all these companies to come in and compete, giving us better transportation at a faster rate.

If you want to contact someone about how much you love (or hate) bikeshare and scootershare, perhaps the Director of Transportation in the SMFTA is a good person to ask about these things: ed.reiskin@sfmta.com

Conclusion

As you can see by scrolling through, I think the JUMP Bike is mostly better than the GoBikes, but there are lots of tradeoffs to consider. When it really comes down to it, the most important thing is which bike is available near you. A subscription to the GoBikes goes a long way, but if you’re near a JUMP bike, the bikeshare is still cheaper and/or faster than a rideshare.

And for fans of the electric scooters, check out why I prefer a bicycle over the scooter share. Good luck bikesharing!

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