Looking for input on a buisness venture I am considering

Would you rent an e bike at a port you are visiting

  • Would not use

    Votes: 4 16.7%
  • People who want that option prefer to own it

    Votes: 2 8.3%
  • Would use it for a day

    Votes: 16 66.7%
  • Would rent one for an extended time 3 days to a week

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Total voters
    24

Handsome Transom

Active Member
Jan 26, 2018
563
Penetanguishene Ontario Canada
Boat Info
1989 SeaRay Sundancer 268 454 Bravo
Engines
454 Mercruiser bravo drive
Being in a premier boating destination I am considering an idea to purchase a small fleet of e bikes as rentals . I can serve at least 6 local marinas within 10 miles. Two of those are municipal. I can make delivery of the bikes on a prearranged date to any of them which would keep my fleet size smaller and avoid having bikes sitting at any one of them not making money. I will likely only stock the folding models so that folks can bring them on board for the duration of their time cruising I the area and have ready transport when they are at a port.
Would anyone rent them?
Would enough people rent them to make it viable?
What price point would be acceptable and make it an attractive option for people.
Looking for honest responses from the community to guage interest and viability
Thanks in advance
Dave
 
I might rent it once to determine if it was a viable solution. If I found it useful, I would then likely go out and buy one for myself. In that sense you would effectively be renting out a test drive. Obviously I don't speak for others, but I'm betting there are others who would be a one-hit pony as well.
 
I would rent them for 15 bucks a day or maybe 50 bucks a week. I think it’s a cool idea
 
I would rent them for 15 bucks a day or maybe 50 bucks a week. I think it’s a cool idea
At that price it would not be viable , i was thinking 150 per week or 45 a day so pretty far apart there, they cost similar to a kevlar canoe and you wont find one of those for 15 bucks a day anywhere
 
I've thought a good bit about transportation when making trips. My wife has a disability that significantly limits her ability to walk distances. But, she can ride a bike. A regular bike is hard now but we got her an ebike that lets her keep up with the rest of us.

Taking a couple or 4 bikes on our boat would be difficult. Especially the full size ebike because it's heavy. If we could go somewhere and have a set of bikes ready that would enable her to get around I'd be in, and it would encourage me to go to that place.

Price - I don't know. But there's a use case for you.
 
The e-bike and e-scooter market seems to be dominated by Lime, Tier, Uber, etc. their model is to offer dockless, one way rentals for pennies per minute. They have huge fleets in cities that allow it, and users rely on there being a bike available wherever, whenever they want one.

Your model might work, but I can’t see entering this market unless you can saturate it enough to get economies of scale that make it work. Or, if you already own a shop that sells and services these bikes, you could buy at wholesale and service at cost.

Not a business I would start, but I have rented e-scooters a handful of times in cities in the US and Europe. I’m a fan of the current rent (almost) anywhere and drop off (almost) anywhere model.
 
I'd probably rent one but for our use we are only in a port for a day or maybe two. It would be a nice option instead of walking to the stores to get provisions.

I don't know about the economies of the deal. $45 per day sounds a bit on the high side but perhaps you could offer a deal of some sort on renting two for a day.

The problem when the daily charges get too high you'd be running up against Uber or Lyft.

If you undertake this venture, my best to you. I like to see entrepreneurs succeed when they stick their neck out.
 
I'd probably rent one but for our use we are only in a port for a day or maybe two. It would be a nice option instead of walking to the stores to get provisions.

I don't know about the economies of the deal. $45 per day sounds a bit on the high side but perhaps you could offer a deal of some sort on renting two for a day.

The problem when the daily charges get too high you'd be running up against Uber or Lyft.

If you undertake this venture, my best to you. I like to see entrepreneurs succeed when they stick their neck out.
 
My wife and I are boating now while we still have all of our faculties. I wouldn't want to lose them whilst riding an electric scooter. No hate, just self preservation.

Jaybeaux
 
My wife and I are boating now while we still have all of our faculties. I wouldn't want to lose them whilst riding an electric scooter. No hate, just self preservation.

Jaybeaux
Scooters, no. Bikes, yes.
 
I'd probably rent one but for our use we are only in a port for a day or maybe two. It would be a nice option instead of walking to the stores to get provisions.

I don't know about the economies of the deal. $45 per day sounds a bit on the high side but perhaps you could offer a deal of some sort on renting two for a day.

The problem when the daily charges get too high you'd be running up against Uber or Lyft.

If you undertake this venture, my best to you. I like to see entrepreneurs succeed when they stick their neck out.
There are mo such rentals here now , uber et al because there us not the population to support it , the cities and towns here around southern Georgian bay are population 20000 and less . So no worries about the big guys any time soon
 
I think it’s a great idea, and I’d rent 2 for multiple days. You also might want to consider non-e bikes, too. That way you’ve got an option for the renter. We have a couple of businesses we use when in Greenport and Watch Hill. They drop off at the marina we’re visiting and then pickup when we’re done using the bikes. In other ports, we have goto bike/rental shops we use.
 
One of the problems being, at that price point, one could go to Walmart and buy a cruiser bike cheaper than 150 and throw it away at the end of the week if they were so inclined and still save money. Not trying to rain on your parade, but the price point won't work. IMHO
 
Different part of the world - but just a comparison of pricing.

Was at a marina the other day.

2 options:
Free bikes (they were kind of older, single speeds)
Upgrade to a newish nicer bike, $15 a day
 
My wife and I are boating now while we still have all of our faculties. I wouldn't want to lose them whilst riding an electric scooter. No hate, just self preservation.

Jaybeaux

Don't be worried, you are right. When I was waiting for my transplant my doctors referred to motorcycles as organ generators. Since the crush velocity of the human noggin is something like 15 mph, helmetless bike riders are in the same category.

And that's the segue to HT. How are you going to ensure users are using helmets? I'm not sure about the tort climate in Canada, but would recommend you make sure you have mountains of both liability insurance, as well as litigation coverage (for costs of defending baseless legal action) since you can't prevent stupid.

H
 
Last edited:
Don't be worried, you are right. When I was waiting for my transplant my doctors referred to motorcycles as organ generators. Since the crush velocity of the human noggin is something like 15 mph, helmetless bike riders are in the same category.

And that's the segue to HT. How are you going to ensure users are using helmets? I'm not sure about the tort climate in Canada, but would recommend you make sure you have mountains of both liability insurance, as well as litigation coverage (for costs of defending baseless legal action) since you can't prevent stupid.

H
It is not as bad here for baseless claims a d I would definetly make helmet use a requisite as part if the contract. It is the law here for e bikes , there will also be a waiver to exclude all claims arising because of injury and a legal insurance policy for my protection,
 
One of the problems being, at that price point, one could go to Walmart and buy a cruiser bike cheaper than 150 and throw it away at the end of the week if they were so inclined and still save money. Not trying to rain on your parade, but the price point won't work. IMHO
It us not a Walmart bike I will be renting but a fat tire electric assist so I don't see that as comparable.
 
My thoughts...

Marinas should provide a low-cost / free solution for transportation. Most of the ones I've traveled to have a loaner car or bikes.

From a business perspective, it seems like a lot of potential headaches with little upside....Repairs / flat tires / rust / theft / I would think most things would have to go very right to make money. How many do you think you could rent a day? 10? 5? 40?
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,950
Messages
1,422,861
Members
60,932
Latest member
juliediane
Back
Top