Features / cycling
Test riding Bristol’s new TIER e-bikes
The wind whistled through my hair as I pedalled up the steady incline of Bishop Road, navigating through the car-ridden streets of Henleaze and onto the open stretches of the Downs.
Today was the first day of Bristol’s latest electric bicycle hire scheme and I was enjoying trying them out for the first time.
The new fleet of 500 bikes has been deployed from TIER, the company that took over Voi’s e-scooter contract in October.
is needed now More than ever
TIER said Bristol would be getting e-bikes as part of its takeover of the city back in June so I have been waiting patiently for this day to come for some weeks. E-cargo bikes are coming to Bristol “soon”, the micro-mobility provider promised in a recent press release.
I test rode the new e-bikes on the first day of the scheme – photo: Gill Woolerton
Aside from the bike’s technicalities, my main takeaway from the ride was that e-bikes are enormous fun. It was my first time riding one and it was truly exhilarating barely getting out of breath (and reaching a heady speed of 25kmph) while traversing Bristol’s hills.
On board, the bike itself is basic and feels cumbersome. Probably like most cheap e-bikes, the motor power comes with a sudden jolt when you set off and when you reach its maximum power it feels quite jerky. My first corner was a hairy moment as I wasn’t used to that kind of power but, after a few minutes, I soon got the hang of the vehicle’s intricacies.
I easily raised the saddle (which stayed in place the whole journey) and the brakes feel powerful enough to reign in speed when you need. There’s also a useful, albeit small, basket at the front as well as mudguards, a stand and a phone holder that worked well for my iPhone (although I did have to remove my case for it to fit). I also struggled flicking back the stand as the bike was so heavy.
The journey cost £9.79, with 39 minutes of cycling and a 20-minute ‘pause’. To me, that seemed expensive, although a shorter journey of around 15 minutes would have been more affordable – a few pounds.
(E-scooters and e-bikes cost 99p to unlock and then 16p per minute. There is also a range of passes to choose from including a long-term rental scheme where users have access to their own e-scooter for a monthly fee of £40).
The is clear need to improve distribution from a glance at the app’s map – image: TIER
TIER’s arrival into the city hasn’t been a smooth ride. Admittedly, it had a tough job taking over from the much-loved Voi but it has faced a barrage of criticism for problems with its e-scooters including their stand and poor distribution.
Key to the scheme’s success is that bikes are spread evenly across the city and everyone can access one easily – whether you live in Hartcliffe or Hotwells.
Setting off from Bristol24/7’s office at Future Leap in Gloucester Road, I had to walk 15 minutes to get to the nearest bike. That’s fine, but at the same time, I could count on a single hand the number parked south of the river.
Hopefully, these are just teething issues and TIER will get distribution right. I can’t say I’m optimistic though. Looking at the app as I write, there are more than 1,000 bikes and scooters parked in BS1 and just a few hundred scattered around the rest of the city.
Despite some clear and quite urgent issues around accessibility, it can only be a good thing to provide more active travel options to people in Bristol and ultimately coax people out of their cars.
We will just have to hope the e-bikes are treated with respect, unlike the city’s last bike hire scheme from Big Issue which was pulled due to “unprecedented vandalism”.
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
Read next:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
