BIKETOWNpdx Reviews

by LyftBiketownBlows

When Lyft took over BIKETOWN they robbed my acct of 100 dollars. I had all the screenshots called them repeatedly, sent all the screenshots, receipts etc. They continually gave me the run around, which never happened before Lyft took over, said they’d email me about it, never happened; said they’d call in 24hrs twice, never happened, twice; said it’d take 5-7 business days, well here we are 1.5 MONTHS later. I liked the old bikes because it was a bike like an actual bike that provided you exercise. These electric bikes defeat the purpose and I’m a yearly member and THEY TOOK AWAY THE FREE 1.5 hrs a day if you’re a yearly member. The pricing is horrendous and way overly priced. Lyft ruined biketown, I’m just going to get a regular bike now, don’t waste your money or time on these “bikes.” This isn’t going to last long anyway so don’t buy a membership either, they’ll definitely ghost with your money too when this expensive new bs flops.

by Tayv98

So I brought my friends down to visit Portland and ride bikes and it took an hour until we finally gave up because, they froze ALL of our accounts upon making them and then when I called and wait 20 minutes on hold each time they hung up on me. Overall a horrible experience, awesome concept but not worth wasting your time for unfreezing your accounts when they shouldn’t be froze 🙄

by Rigga

I went to add funds, and initially I got no error but was sent back to the map screen. I tried to do it again and it said I can’t add money because I have an unpaid bill. It made me login again on your mobile web page, and it appears the “unpaid” charge was the order I just tried to execute to add funds. I tried to pay that “bill,” and the only option to do so is to use the current card on file, which is outdated. It’s a mess and preventing to be able to use the service. I have enjoyed the service when I have been able to use it. Update: contacted support, received a notification that they replied, can’t find the message anywhere 🤦‍♂️

by Dj Spin Monkey

I love the idea of bike sharing, and was excited to sign up and try it out. The sign up and registration was pretty clunky, with lots of long loading screens and unresponsive UI, but oh well, you only have to sign up once, right? Maybe using the actual app would be better. (Narrator: "It was not better.") I spent twenty minutes trying to unlock a bike -- I tried doing it on the bike itself, I tried reserving a bike on BIKETOWNpdx first, I tried everything I could think of, and in the end I just took the bus. Unfortunately, I foolishly preloaded some bike time on my account, so between that and the setup fee, I'm out $25. Pretty frustrating experience. I would not recommend BIKETOWNpdx to anybody.

by Mabuh

I’ve had a problem for weeks now where I receive an error message saying “please try again later” whether trying to scan the bike QR or reserve online. I’ve tried contacting customer service about this, but every time I do I get forwarded to a new person who clearly hasn’t read my email and just states that I should already do what I’ve been doing. At this point I’m just exhausted with trying the non-functioning app and typing out the issue explanation for your “help” group to not read, really terrible customer service and overall experience.

by Telivision Lover.

Absolutely ruined BIKETOWNpdx . I used to use BIKETOWN very regularly and will now stop since the changes you have made. You all got greedy and now have to pay much more than you did previously. I originally had the monthly plan, but you’ve now stopped that and are only allowing annually or by ride. Previously you used to be able to pay a monthly fee and then have a certain amount of free time each day without being charged. But now either way you have to pay to unlock a bike and for every minute you use the bike. I’m very disappointed.

by GeologyPete

The interface is slow and clunky - very old school too. Nothing close to “scan and ride”. You have to enter your account # and then your pin and who’s gonna remember that with 97 other apps we use?!

Then I find out my bike I picked up was on the very edge of the system map (because of course I know what the system map looks like in my head as a first time user). I rode along the bike path for exactly 1.36 miles - yes the very well used bike path along the river - which is not in the system map. $10 out of zone fee. Thanks for the bad experience - I’ll not be using this again anytime soon.

by Hshsvskdbsbd

I have the Jump bike app, which obviously runs off the same system, so the BIKETOWN app first wouldn’t let me use my primary email to sign up, nor would it let me use that account on the bike. I then set up another account with the same information yet a different email. I used this and rode the bike to a location. When I tried to ride the bike again it said I didn’t have an account with BIKETOWN.

by Blllaaazed

BIKETOWNpdx takes a few minutes to load when I restart it. It would be more convenient if it worked closer to 100% of the time, rather than about half.. Also the bikes can be REALLY frustrating. It would have been much quicker for me to walk the mile rather than to try my account # in 3 different bikes, and then finally enter my pin into a keyboard which works. Many of the bikes have a couple keys that don’t work, however occasionally when they do it’ll double click the number:/ I’ll still recommend a Nike Bike to a friend, except other cities have it with less of a struggle.. patiently waiting for improvements 😊🚲

by Nate-mole-

Our family (4) all went and rented bikes to ride along the river. We each signed up and paid a $5 additional set up fee. We then rode south down the river on Portlands beautiful bike path. We stopped for lunch in Sellwood and put our bikes on Hold. Hold only lasts 30mins but we didn’t know that we were out of the bikes “city Limits” which is a 10$ additional fee. We then had to unlock our bikes again and go back up north to our original hub station. Total cost for 2 hours of bike riding (an hour each way is suppose to be only $4.80) = $24.6

by KHASL

Listen, I used to adore the bikeshare bikes! Yes it had its frustrations - the keypad, ghost bikes - but I figured out how to make it work. What a dream to cruise around Portland streets on those bikes. It kept me sane in the winter. The price point was reasonable.

I like riding bikes for the physical exertion. I want it to be exercise. E-bikes totally eliminate the joy of riding a bicycle. I can’t choose which gear, and I do no work. I just mindlessly rotate the wheels like a hampster. Okay, fine, going up a hill on it is fun. But it would be great if a rider had some manual control over speed and exertion.

I guess e-bikes are for lazy people and I’m a Luddite. The new app has no legend to tell users what is what on the system map. It’s like they want it to fail. What a shame.

by Cactushackedus

Keypads on bikes are very difficult to use (require very firm presses, can’t enter numbers too quickly), especially compared with scan&ride scooters.

Going up hills with these heavy bikes is also a doozy.

Overall, pricing is reasonable but BIKETOWNpdx needs some serious TLC. I would like to at least use Apple Wallet to enter my account number and unlock a bike.

by JAy564828

Someone hacked my account and was able to use it multiple times without me getting alerted, when i tried to use it for the first time it required email confirmation though?

by Restless Road Trip

These are 60 lb bikes, PDX is hilly. If you’re traveling any more than a mile, or going over a bridge expect a serious workout when you’re headed up hill. My prior experience with bike rentals was with pedal assist bikes that were about the same cost and built much better for hilly areas.

by Capnbsa

Account management is difficult - I had to make another account despite having an account with the parent company Social Bicycles in other regions. There are some small UI things that need fixing as well - the login/signup bar is partly obscured by the top bar and the map should center on the users location after they log in. I love bikesharing but BIKETOWNpdx could use some improvement.

by Chelseagc

I'm writing this hoping BIKETOWNpdx designers read it. The fact that you can't see the system map when you're actively riding or have a bike checked out seems very ineffective. I was riding a bike and went to BIKETOWNpdx to see where closest hub was but it only showed where I was on the map. No hubs or stations or any other details it usually shows. I had to basically roam around to find one in the area I was in. Please fix!

by IHate ITunes

I wish BIKETOWNpdx put the basics right up front. Where's the nearest bike stand? What's my id and pin? It seems like I always have to hunt for these two most important thing, floundering through all the screens of other things I never use. Blame the user, I know...

And why can't I update my CC number in BIKETOWNpdx ?? I got a email message about an old CC from some place I never heard of. Like I'm going to just log in to some email. :-(

by Naito PDX

Great overall, but lots of bike maintenance issues. I always report any issues in hopes that the bikes actually get fixed.

by JonesGalFriday

Super fun! I haven't ridden a bike for years, but for 2 bucks I was compelled to hop on. I logged a 2.36 mile bike ride in 30 minutes. Felt great! Cons: Because of the newness, be prepared to answer lots of questions by people on the street (and to be polite, you can't say "sorry, I'm paying for this bike by the minute, can't talk!" Also you can't rent 2 bikes at once on one person's app. My husband's minutes were ticking away as I had to pull out my own phone to download BIKETOWNpdx , set up my own account, enter credit card, etc. That was a drag!

by Shud D

It was our first time in Portland and we love taking our bikes out to ride along the river. I'll definitely be using it again.

by Upd8ed

Compare to OFO I used in Washington DC this is extremely expensive and difficult to use. Bikes in DC cost $1/hr. While these here in Portland cost $6/hr. Plus you have to pre-charge the account before you can even rent the bike. This is pretty stupid. Brings me back in time. Not very user friendly.

by Kurrmonster

Such a great simple experience.
BIKETOWNpdx makes it simple for last minute adventures. I really needed a simple adventure out. Spent $5 to cruise a beautiful 6 miles down the waterfront. Simple pleasant and enjoyed