How bike-share companies protect their fleet against vandalism, abuse

It can be tough out there as a bicycle in a bike-share fleet, endlessly unlocked via an app, pedaled around   and then left behind before the whole process repeats itself.

The companies behind the growing trend of bike-sharing optimize the vehicles for high frequency use — but on top of that, the bikes need even more protection from vandals.

The shared bikes get used a lot more than your average bicycle, so durability is an issue on top of any tampering. Bike-share company Ofo has logged more than 32 million rides globally. Jump bikes, the red e-bike-share Uber recently acquired, have about six trips every day per bicycle in San Francisco. The average bike trip is just over a half mile.  Read more...