Spinning out of China: Mobike gets first reviews from Manchester

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Europe

Mobike, one of China's fastest growing bike-sharing companies, launched in Manchester and Salford, the UK, the company's first venture beyond Asia.

Two weeks after launching in the UK with a fleet of 1,000 bikes, the first customer reviews have started coming in on social media.

Feedback from Brits has been mostly positive, with users praising the price and convenience in a country where bike-sharing remains comparatively unpopular.

Screen of review to Mobike on Twitter.

Screenshot of a tweet sharing about Mobike try-on experience.

Screenshot of a tweet about Mobike try-on experience.

Screenshot of a tweet sharing about Mobike first try-on experience.

Screenshot of a tweet sharing about Mobike try-on experience.

The Manchester/Salford launch has been seen as an attempt by Mobike to test the waters in a European market.

It comes after the company already made inroads into Japan and Singapore.

A man's riding on a Mobike. /VCG Photo

While bike-sharing hasn't exactly exploded in the UK, it's not a new concept in the West.

At least 550 European cities operate bike-sharing services, but most of them are traditional bikes that have to be locked in docking stations, restricting where users can pick up and drop off.

Mobike on the other hand is a dockless model which combines the Internet, smartphones and the Internet of Things to create a more flexible model.

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