Wheels App Explained: Features, Costs, and More

What Is Wheels?

Wheels is a rental service for electric bikes and scooters. Available on the Google Play Store and App Store, this app lets you rent fully electric vehicles anywhere in your city.

When renting scooters and other vehicles from Wheels, you can pay per ride or subscribe for unlimited rides throughout the month. The service is available in the following US locations:

• Austin
• Boston
• Honolulu
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• New York
• Orlando

Wheels bikes have been built with safety and comfort in mind. Each bike provides a safe ride, whether you’re a veteran electric vehicle rider or a first-time driver.

In fact, the company behind the app has partnered with a vehicle safety testing and analysis leader, leading to the design of bikes with a low injury rate—one every 74.577 miles.

How Do Wheels Rental Work?

Using Wheels is fairly straightforward. The gist of it is that you have to find the bikes closest to your location and unlock them for personal use.

Once you log in to your account, a simple tap brings up the app’s map, which helps you search for nearby vehicles. When you find an available bike, go to its location.

You first have to unlock it to ride it. To do that, you scan a QR code on the bike’s handlebars.

After unlocking the vehicle, you’re free to ride it around your city.

One of the best qualities of this service is how liberal it is regarding bike returns.

There aren’t any designated parking spots you must return them to. Instead, once your journey ends, you can secure the bike anywhere for the next user to pick it up.

If you’re curious about how other services work, we’ve compiled a list of scooter rental services.

Rentals

As mentioned, Wheels offers long-term rentals, which you can subscribe to monthly.

During the subscription period, the company handles all scooter repairs and maintenance. Unlike the pay-as-you-ride option, Wheels will deliver the vehicle to our doorstep.

The service also provides coverage against theft, though this perk is exclusive to users with a Wheels Club membership.

Additionally, renting long-term gives you unfettered access to Wheels’ support team.

Costs

Presently, Wheels costs $0.38 per minute when you pay-as-you-ride. The amount you pay per trip varies depending on the trip’s distance. Meanwhile, unlocking the bikes and scooters also incurs a $1 charge.

If you opt for long-term rental, the cost starts at $159.99 per month. You can cancel anytime.

Support

If you experience any issues on a trip, you can contact the Wheels Customer Support Team. Their representatives are friendly and usually ready to assist you through difficulties.

For example, when you rent long-term, these reps offer support with maintenance and repairs.

You can also consult the Wheels help center at any time.

Features

Renting a Wheels bike with your smartphone gives you access to the following perks and features:

Build, Weight, Dimensions, Ride Quality

Wheels builds its vehicles to be lightweight. Most bikes typically weigh around 40 lb, which makes them transportable. Where necessary, you can carry them up a flight of stairs without breaking a sweat.

However, this light build doesn’t mean they’re cheaply made—Wheels bikes have sturdy builds.

Regarding dimensions, you’ll find many of the bikes to be 1260mm long and 1240mm high.

Wheels states that its bikes are portable enough to fit in an elevator, an assertion we don’t doubt. Their height also means they have a low center of gravity for better balance.

Most Wheels bikes provide excellent ride quality. Many are equipped with 14-inch fat tire wheels, which cushion the bumps that are typically on uneven terrain. The bike’s seat is padded for comfort.

When you need to rest, a collapsible peg supports the bike while you’re stationary. Meanwhile, thanks to bright headlights that provide good visibility, nighttime rides are safe.

Speed and Brakes

Courtesy of their powerful electric front wheel hub motors, Wheels’ bikes can reach top speeds of up to 18 mph. While there are swifter scooters, the speeds are enough to get you from point A to B on time.

How often you hit the above top speed will vary based on the terrain you’re riding on and the ride angle (upward slopes).

Range and Battery

Wheels bikes provide ranges of up to 30 miles on a single charge. There are longer-range scooters, but the range of these bikes will suffice for trips to and from campus.

What the bikes lack in range, they make up for in battery power. Each lithium-ion 10.5Ah / 491.4Wh battery charges quickly, taking no longer than five hours to reach full juice.

Safety Features

Theft can be a major concern when renting electric vehicles, which is why each Wheels bike has an integrated anti-theft alarm.

This feature, along with a secure QR code-enabled lock, reduces the risk of your rented bike being stolen while you make a stop.

Additionally, each bike has responsive dual disc brakes that bring them to a stop in an emergency.

Technology and Ease of Use

Wheels scooters rely heavily on technology. For example, the app lets you control the bike’s headlights.

You also use its built-in GPS to locate the bike, and its QR code function to lock and unlock it. Each bike also has Bluetooth, which you can connect to and play music while you ride.

You can access real-time drive analytics with each bike’s LCD screen. It provides the data in multiple languages and is a necessary piece of tech for rider safety.

This app is intuitive. First-time users and veterans alike will find it easy to navigate their way to locating a bike or arranging a delivery (long-term rental only).

The app’s user interface isn’t cluttered, while its map is straightforward.

Wheels’ Pros and Cons

Pros of Wheels Scooters

• Riders can park bikes almost anywhere after use
• The app lets drivers track, locate, and unlock the scooters
• Wheels scooters are built well and are lightweight
• Your existing account lets you rent bikes per trip or monthly

Cons of Wheels Scooters

• The app is susceptible to frequent crashes
• You may be overcharged in some cases

Final Thoughts

The Wheels app is an excellent download for anyone who needs bike or scooter mobility on demand.

Its many features and flexible payment options mean there’s plenty to be impressed by, not least the bikes’ built quality, but also thanks to their ease of accessibility and affordable prices.