Wheels e-bike rentals now come with shareable helmet

Scooter- and bike-share companies have been trying to get riders to protect their noggins for some time. 

They’ve tried just about everything to get riders to fall in line, short of forcing a helmet on everyone’s heads. But instead of incentives like discounted rides, digital gold stars, and even free helmet giveaways, one Southern California electric bike-share company is now putting the helmet directly on the bike. Your excuse that you don’t have a helmet won’t work anymore.

Wheels rents out e-bikes that look like a mix between a bicycle and a seated scooter with funky 14-inch wheels, a tall cushioned seat, and small foot pegs instead of pedals. Starting Tuesday, Wheels added a compartment above the back wheel that houses an adjustable helmet. It comes free with your rental. To get people used to borrowing a helmet for their rides, Wheels is giving 20 percent off for unlocking the helmet and putting it on your friggin’ head. 

We know what you’re going to say: gross. But Wheels has 30 biodegradable liners in each helmet so that each rider rips off the top layer for a new layer of head protection. Workers that come to swap out low batteries on the bikes will also check the liner level. If a helmet is running low or empty, a new package of 30 will be attached to the helmet. In this video you can see how ripping out the liners works:

Wheels isn’t the first (or last) company to tackle helmet use. As studies keep popping up showing that riding small electric vehicles like scooters leads to more head and other serious injuries, everyone’s trying to make helmet use as second-nature as buckling your seat belt in a car. It’s just ironic that companies like scooter-share Bird lobbied states like California to eliminate age-based requirements for helmets on scooters. Surprise, surprise, no one is wearing helmets. In fact, a JAMA study at the start of the year found “helmet compliance” in SoCal (where Wheels is based) was only about 4 percent.

So how does the built-in helmet work? Riders who reserve and unlock a bike can also use the app to unlock the helmet from its container. Sensors in the bike know if the helmet is removed and if it’s been returned to its spot on the back fender. You can’t unlock a helmet without booking a ride on one of the devices.

For those bad actors out there who are definitely going to snatch a free helmet and not return it, there is a charge to replace the helmets. It’s linked to whomever’s account rented the e-bike.

Whatever the risks, this is one less excuse to ride helmet-less.