Lime, the popular bike rental company, had to make a statement that I guarantee no one on their public relations team ever thought they’d have to make: their bikes aren’t for jousting.
No college PR program ever covers case studies on this topic.
However, the folks at Lime found themselves with no other options after a video of two fellas Lime bike jousting in front of a huge crowd in the United Kingdom went viral with millions of views.
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As you may have picked up from the clip, the idea is simple: it’s just like ye old jousting… but on bikes usually rented by tourists and commuters.
It’s not a terrible idea, and clearly there’s an audience. It’s like going to Medieval Times without having to eat mutton with your hands and listen to some theater kid try to maintain an English accent.
Jousting on horseback is soooo 1500s; Lime bike jousting is the wave of the future… even if the company is adamant that that’s not what they’re for. (iStock and USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
According to the BBC, the video was the brainchild of Jack Carden, who said that the video was performance art. Which, by the way, is an awesome defense any time you try to do something stupid.
“No, I wasn’t being dumb or careless when I broke your window with the golf ball; I was trying to Dude Perfect over my garage and into a Solo cup in the driveway. It was performance art, and apparently you don’t understand it.”
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But performance art or not, Lime is not on board with it.
“We always love seeing Londoners come together and build a sense of community in unexpected ways,” a Lime spokesperson said. “While we appreciate the medieval spirit, safety must always come first. Lime bikes are designed for getting around the city, not for jousting. We discourage anyone from attempting similar events to help keep riders and those around them safe.”
A Lime bike, which is an urban mobility device and nothing else (like something you could use to joust your buddy with). (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Alright, so Lime has made their stance on rental bike jousting quite clear: they’re not for it.
Even if it’s probably pretty far down the list of the worst ways people use those bikes.
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I get it. There’s no such thing as bad press, unless that press is “two maimed in Lime bike jousting incident.”
But now the ball is in all other bike-rental companies’ court.
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Seems like a good chance to become the official rental bike of bike jousting.