Remember Dance? In July 2020, the company announced its intention to establish an attractive subscription service for e-bikes. Launched with quite a lot of media coverage, the teaser photos at the time in particular raised high expectations. Now, a good year later, the company is becoming more concrete and is actually launching the service — albeit limited to Berlin and still via a waiting list.

And as already suspected in the post at the time, the actual bike is not quite as minimalist and cool — which is not surprising for a subscription provider. Here, factors such as durability and suitability for everyday use play a much more important role than a clean design. And yet they have tried to find a good compromise between the two worlds. So the e-bike called Dance One is now equipped with practical components such as integrated lighting and a frame lock as well as bicycle stands and wide tyres. Nevertheless, it offers a pretty tidy look — also thanks to the singlespeed drive with hub motor in the rear wheel and a clean as well as low-maintenance belt drive instead of the conventional bicycle chain.

Anti-theft features include an integrated Bluetooth lock that can be operated with a smartphone. And thanks to integrated GPS and Bluetooth technology, members know where their bike is at all times. Nevertheless, the bike should of course be locked to a fixed object for longer parking periods.

The battery is integrated into the down tube, but can easily be removed for charging. At 22 kg, the weight of the bike is not really light — but still lighter than the recently introduced Power 1 subscription bike from Swapfiets.

And while we are on the subject of the competitor from the Netherlands: With Dance, too, the monthly subscription includes not only the e-bike, including delivery to your door, but also a repair and maintenance service that is available within 24 hours. In Berlin – currently Dance’s only location – the monthly membership is 79 euros and can be cancelled at any time. By comparison, Swapfiets charges only 59 euros for the Power 1, but is less visually appealing.

SoDance‘s offer is a welcome addition to the range of e-bikes on subscription and certainly interesting for all those who do not necessarily use a bike all year round or who want to remain as flexible as possible. And the included repair and maintenance service makes such subscription offers even more interesting.