ROWS of golden bikes were spotted in front of the exits of Metro stations, prompting heated discussion among Shenzhen residents in recent days. These app-based bikes are eye-catching not only because of their shiny golden appearance, but also due to the many new functions they feature.

Apart from the normal code-scanning function for unlocking the bikes, the bikes also feature functions such as intelligent seat-adjusting, phone-charging and voice-controlled locks.

The operator of the smart bikes, a company known as Coolqi.com, officially launched the bikes in five cities, namely Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Xi’an, on Wednesday.

The golden bikes have caused many pedestrians to stop to take pictures, though there are not as many of these bikes as their competitors in the market.

The method for using the Coolqi bikes is similar to the others, but users need to make a larger deposit of 298 yuan (US$43.84) to the company. The app requires real-name registration with a prospective user’s ID card number and phone number.

Unlike many bikes, the Coolqi bikes can charge smartphones. A stand is installed on the bike to provide charging modes for all kinds of smart phones as well as to support to phone’s GPS function.

Users will be required to turn on their phone’s Bluetooth in order to initiate the voice-control function. It was explained that this intelligent function can report the weather forecast and other information such as traffic rule warnings.

Additionally, the seats can be adjusted based on a user’s height. Users just need to enter their height into the app and the bike will adjust the seat automatically. The data is saved in the system and every bike the user unlocks will adjust the seat automatically.

Apple smartphones, however, do not support the seat-adjusting function because of some technology issues, a person in charge of the bikes said.

According to the price information printed on the golden bikes, the charge is 1.5 yuan for every 30 minutes.(Zhang Qian)