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Mothership Could Be the Ultimate Downsized and Mobile E-Bike Business Model

Let's face it, tiny living is really taking off. However, there's more to this lifestyle than meets the eye. For example, check out what this European manufacturer is doing as a "tiny" side gig.
Tiny Bikkla 8 photos
Photo: Eco Tiny House
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Folks, the structure you have before you is known as Tiny Bikkla, a mobile container-home unit that brings new life to downsizing. Coming from the hands of a Romanian tiny home manufacturer, Eco Tiny House, this mobile unit is actually a living, breathing business.

If you're unaware of the bicycle culture that's unfurling in the Carpathian mountains, all I can say is that it's getting big, really big. Heck, even Red Bull has pulled some shots and videos in those mountains. Something like this was bound to happen.

Completed in collaboration with Bikkla, a bicycle rental service found deep in the mountains of Transylvania, this business model seems to be hitting the sweet spot in terms of giving its customers what they want when they want it. After all, it's a mobile rental service; what more could you want?

Now, Tiny Bikkla also goes by another name, Mothership. Looking closely at the images in the gallery, you can figure out why; it's like a spider's egg sack filled with e-bikes.

Tiny Bikkla
Photo: Eco Tiny House
Overall, Mothership offers 12.9 sq m (139 sq ft) of floor space, yielded by a width of 2.52 m (8.3 ft) and a length of 6.1 m (29 ft). Typically, this tiny home manufacturer goes through great lengths to create a year-round mobile home, but seeing how this unit is mainly used to transport bikes, I'm not sure the heated floors and 3 in (7.6 cm) of insulation are necessary.

Looking closely at the construction, the crew still needed to use peak building techniques and materials, as Mothership is open to quite the amount of abuse and dirt: it's home to dirt-covered, muddy-water-dripping, rentable machines.

The unit's interior is set up rather simply, nothing more than some shelves and storage boxes. Considering the nature of the business, storage is most likely used for gear such as helmets, gloves, vests, and repair tools. There's also space to include things like a desk for a POS.

The main photo of this piece reveals several bikes set up in front of the trailer. Looking closely at the image, you'll notice that the bikes are actually sitting on top of a lowered wall. While the interior is nice and all and can be accessed by a lateral door, it's an entire wall of Mothership that reveals this unit's true glory.

Tiny Bikkla
Photo: Eco Tiny House
That's right, folks, an entire wall can be lowered and used as a platform to reveal one heck of an entrance. Here's an idea, why not pick up a Mothership of your own and set up one heck of a mobile café. Just think about it. Not into cafes? Why not set up a mobile restaurant? I don't feel I'm throwing any new ideas at ya. I know, why not a mobile e-bike rental shop? Wink wink.

Let's say you're into some of the ideas I just enumerated; if that's the case, you should know that Eco Tiny House is selling Motherships for no less than 48,000 EUR (54,232 USD at current exchange rates).

However, there's a catch. For that price, it seems as though you're actually buying into the Bikkla franchise. This means you'll also be furnished with 12 bikes, spare parts for a year, and hardware and software to run an entire business. The crew also takes care of any advertising you may need. Sounds like they do things a bit differently out in Europe.

While it's not a mobile home, it's still a unit that shows just how far the whole "tiny" movement can go. I wonder what businesses we'll be seeing handled out of mobile units in the future.
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About the author: Cristian Curmei
Cristian Curmei profile photo

A bit of a nomad at heart (being born in Europe and raised in several places in the USA), Cristian is enamored with travel trailers, campers and bikes. He also tests and writes about urban means of transportation like scooters, mopeds and e-bikes (when he's not busy hosting our video stories and guides).
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