Rental E-Bike Company Tells Customers To Stop 'Jousting'

A performance art piece that took place in London Fields, Hackney in October has drawn millions of views online, and an official comment from Lime.

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Janaki Jitchotvisut

By: Janaki Jitchotvisut

Oct 28, at 9:10am ET

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Artists are motivated by any number of things, but one thing that most share is a desire for public engagement; particularly if it's performance art. After all, if no one's witnessing and reacting to the performance, then what's the point?

New Zealand-based Jack Carden moved to London a bit ago, and in mid-October 2026, staged a public e-bike joust in London Fields, Hackney. While plenty of people showed up live to watch (and film) the event, it's received millions of views from around the world because naturally, the Internet was made for videos like these to spread like wildfire.

Both participants came in full armor, but it's clear from everything you can see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears that absolutely no one is meant to take any of this seriously. It's all a gigantic joke, and sometimes, all you really need is a shared sense of camaraderie with a whole bunch of people you don't know out in public somewhere. I mean, isn't that what sports and parades are supposedly about?

Nevertheless, the BBC reported that following the viral spread of videos from this event, a Lime spokesperson reportedly rained directly on this particular parade and said, "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."

And, I mean, on one hand, you probably expect any company that's worried about potential lawsuits to say that, right? If you've been alive and conscious for more than a few minutes, I'd imagine that you do. While there's a certain kneejerk urge to go "what, don't you believe in fun?" in response, it's not difficult to see where they're coming from, whether you agree with it or not. Company says don't use Company's products in ways it never intended. News at 11.

Still, other news organizations took it in a different direction, like The Guardian utilizing this as an opportunity to explore all the ways in which The Youths want to get medieval all over again in 2026. Or something. (One wonders if they've never heard of the concept of renaissance faires, which have been going on since before I myself was A Youth and are still going on today?)

What do you think?

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Comments

Here's where we also state that RideApart's Editor-in-Chief also did this but with bicycles, hockey armor, and bamboo poles when he was a Youth, too. His ribs still hurt. So...

It's all a bit of silly good fun, and I think it's highly unlikely that there's going to be a sudden rash of e-bike jousting clubs popping off all over the UK (or elsewhere, for that matter), like so many pickleball courts suddenly sprouting from the earth like mushrooms after a steady week of rain. Lime probably felt obligated to say something as a sort of CYA, and everyone's had a good laugh at people doing silly things for fun and video content, and (at least as far as we know) no one got hurt. I don't know, but I think I'd call that a win, and a call back to a more fun time on the Internet. Honestly, it's kind of nice to see.