A bicycle is a simple asset. From time to time people want to hire one. Especially if you live somewhere with great bike paths or popular off-road mountain bike routes.
But not everyone wants to go to the expense of owning a bike. Or the hassle of taking their bike on holiday. So there is a thriving market for bike hire. And with the rise in popularity of cycling and the availability of e-bikes this is growing.
For a few thousand pounds you can buy an electric mountain bike.
Currently these rent for roughly £50 a day.
At, say, £3,000 to buy, you would need to rent it for 60 days to get your money back. That should be fairly easy to do in a year. Hire the same bike for a second year and you make a profit. Sell the bike at the end of the second year and you should realise 50% of the purchase price. So the asset that cost you £3,000 has paid you back about £7,500 in two years.
OK, so that is a hugely simplified example, but you get the point?