The exercise bikes in McDonald’s China are real — but they are not for working out

McDonald’s China has explained the reason behind installing trainer-like bikes in two of their outlets in the country.

Last week, in a widely circulated TikTok video, customers were seen sitting on a table shaped like an exercise bike as they ate a burger or took a sip of their soft drink, all while trying to burn off some of the calories they were consuming.

The video was shared multiple times on the platform with millions of views and one seen over 33 million times.

On Wednesday (22 December), the fast-food chain issued a statement explaining: “The Green Charging Bike is an in-restaurant experience, currently being tested at two locations in China, that is designed to inspire more green behaviours as customers enjoy their McDonald’s favourites.”

“The bike generates electricity to power everyday devices like mobile phones and is a part of McDonald’s China’s ‘Upcycle for Good’ project,” the statement read. “ [It is] an initiative focused on creating products with plastic parts from recycled materials.”

The company also revealed that the Green Charging bikes are installed in two locations in China. The first one is at McDonald’s Jieyang Wanda Restaurant in Guangdong Province, and the second one is at the New Hualian Restaurant location in Shanghai.

McDonald’s is currently monitoring customer feedback of the bikes to decide whether they should expand it to other outlets throughout China.

In other news, McDonald’s in Japan is experiencing a shortage of the fast-food chain’s famous French fries due to shipping delays.

“McDonald’s Japan will temporarily limit sales of Medium- and Large-sized French Fries as a proactive measure to ensure customers can continue to enjoy McDonald’s French Fries,” the company told the BBC.

“Customers will still be able to order Small-sized French Fries at all of our restaurants. To date, there have been no breaks in supply.”