buzzman

I've already seen them on the streets. I've seen the parking stations all over.


And the New York Times seems to be predicting a bit of sound and fury with their arrival.

hotbike

I made up some fake "CitiBike" logo stickers , and put them on my Lowrider. Geez, people are dumb. Most people never heard of the Citibike rental program. About forty percent of people never even heard of CitiBANK!
I have since removed of covered over the stickers. Thought I'd try to promote or publicize the program.

EBikeFL 

Is that an old CRT monitor (Apple) you painted on the front of that bicycle?

I-Like-To-Bike

Any pictures of the bikes, with a rider, on the street?

hotbike

Yes, and it saved the effort of casting a new Fairing from raw Fiberglass, like the one in my Avatar, which took 300 hours to build.

EBikeFL 

Nice!

umazuki

Hmm. I see Chicago is getting a new bikeshare program, "Divvy". Don't we already have some bikeshare stations? And why isn't there any outcry about it like in New York? (maybe there is and we just don't know about it yet)

buzzman

I'll see what I can do this week. Saw about 10 riders crossing over from Brooklyn to Manhattan at the foot of the Manahttan Bridge. The bikes are similar to the ones we now have in Boston and to the ones I rode in London a couple of years ago.

An interesting foot note to seeing the riders. There had just been a fender bender accident at the intersection that leads to the bridge and there was a cop directing traffic. One of the cars involved in the accident was slightly blocking the curb cut to the ramp up the bridge. All the other NYC cyclists simply slipped around the car and through the narrow space available. But the Citibikers were deeply affronted by this offense and one of the women in the group rode out into the middle of the street to the officer and demanded that the car be moved.

The type of riders and the sheer volume of these bikes is going to alter the landscape for sure. Some for the better and some for, well, we'll see...

shopan

Divvy is is the First and Only Share program in Chicago...They plan on being open by the 14th and the stations should be getting out Soon...What we have at the moment are Bike Rentals... https://divvybikes.com/

saxdiva

And... Dorothy Rabinowitz is livid about it (link opens a WSJ video).

I don't think I could make up anything more ridiculous.

vol

Very funny!

lostarchitect 

They're everywhere--is there something you're implying here? I'll get one or two when I go to lunch if I remember.

buzzman

ILTB posed that query prior to the actual start of the program. This is an old thread of mine that got resurrected. I started this thread as the stations were being installed but prior to the actual bike program starting. I've posted pictures of them in use in another thread.

I-Like-To-Bike

No to your question. See Buzzman's post.

Yes, post some pictures.

hotbike

Sorry for the Delay! Here are photos from last week.




The steel wedge is a docking cleat, which the electronic lock locks to.


I brought my own bungee cords, to secure my water bottle to the rack:

hotbike

The card slot , and the coloured lights:

vol

Thanks. The front rack is too pitiful. Maybe to prevent people from carrying their pets?

lostarchitect 

I was outside for about 10 minutes and saw 3 or 4 people on citibikes, but I was only quick enough to get my phone out to snap one picture. This was in Tribeca. This lady seems to have brought her helmet, as well. Also, I agree the racks kinda stink compared to ones I have seen in photos of the system in other cities, but you can see here exactly what they are intended for: a purse or briefcase. I would prefer they could fit a grocery bag or two.

hotbike

The Rack is not a Basket, it has a bottom and a front, but no sides. I think there are two reasons for this, 1) there will not be an accumulation of garbage inside the Basket, 2) a briefcase may extend out the sides, whereas it would not fit in a Basket.

The Rack seems to be sturdy and well built. There are metal studs on the front, where you can hook your Bungee Cords.
The built in Bungee Cord is secured, so it can NOT be removed from the Bike.
I advise bringing a small bungee, to hold your water-bottle.

spare_wheel

I've never understood why cyclists who already own bikes get so excited about bike share. I can't think of a single occasion where I would ever use one of these things other than as a tourist.

vol

I guess the designers wouldn't like the idea of the bike being used as a utility vehicle--imagine loading 5 bags of grocery items. It's meant more to get from Point A to Point B.
(For heavy grocery shopping, please take the cab. )

buzzman

My enthusiasm for the program is on several fronts.

Personally, while I own several bikes, one of which is a folder almost specifically for the purpose of having a bike when I travel, which I do frequently for work, I will probably use them in NYC and other cities. My home base is Boston but I come into NYC regularly, some times for several months at a time and sometimes just for the day. When I am here for an extended period, as I am now, I prefer having my own bike.

But there are many times when I take the train from Boston and have a day of work in the city and then am right back on the train to go home. Not dealing with my folder on a crowded Amtrak train will come as a relief for me. And dealing with a bike in Manhattan can be a hassle. Locking it, finding somewhere to lock it, worrying about it while you're in a meeting are all hassles I could often do without on a day trip. And many people commute into the city on a daily basis via train, bus, ferry etc and still have a bit of a trek once they arrive in Manhattan. It's nice to step off the commuter train and pick up a bike for the final leg of your commute.

And living here and owning a bike for fast recreational rides out of town or in the park and having another bike for commuting and transport is a luxury many people cannot afford due to space concerns. The Citibike will allow many riders, who currently use really nice bikes for the dual purpose of commuting and recreation to leave the nice bike at home for the short 5 mile ride downtown to work or to go out for an evening.

Also, when I'm here for extended periods my wife comes to visit. This saves us the hassle of dealing with another bike for her. Now I can give her the folder and ride a Citibike to our destinations.

I had some work in London a couple of years ago and, though I've brought my folder overseas several times, I didn't bring my bike. Yes, I used the Barclay (Boris) bikes at times like a "tourist" but they were my transportion while I was in the city.

Finally, I like it because its more people on bikes and I am of the mind that more bikes makes for a better urban environment for too many reasons to list here.

lostarchitect 

I don't see the downside to having more people on bikes. Additionally, I think I will sign up for a membership so I can use these on errands, and thus avoid locking my bikes up outside. For the yearly cost of a good lock and chain, I think it's worth it.

UberGeek

More people on bikes, using the road, makes the road safer for me (And them).

Chris516

NYC should change city bikes to look like that one in yellow.