zacster

No way. On a road bike cruising at 21mph is a good clip. On a Citibike you'd be lucky to hit that speed before blowing up, except of course downhill. And let's not forget about the traffic...

tubesocksFred

I use to dart in and out of traffic with the citibike when going to work, it gives me the rush, but not much on the workout (and the direct route ended too soon), so now I head over to the hudson river greenway to get uninterrupted ride. I don't claim to do 21mph non-stop, but if I find someone's wheel and they are going a good pace, we can go beyond 21mph for a while.

I also take the citibike out in Jersey City and ride around during lunch. Some of my old strava logs shows segment averages at liberty state park in the 24-25mph range (saying I am pumping 500+ strava watts pushing this 45LB boat ), which I would have to had been pedaling at a lung busting 145rpm. If I had a bigger gear like on the NuVinci, who knows..

wilfried

I got a NuVinci bike a few days ago. Either they're becoming more common, or I'm getting luckier.

I don't think the top gear is any higher than the top gear of other "new" bikes. Bike share bikes in general are slow by design, for safety, and due to the bike-for-everyperson approach.

I appreciate the NuVinci, but I'm still inclined to think that's it's overkill for a lowest common denominator bike (and I don't mean that as a pejorative). I ride a three speed Brompton, and a 20 speed folder. I like them both, and both have their place. For riding around the city, there's some something to be said for a simplicity of a three speed. Cruise in third. Hit a light, shift into second. Start again, pedal a few strokes, and shift back into third. And repeat. For most city riding, you don't need more, and fiddling with lots of gears can be a distraction, especially for a newbie.

vol

I saw someone riding a Citibike tonight that has a green bicycle projection in front of it, as shown in the video here. For a little while he was behind me and the projection was right next to me, so if it's a driver they could see it. Very cool, except it would be better if it's brighter.

noglider 

I see this fairly often. Nice idea, but I think the image it makes on the ground useless. It is just as good for being seen, though. Who looks at the ground in front of a bike?

wilfried

I've ridden with these a few times. I don't know how much they do for drivers, but they sure make pedestrians sit up and take notice. They stopped crossing the street 20 feet before I got to the crosswalk; they had the light, so I politely stopped. I felt a little bad actually.

tubesocksFred

Saw another NuVinci bike in Christopher st dock among around 10 of the newer style bikes, and took that out. What a mistake. The highest gear was so low that I feel like I was going 120rpm cadence the whole way on hudson river greenway with commuter cyclists passing me left and right.

I shifted to the low gear and it was insanely low, as if the chain fell off. Either it has a small front chainring, or as I would suspect, the CVT is not getting traction, since when I pedal with just enough force to feel it engage, my cadence is a bit lower, but as soon as I apply any torque to the crank, I have to pedal a bit faster for that torque to be transferred to the wheel. But when I try to crank the pedal when the brakes are applied and the bike on a standstill, I can't turn it. Maybe its traction fluid leaked out?

So out of the 3 NuVinci bikes I used, 1 had alot of play in the shifter and another can't get into high gear. Maybe the reliability/maint issue with them is the reason it is not widely adopted.

DJH8098

It may be that the hub is not getting traction or it sounds like the hub may not have been installed correctly. This is probably the most challenging aspect of the hubs that Citibike will be facing as they circulate more hubs on the bikes. If it does become widely accepted in the fleet of bikes, you have to remember they would be reworking thousands of bikes. Not an easy task, one that will come with a hiccup or two, but hopefully in the long run they make for a great ride. Every time that I have been to New York and ridden these bikes I have been impressed, not only by the sheer volume of bikes available but also how well they maintain everything. If I were to guess in the next few months you will see these problems dissipating and more enjoyment.

noglider 

You got me thinking, I wonder how they ended up working out the problems they had with the Sturmey Archer hub. Lots of bikes would lose 3rd gear. Now that problem is gone. Also, there were reports of frames breaking. I don't remember which model that was.

wilfried

I don't have any real information of course, but I'm thinking that the problem wasn't the gear hubs themselves, which are reputed to be bomb proof and virtually maintenance free, but rather the shifter or indicator chain, which can go out of adjustment (I know from my own three speed Brompton, I haven't touched the hub in 10,000 miles, but have occasionally had to make adjustments, and a couple of times the indicator chain failed completely). Perhaps they came up with a more robust shift mechanism. Or maybe they just upped their maintenance game, since they're supposed to check and clean every active bike once every 45 days. A quick adjustment once in a while might be enough to keep things running smoothly. Anyway, this is all supposition on my part.

I wonder if the NuVinci adds complexity, which isn't helpful for a fleet of thousands?

wilfried

If you like Citi Bike, and would like to see it expand, sign the petition:

https://campaigns.transalt.org/petition/citi-bike-all

HT: @noglider

wilfried

More data about Citi Bike:

Who's Choosing Bike Share Over the Bus?

zacster

My renewal notice just came. $163 this year. I'm debating whether I use it enough to justify the cost. I live in Brooklyn outside the zone and find that I only really use it after work to make an occasional trip, not for regular use. Maybe once in a while I'll ride downtown or into Brooklyn to catch the subway, but I haven't done that much this year either. Knee surgery put a damper on usage, but I'm over that now and I still haven't used it.

I'm sure I'll miss it if I give it up. I've been a member since the beginning, which you can date by the start of this thread.

noglider 

I never used it much, and I'm using it less this year than previously, but I'm renewing. Tally up the trips you've taken. You're probably still saving money compared with the subway.

Also, this past weekend, I hosted a student from St Petersburg, Russia, traveling to her summer job. I let her use my card (against the rules), and she had a blast.

Ferdinand NYC

I definitely don't use it enough to justify the cost (having used it only a handful of times). I am a member just to support the cause.

hotbike

I just got my renewal notice, and I was thinking the same thing. But my membership number is 10,007. If I had been a day earlier, ... well, one digit less to type...

I believe I am supporting the cause, so I will renew.

With the LIRR, Amtrak, Pennsylvania Station, derailment and power failures , I have Not been in Manhattan since January.
If I go in , I will have to plan on some other way to get back. Maybe the Subway to Jamaica, get a Bus or a Cab from there...

wilfried

I'm no. 1902, a "founding member;" I think something like the first 5000 to sign up at launch were "founders." On the day of the fourth anniversary of Citi Bike, I got an email offering me a new, light blue, founding member key (which they sent to the original founders). That's nice, whatevs, but I'll take it. I had to replace my key at one point, so have the standard dark blue key. And, all of the writing rubbed off it, so now it's totally blank, no number, no bar code, no nothing, so a new key will be useful, at least.

I guess I'm a bit of a bike share fan boy, even though I don't use it a whole lot, averaging perhaps a couple of times a week. I do, however, owe all of my cycling to Citi Bike, before it even existed. I hadn't ridden a bike in decades, but when they announced Citi Bike, I was instantly fascinated. I read all I could about bike share, then bikes in general, which prompted me to buy a (used) Brompton. By the time Citi Bike finally did launch, a bike had become almost my sole mode of transportation. I eventually got a second bike, and between the three bikes at my disposal (bike share counting as the third) I've racked up over 22,000 miles over the 4+ years.

Even as a light user with his own bikes, Citi Bike is a value proposition (often enough it's handy not to have to ride, and schlep, and park my own bike). I expect I'll keep renewing until I move (not likely) or become physically incapable of riding.

arbee

I'm a founding member approaching 2,000 trips. Because of bonuses (I've forgotten details), my annual renewal isn't due until early July, and I'm definitely going to re-up. Enough of my trips were in lieu of public transport so, as a value proposition, I've clearly gotten my money's worth. Considering convenience, the real plus for me is no need to clean my own bike after a ride in foul weather. In spite of NYC Bike Share's unnecessary early and often self-inflicted wounds, the service has been (IMHO) wildly successful.

Keep in mind: there's a not heavily advertised 10% discount available on annual memberships paid with a Citi card.

flattie

I recently renewed. I'm a member May 2013. I have no idea what my membership number is. For me the citibike offers a very viable alternative to the subway for a leg of my daily commute. Given the cost of a monthly unlimited metrocard vs. the annual citibike membership, the citibike membership pays for itself provided I do my part and get out there and ride.

I'm @ 900 trips which they estimate translates to @ 2,200 miles.

Overall I'm very satisfied with the service. My one complaint is that they eliminated the bike valet on 31st between 8th and 9th and they moved the station 29th and 9th. I tend to get to Penn Station late enough that finding a dock is a real challenge. The dock at 29th and 9th got moved 27th and 9th. As a result I usually end up using the dock at 26th and 8th and walking a few block to Penn. Too many times I found myself looping back from 33rd and 8th all the way back down 9th to 27th to find a dock.

noglider 

@flattie, do you use the app, and is it useful for finding a bike or dock? I find it is, but it's never up to date to the moment, and I usually check it before I move, so things change after I check.

vol

Citi Bike had its first fatality today . I posted on A&S.

dendawg

It can never be up to date. I left this morning heading for a station that showed 6 bikes. By the time I got there there were 3 left. The station is adjacent to a park and greenway so I'm sure it gets lots of use from tourists. Most stations around Central Park seem empty most of the time

zacster

I checked the app today and it said 14 bikes at my usual station, so instead of taking the bus I walked over to it. But the app hadn't updated when I looked even when I clicked on it. When I got there, it was a single bike and of course the red light was on. In the meantime I missed the bus too. I said screw it and got on the subway.

highmoonpurple

I've seen them all over, I just don't really get what could justify the obscene price most tend to carry. In the short term, it's not too bad, but if you end up relying on them for part of your commute or end up using them more than a few times a week it just seems ridiculous.

wilfried

The first article I've seen on the the Citibank side of Citi Bike:

How Citi Bike Started A Transportation–And Advertising–Revolution