I saw about 3 Citibikes on the Hudson Greenway today. I first noticed the "hood" under the rear fender and thought it's some kind of fancy expensive bike ridden by a millionaire, then I saw "Citibike" on it.

Only 3? They're all over the place.

I've seen kids doing wheelies on them on the greenway. I've also seen them on the GWB

That user's two total posts here are both rather odd - one this obvious understatement, the second an unquoted copy of the first line of a post of mine from about a month back.

It's called a Fenderskirt:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_skirts

I've heard it called a "skirt guard," meant to prevent loose clothing from getting caught in the wheel. And, as it happens, there's a Wikipedia article on skirt guards, which pictures a Citi Bike:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skirt_guard

You may be right. But I was using the "automotive terminology".

Meanwhile, I've ben using THIS Thing, which I call a Chain Guard , or a Derailleur Guard, though it's sort of a combination of both, and sometimes I call it a Daggerboard , which is a term used by Surfers:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1599/...aaae28fc_n.jpgIMG_4059 by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr
It's intended to slice through weeds so they don't get tangled in my Derailleur Pulleys...
And then , I need to mention that I often call Derailleur Pulleys "Idler Gears" ...

I need to publish my own Glossary ...

Dockless systems without government oversight might not be such a good idea.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: A DIZZYING VIEW OF A BICYCLE GRAVEYARD IN CHINA

https://media.wired.com/photos/59559...ou_2017_01.jpg

If all those people abandoned those bikes (that many of them ) to drive automobiles, they must have a hell of a traffic jam on the roads...

Cool article. Citi Bike is not just good for transportation. It also shouldn't just be for rich white people.

Hop On a Citi Bike — Doctor’s Orders

I don't know if you know how the system works...
When we ride Bicycle , we are treated like second class citizens - "Rich people drive Cars, Poor people ride Bicycles" is the message they tried to pound into our heads (until we started wearing helmets)...

And that's a big Lie. Poor people can NOT afford Bicycles. Rich people can afford cars, bikes, horses, yachts, private aircraft, etc...
Maybe the vanishing (lower) middle class realizes that they have to CHOOSE between a Bike OR a Car... But most (upper) middle class kids had Bikes , and the parents drove cars.

The Poor can afford NEITHER a Bike NOR a Car.

And they want Teenagers, while their minds are malleable , to choose a Car over a Bike, because they make more money selling them a Car .

A virtuous cycle: How to expand Citi Bike - NY Daily News

Quote:
"....There are now 130,000 annual members, as opposed to 80,000 before. And they are riding more often, taking an average of 120 trips a year, up from 80...."

It looks like there are yet newer bikes starting to appear at docking stations, these with blue baskets, instead of black. The couple I tried had NuVinci hubs. Are NuVincis becoming standard?

I don't know, but I got one Sunday night in Brooklyn. My daughter lives far from Citi Bike, but I walked the distance for 35 minutes to reach a station, and then I rode it all the way home. I got a NuVinci, and it was my second experience with it. I've decided I really like that hub.

Sorry for the delayed reply. (Sometimes -- quelle horreur -- days pass, and I don't visit bikeforums.)

Clarification about "basket", please.

The mingy stingy cargo carrier remains my main complaint. There's scant provision for carrying stuff. The party line: There's no conventional basket because of concerns about baskets being used as receptacles for litter. The skimpy carrier holds not much more than a shoulder bag. If, for example, I want to schlep melons and corn and tomatoes and lettuce home from the Onion Square Greenmarket, no joy.

Is the new "basket" to which you refer more capacious than the current cargo carrier?

Its the same "basket", just colored blue. This basket is not meant to hold loose items like walnuts or cherries. You should provide a bag that still has space after being fitted into these baskets, whether the bag extends over the side, top or droop over the front, or just wear a backpack that could expand enough to carry your goods.

I've recently renewed my membership after a couple of months of hiatus. I've been able to grab the NuVinci models quite easily, either by looking for the blue basket, or the appropriate gear shifter. It does seem to have a higher gear, which seems to be detrimental to me, given I was complaining the new version of the 3 speed hub did not have a high enough top gear, but when pushing the bigger gears of the NuVinci, strava is saying I am actually slower. Maybe the limited times I rode them, conditions were not comparable.

I still have issues with the shifter, where it seem to get easily bumped and get out of gear without knowing about it. They should have gave a micro ratcheting feel to it, so I want the gearing to be slightly lighter, I can turn 3 or so clicks, instead of overturning the shifter, then shifting back.

Update, the Bike with the "Blue Basket" is a Miami Florida Citi Bike:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4335/...c322f84f_z.jpgcitibikiebikie by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

Nexus gearing:3 speeds with a 186% gear range: 1st gear = 0.733, 2nd gear = 1.00 (direct drive), 3rd gear = 1.36
Nuvinci 330 :330% Nominal Ratio - 0.5 underdrive to 1.65 overdrive

So the lowest gear is lower than the Nexus if the front and rear cogs are the same. Also the highest gear is going to be "heavier" in the same scenario causing faster speeds.

No, it's not. Other than the branding, the basket looks different, the bikes and the stations look different. Citi Bike Miami is Run by Decobike LLC, not Motivate, which runs New York City bike share, and they use different hardware.

Interesting. I don't really know how branding works, but it looks like Citibank, and not Motivate, owns the Citi Bike brand; Citibank also sponsored Miami. The The look of the bikes, and of the Citi Bike Miami website, are almost identical to Citi Bike New York, even though they are completely different companies.

My impression is it's precisely because Citi bikes are not meant for grocery shopping.

Okay, Miami is run by Decobike...
Just wanted to make sure it wasn't a Snowbird...lol

I have buckets of Bungee Cords, and if I plan on shopping via Citi Bike, I put a few in my cargo pocket... I have enough bungee cords to treat them as " expendable ". Then there's the built-in bungee cord...

Oh? I'd like to know the source of your "impression".

For me, lack of provision for cargo is no more than an inconvenience, indeed, a minor one. But one of the foresighted aspects of Citibike is that NYC public housing residents get a very substantial membership discount. One obvious reason: public housing isn't always well-served by conventional public transit. A not-so-obvious reason: public housing has no commercial activity. None. No food stores. No services. Some public housing is within bike share's service area, but anything / everything you need to live is Away. Sometimes Far Away.

Is shopping by bike appropriate for everyone? Of course not! But omitting the option to schlep bulky stuff using bike share shows limited vision.

I agree the lack of cargo space is a problem. Sometimes I will sling handles of shopping bags on the handlebars. Or I'll wear a backpack. There are now shoulder bags designed to fit in Citi Bike baskets, so that could help. I expect there might be an aftermarket for trailers meant for Citi Bike, though locking it up takes away the convenience of docking a bike and leaving it. I think it would be a mistake for Citi Bike not to get on this bandwagon ASAP.

Initial surveys in Bed Sty showed that just 9% of NYCHA residents knew that there was a discount available to them. They had to do some work overcoming class and racial perceptions in order to get Bed Sty residents to sign up.

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/bik...stuy-ridership

Thanks. Any added / perceived utility helps boost the subscriber base; IMHO, I think that's good.