rob feature
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Greenwood Village, Colorado
I had to travel to the city for work, and decided to stay a few extra days for giggles. Because why not? If I have to spend a day traveling there and a day back, I might as well spend a few days poking around.
When I added the extra days, I knew exactly what I wanted to do...ride bikes around Central Park. That was the one goal. I spent some time with friends who just don't get bikes (I feel like that's most people), and that slowed me down a bit, but mission finally accomplished.
I considered a few different bike options, but Citi bike made more sense as I didn't have to keep up with anything - just ride it to one of the many stations in the area and dock it (if you can...). I guess I'll start the bad news here. The docking stations don't always work, and if you're late, you're still on the clock. This only cost me money once out of maybe 15 docks, but still it's annoying and barely worth the time to try and recover it from customer support. I tried & gave up.
You may be wondering about the bikes themselves. I didn't ride the ebike much. I got one early on because I was a few blocks from the park and didn't want to worry about power in traffic. That turned out to be a non-issue. NYC is pretty flat. Over all though I found them to be pretty clunky, noisy, and temperamental. After a rain it took more than a dozen tries to find a bike that was ready to ride. It also made all bikes a challenge to dock and undock. I actually find this the worst part of the experience. And the bikes are pretty bad.
One thing I found noteworthy about the ebikes is that they're HEAVY! The first bike I rode may have been 100 pounds. No suspension. Fenders & front basket rattled so much that no bell was needed - although the one that was strapped to the bars rang constantly too. You aren't sneaking up on anyone on these. Pedal assist on the first one I had was decent, but it looked new. The rest that I tried were awful and were ready for pasture.
The analog bikes are somewhat better though. They're quieter for sure. The one I rode most of the day. The pick of the litter. The chosen one
. Few had molested this one yet and although it had a drivetrain clunk and the brakes were awful, it was the best one of all the samples I tried.
I did find the Envolio hub to be particularly useful in a dynamic urban setting. If the analog Citi bike shines somewhere, it's there. Seems like it's a CVT and can shift sitting still. Let's dim the lights now though shall we, cause it just gets uglier from here. As suspected, the shiny bike tends to be better. If it looks like it has some miles on it, it's probably not gonna be a good time. I tried quite a few. But among the issues I found over a couple dozen bikes were wrecked drivetrains, bent frames, non-working brakes although all were bad..and drums, bells would just ring a few times per second, and they're pretty heavy.
The baskets are curiously absent of a backside, so anything you put in them is going to slide out and hit you in the knees on the way to the ground. I did finally find a way to secure a proper water bottle, but it was janky. No cages nor thought to that to be found on these.
That said, I spent about 7 hours on a bunch of them and did not die due to equipment malfunction. I do feel a little foolish for not wearing a lid, but I didn't have room to travel with one.
I sort of got into a rhythm with pre-ride checks as you get the bike for 30 minutes before you start incurring a charge (with a day pass). What worked for me was - find a good one and keep checking it out every 30 minutes. This wound up being a little cumbersome, but also took me to some cool landmarks. One dropped me at the Guggenheim. Another at the Museum of Natural History. Rinse and repeat. It also gave me a chance to take a breath if needed. It was hot.
Sitting here asking myself if I would use these again in this situation - I think I would in the right place. NY is fine for this. Areas with bike infrastructure make them a viable alternative. However one should go into this with lower expectations. These bikes, even on the best day, are poorly maintained and unpredictable - making them a little dangerous for inexperienced riders. It's a good idea though, and thoughtfully implemented has the potential to fundamentally change the way we approach transportation.
Oh, if you were wondering how these get serviced and moved around - here ya go. Your friendly neighborhood 'Citi Angels'
When I added the extra days, I knew exactly what I wanted to do...ride bikes around Central Park. That was the one goal. I spent some time with friends who just don't get bikes (I feel like that's most people), and that slowed me down a bit, but mission finally accomplished.
I considered a few different bike options, but Citi bike made more sense as I didn't have to keep up with anything - just ride it to one of the many stations in the area and dock it (if you can...). I guess I'll start the bad news here. The docking stations don't always work, and if you're late, you're still on the clock. This only cost me money once out of maybe 15 docks, but still it's annoying and barely worth the time to try and recover it from customer support. I tried & gave up.
You may be wondering about the bikes themselves. I didn't ride the ebike much. I got one early on because I was a few blocks from the park and didn't want to worry about power in traffic. That turned out to be a non-issue. NYC is pretty flat. Over all though I found them to be pretty clunky, noisy, and temperamental. After a rain it took more than a dozen tries to find a bike that was ready to ride. It also made all bikes a challenge to dock and undock. I actually find this the worst part of the experience. And the bikes are pretty bad.
One thing I found noteworthy about the ebikes is that they're HEAVY! The first bike I rode may have been 100 pounds. No suspension. Fenders & front basket rattled so much that no bell was needed - although the one that was strapped to the bars rang constantly too. You aren't sneaking up on anyone on these. Pedal assist on the first one I had was decent, but it looked new. The rest that I tried were awful and were ready for pasture.
The analog bikes are somewhat better though. They're quieter for sure. The one I rode most of the day. The pick of the litter. The chosen one
. Few had molested this one yet and although it had a drivetrain clunk and the brakes were awful, it was the best one of all the samples I tried.I did find the Envolio hub to be particularly useful in a dynamic urban setting. If the analog Citi bike shines somewhere, it's there. Seems like it's a CVT and can shift sitting still. Let's dim the lights now though shall we, cause it just gets uglier from here. As suspected, the shiny bike tends to be better. If it looks like it has some miles on it, it's probably not gonna be a good time. I tried quite a few. But among the issues I found over a couple dozen bikes were wrecked drivetrains, bent frames, non-working brakes although all were bad..and drums, bells would just ring a few times per second, and they're pretty heavy.
The baskets are curiously absent of a backside, so anything you put in them is going to slide out and hit you in the knees on the way to the ground. I did finally find a way to secure a proper water bottle, but it was janky. No cages nor thought to that to be found on these.
That said, I spent about 7 hours on a bunch of them and did not die due to equipment malfunction. I do feel a little foolish for not wearing a lid, but I didn't have room to travel with one.
I sort of got into a rhythm with pre-ride checks as you get the bike for 30 minutes before you start incurring a charge (with a day pass). What worked for me was - find a good one and keep checking it out every 30 minutes. This wound up being a little cumbersome, but also took me to some cool landmarks. One dropped me at the Guggenheim. Another at the Museum of Natural History. Rinse and repeat. It also gave me a chance to take a breath if needed. It was hot.
Sitting here asking myself if I would use these again in this situation - I think I would in the right place. NY is fine for this. Areas with bike infrastructure make them a viable alternative. However one should go into this with lower expectations. These bikes, even on the best day, are poorly maintained and unpredictable - making them a little dangerous for inexperienced riders. It's a good idea though, and thoughtfully implemented has the potential to fundamentally change the way we approach transportation.
Oh, if you were wondering how these get serviced and moved around - here ya go. Your friendly neighborhood 'Citi Angels'
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