Tagged: Citibike

Evidently, Citibike Key Fobs Can Break

My dad taught me a long time ago that solid state devices, those without moving parts, almost never go bad. If it doesn’t wear, it won’t tear. There are some exceptions of course, and today, I learned that Citibike key fobs can in fact go bad. Mine was completely dead.

Usually when you insert a key fob, you get a reassuring (or completely confusing) set of lights. Today, at the station at West 3rd and LaGuardia Place, I got nothing. Maybe the station is down, I thought.

I walked to a nearby station at Bleecker and Mercer Streets. As I approached, I saw a guy trying to check out a bike. Telling him about my difficulty, I asked him if he could get one. He, in fact, could. But then when I tried my key fob, there was no response. Time to call Citibike support.

Thankfully, there are a lot of stations in downtown Manhattan.

Thankfully, there are a lot of stations in downtown Manhattan.

The agent reviewed my account and closed out some open trips. This seemed routine to her, but I was a bit alarmed that I had "open trips." Don’t they charge you $1,200 for a lost bike? By this time, I had started walking toward my destination and was approaching my third Citibike station of the evening at Lafayette and Houston Streets. The agent asked if I could use my key here. No dice!

With my key fob apparently bricked, she ordered a new one for me. It’ll arrive in two-to-five business days. Thinking that we were done, she then asked me if I wanted to get a 7-day pass. What?!? I get a loaner?

The only catch was that the touch screen at the station was down. On to a fourth station at Mott and Prince.

To get a temporary seven-day membership, I basically had to get one like any non-member: provide a credit card, phone number, and consent to a $100 deposit against my card. As I agreed to all the terms and conditions, the agent gave me a coupon code. That code discounted the $25 fee for a seven-day pass. After getting a five-digit code to unlock a bike, I grabbed one and headed to the Rivington and Suffolk.

By the time I started pedaling, I had covered half the trip on foot.

Central Park Paceline with a Citi Bike

This might have been the dumbest ride ever. It was a New York Cycle Club ride in Central Park using Citi Bikes. We were going to use our pacelining skills and see how quickly (or slowly) we can do a 6.2-mile lap on the Central Park drives. It was even listed as an “A” ride with a 10-mph pace. In a sense, we were slumming it, but it also an unscientific test of the Citi Bike equipment. And as silly as this ride seemed, I woke up at 6:00 AM today to ride this very casual “A” ride.

NYCC Citibike Paceline

The ride must have seemed silly to a lot of other people because there were only five people signed up and one of them dropped out. But our diminished turnout was to our advantage because finding a bike near the south end of Central Park was challenging. The station at 6th Avenue and 59th Street was empty so we had to find bikes at the nearby station at Grand Army Plaza. I had picked up a bike near Grand Central Terminal and rode to the park. After checking my bike in and out, we headed into the park for our morning ride.

Things moved along pretty well. There was no shortage of roadies speedily weaving in and out at with no audible warnings of their approach. (Now I remember why I don’t ride laps in Central Park.) We handled the hills pretty well, except that we had to wait for a couple of riders after climbing Harlem Hill with a forty-five pound bike. One rider, who was a club member but was not part of our group, stopped and recognized that we were part of the Citi Bike Central Park Paceline ride.

The ride took us about thirty-two minutes to complete the 6.2-mile loop, including the time we spent stopped in the park. This is about eight minutes longer than what it used to take me when I rode around in circles there years ago. A typical “A” rider can probably do a lap in about 15 minutes.

After finishing my first “A” ride with the club, I pedaled down to Grand Central Terminal to catch a subway train back to Queens. I needed a shower and a nap. Waking up at 6:00 AM for a silly, 6.2-mile ride was just too early.

Isn’t That Staged, Too?

This photo accompanies a ludicrous article considering whether it is more dangerous to ride a Citi Bike or to take up Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting. The caption that describes the photo, “cops respond to an East Village Citi Bike location June 19, after an accident involving one of the bikes,” implies that using the bike share program is dangerous because, you know, those pesky bicyclists!

However, the image on its own is pretty misleading. It presents a pretty good lesson for how photographs can be used outside of their fuller context. The cops had taped off the bike share station in this photo not because some reckless cyclist was riding the wrong way through a red light. It was because an alleged drunk driver ran off the road on Second Avenue and struck a few pedestrians and a Citi Bike rider. The collision sent debris from the crash site across East 4th Street to the Citi Bike station across the street. The bike-share rider was injured.

Evidently, MMA is also safer than standing, walking, and driving. Perhaps we should give that up, too.

We Want Docks for Our Fobs

New York City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who represents our section of Queens, asking to expand bike share to Western Queens:

There are already 36,000 members of bike share (citywide)…and I want these members to be able to come to Long Island City, Astoria and Sunnyside. Bike Share will help drive tourists to Western Queens…and would help bring people to the world class cultural institutions and restaurants in the area.

Over the the two weekends since New York City Bike Share launched, I have seen a handful of cyclists hurriedly riding the unmistakable blue-and-white bikes around Long Island City. Sarah got her fob in the mail yesterday, and I’m expecting mine any day now.

At the moment, there are no stations in Long Island City or neighboring Greenpoint. The closest ones are at Metropolitan and Wythe Avenues in Williamsburg (2.5 miles away) or at Second Avenue and E 60th Street in Manhattan (2.8 miles away). With a 30- or 45-minute check-out period, these intrepid riders either misunderstand the concept of bike share, are incurring significant late fees, or are only passing through the neighborhood to get a few weekend miles. Imagine if these riders could dock their and hang out in the neighborhood. Our western Queens hamlet would undoubtedly benefit.

Considering Citi Bike as Your First City Bike

As the weather warms up, I always get questions about buying a bike. The first thing I tell people is that unless you’re willing to spend $500, you’re going to get a disposable bike and should not even bother. Some people continue to solicit advice, but others balk at the price and don’t want to know anymore. They go to K-Mart, and I never see them ride their new bike.

With the launching of the bike share program in New York, I have been advising people to consider it if a bike station is available where they live, work, and play. The yearly membership costs $95 plus tax, a little more than a $103 per year, and it is a good deal for most people who are getting into biking for the first time. I have a pretty solid track bike I use for the city. It runs great. And although I have learned over the years to do my own repairs, I still shell out a lot of money to maintain my city bike. There are still a few things I can’t do, such as truing wheels and replacing a bottom bracket or freewheel hub. And that’s not even getting replacing into consumables, such ragged tires, punctured tubes, broken spokes, stretched chains, and worn chainrings and cogs. If there was an option that would take care of my repairs for a little more than $100 per year, I’d jump on it in a second.

And if I was starting from scratch, $100 per year would be a bargain. Because to buy a new bike for getting around the city, you’re going to need:

  1. A bike. That’ll cost you at least $500 to get something that won’t break down within a couple of months, weigh 40 lbs, and will make you abandon it after one too many miserable rides.
  2. A lock or two. Citi Bike racks are their own locking stations. A decent Kryptonite lock will set you back at least $70 for either a U-Lock or a more versatile chain you can wear around your waist. I also recommend an accessory cable to the front wheel to use in tandem with the U-Lock or chain. (I use the heavy lock to secure the rear wheel and frame.)
  3. A bell. It’s the law around here, and since I’ve installed a bell, I can ride faster. How? I can ride and ding it once or twice to get someone’s attention and keep them from veering into my lane. It works for other bicyclists and pedestrians alike, but not always. Citi Bikes come with a bell.
  4. Lights. I have spent well over $200 on lights over the years. I used to use a version of Sigma Micro lights, but you have to replace the batteries every few weeks. And they’re not very bright. They’re easy to remove, but that means they’re easy to steal, which happened to me a few times, but I’ve learned my lesson and take them off every time. I switched to these USB lights by Blackburn. They’re really bright, they’re rechargable, and easy to remove. Once you learn how to manage the charging cycles, you get a lot out of it. Citi Bikes come with front and rear LED lights.
  5. Helmet. No matter what you’re going to need a helmet. I’m relieved that bike shares don’t issue helmets because that would be a pretty unsanitary practice. But helmets are not expensive. You can get one a decent one for about $40, and if you see expensive ones, it’s because they’re lighter and better at ventilating your head, not because they’re better at protecting your head.
  6. A floor pump. No one believes me that you’re going to need floor pump for home. You need to pump your tires almost every day. Otherwise, you’re begging for premature tire wear and flat tires, not to mention harder rides. Sure bike shops offer free air, but they’re not open when you leave for work in the morning, and they’re not always on your route. Get a stylish pump with a handle made of something other than plastic (those break). Citi Bikes are maintained.

The initial costs of buying a bike make considering Citi Bike worthwhile. And I haven’t even covered repairs. Once the network reaches places like Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Long Island City and even Astoria, it’ll be a much more compelling option because that’s where I usually go and Citi Bike is not around.

Of course, having your own bike allows you to go wherever you want for as long as you want and ride as fast as your body and bike will go, but if you’re just commuting, the bike share is not a bad way to go.

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