London Cycle Hire

Dooks, there were some "my"s in there as well and a few "I" s with other verbs. Testing stuff to get it correct.

Sorry Cliveo, I've done you a disservice. I apologise.

Thanks Dooks. Appreciated.

if you're interested in what these bikes look like up close, I've had a bike for a while and got some shots up on bicycle images, but they're embargoed for a week or so.

they are heavy (23kg) and quite hard work to ride. But, that's coming from the perspective of a cyclist. If you were a non-cyclist doing 1-2km, I imagine they'd be fine.

How long is going to be before people start trying to lock their normal bikes to the hire stands!?

already happened, there have been a
set of stands on borough st since last week and I cycled past on Monday to see a bike locked to them...

ah the bloody general public. I am so glad I'm not them,

I'm quite glad to be a member of the general public with that nutter Moat up north roaming around with a gun. Thank God i'm not a cop with a high vis on.

I saw one of these get put in, applauded and nearly crashed into a truck.
dangerous.

Balki is an example. Balki is no hero of the great, intelligent, magnificent human race.

Clearly, it is Henry, the mild mannered janitor.

Dooks, there were some "my"s in there as well and a few "I" s with other verbs. Testing stuff to get it correct.

HTFU, Clive.

I'm pretty sure they are these with a new paint job?

They are everywhere in Montreal, riding on pavements, wrong way on busy streets, craziness. Many normal bike racks are cleared for their installation (the stands are temporary here because they are removed for the snow clearing in the winter).

That said, they are the only bikes in town with actual lights, so at least you can see them at night. They have a small front rack which looks useless...the other day I say a guy carrying a whole mountain bike on his (riding the wrong way on a bike path, of course)!

^ they are made in the United States of Canada, so they prob are these.

Where are you supposed to lock you bike?

It launches at the end of July apparently. Could be quite useful for those of us who don't currently cycle in to work.

Linky thing:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/12444.aspx

I cant help but think these things are going to get a kicking within a week, and the remnants strewn in the Thames.

Thats what everyone said about the ones in Dublin (which has much, much higher incidences of random vandalism than London) but they've been a huge success and the bikes have been left alone. The locking mechanism has been improved since the Paris Velibs.

i don't know any hard facts about how the schemes i've seen first hand are doing in paris, amsterdamn, cologne and dublin... but they *seemed *to be working okay... if a little underused. i hope it does work out here.

No. The scheme in Dublin has been a massive, massive success. The most recent figures I have seen were that originally they had planned for 1,500 subscribers in the first year - there are approximately 30,000 people signed up. The bikes are everywhere, if you walk around the city centre I guarantee you will see someone on one within 30 seconds. They are expanding the number of bikes/racks already afaik.

I think the only time I would use one of these is if I was out in town totally bolloxed, missed the last tube home and not wanting to pay for a cab. Might be quite a laugh.

Like the time I was out with the wife and she wanted to go in a rickshaw, it seemed like such a good idea at the time. Especially when I convinced the driver to let me have a go, pissed out of my head and crashed it straight into a limousine on The Strand. Tried to escape but the burly Welsh driver grabbed the bike. Not so fast mate in a deep Welsh accent. Quick as a flash, the Mrs, who is blessed with an amazing talent to mimic any accent started talking in Welsh. He was won over after about 5 minutes and we scarpered off laughing.

This sort of thing they will probably be used for :)

No. The scheme in Dublin has been a massive, massive success. The most recent figures I have seen were that originally they had planned for 1,500 subscribers in the first year - there are approximately 30,000 people signed up. The bikes are everywhere, if you walk around the city centre I guarantee you will see someone on one within 30 seconds. They are expanding the number of bikes/racks already afaik.

Superb. That's what we're hoping for in London, too. People at TfL are keenly aware that the number of bikes might need expanding soon.

I think the only time I would use one of these is if I was out in town totally bolloxed, missed the last tube home and not wanting to pay for a cab. Might be quite a laugh.

Depends on where you live--the hire stations of course only extend throughout Central London. If you wanted to take one into the North London hills, and not anchor it back at a hire station overnight, you'd pay over the odds for the privilege.

As soon as you give the general public an opportunity to act like morons you can be pretty certain that someone will take up the opportunity within seconds

The locking stands in Dublin are constructed in a way that it is not possible for a standard bike to be locked to them. What can only be described as an 'arm' is welded onto the frame and this slots into the lock. It is hard to explain but when you see it, it is pretty simple. I assume that these bikes (being constructed by the same company as the DublinBikes and the Montreal Bixis) will be the exact same.

FWIW I was extremely negative about the chances of the bikes survival in Dublin given what had happened to the cow sculptures previously, and I was also sceptical of people being willing to use them, but I have been proved wrong and hope that similar schemes happen in every city in the world.

ohh yeah I forgot that. Where is the nearest one to Highgate then any ideas? Probaly some where in Camden I imagine

Thanks DublinKevin!

The same in Paris, I had a long chat with my friend's dad who lives there and took up cycling again in his 60s when the Velib' scheme started. I was being negative about the London scheme but he went on how great the Velib was for Paris and his renewed love for cycling.

the dublin ones work amazin!!!!
bought my 3 day pass the second i arrived in dub, and used it to go everywhere- out to watch Dublin hurling (not at croke) and for sight seeing.
velib was fun too.

tried to play polo on the dub ones, wasn't allowed but here's me on a velib:

this is right before me and a friend both crash hard cos one of our brakes isn't working!
as we cycled from eurostar to tgv train stations mid summer on a ski training trip.

Next year's Swaintoux could be on hire bikes!

No. The scheme in Dublin has been a massive, massive success. The most recent figures I have seen were that originally they had planned for 1,500 subscribers in the first year - there are approximately 30,000 people signed up. The bikes are everywhere, if you walk around the city centre I guarantee you will see someone on one within 30 seconds. They are expanding the number of bikes/racks already afaik.

that's good to know. to be fair last time i was in dublin was between christmas and new year and it was frikkety freezing.

Next year's Swaintoux could be on hire bikes!

Each cyclist trying to get back to cycle hire stand in under 30 minutes to lock it up so they don't get charged, then unlocking it again. could add to the fun.

laner, that gives me an idea.

Start somewhere near a good and convenient place for parking bikes - say LMNH - Mass dash to nearest hirebikestands, hire bikes; pedal off towards checkpoints to the south and then west and another in the north. Bikes can only be used for free hire time (I think it's 30 minutes) and so have to be switched at suitable points. All racers to wear full lycra in either club colours or proteam replica (added points for any Lance Armstrong or London Dynamo kits).

The challenge of finding additional bike stands to switch bikes will add to the fun.