London Cycle Hire

Tried this out yesterday. Pretty good I thought, but helps to know where you are going to dock in advance. The brakes were a bit shit, but cars gave me at least an extra metre when passing compared to when I normally ride, which was interesting.

I've noticed this too... I'm thinking no one wants to be the first person in an incident with one of these bikes as the scheme will try and defend the rider first and foremost

but cars gave me at least an extra metre when passing compared to when I normally ride, which was interesting.

I reckon its because drivers mark you as non regular cyclists
They expect you to be all wobbly and unpredictable.

quite cool, a bit nerdy.

http://vimeo.com/14087663

I reckon its because drivers mark you as non regular cyclists
They expect you to be all wobbly and unpredictable.

This is what I thought. Mind you, I was a bit wobbly on it!

I reckon its because drivers mark you as non regular cyclists
They expect you to be all wobbly and unpredictable.

I put it down more to the fact that if a car hits a boris bike, the car will loose.

BorisBikes helmet debate explored on More or Less this week http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/more_or_less/8949827.stm iPlayer or MP3 download options

I'm on holiday in sunny Barcelona at the moment - they have a hire scheme too with the silly name of bicing. The bikes look a lot more like 'normal' bikes if you ignore the wheel size differences, but don't seem much lighter than the London ones.
As a tourist you need to lie and say you live in Barcelona to get access - I haven't bothered, but watching people on them they seem to have a higher top gear than the London ones. Barcelonians (?) seem to be able to get up to a decent pace on them with relative ease.

a higher top gear and more normal looking? that's just the bicing on the cake

I'm on holiday in sunny Barcelona at the moment - they have a hire scheme too with the silly name of bicing.

Back now. Barcelona is awesome, but I don't think I saw a single fg/ss bike the whole time I was there. Lisbon neither.

Wikipedia link

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/BicicletaBicing.JPG

Looks very cheap and nasty next to the BorisBike

Back now. Barcelona is awesome, but I don't think I saw a single fg/ss bike the whole time I was there. Lisbon neither.

Wikipedia link

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/BicicletaBicing.JPG

I like the look of these. light and nippy, how were they to ride rhowe?

boris tanks, while well made and indestructable (like my surly steamroller) are so heavy because they're built to deter vandals. perhaps in barcelona they are less likely to get vandalised or perhaps the london scheme bosses have been over cautious

I don't think the BorisBike were heavy, at least compare to a typical dutch bike, it's seemed to be on par with a similar 3 speeds dutch bike.

Slightly OT, but here's Boris hard at work again promoting cycling. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

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I like the look of these. light and nippy, how were they to ride rhowe?

I don't know, I'm afraid - didn't even lift the back of one to see how heavy they were!

The locals all seemed to be enjoying using them and they were nipping around town at a fair pace so I assume they're not all that bad to ride.

If you get me another ticket to Barcelona I'll do a test ride for you!

Slightly OT, but here's Boris hard at work again promoting cycling. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

She's not wearing appropriate shoes for cycling...

She's not wearing appropriate shoes for cycling...

You might not think so, she seems to manage. The whole point of BorisBikes, surely, is that you can just hop on them for a few minutes without changing what you wear.

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Not that I've tried, but female friends assure me that it's perfectly feasible to cycle in high heels, certainly over shortish distances. I'm told that it's as much an acquired skill as walking in them.

Especially when most pedals from those bike have rubber grips on them.

If it's not grippy enough, just wrap an elastic band around it.

You might not think so, she seems to manage. The whole point of BorisBikes, surely, is that you can just hop on them for a few minutes without changing what you wear.

I just had a "crisis"

Not that I've tried, but female friends assure me that it's perfectly feasible to cycle in high heels, certainly over shortish distances. I'm told that it's as much an acquired skill as walking in them.

my female friends assure me that it is **easier **to cycle in high heels than to walk in them and to me, people riding in high heels looks much more comfortable/elegant than a people walking / tottering in them.

my female friends assure me that it is **easier **to cycle in high heels than to walk in them and to me, people riding in high heels looks much more comfortable/elegant than a people walking / tottering in them.

I have enough difficulty cycling in flats... never mind heels :-))

Old school racing shoes had nearly as much sole curvature as Kelly's heels, so I can't see what the problem is.

http://www.borisbikes.co.uk/

oh dear at this thread
http://www.borisbikes.co.uk/topic.php?id=262

this was good, though

http://www.wolvesonwheels.co.uk/docs/why%20cyclists%20won't%20stop.pdf

http://www.borisbikes.co.uk/topic.php?id=277

good cycling vibes. lots of new cyclists pretty thrilled about the whole thing. awesome.

Is it possible to use a Boris bike without the key?
I've signed up but the keys won't arrive til next week (no post on Sunday) and would like to give it a go during tomorrow's Skyride.

On their site:
"A Barclays Cycle Hire key enables you to release a cycle from the docking point, without having to use the terminal..."
which suggests I can undock a bike from the terminal.

Sorry if this has come up already - 16 pages is a lot to filter through!