Wonder if this is another waste of money?

Within 1 minute of leaving Waterloo station this morning (07:20 ish) I saw two being used, then another a bit later but that one was a journo doing a piece to camera on them. I hope it works, good on BoJo.

Stop being so miserable. The majority of the cost was met by barclays anyway.

I think it's an excellent idea and am getting my card next week.

the scheme has worked in loads of cities before london, so why not?

Great idea, but they do have an adjustable seatpost, rightly so, but I'm wondering how many of the bikes will end up without seats soon as they get nicked, a bolt up seat collar would be better and an allen/torx key could be incorporated into the key that you need to release it?

Paris has had a few problems with theirs but it's considered a big success. Not much use to me till it extends out of z1 though.

Plenty about this morning, including Boris on one heading down Farringdon Road.

Presumably the seatpost will move up and down but cannot (easily) be removed. Would be high on the list of must-haves when designing such a bike.

Just the job for the midlands, but if I'm ever in London….I would avoid riding in that traffic like the plague

Who will be the first to sue because a helmet was not supplied ? Just a thought.

riding in london is great! makes you appreciate [your] life!

good luck to them, I saw plenty being used this morning..

I've just seen how heavy they are – 23 kg! Had to double check they'd not just got the units wrong

I've walked past four of the racks this morning and none had any spaces left. What's the point in hiring from one location then being unable to drop off elsewhere?!?

My one concern is that it is bringing some very poor cyclists onto the road, I've already seen a fair few wobbles too. How long until the first fatality?

Next time I'm down here I'm going to try it though, far cheaper than Tube fares over short distances.

I'm signed up and plan to use them for travelling from Waterloo into various meetings I go to in the city and so on. I think it's a great idea and I hope it's a roaring success.

I'd be supprised if any serious cyclist could view the move as negative. Sure there will be problems. I'll certainly register and use it on the occasions I go to agencies in town. I liked that they called it Boris's socialist cycle scheme on R4 this morning!

Wonder if this is another waste of money?

works in paris – def not a waste of money

Great idea, but they do have an adjustable seatpost, rightly so, but I'm wondering how many of the bikes will end up without seats soon as they get nicked, a bolt up seat collar would be better and an allen/torx key could be incorporated into the key that you need to release it?

they are anti theft – ie can not pull out, also need to be easily adjustable for different riders…

I've walked past four of the racks this morning and none had any spaces left. What's the point in hiring from one location then being unable to drop off elsewhere?!?

if tha happens you tell the control post at that dock and you can look up the nearest alternative and you get an extra 15mins for free to get there…

also probably people have not used them yet – serco we only filling docks up yesterday

I've just seen how heavy they are – 23 kg! Had to double check they'd not just got the units wrong

But they are geared low an they also need to be robust! The paris ones are heavy, but ok to ride

Next time I'm down here I'm going to try it though, far cheaper than Tube fares over short distances.

Remember at the mo you can't use them causally – will be able to soon, but at the moment you need to register and get a key, plus activate it…

One of my colleagues used one this morning for the 4 mile journey from Kings Cross. He was mucho impressed.

Had a go on a demo of one couple of weeks ago. Ideal for a short hop across town. Also, ideal in that they aren't part of the tyranny of speed! Why people feel the need to race everywhere in full lycra on their commute is beyond me!

If it gets more people using bikes for short journeys around town, which I believe it will, then it's a superb thing!

rOcKeTdOg – Member
Just the job for the midlands, but if I'm ever in London….I would avoid riding in that traffic like the plague

Actually, it's terrific fun. Especially in the evening dash for the train during the rush "hour"…

No users spotted south of the river so far.

Why people feel the need to race everywhere in full lycra on their commute is beyond me!

well, took me 1hr 27mins to get from Woking to London today.. my best time yet on my SS road bike, and the lycra helps, i'm sure of it.. 😉

but normally i ride a brompton and use the train and you have a different mentality on a brompton – think it is becuase it is a more fun bike..

the Boris Bikes / Velons have a similar fun feel, that promote pootling – good move.

The irritating thing is that just as we were getting more stuff integrated into the Oystercard system (including the trains now, finally) this comes along with yet another key and payment method. One of the best things about oystercard as a non-travelcard-user is the auto top-up, if my balance drops too low they just put another £20 on. No queuing or faffing about.

And as others say, non-removable QR seatposts are possible – Brompton do it.

As for cycling in London – I find it far less worrying than other places. The sheer number of cyclists means you're more likely to be noticed, and when there's a dozen or more cyclists pulling away from the lights, there's no space for vehicles behind to barge past. Plus all the cars and trucks are just resigned to the fact it's going to take ages to get anywhere – they don't seem to get so resentful of the fact that getting past you added 5 seconds to their journey.

the only thing that irritates me about it is that they're being called "boris' bikes". The project was started when Ken was still mayor, all Boris did was not abolish it like most of the other projects Ken started.

i reckon its only problem will be in being too popular, and they'll run out of bikes.

Yes but Red Ken is a newt loving commie bastard whereas Boris is an affable buffon. Besides Ken Bikes sounds crap.

It's clearly going very well this mroning. Haven't used one yet though.

The saddest thing is the lack of a name. "Barclays Cycle Hire" is pants and "Boris Bikes" won't stick. "Velib" is a brilliant noun which is easy to verb if you prefer. We needed an Anglo version, and we got "Barclays Cycle Hire".

"Shall we take the tube?"

"No, let's use Barclays Cycle Hire!"

Not a chance. 🙂

they are anti theft

ok, didn't think of that, stands corrected … great idea still! 🙂

Slightly anoying that the money went to a canadian firm, I'm sure Pashley or Brompton would have jumped at the chance to build 10,000 bikes. Heck, for that big a contract they could have bought the old raleigh works in nottingham and build them there!

One of the best things about oystercard as a non-travelcard-user is the auto top-up, if my balance drops too low they just put another £20 on. No queuing or faffing about.

Yer this a mistake – in paris yo can use your Pass Navigo Découverte to undock a bike….

but of course unlike Oyster which anyone can get you can only get a Pass Navigo Découverte if you are a Paris resident, and thus there is some security / traceability etc.

Pashley

they did bid, but apparently not with a complete working system… doh!

would have been like Nimrod… 'yer we can do it, just need to develop the system….'

We needed an Anglo version

I suggested VelOn as a play on Velo and LondOn

but Boris Bike is ok too

TfL (as I understand it from colleagues) considered Oyster but two factors came into play. Firstly, Oyster is archaic technology so wouldn't have enough onboard memory to take another piece of functionality. Secondly, Oyster will be binned after the Olympics and retendered. They would have got around the security issue by allowing 'registered only' cards to use the system.

I do agree though, building in a smart card would have been great.

I was in London the other week for the first time in nearly a year and could not believe the increase in the number of cyclists on the road. Saw quite a few hair-raising moments, but as others have said, it looks as though sheer weight of numbers is changing the way the traffic works.

I hope this scheme is a huge success, how cool would it be if this became the norm in towns and cities? Can't wait to have a shot next time I'm down!

They need to make the handlebars just wide enough for a stem and two hands, it's all the rage in town. I understand that having no brakes is also the current height of style.

They need to make the handlebars just wide enough for a stem and two hands, it's all the rage in town. I understand that having no brakes is also the current height of style.

Its all about Performance

I liked that they called it Boris's socialist cycle scheme on R4 this morning!

boris described himself as a tory mayor with a communist experiment on bbc1 this morning!!

i think its a brilliant idea.

Even the successful Paris scheme has had to ask their government/city for a huge amount of additional money due to the number of thefts (thousands of bikes apparently) and vandalism. The revenue from the bill boards cannot cope with the replacement costs of the bikes.

I hope the London scheme works out. It is certainly better set up than the failed and now non-existent Bristol one was.

the only thing that irritates me about it is that they're being called "boris' bikes". The project was started when Ken was still mayor, all Boris did was not abolish it like most of the other projects Ken started.

Good point. And the cycle 'super highways' are just existing cycle lanes that were developed during Ken's reign, that have been painted blue. But Boris is very good at taking credit for other people's ideas.

I welcome it and hope it works, at least to promote cycling in our cities more. Too many people own and use cars for little more than sub 5-mile journeys, which is just appalling. Congestion charging has led to less unnecessary traffic in the centre or London, and there's more people on bikes. Cycling is slowly beginning to become 'cool' again.

As for traffic; I did a 60-mile loop round London the other day. Hardly any of it on busy roads. With more investment and shift in attitude, London could become a premier cycling city.

works in paris – def not a waste of money

Hmm, having just got back from Paris and used a Velib, I'd say their system is fatally flawed when it comes to dropping off your bike. Took me 45 mins+ to find or wait for a free slot. With people riding into few popular central London locations I guess we'll have the same problem. Of course, it works like a dream if you're going from an area with lots of bikes to one with lower concentrations. Much prefer the Velib because of its basket and lights.

Velon

takes my vote

One of my colleagues used one this morning for the 4 mile journey from Kings Cross. He was mucho impressed.

If it gets people who don't normally do this on a bike then its a success. although I will be interested to see the numbers in the dead of winter…

The problem with paris is the hills, everyone picked up a bike in the suburbs in the morning, scooted downhill to the center, parked up and took the metro home, resulting in no parking spaces by 9am and having to buy in lories to transport the bikes back up the hills again.

London has much less of a gradient so people will probably return the way they came.