Welcome to the City Bikes clearance bin for all the overstock thoughts, rants, news items, and other idea fragments that we need to turn over. Check back often, as stock is refreshed frequently

Friday, November 9, 2007

Bike Sharing bikes in DC

Sorry for the bad photos, but from the warehouse, here's a few pics of the new SmartBike rental bicycles that are getting stationed around the city. We nabbed a contract a few months back to build up the bikes.

Here's the WashCycle rundown on bike sharing. Our own sometime-manager Jeff Peel was just named as their first program manager, he'll do a great job in leading the Clear Channel charge to win (back) the hearts of bicyclists.

The bikes themselves are remarkably nice to ride. To be blunt, they don't really look like much, but everybody who's ridden one was impressed. Three speed internal hub, all mechanical bits shrouded in mystery and plastic, big racks, big slick tires, and more stable handling than the Breezer folding bike I normally pinch from the warehouse to run errands.

3 comments:

Web said...

Interesting bike. Looks like a Shimano Nexus 3 speed internal hub... is the front tire smaller than the rear or is that an optical illusion?

Larry
RideTHISbike.com

darren said...

I am pretty sure that the front is smaller (i'd doublecheck, but the bikes went out for delivery). And yes, Nexus-3.

Web said...

You'd think that both wheels would be the same size for maintenance purposes alone but if that works for Clear Channel, great. More power to them for making bicycles more accessible.

Larry
RideTHISbike.com