the City Bike is a heavy machine , in comparison a fully rendered Raleigh Sports Three Speed is nimble and any quality road bike is a rocket.
Riding with friends who are on fast bikes is exhausting and frustrating.
On the other hand , the City Bike exhibits some rewarding robustness at low speed while still giving you a workout.
The front rack design is a mystery , perhaps some laptop bag fits perfectly . These bikes have been out for years and no universal answer to carrying , for example , a bottle of olive oil , a dozen eggs , a bunch of bananas , and a half dozen small containers of yogurt.
There's some BS politics regarding bike availability. Around the campus neighborhood there are 0 , 1 , or 2 bikes parked. Ten blocks North , around the low income projects in Harlem , the racks have 20+ bicycles (I.e.. more than 95% full ). Is there some natural one way flow? Ride City Bike downtown to meet friends for drinks , take subway or rideshare home?
I was able to get the BikeKey the same day I signed up by calling customer service to get a code then walking to a station with a key dispenser.
I am 6ft and the bike size feels just okay. Guess that an 28" to 38" inseam ( 5ft 8 to 6ft 8" person ) will fit , seat goes lower but handlebar grip height is fixed.
Bike does not inspire confidence at speeds over 15mph and brakes feel mushy and hard to modulate. The three speed twist grip gear changer has slipped from low to medium and from med to high but fortunately doesn't freewheel or grind.
The value of these things is the parking rack infrastructure. The City Bike experience reminds me of pedal operated boats at an amusement park, where you sit in a frog or swan and pedal across a lake.
