Citi Bike is revamping its fleet, adding 2,400 sturdier models that were designed by Ben Serotta, the legendary frame builder whose bikes have been ridden in the Olympics. The new bikes weren’t built with racing in mind, of course, but with customizability, functionality and safety. Serotta researched the bikes by talking with bike share employees, users and mechanics. One issue was the components.
“A big part of the redesign has been to make changes to make the bike components more durable. This way we can keep the bikes out of the shop and on the streets — so they’ll be available to customers more of the time,” said Dani Simons, Director of Communications & External Affairs of Motivate, the company that manages the bike share program.
Those changes include a new kickstand, better shifters, gearing and a hole in the seat that keeps water from collecting. ANIMAL visited the warehouse where Citi Bike keeps its stash to see for ourselves. Compare and contrast.
The older bike is on the left, the newer one on the right.
From the front
Handlebars and shifters
Twist shifters
Kickstands
Seats
Hubs and dropouts
(Photos: Aymann Ismail/ANIMALNewYork)
