First time on a Boris bike.

[PH]

It's £2 for another 30 min, I don't bother clock watching for that, I've yet to go over an hour, sometimes under half, always better value than the alternative. Struggled to find one a couple of times and for me that’s a bigger issue than the cost.

[mjr]

... the App which gives real-time availability. Sod's law certainly applies - when I'm looking for a bike it seems all the stations are empty and when I need to park one they're all full!

And sod the government app that could be doing anything in the background. Use the auditable app from www.OpenBikeSharing.org on Android. It also means you won't need to download a new app for lots of other cities, including Bath, Belfast, Dublin and Glasgow.

It's been good for London, it's definitely got more people (including tourists) cycling, and it demonstrates that normal attire (helmetless) can be worn.
Incidentally the permanently-on dynamo lights are just about good enough to navigate dark side-streets at a pinch.

I agree with all of that, but the flashing makes the lights a bit hair-raising alongside unlit canals!

[[XAP]Bob]

In Dublin at the moment, and the Dublin bikes front lights are really good.

Look a bit like a Lyt, maybe slightly modified, I haven't taken a close look yet. Not really noticed the rear, so I assume that's a steady red as well..

[whoof]

I have no experience of those sorts of things but 30 minutes seems a little harsh to actually get anywhere, an hour would be closer to the mark?

I've used the Bike Blu scheme in Nice, that also has a 1/2 hour free limit. It was really useful 1 euro a day registration and then free for 1/2 an hour. We stayed at a hotel near the airport and 1/2 was plenty to get to the centre. We could then park up have a look around and get another bike to a different part of the city. If you want to use one longer you need to pay something which doesn't seem too unreasonable.

I would recommend look a bike over quite well before unlocking it. There were a fair few with flat tyres or broken seatpin clamps etc.

[Samuel D]

I would recommend look a bike over quite well before unlocking it. There were a fair few with flat tyres or broken seatpin clamps etc.

Did they have broken seat posts or were the saddles merely reversed? A reversed saddle is a signal to others that the bicycle has developed a fault – usually not with the seat post itself!

[whoof]

Paris seemed to be a little better at trucking the vélibs around town to replenish supplies in the very little experience I have.

They do truck them around a fair bit, but it’s still common to have trouble finding a Vélib' at the top of a hill or docking one at the bottom of a hill. People prefer to cycle downhill than uphill, it would seem. Who knew?

There were all sorts, broken clamps so the saddle was all the way down, missing pedals, pedals that wouldn't turn...

[[XAP]Bob]

I would recommend look a bike over quite well before unlocking it. There were a fair few with flat tyres or broken seatpin clamps etc.

Did they have broken seat posts or were the saddles merely reversed? A reversed saddle is a signal to others that the bicycle has developed a fault – usually not with the seat post itself!

That's a really clever idea...

[ArMoRothair]

I can't remember but isn't the twist grip pull-back-to-go-faster?

It's the opposite to my MTB's SRAM grip shift - and I always get it wrong. Pull back to go up a gear. It probably makes sense because you are twisting in the same direction as a motorbike throttle but I've been using the SRAM for 17 years and it's ingrained.

[ArMoRothair]

The biggest issue I have with Boris bikes is a result of their success - it's difficult to find one in the centre of town late at night when you want to cycle back to your hotel/station/whatever, presumably because everyone else is doing so.

I've given up using them for this reason. Town centre docking stations are full during the day. Finding somewhere to park your Boris Bike now takes longer than walking in the first place. I took one on a short hop last summer from Lower Regent's Street over to St Martin's Lane - the sort of short hop they are supposed to be ideal for - at Trafalgar Square I couldn't find an empty docking station. The smart phone app pointed me to Cambridge Circus being the nearest space, and only one space available. I headed there quickly as time was running out. When I arrived I discovered there was indeed one space but it was broken and wouldn't accept bikes. There was a queue of other Boris Bikers in the same boat. We checked the app again and headed to Soho Square in convoy. By the time I docked the bike I had a longer walk back to my destination than if I had walked in the first place.

My London short hop bike is now my Brompton, much more dependable.

[Richard Fairhurst]

Yes, I take my Bike Friday to London on occasion for that same reason (though it's less convenient as a city bike than a Brompton - a little too big to fold and carry with you, but bloody awkward to lock up outside).

[mjr]

at Trafalgar Square I couldn't find an empty docking station. The smart phone app pointed me to Cambridge Circus being the nearest space, and only one space available. I headed there quickly as time was running out.

Time was running out? Hit the button on a full dock's black monolith to get another 15 minutes, as described on https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/santan ... ntcmp=2297

[gaz]

Yes I guess so. So the idea is that you only ever ride them dock-to-dock, nothing inbetween?

JoGLE!