Social Bicycles bike sharing system powered by iPhone app to hit NYC this fall
By Laura June 
posted August 11th 2010 9:41PM
posted August 11th 2010 9:41PM
posted August 11th 2010 9:41PM
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If you can afford an iPhone then shouldn't you be able to afford your own bike?
@Waltah owning your own bike isn't hip enough, clearly.
@Fadakar theses bikes will have to be fixed one speeds to appeal to the iPhone toting hipster dbags that pretend to be poor even though they still get checks from dad every week. sorry i just moved to downtown Milwaukee and theses stupid dbags are everywhere. honestly do fixed speeds make any practical sense to anyone?
btw the communal bike thing is not a new idea at all. we've had this forever in Madison WI and im sure its not the only place. the GPS stuff is pretty cool though.
@Waltah Unless its not iBike, I m not getting it. It should have a magical i.
@Waltah owning a bike in NYC isn't as bad as owning a car, but it can be pretty inconvenient to store in a studio... And when did iPhones become more expensive than really any other top tier phone out there??
@PolarBearTC
Sorry. Feel free to replace iPhone with Evo, BB, Galaxy S, Incredible, Droid X, or Dell Streak or any other $200-$300 device.
Carry on.
@Waltah
Having a phone isn't even a requirement. But I'm guessing having a credit card to register is (not sure what they have other options to verify ID).
http://www.socialbicycles.com/design/
Read the "Registration Process" bit.
@Waltah
Shared bikes are not hip, they are just plain convenient. In Barcelona for 25 euros per year I have access to thousands of bikes and I don't need to worry about stolen parts, maintenance or carrying it up to my apartment.
Probably the thing is we're not afraid to be called communists here.
@kojo87
There are trustafarians in Wisconsin? Who knew.
My mountain bike is a fixie, but that's just because the derailleurs are broken...
@Waltah
I have an iPhone 3GS and I own a $2000 Cannondale road bike.
@Waltah
It's for the people in NYC who own cars but get sick of the traffic congestion. They'll park, find the bike, then proceed to zip past cars.
@kojo87
"theses bikes will have to be fixed one speeds to appeal to the iPhone toting hipster dbags that pretend to be poor... sorry i just moved to downtown Milwaukee and theses stupid dbags are everywhere."
I have an iPhone 3GS and I own a $2000 road bike (30-speed). Bikes have the same legal rights to be on the road as cars. Don't like it? Tough luck iHater, deal with it :-D
@HighestRanked1
"I have an iPhone 3GS and I own a $2000 road bike (30-speed). Bikes have the same legal rights to be on the road as cars. Don't like it? Tough luck iHater, deal with it :-D"
So, "iPhone and $2K road bike owner".
Sounds about right. I bet you shave your legs too.
@kojo87 I was riding an old Raleigh 10 speed for a while, and I loved it. But then I bent a rim, so I started riding my brother's fixie since he's away. It's a completely different experience, but it is very fun to ride. Plus the bike weighs next to nothing because it doesn't have as many parts.
Surprisingly, I do better on hills than I did with my old bike. I live on top of a very large hill and I am much faster with the fixie. Maybe I'm just getting stronger or maybe the gear ratio is just better.
Either way, don't knock it 'til you try it. You are true though, a lot of d-bags ride fixed gears.
@HighestRanked1 um what? hating fixie dbags makes me an iHater? thanks for perpetuating the stereotype. i know bikes have equal rights as cars. i ride nearly every day as i don't own a car anymore. what most of you jerkoffs don't understand is that if you want to be treated as a car you better stop at every red light and stop sign and obey the same rules as a car. you can't demand the same respect on the road of you are only going to follow the rules when its convenient for you.
Zipbike?
@kanuck
How bout Bike+?
@kanuck Where is i. Without I it doesn't taste like apple.
@kanuck
It is a fixie. So it should be iFix.
I'd hate to be using the bike, lock it up while I get off to run an errand and then come back to find the bike gone.
@Sel
Good point. I ride my bike to the grocery store all the time. And it would really, really piss me off to come out with my bags, and realize i had to walk home. Would it be a dick move to use a different, non-GPS lock until you're done with your errands?
@Sel
get a separate bike lock and the gps won't turn on
@Sel I'm sure there's something built in to have a certain hold period for the bike. I'd even bet that they'd let you put a hold on it for a reasonable number of hours. It would defeat the entire purpose of the system if you could only get from point a to point be, not point b to point a. Although, take into consideration that the system innately isn't built around convenience...
@Sel
I'd assume that when you get the bike you get it for a rental period.
These bikes will feel like such whores, being ridden by so many people and all.
@bcd
Don't forget to clean the seat before riding!
@sharkync One magical word 'iClean'
@bcd This isn't anything new, my ex-girlfriend turned herself into a "social-bicycle" one year ago...
@wemustcontrolpeople ZING!
@wemustcontrolpeople HAHAHAHA. You should've pumped her more.
@bcd More ZING!
Is the GPS etc. powered by a dynamo?
Also, it would be more annoying to find your own bike missing.
Of course they're all going to be fixies, right?
Wouldn't somebody be able to steal the bikes easily if they got hold of the app.
@S2333 if they can get the gps unit off
Waaaaay too much shared ass sweat for me.
Make it an Android app as well or NYC is a corporate shill for Apple.
@Charbax
You can register on PC or Kiosk. You don't have to use the app. The app allows the following, apparently:
- view a map of you travel habits and share online
- see how many calories you've burned
- volume of greenhouse gases that you've kept out of the atmosphere (not including your own)
- see if friends are biking nearby or if you have crossed paths during the day
Looking at what that does, I am interested in a total of zero out of the four points there.
Make a Symbian version or New York City are corporate shills for Android and Apple. Everyone knows cyclists favour small-screen phones :)
(but I'll still never use the app)
@DistantHere If those are the functions then it would suck. I think the functions should rather be:
1. Find closest available bike
2. Unlock bike and pay for use (small fee, sometimes below $1 depending on usage)
3. Read reviews on the bike, find a specific type of bike.
4. Report flat tire, broken light or other issues so previous rider is blamed.
5. Get information on where you can make money by parking the bike because of high demand.
@Charbax
Under "Fleet Management Tools" they mention some of that. A financial reward is given to return bikes to hubs with a low amount of bikes. That is definitely useful. Not sure why that wasn't listed under the "Interactive Features for Users" heading.
Hitting the Repair button on the unit alerts the system of a faulty bike, too. Listed under "Locking The Bike" heading.
http://www.socialbicycles.com/design/
@Charbax
No way. Android is the most absolute garbage OS, even WinMo is better. The iPhone was the correct and PERFECT choice and will always be. You don't know anything and you're just an iHater. Deal with it.
@Charbax
it's not called the big apple for nothing
What's up with those ridiculous "bullhorns." As a bicycle frame builder and avid cyclist, I don't see how those bars with the downturned ends offer any advantage or benefit.
How about this idea, an intelligent lock sold for less than $50 that can transform any bike into a social sharing bike.
It would have GPS, 3G transmitter, and smart features built in. And it would be installed securely on any bike design as well as charge with a generator on the wheel.
The system would then include, buy an intelligent lock for your bike, share you bike, get it back later, or use anyone elses bike when you need it. It could even be, "earn some money by sharing your bike and getting it back later".
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget
Front wheel/seat of that bike stolen in 3... 2... 1...
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget iWill inform u to iPolice from my magical iPhone. But iWish I could make calls. :(
Suddenly, stocks of Purell just went up
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget what the heck why are they being discriminatory to people that dont have iphones, i mean wtf if u dont have an iphone u cant park your bike? rediculousness.
So New York City is still pretending that iPhone is the only smartphone? Or iPhone owners are the only ones worth catering to?
Might as well call this program the iPhone bicycle club.
I spent 30 years living in NYC and I predict:
Depending on the # of participants which is in turn related to the eventual membership requirements vs. fee schedule; and allowing for Murphy's Law which is stronger in NYC than in any other place in the known universe...
1. If you ride a bike to any destination, it will be gone when you come out.
2. Anything that can be stolen, will be stolen. In NYC, forget "anything not nailed down"; they'll steal the nails, the table, the building the table was in, and the street adjacent, just for yucks.