Chicago bike sharing will be known as Divvy, be Chicago flag blue

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on August 23, 2013 at 1:14pm

Gee, Tim, the way you describe it it sounds a lot like a tongue-in-cheek piece. The old boy has been know for his sarcasm at times, you know.

Tim S said:

I will save you the annoyance and deny the Tribune the click through. Don't watch it.

That dope once again is bagging on bikes and Divvy people suggesting that he does not want it in his neighbourhood, ie by the Tribune, and that reporters are routinely almost run over by little old ladies from Denmark and that they occasionally crash into the Polish PediCab. Even went so far as to say he occasionally wants to throw an elbow at the riders.

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Permalink Reply by Tim S on August 23, 2013 at 1:39pm

I can only hope it is a little tongue in cheek, no one can be that ummm, head up their ass-ish?

Otherwise I am going to look for some Greek elbow to run into my Canadian head and maybe get some American money because we have documented proof he wants to hurt cyclists.

;)

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Permalink Reply by 1s20gdv3auw5h on September 14, 2013 at 8:50am

Take a ride this afternoon. Great sunny day for a ride!

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Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on September 14, 2013 at 9:02am

Ha! Glad you said it.

Jeff Schneider said:

It also seems to be a great day for cross-posting...

Domenica Cresap said:

Take a ride this afternoon. Great sunny day for a ride!

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Permalink Reply by Maurice on September 14, 2013 at 12:11pm

Busy week for station installations in Bridgeport.

One in the most obvious location at the Hipster Triangle (31st and Morgan) so you can Divvy your way to Maria's and such.

Also 3 more near 35th and Halsted, 35th and Wallace, and 37th and Halsted--all within an approx. 1/4 mile radius.

I'm guessing that the one on 31st St. gets more use than the other 3 combined.

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Permalink Reply by Reuben Hussmann on November 30, 2013 at 4:58pm

Has anyone else been Divvying up through now? I typically keep up with the same route on a daily basis (I use Divvy basically 5x/week to get home from work) and have had 0 problems with the program using it the way I do.

I've heard from other riders that they have noticed fewer bikes at stations (pointed out as a good thing- no waits or need to ride to a nearby station to dock it), but overall the program is still being used. Are others noticing the same thing?

It'd be great to see what ridership figures are like throughout the first year of implementation. I'm curious to see how much the numbers drop in the winter. My hope is the program is still utilized quite a bit even during bad weather. I've found the bikes to be very sturdy and comfortable even during slick weather conditions.

My ride home on Monday (black ice) left me with only a couple slight slips but no falls while a lot of other cyclists who looked geared up and experienced were wiping out left and right. I think the heaviness of the Divvy bikes actually help it through some of the slick conditions. Internal hub gears and good brake systems help too.

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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on December 1, 2013 at 11:41am

I used Divvy bikes last night for my 5 mile round trip, between work and the Clybourn Metra station, as I do every weekend night. For me, it's the fastest and cheapest way to go, particularly after midnight when a number of bus lines are shut down. You're right, there are fewer bikes currently in circulation right now, by design, as there aren't as many bikes checked out in this weather as there were on a sunny August afternoon. Instead of balancing most stations 50% bikes to 50% open docks, the mix in most cases is more 33% bikes to 66% open docks. But if certain stations should suddenly empty out, it doesn't take long to zoom a van over and put out more bikes. Right now, the Divvy shop is bursting at the seams with stored bikes; it's hard to even walk through the place. When the weather warms up again, many of the stored bikes will be put back out. And the next 125 stations, to be installed this coming spring & summer, will absorb even more of the stored bikes.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on December 1, 2013 at 8:11pm

FYI the qualities of the Divvy bikes that make them good for winter conditions has come up a few times-- IMO they include:

-Upright riding position that unweights the handlebars, plus rider's weight is centered farely aft, reducing slippage brought on by oversteering and reducing the speed at which the front would slip out (rear slippage is much easier to recover from.)

-step through frame makes it easier to bail without a close encounter with the top tube

-low gearing and general difficulty of riding out of the saddle due to the shape of the bike makes the rear wheel less likely to slip from overtorquing

-likelihood of riding with the seat too low rather than taking time to adjust it means easier foot-downs while in the saddle...