In case you didn’t notice, New York, there’s a bike boom happening: over 800,000 people tried Citi Bike for the first time last year, and riders took nearly 28 million rides overall. Ebikes are pulling a new group of riders onto Citi Bike by helping them get to their destination faster, and climb hills and bridges without breaking a sweat, no matter their physical ability. In fact, our ebikes served two to three times as many rides per bike as our classic pedal bikes last year. There’s no sign of the bike boom slowing down...and neither are we. Enter the next generation Citi Bike ebike.
“Our design team created an ebike New Yorkers will love, and one that’s built to last. We’re very excited to grow Lyft’s Citi Bike options and bring more safety and joy to bike riding,” said John Zimmer, President and Co-Founder of Lyft.
Our in-house industrial design team spent two years developing and refining the new ebike through multiple prototypes based on feedback from a diverse group of riders to create an ebike that is truly built for everyone. The next generation Lyft ebike is a joy to ride with a sleek form-factor, a smooth and adaptive motor, as well as improved ergonomics to accommodate a larger range of riders. The new modern design integrates personalized features with a built-in speaker system, new lighting effects and improved safety features like on-board sensors and retroreflective paint.
“Ebikes have become the first choice of Citi Bike riders. Our new ebike is the best yet with a beautiful modern design, industry leading safety technology, and a low carbon footprint," said Laura Fox, Lyft General Manager of Citi Bike.
We built an ebike optimized to need fewer repairs and battery swaps, and to withstand being out on the street year-round for ten thousand rides over the course of its life. That will mean lower operating costs and will help reduce its environmental impact. It’s also station-charging capable, a feature we will be piloting in the next few months.
As we gradually introduce more ebikes into the fleet in the coming weeks, Reduced Fare Bikeshare members, Citi Bike members, and Lyft Pink members will have an exclusive opportunity to try it first. They will get early access to the ebike as a perk for a couple of months, before everyone else will be able to ride. For those who aren’t already members, Lyft will offer a 15-day free trial to experience all the perks of membership.
Intuitive: The new ebike has a seamless, single gear transmission that is tuned perfectly for all speeds and grades of road, not requiring any manual or automatic transitions.
Sleek: Modern form-factor with the battery and all cables integrated into the frame of the ebike.
Power and finesse: The ebike’s motor is more powerful, but only when you need it, for example on hills and bridges.
Beacon: A powerful illuminated light ring known as the LED beacon brings even more distinct recognition and visibility to the ebike at night - similar to cars - to create our unique and recognizable light feature.
Retroreflective paint: We custom designed a new type of paint that is retroreflective like street signs, illuminating ebikes at night and keeping riders visible.
Safety sensors: Our on-board safety sensors self-monitor every sub-system, including brakes and batteries, ensuring riders will find a more reliable ebike in a state of good repair.
Hydraulic brake: Top-of-the-line rear hydraulic brake, meaning riders can more safely achieve a smoother stop with less force and it will require less frequent maintenance.
An Ebike for all sizes: Improved design to be more comfortable for a three inch wider range than its predecessor, with an improved seat clamp for adjusting to your height.
Built-in tutorials: LCD screen and speaker will give riders instruction for unlocking, parking, and more.
Longer rides: Battery capacity improved to 60 miles on a single charge, meaning more ebikes available to consumers at stations and fewer operations trips to replace batteries.
After thousands of hours of testing and tinkering, we're ready to put the new ebikes into the hands of New Yorkers.