NEW YORK (BRAIN) — Citi Bike will be without its electric bike fleet this summer as its model redesign takes longer than expected.
In a tweet May 13, Citi Bike said, "We expect pedal-assist bikes will return to the Citi Bike system this fall and are hard at work designing an improved model that we know our riders will love. Rider safety always comes first and we look forward to continuing to serve NYC."
The bikes were taken off the road April 14 in three cities after complaints from riders who were thrown over the handlebars because of excessive front brake force. Motivate, Lyft's bike-sharing division, was the latest to report a Shimano brake issue. Uber also had some brake-force issues until its bikes were updated with a power modulator.
Julie Wood, head of communications for Lyft Bikes & Scooters, told BRAIN last month that Lyft was working with suppliers and a third-party engineering group to analyze its braking problems and said the new e-bike model would be ready soon. Shimano said improper brake spec' could have been the cause of the brake issues.
The company will continue relying on pedal bikes.
Update regarding pedal-assist bikes:
We expect pedal-assist bikes will return to the Citi Bike system this fall and are hard at work designing an improved model that we know our riders will love. Rider safety always comes first and we look forward to continuing to serve NYC.— Citi Bike (@CitiBikeNYC) May 13, 2019
