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A doofus steals a Citi Bike (bike share bike) and rides from NYC to California

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A doofus steals a Citi Bike (bike share bike) and rides from NYC to California

Old 12-29-15, 08:40 AM
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A doofus steals a Citi Bike (bike share bike) and rides from NYC to California

The doofus made it to California, and the headline makes it sound like he made it to the coast, but he plans to continue to Santa Monica, another distance of over 200 miles.

Guy Managed to Ride a Citi Bike All the Way to California
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Old 12-29-15, 08:49 AM
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Don't those thing weigh around 50 lbs?

Surely in NY, he coulda pinched something more suitable.
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Old 12-29-15, 09:18 AM
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Let's be charitable. Perhaps he plans to ride back and return the bike.
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Old 12-29-15, 09:32 AM
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Reminds me of that bus-driver incident way back in 1947
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Old 12-29-15, 09:46 AM
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The article says he has incurred $1200 in fees. He could have bought a pretty nice touring bike for the rental fees.
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Old 12-29-15, 10:20 AM
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There, I told you Sturmey Archer and drum brakes are awesome.
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Old 12-29-15, 12:18 PM
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Citi happens?

- Andy
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Old 12-29-15, 12:20 PM
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Originally Posted by bikemig
The article says he has incurred $1200 in fees. He could have bought a pretty nice touring bike for the rental fees.
That's assuming he pays the fees.

Odds are good Citi will recognize the PR value of this and not only waive them but pay him to be some sort of spokesperson...
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Old 01-01-16, 03:16 PM
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Originally Posted by GamblerGORD53
There, I told you Sturmey Archer and drum brakes are awesome.
Citi(and CaBi) bikes are all Shimano. Roller brakes are not proper drums,and are meh at best.
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Old 01-01-16, 03:19 PM
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Originally Posted by rmfnla
Odds are good Citi will recognize the PR value of this and not only waive them but pay him to be some sort of spokesperson...
They did it before for a Tri:
To the Triathlete Who Used a Capital Bikeshare Bike at Nation's Tri: We Salute You: DCist
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Old 01-01-16, 03:24 PM
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Well, noglider in NYC said some were switched to SA for both hubs. He had a thread with pics also.
The ones in China were Shimano rear roller, shaft drive and copycat drum in front.

Funny that there was just a picture thread started in Touring with a pic of just that doofus while still in PA.

Last edited by GamblerGORD53; 01-01-16 at 03:28 PM.
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Old 01-01-16, 03:35 PM
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Originally Posted by dynaryder
Oh come on .... 11.7 mpg ??? HTFU
My bike is 65 lbs with tools and 3 water bottles. My last century ride was 123 miles with a SA 5, avg. 15 mph moving. Parts were 16.8 avg.
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Old 01-01-16, 03:37 PM
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It wasn't me. I swear it.
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Old 01-01-16, 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by dynaryder
Citi(and CaBi) bikes are all Shimano. Roller brakes are not proper drums,and are meh at best.
Not true. The old Citibikes were shimano. The new Citibikes use Strumey Archer internal gear hubs. The gearing is much better than the Shimano Nexus.

America?s Biggest Bike-Share Operator Now Makes Its Own Bikes | Streetsblog New York City

Serrota designed the new citibikes.
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Old 01-01-16, 06:03 PM
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I wouldn't say the bike is stolen if it is legally checked out, and the guy has done nothing to hide his trip.

It looks like some toeclips have appeared on the bike, as well as a few stickers.



New tires?
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Old 01-01-16, 06:13 PM
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The photo sure as hell shows Sturmey Archer. Priceless ....
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Old 01-01-16, 10:56 PM
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@flattie, thanks for the article. I had missed it. Serotta did a really nice job with the analysis and redesign.
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Old 01-01-16, 11:13 PM
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Originally Posted by GamblerGORD53
Oh come on .... 11.7 mpg ??? HTFU
My bike is 65 lbs with tools and 3 water bottles. My last century ride was 123 miles with a SA 5, avg. 15 mph moving. Parts were 16.8 avg.
Something tells me that he didn't care too much about how fast he was going.
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Old 01-01-16, 11:17 PM
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Same here.
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Old 01-01-16, 11:42 PM
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Something also tells me this guy isn't a "doofus". It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
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Old 01-01-16, 11:58 PM
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It's great PR the first time. If you have a bunch of copy cats, well... I'm not sure it's something they'd want to encourage.
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Old 01-02-16, 12:10 AM
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I think you misspelled "Pee-Wee Herman reclaims his stolen bike and cruises from NYC to California with his feet up on the handlebars".
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Old 01-03-16, 12:22 AM
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Originally Posted by GamblerGORD53
Oh come on .... 11.7 mpg ??? HTFU
My bike is 65 lbs with tools and 3 water bottles. My last century ride was 123 miles with a SA 5, avg. 15 mph moving. Parts were 16.8 avg.
you averaged your moving speed, not your travelling speed, maybe he did differently? I can commute where my average moving speed is 20, but overall average is sub 15 due to stops.
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Old 01-03-16, 12:50 AM
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Well Yah my overall avg. was 10.46. Stopped for lunch, a 15 min. break for pics, supper and a banana split at sundown. I had 46 non-stop miles after lunch. Must have been 16.5 mph avg that stretch.
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Old 01-03-16, 08:38 AM
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Doofus? Don't think so. My hat's off to the guy. I also wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have a wink from Citibike that if he pulled it off and got some good pub that he wouldn't be fined.

He's far from the first though:

Cyclist takes on Mont Ventoux in Boris bike adventure - video | The Week UK

Holden also rode a Citibike up Mount Washington (and I think returned it within 24 hrs.)
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