I came across a bike share today, the Healthy Ride sponsored by Highmark and Allegheny Health Network. The first thing I noticed was the cool touch screen on the kiosks. The second thing I noticed was the handle grip falling off a bicycle.

I twisted the grip back on but, I think this is dangerous. I tested the other bikes and the grips were loose on all of them. The grips are ergonomic, that’s the flared out part of the grip, your palm is supposed to rest on that. Since the grip is not secured properly this can put the ergonomic part in any position. Including right in the way of your hand which could make it hard to grip. The other thing I noticed was the bolts that had fallen out that hold the bungee straps on the front.

Here you can see the left side bolt fell out and the right side is still there. On some bikes both bolts have already fallen out. This bike share isn’t even a year old.

You can see the two holes here with both bolts missing.

One cool thing is the keypad on the rear of the bike, It says enter phone number. I guess you put in your number and it will know if you have ride time. Pretty cool!

Here is a photo of what the bicycle looks like. There are a bunch of speeds on the the bikes controlled by grip shifters. The shifting is controlled by a rear internal hub. This is probably very reliable and relatively maintenance free. The brakes and the shifter feel well adjusted on the ones I tested.

I think not glueing the grips creates a dangerous situation. It won’t be fun when someones grip falls off when they are going up a hill. The front bolts for the bungee cords should have been locklite-ed or a nylon locking washer could have been used.