Owner Lyft pulls Citi Bike e-bikes off the road in NYC, Washington DC, and San Francisco after riders thrown over handlebars-NY Daily News, 4/14/19

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4/14/19, “Citi Bike pulls all of its e-bikes from service after riders thrown over handlebars,” NY Daily News, Clayton Guse

“Citi Bike is pulling all of its pedal-assist electric bicycles from service after discovering a braking malfunction has catapulted several riders over the handlebars in recent weeks.

The bike-sharing network’s owner Lyft announced the change Sunday, the latest hiccup in its plan to roll out 4,000 e-bikes across the five boroughs by June 21.

The Daily News confirmed at least four people riding electric Citi Bikes received medical treatment over the past six weeks after hard-stopping front brakes caused them to fly over the handlebars.

Bill Somers, 59, broke his hip on March 17 after flying over the handlebars while riding one of the faulty bikes on Central Park West.

“I tapped the brake and I just went flying,” said Somers, who lives near Columbus Circle. “I went over the handlebars and flew like 6 feet in the air.”

The accident put Somers in the hospital for four days — he broke the same hip that he had replaced in September. His doctor told him his hip will take months to heal, and that it could be a year before he’s pain-free.

Somers said he’s been riding bicycles since he was a child, and has been a Citi Bike user for six years.

He didn’t file a complaint after the incident — he thought the accident was his fault until Lyft announced it was pulling the e-bikes.

“I was not riding that fast at all,” said Somers. “I’ve been riding these e-bikes since they came out and I don’t remember this being a problem that I ran into.”

E-bikes have also been pulled from Lyft’s bike-sharing networks in Washington, D.C., and the Bay Area.

The announcement comes less than a month after an e-bike battery charging station sparked a fire at Citi Bike’s maintenance hub in Brooklyn.

Lyft spokeswoman Julie Wood said the company is working to find the root cause of the braking issue, and the halt in e-bike service is only temporary.

Workers at Citi Bike’s facility aren’t surprised by Lyft’s decision to pull the easy-riding e-bikes — one said the company has been aware of the problem for weeks.

“Everybody was waiting for a situation like this because they were worried someone was going to get hurt,” said one Citi Bike employee. “The motor in the front of the bikes was locking up. (Citi Bike operator Motivate) brought people in who were putting oil on the brakes and it kept drying up.”

Wood said Lyft has been working on a new e-bike model that will hit the streets soon, and that the e-bikes currently in service will be replaced by classic, pedal-powered two-wheelers. There are about 12,000 pedal bikes on city streets and 1,000 e-bikes.

“After a small number of reports and out of an abundance of caution, we are proactively pausing our electric bikes from service,” said Wood. “Safety always comes first.”

The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The safety of New Yorkers is DOT’s top priority,” said Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Gastel. “We expect Lyft to maintain a safe and fully operational fleet providing sufficient service, and we will monitor as they investigate the cause of this brake issue.””…

Image: “Citi Bike’s electrical bicycle. (Luiz C. Ribeiro / for New York Daily News)”

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