POUND-ING THE PAVEMENT: Dani Simons carefully slides one of the city’s 45-pound rides into its frame at the Brooklyn Navy Yard yesterday.
If you sign up for the city’s new bike-share program, get ready for a workout — before you even begin pedaling.
Simply heaving the bulky, 45-pound cruisers in and out of their kiosk slots is heavy lifting. And riding them isn’t that easy, either — they’re solid to the point of being clunky to maneuver at times.
After their use, bikes must be rolled into a kiosk slot at just the right angle — until it clicks locked.
But checking the bikes in and out simply takes practice, said Seth Solomonow, a spokesman for the city Department of Transportation. “We expect people to figure it out pretty quick,” he said.
“These are the same bikes used in [Washington] DC, Boston and elsewhere for years without issues,” he added. “We think New Yorkers won’t be exceptions.”
The bike-share program launches May 27. It will cost $95 annually or $25 per week. New Yorkers will eventually get access to 6,000 bikes at 330 kiosk locations citywide.
More than 7,000 people have already signed up for the program — but owners of bike-rental shops said yesterday they don’t feel threatened by the soon-to-launch program.
Heavy bikes aren’t exactly a pleasure to pedal, said one shop owner, who rents bikes to tourists.
“I wouldn’t say [City Bikes] are a joyride,” said Bob Fesselmeyer, 32, who manages Blazing Saddles in the Financial District. “I think our bicycles are definitely better.”
He added he doesn’t think the bike share is a threat to his business. “It might affect us a little bit — but I’m being optimistic,” he said.
The city’s bicycles feature lights on both the front and back that are activated by pedaling.
There’s also a chip inside the bike that records who checked it out, based on credit-card records. Users have 30 minutes to return the bike to a station after checkout — and cyclists who come upon full kiosks are directed to the next-nearest one by a computer screen.
If a kiosk is full, cyclists are allotted an extra 15 minutes to return the bikes before incurring a late fee.
City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan yesterday said the heavy bikes are simply safer.
“These bikes are very sturdy and heavy — they go slow,” Sadik-Khan said. “So we don’t anticipate issues with safety on the streets of New York.”
A similar program is running in London.