Wondering if anyone had done this. I see some advisories on their page about conditions, which suggests it's in principle available but that there may be practical difficulties. Wondering if anyone had practical experience. Not trying to get to 100% or even super close, have decent transit options, just trying to avoid screwing up or failing to stop on standard derailer rim brake road-ish bike and ride most days. Someone stole my winter bike and with the system expansion into squirrel hill, I'm not going that far out of my way. 3 months or so of healthy ride looks cheap if it'd cover most rideable days.
byogman
2018-11-28 08:33:56
Healthy Rides handle ok in the snow, with their wide tires and heavy bodies. But often in the cold the locks fail to disengage so you can't rent them. The brakes and shifters can get a little wonky when it's real cold too. I've reported these problems to them and they basically say "sorry." So, not the most reliable source of transport, but I do use them on occasion (like today) when I don't have my winter ride for some reason.
dberlin
2018-11-28 10:15:56
My friend used to use them from shadyside to CMU regularly in the winter, didn't have too many issues.
Not having to hose the salt off my own bike is a big plus.
benzo
2018-11-28 10:49:30
Since I got my new bike a year ago, I’ve been using the rentals more. As always, the biggest hurdle to my riding anywhere is getting out of my own neighborhood, so any trip starting downtown usually is a rental. That trend is likely to continue through the winter.
stuinmccandless
2018-11-29 04:50:54
Update: I used a Healthy Ride last night when it was pretty cold. They've installed new locking systems since last year (skewer through the tire, rather than the latching disk thingy), and they seem to disengage better in below freezing temperatures. The shifter was frozen at the beginning of my ride, although it loosened up pretty quickly.
dberlin
2018-11-29 09:38:14
paulheckbert
2018-11-29 11:04:37
I just counted. 40 rentals in the last year, including 11 this month.
stuinmccandless
2018-11-29 17:45:01
@Stu,
I was in you neighborhood today before turning around and riding back to Lawrenceville via Millvale. Look at my post on 2018 Riding conditions report.
I was not too difficult for me to ride from McCandless to Lawrenceville.
From the top of Perrymont Rd:
- L. Perry Hwy.
- L. Rochester Rd.
- R. Babcock Blvd.
- L. Babcock Blvd.
- S. North Ave.
- R. North Ave.
- L. Grant Ave.
- S. E. Ohio St.
- L. 40th St. Bridge downstream sidewalk.
- L. Butler St
- Board 91 bus at 43rd St.
I will post video later.
zzwergel
2018-11-29 20:22:41
Z, if you have a red & blue jacket, I’ve seen you a couple of times, though I missed you yesterday.
To the point of this thread, though, I haven’t ridden a rental bike north of North Ave yet. I don’t know what the rules are for borrowing one overnight. I’m assuming it’s the standard $2/30-min all night.
The HealthyRide folks might want to look into some sort of overnight deal such as borrow after 8pm, return before 8am, for $5, plus $2/30min outside of those hours. That would make it competitive with bus travel on cost, and help people with sparse bus service. I’m guessing on the hours here, but suspect demand drops off after 8pm. Those commuting home after hours could probably make good use of an all-night bike without impacting daytime rentals.
stuinmccandless
2018-11-30 08:04:46
