This topic contains 6 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by methuselah 4 years, 1 month ago.
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November 11, 2012 at 8:18 pm #75076
Hi,
I’m new here although I did read a ton of posts here a year ago and got some great tips such as checking the tyres, bell, brakes, seat post before undocking.
Now here is my tip. Never, EVER, under any circumstances, attach your housekeys to the cycle hire key fob. In my view, it’s a terrible mistake that the fob comes with a keyring.
Many times I have wondered if I might one day leave my keys in the dock. This is because when you have undocked the bike with all that effort, you are distracted and a few times I almost forgot to grab my keys.
Today I hired a bike from Shoreditch High Street, close to Brick Lane and heaving with people. I cycled home 15 minutes away, docked the bike and realised I did not have my keys!!
I am normally the type of person to check and check again that I have my wallet and keys. My heart sank immediately!
I ran to the bus stop, jumped on one that turned up immediately, got back to Shoreditch High Street, ran back to the bicycle station and looked for my keys. They were gone! I could not see them in any of the docks.
I looked again and there they were! I guess that the fact that they are not very visible was a blessing in disguise! I was so grateful to get them back, I had several other keys on there too.
I have taken the fob off my set of house keys and will never, EVER, attach them again. I’d rather lose the fob (and quickly report it) than lose my house keys. I strongly recommend you do so as well, it’s not worth it!
Hope this helps you all. Don’t think it won’t happen to you! I thought the same and I got lucky.
November 11, 2012 at 11:10 pm #85660Simple answer – always take the keys out immediately. Once the lights start to flash, there’s no need to leave the cycle key in the docking station. So take it out and you won’t forget it.
November 12, 2012 at 2:55 pm #85661Believe me, I tried forming such new habits. But I still forgot to do it and then forgot the keys.
Having both a keyring AND a slot into which the fob fits is a mistake. There should be either no ring or a swipe system.
Also it’s not easy to remove a bike when you have keys in one hand. I think this just encourages you to leave the fob in the slot with the thought of “I’ll grab it after”.
Stupid design.
November 12, 2012 at 3:46 pm #85662Replying to @cyclemaniac‘s post:
Quote:Also it’s not easy to remove a bike when you have keys in one hand. I think this just encourages you to leave the fob in the slot with the thought of “I’ll grab it after”.I’m guessing from this that you physically pull the bike from the dock. There’s a simple one-handed release: Lift the back of the bike by the saddle about 6 inches in the air and then drop it. The bike will simply pop out and there’s no need to let go of your keys!
November 12, 2012 at 7:22 pm #85663I agree with ayeomans – a simple in and out motion and the key is back in your pocket. And Bimbles has the release sorted! I have the key on my home-keys keyring and for me it’s a great way never to lose either. Hope this advice helps cyclemaniac – and welcome to the forum, we need a few more contributors on here
November 13, 2012 at 6:02 pm #85664Me too I dip it in, whip it out and stick my keys back in my pocket before it’s finished flashing.
It’s like the habit of taking your keys out when you enter your house. It becomes automatic.
November 14, 2012 at 11:26 am #85665Yup – agreed. Immediate in/out/keys-into-pocket takes maybe 2 seconds max. Never let go of ‘em.
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