While I’m still looking into an allegation that Lyft ordered the destruction of 400 Biketown bikes, I’ve got some interesting related news to share: Portland will soon get Lyft’s newest generation e-bike. (UPDATE. 4:45 pm: They’ve been launched! Scroll to end for the official word.)
Users of the Biketown app and website recently reported seeing a graphic and text that reads, “Meet the new Biketown e-bike.” I reached out to Lyft and they confirmed Portland will get the new bikes after a testing phase is complete. No word yet on when we’ll see the new bikes or how many will be added to our fleet.
The bikes Portland is about to get are known as Lyft’s “Cosmo” model that the company debuted in 2021 and was first used in Chicago later that same year. Since then the bike has been launched in San Francisco and New York City, where they are so popular it’s often hard to find one to rent. Lyft says when the bikes launched in Chicago they received almost 90% more trips per day than the bikes they replaced.
Given how Lyft has rolled these out in other cities and given that the Biketown website still shows the current e-bike models on the page, we can expect Portland’s bike share system to offer both bikes simultaneously. (Citi Bike in New York City has three different bikes in their system: A non-motorized bike, a first-gen e-bike, and the new Cosmo model.)
Portland’s new bike share bikes will be much different than the e-bikes we currently have in the fleet. Biketown will drop the bright “Nike box orange” color it’s had since its launch in 2016. The new color will be light grey, the same as the new electric scooters that hit the streets last week. Lyft and the City of Portland have had major issues with fading paint, so the new color will remedy that problem.
The new bikes will have a more modern look with a one-piece downtube that has an integrated battery. The fully enclosed chain is also different than the bikes we use now. Users will also appreciate the new seat adjustment lever because it’s much more ergonomic and easy-to-use than the current bikes. Other distinct features include an LCD screen on the dash and a futuristic front light.
I rode the Cosmo e-bikes extensively in New York City last fall and they were really fun and worked well. There is no shifting and the powerful motor simply adjusts to your input. One negative I recall is that the ride is extremely harsh — of course that could be partly a function of the bumpy street conditions in Manhattan.
Lyft says the new bikes have stronger batteries which means they’ll remain in the field (and available to riders) longer before having to be swapped out. A brighter headlight and reflective paint will make these bikes safer than the older ones.
Portland launched Biketown in 2016 with analog bikes, then went fully electric in 2020.
Look for these new bikes to land soon. If you see one in the field please let me know. I’ll update this post if I hear any confirmation about a launch date.
UPDATE, 4:45 pm: PBOT spokesperson Dylan Rivera said the new bikes have hit the streets today. In the coming weeks Lyft will deploy 350 new Cosmo e-bikes. That, along with a service area expansion in the Sellwood area (including the Springwater Corridor), is “great news for Biketown riders,” Rivera said.
