BRAKE DOWN
Awful injuries could lead to suits claiming e-bike bungle
When a pedestrian stepped in the path of Felipe Ventura and his electric Citi Bike, he slammed on the brakes—and flew head over heels to the ground, breaking both of his elbows.
Ventura at first blamed himself for the fall in Astoria, Queens. But he changed his mind last week when he learned Citi Bike pulled from service its entire fleet of 1,000 electric pedal-assist bikes because of a problem with their brakes. He’s among a growing number of injured electric Citi Bike users who are seeking legal help
The March 16 accident kept Ventura, 25, home from his job as a nurse—and may forever keep him from fully extending his arms.
To add insult to injury: someone who helped Ventura at the accident scene didn’t properly dock his bike. “They charged me an overtime fee for four hours—I think it was $12.50,” Ventura said.
The brake issue has brought a “small number of complaints,” Citi Bike said.
Other cyclists hurt after they slam the brakes on electric Citi Bikes at first also blamed themselves.
Bill Somers, 59, broke his hip after tapping the front brake on a pedal-assist Citi Bike on the Upper West Side last month. The hip he broke was one he had replaced last fall. His doctor told him it will be a year before he’s pain-free. “I initially blamed myself,” said Somers. “I told everybody that it seemed really odd how sensitive the brake was. But I didn’t tell Citi Bike.”
Both Somers and Ventura have hired lawyer David Perecman.
The Daily News has found eight New Yorkers who racked up medical expenses after flying off one of the easy-pedaling electric twowheelers.
Julia Li, 41, a daily bike commuter for more than 15 years, broke her left wrist March 3 after flying off a hard-stopping electric Citi Bike in Park Slope, Brooklyn. She said she’s looking into taking action against the company.
“I’m pretty confident on a bike,” said Li. “It just didn’t occur to me that there was a problem with the Citi Bike.”
John Bacon, 55, was riding a pedal-assist Citi Bike in Midtown on Feb. 19 when he hurtled over the handlebars after tapping the brake. He didn’t break any bones, but says that because of the crash, he can’t fully bend his right knee.
“I, too, thought it was my fault,” said Bacon. But now he wonders if he should sue.
Citi Bike may have poorly designed its electric bikes, say bicycle experts.
The electrics use brakes from Japan-based parts manufacturer Shimano. A Shimano spokesman claims Citi Bike misused the company’s products in building its electric models.
“This is not a Shimano brake issue,” said spokesman Eric Doyne.
Shimano specifications require power modulators on e-bike brakes, Doyne said. Electric-assist Citi Bikes lack such modulators, which are supposed to make it easier to control braking.
“It appears this specification was not followed by manufacturers of some of the bicycles in question,” Doyne said.
Lyft spokeswoman Julie Wood said the company — which operates the Citi Bike system — is working to find the root cause of the issue that injured Ventura and many others.
Wood said those hurt on the e-bikes must go through Citi Bike’s standard customer service process.
The issue caught the attention of Mayor de Blasio, a champion of the bike-share program.
“It came as a real surprise and it’s a serious issue and it’s a real concern,” de Blasio said last week.
Deputy Mayor for Operations Laura Anglin said the city Department of Transportation will now require more extensive incident reporting from Citi Bike.
It’s unclear whether Citi Bike will be able to make good on its promise to roll out 4,000 e-bikes by June 21. Wood said the company is working on a new model of pedal-assist bikes.
Lyft has also pulled its fleet of e-bikes from Washington D.C., and the San Francisco Bay Area.
In the meantime, some of those who were severely injured on the hard-stopping e-bikes plan to go after the company. “I knew this was going to occur,” said one Citi Bike employee with knowledge of the e-bikes. “It’s just one quick fix after another — these bikes are cheap.”