Been doing the classic blue Citi Bike from Fort Greene over the Manhattan Bridge to the LES a couple times a week. Not new to riding in traffic, but the bridge path has become a whole different animal. Lately I'm getting passed on both sides by grey e-Citi Bikes and delivery scooter-type things, half of them no bell, no warning. I keep right, I'm not crawling, but on the climb I'm maybe doing 8 mph and they're doing 20. I'm starting to feel like a rolling chicane. Is the non-electric Citi Bike just not the move for bridge crossings anymore? Do I suck it up, switch to the e-bikes, or just cross at 7:30 and hope for the best?

I know exactly what you're talking about. The bridge path is narrow, and when you add joggers and tourists and some guy filming the skyline, there's nowhere to go. I ride a classic too. I just ring my bell constantly and hold my line. Not paying the e-bike surcharge twice a day just because other people want to treat it like a moped lane.

Unpopular opinion but the e-bikes aren't the whole problem. The path was built as a shared recreation crossing, and now it's functioning as a rush-hour bike highway. That's a capacity issue. On any bridge incline, a heavy Citi Bike with a casual rider is going to be slower than an e-bike rider who paid to get uphill fast. Blaming the e-bike for passing is like blaming the express train for not stopping at local stations. The real fix is DOT giving us a real separated lane, or at least a slower/walk side that's actually enforced.

I've mostly given up on the Manhattan Bridge after 8:15. Too many near misses. Now I either take the Brooklyn Bridge or the ferry if I'm not in a rush. The ferry costs more but I'm not white-knuckling the whole way. The speed gap is real, but honestly I'd take it over trying to find a quiet table in my neighborhood. There's already a whole thread on that: Anniversary dinner in Carroll Gardens on a Tuesday: quiet enough to talk, not another small plates counter? Anniversary dinner in Carroll Gardens on a Tuesday: quiet enough to talk, not another small plates counter? Same energy—just trying to get through an hour without having to shout or dodge.

@CobbleHill_C Ferry is underrated. I forget it exists because I'm always trying to save the few extra bucks. But you're right, the bridge after 8:15 is a lost cause. And @rent_control_myth I'm not trying to ban e-bikes, I get it. It's the no-bell pass on the right while I'm avoiding a pothole that gets me. If you're gonna pass, use the left like a normal bike.

@rent_control_myth I agree the path is too mixed, but I don't think the 'express train' analogy quite works. Express trains don't pass you six inches from your elbow. The physical speed gap is a safety problem, not just a convenience gap. I saw a delivery guy on a throttle bike pass a dad with a kid trailer right before the crest. Nobody needs to make that pass there.

Fair. The right-side pass is bad. But if you've ever been behind a wobbling Citibiker in the middle of the path on the downhill with your brakes cooking, you understand why someone might take the gap. I think the answer is to get tourists and pedestrians off the bridge path, not to cap e-bikes. But nobody wants to say that because it sounds mean.

I don't think tourists are the main issue on weekday mornings. The problem is that the path serves three different trips at once: local commuters, delivery riders, and sightseers. You can't have one twelve-foot path for all three and expect calm. I just started leaving Fort Greene at 7:05. It's a completely different ride. After 8:00, forget it.

I think I'm just going to pay for the e-bike on the way home. The surcharge stinks, but keeping up with traffic on the bridge is worth the sanity. Mornings I can use the classic because I'm early. Evenings I'll eat the cost. Might also start using Jay Street instead of Manhattan Bridge if it's a zoo.

Unpopular but the e-bike surcharge may be the only thing keeping the classic bikes from being totally abandoned. If e-bikes were the same price, everyone would ride them, the docks would be empty of classics, and the speed gap would get even worse because the slowest thing on the path would be someone walking their broken Citi Bike. The price difference is a crude traffic regulator.

That's a take. I still think they should cap e-bike assist on bridge paths or require bell use. But you're right that surcharge is basically congestion pricing for the path. I'm not ready to pay it every day though. My legs get me there, just a little later.

I saw a pile of broken glass at the top of the Manhattan Bridge path last Tuesday. That's the bigger issue for me right now. You can dodge e-bikes, but glass will get you either way. The city doesn't sweep the path nearly enough. I'd rather have a dedicated street lane like the Manhattan Bridge lower level or something.

Good talk. I'll do the early crossing and maybe try e-bike home this week. If you see a guy on a classic blue Citibike with a flat gray helmet hugging the right, that's me. Ring your bell, don't pass on the right, and I'll stay out of the way. Stay safe out there.