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Boris Johnson’s answer to Paris’s Vélib bike-hire scheme launched in London today. Follow live updates and post your views and experiences of Barclays cycle hire

8.44am:
The satirical website The Poke has been having fun with the scheme and Photoshop.

Batting away criticism that the £750 million price tag for the Millenium Bicycle was ’scandalous’, Johnson boasted that “this extra wheel will be just the beginning. Over time we will add the Millennium Wicker Basket, the Millennium Child Seat, and the Millennium ‘Ping’ Bicycle Bell – itself large enough to include a five star restaurant hosted by Michel Roux.”

8.36am:
Dave Hill has blogs his verdict here.

The bikes’ weight and bulk look belie how easy they are to ride. I pedalled pretty effortlessly down Whitechapel Road. The three gears worked smoothly and the brakes did what brakes are meant to do. There’s a warning message between the handlebars about the potential danger from motor vehicles turning left. Yes indeed. With the Gherkin in my sights ahead I could have struck out for the City, but rather than push my luck I turned off down the side streets and meandered for a quarter of an hour or - discovering in the process red flashing lights near the rear wheels - so before returning the bike to a different, bigger docking station further down Whitechapel Road in New Road.

8.22am:
Boris Johnson has spoken (with another jibe at David Cameron’s Big Society). “This is the Rolls Royce of bicycles. I’m not saying it will win the Tour de France, but it is a beautiful, beautiful machine. I believe this cycling revolution will tackle all sorts of problems in society: pollution, it will help to get us fitter, it will help to tackle the scourge of obesity, or Big Society, as it is sometimes confusingly known. I think it will be a wonderful way of getting people out of their cars.”

He adds: “In 1904, 20% of journeys were made by bicycle and in London. I want to see that kind of figure again. If you can’t turn the clock back to 1904 ladies and gentlemen, what is the point of being a Conservative?”

Here’s the audio thanks to the community blogger SE1.

8.18am:
The prolific letter writer Keith Flett tweets:

8.10am:
Former mayor Ken Livingstone grudgingly welcomes the scheme, but points out he thought of it first. He emailed this statement:

I am delighted that the London bike hire scheme has become a reality at last and I encourage Londoners to register and take advantage of the new bikes.”

“Despite the delays and set-backs in delivering the scheme, I believe today marks a step on the road to making London a true cycling city but there remains a concern that while millions has been spent on a central London scheme at the same time Boris Johnson cut cycle funding in many outer London boroughs.

8.05am:
“Barclays Cycle Hire will revolutionise how we get around central London,” says Boris’s transport man David Brown said. Really?

7.48am:
The early verdict on Twitter has been generally positive. But here are some gripes:

MahaViv: “Do no locks on the London Barclays Bike Hire scheme mean you literally can’t even risk stopping for lunch somewhere?“

laurenuu: “Well I already thing [sic] the TfL cycle hire is crap. For the first month you have to register for it in advance. Thought it was making it easier“

Ecojames: London Bike Hire Scheme - yet another scheme to rip off Londoners and tourists alike http://nblo.gs/6m3pE

However, Andrew Garnett, editor of New Transport magazine is more typical in expressing enthusiasm.

“Had my first go on London cycle hire. Brilliant, intuitive bike that you feel rather grand riding. A massive, thumping 10/10 from me!“

7.39am:
The magazine Time Out has prepared this useful clickable Google Map of the all the docking stations, together with a guide to the scheme.

7.33am:
The Londonist blog also likes the bikes with some quibbles about the heft.

Sturdy doesn’t really do it justice: these are designed to withstand a beating from both careless cyclists and drunken vandals alike. They’re heavy and slow to turn, which might catch out anyone familiar with a nimble Brompton.

In a token gesture towards safety, there’s a sign planted in the middle of the handlebars warning cyclists to beware large vehicles turning left. Well, we can’t say they didn’t warn us! There’s also a functional bag holder and strap on the front, which didn’t look like the kind of place you’d want to store something valuable like your laptop.

Overall it was a pleasant, indeed fun, experience, and at least one Londonista will be riding to work today to see how the bikes perform on a proper trip.

7.26am:
“Yesterday I was sitting in the office saying ‘it’s never going to work’ and then when I hoped on a bike I was immediately converted. I just felt a celebrity - everyone was like ‘are you on one of Boris’s bikes’,” says new enthusiast Helen Pidd.

7.08am:
Occasional cyclist and the Guardian’s London blogger Dave Hill tried out a bike in Whitechapel. He found the appearance of the bikes “over Barclayed” but otherwise he gives them high marks. “I hope Boris isn’t listening, but nothing seemed to be wrong with it, so I’m going to give it a provisional 10″ he told me.

6.44am:
Not all the docking stations are ready. There are supposed to be 36 bikes available at London Zoo (according to my phone app), but when I went there this morning, just after 6am, only four bikes were there and the docking post was wrapped in hazard tape.

Here’s some very amateur mobile phone footage:

6.30am:
Up to 6,000 bikes at 400 “docking stations” were due to made available for hire today for the launch of Boris Johnson’s much-trumpeted Barclays Cycle Hire scheme.

Perhaps in an effort to lower expectations, the London mayor has already predicted that “lots of things will go wrong” – and some already have, according to the Evening Standard.

Yesterday, Transport for London confirmed that only about 300 stations and 5,000 bikes would be ready today. They also said that around 11,000 people had registered to use those bikes.

We’ll be tracking the first day of the launch as the public puts the bikes, and the docking stations, to the test. Please send us your first impressions.

And if you’re having trouble finding one of the hire bikes, try out one of the mobile phone apps reviewed by the Londonist blog.

In Paris the successful Vélib scheme prompted something of craze for performing stunts on the hire bikes, such as riding down steps and skate board ramps and filming the results.

If you happen to spot anything like this, do let us know.

So far the London bikes have had mixed reviews. They are too slow, too heavy, don’t have a lock or a basket, but otherwise they’re fine, according to the Guardian’s Leo Hickman, who was given a preview.

The Green London Assembly member Jenny Jones is an enthusiast, but she’s worried it’s too expensive, too small compared to Paris, and she doesn’t like the lack of a lock either.

Then there’s the name. If you object to the official corporate title please suggest another one.

Tags: Guardian //