I actually prefer biking fast in NYC. The traffic lights are synchronized to 30mph traffic. It's not easy to sustain 30 mph (you need a racing bike or to be in very good shape) but I try to get up to 20-22 mph to limit my time spent at lights. Of course, this isn't an option if I need to be presentable and not sweaty whereever I'm going.
I've noticed the same, the only time I can ever "keep up" with the green lights on my folding Dahon is on 5th ave, the very down-hill portion from 40th street to about 23rd.
There are some special streets though which are not in sync with the other lights: 42nd, 23rd, 14th (maybe 34th)... so as long as I catch each leg within one green light I consider that successful.
That's a nice stretch. 7th Avenue between 59th and 48th is also pretty nice hill-wise (assuming the traffic isn't insane).
I've found this to be very dangerous, because other bicyclists simply do not obey traffic laws.
For example: they regularly run red lights, which makes approaching intersections at-speed dangerous for both parties. I was nearly hit on one occasion (the other cyclist skidded out and set his bike down) while I had a clear green light.
After that (and a few other incidents), I stopped riding fast in Manhattan. I'd love to see strict and brutal enforcement of traffic laws to curb people's antisocial bicycle behavior, but I doubt we will.
I don't comment much but this is a misconception I believe.
This study, www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/traffic-note-8-cycling-red-lights.pdf by TFL points out that an average of 16% of cyclist jump lights etc... That's a load of people, but still a minority of cyclist out on the roads.
If 16% of drivers jumped the lights, we'd rightly be outraged.
You're spot-on with this description, but there's a nuance that many commenters here are overlooking: these bikes are designed for novice bike riders. These bikes are tanks. They force you to ride slowly, sit upright, and they are easy to jump off of. They're designed to get novice riders across town safely.
The same bike-sharing program is currently in it's second year here in Boston. Our version is called "Hubway" (www.thehubway.com). Same equipment. It's great a great way for tourists to see our city and gives many of us a much-needed alternative to our subway system (the "T").
I had to meet some friends in soho, which normally takes about 25 minutes by subway or 10 minutes by cab - I casually biked there in 12 minutes. It was great being able to leave my bike a block from where I was meeting my friends without worrying about locking it, and it was great that I could pick up another bike several blocks away to go home.
The bikes themselves are clunky and built like tanks, which seems right because the bikes will be used a lot and are always outside. The bikes ride slowly, which again seems right for a commuting bike in a crowded urban setting.
The bike stations are still having some issues that I hope will be ironed out shortly. Every time I tried to take out a bike the station would abort with a flashing red light the first three or four times, which was annoying. The station map was down all of yesterday, so I had to search around a bit for stations. That said the stations are nearly ubiquitous in downtown manhattan so it really wasn't a big issue.
Overall I'm really happy with the program and plan on using it a lot.