> They are heavy because they need to be extremely sturdy.
That makes sense.
> That said, weight isn't too much of a problem.
This I would dispute. The way I see it there are two main consumers of bikeshares in the beginning (before the system hits critical mass and ubiquity):
1. People who don't own bikes, aren't regular cyclists
2. Cyclists who are visiting the area and didn't/couldn't bring their own bike with them
Of those, 1 is likely to be the majority. When I tried viaCycle, I was in category 1. I was also in terrible shape (as some non-cyclists are also). When you're in that demographic, a few extra kilos in bike weight (plus hills) makes a massive difference to how the ride _feels_ and how likely you are to try it again.
Overall I wonder whether, instead of promoting bikeshares, cities should try and foster a biking culture and make it easier to ride everywhere. Examples:
1. Mandate minimum amounts of bike parking for businesses (I don't know if any cities already do this), as they already do for car parking
2. Mandate minimum levels of convenience for bike parking at businesses. Eg. Valley Fair Mall in San Jose/Santa Clara has maybe 2 or 3 tiny bike parking stands, sometimes hidden away inside the car parking structures. Which means you're in for a long walk after locking your bike. It doesn't have to be like that. I understand that bike stands might be demand-driven; i.e they aren't installed because customers don't demand them. But it could very well be a chicken-and-egg problem and it doesn't cost much to find out.
3. Make street bike parking and locking safer (I'll admit I don't have any ideas for how to do this)
4. Make it easier to bring bikes onto public transport - This one is admittedly a tough sell in places with already-crowded public transport; but in most places like that you probably have the critical density needed for a successful bikeshare program. OTOH it could also increase public transport ridership in places that don't have that much population density.
5. Bike lanes with barriers - drivers hate them but if a city is determined to get more people biking, this could help. Many would-be cyclists are skittish about sharing the road with huge pickup trucks and texting drivers.
6. During the planning approval process (or whatever it's called) for new buildings, take into account pedestrian/bike accessibility. Eg. Buildings or complexes that are built on corner lots and only have parking lot entrances on either street side built for cars, but no pedestrian/bike entrance on the corner. Pedestrians/cyclists have to walk/ride all the way around to one of the car entrances or hop a fence/hedge or something. In theory it shouldn't even be hard for most existing parking lots on corners to add a small pedestrian/bike entrance.
EDIT: formatting