What members said
The board agreed to survey members on the new site. The pattern, not the people: club members cannot agree the new site is better than the one it replaced.
- Four in tensay the new site is worse than the old one.
- Fifteenasked, in writing, to bring the old site back.
- Zerofeatures earned a passing grade.
“Just … reconsider the whole project. Was the new site built by people who never used the old site? The members never see the whole ride description because it’s hidden in boxes.”
Ride leader and volunteer, 10+ years in the club
“The listings on the old site were much clearer and also easier to read. Sorry to say, but as far as I am concerned it is a very poor ROI after years under development.”
Ride leader and volunteer, 10+ years in the club
“Ride listings take several clicks just to see what the leader has posted. All feedback given during initial stages was ignored, even from UX and other professionals who work in the industry. The website has turned off new potential leaders.”
Ride leader and volunteer, 10+ years in the club
“UX design and layout for most screens is poor for its primary function for members: ride information. I speak from well over 30 years of experience building large professional public websites.”
Ride leader, 10+ years in the club
Member survey, 2026, run after a board motion. Quotes are anonymized by the survey.
What members did
Club leadership spent about $200,000 on the new site. Riders said it was worse, and it did nothing to bring them back.
Fewer members ride.
Down for the second year in a row: 1,272, then 1,231, now 1,166.
Rides got emptier.
About a fifth fewer riders on the average club ride than a year ago.
Club ride records, 2026 against the same dates in 2025. Rider totals cover January 1 to October 16.
What $200,000 bought
Board minutes & financial statementsTwo ways to build a club website, side by side. Figures are from NYCC board minutes and financial statements.
| The official project | The member-built alternative | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | Since 2022. Rides app since Aug 2023. | About seven months. |
| Cost to members | About $200,000 | $0 to the club |
| Launch | Promised spring 2025, then Dec 2025–Jan 2026. Live May 2026. | Working. A demo runs at demo.nyc-rides.bike.* |
| Ride history | None imported. | 30,000+ historical rides imported. |
| Who built it | Outside contractors, several developer turnovers. | One member, with volunteers ready. |
* The member-built site ran at tools.nycc.org, where any member could log in and test it. Scott took it down after four board members asked him to.
The timeline
- 2024Board announces go-live for spring 2025.
- May 2025Status report: 23 of 55 features complete.
- Sept 2025Board approves a $43,000 “final push”. Spend to date about $111,000.
- Dec 2025Status report: 1 of 40 features complete after a scope cut. Board adds $3,600. Total about $200,000.
- Jan 14, 2026The Director of Technology writes that he would like to explore stopping work on the official app and putting all effort into the member-built site.
- Feb 2026Board reviews both, “encourages collaboration”, keeps the official app.
- May 2026Official site launches. The member survey rates it a downgrade.
Red marks a figure past the promise: a slipped date or money beyond the plan.
In his own words
Michael Diener is the Director of Technology. He ran the $200,000 program. A month after the December status report showed 1 of 40 features complete, he wrote this to Scott.
“I would like to explore immediately stopping work on the Membership App [app.nycc.org] and focusing all product and design effort towards launching Next.js [tools.nycc.org]…”
Michael Diener’s app stayed. It launched in May 2026, four in ten surveyed members call it a downgrade, and riding kept sliding. He is running for re-election as Director of Technology.