Here is the bike we might be getting.
At the opening of the Go Between Bridge I managed to see one of the new CityCycle bicycles. They look robust albeit a bit heavy but hey, they will have to handle some abuse so that is appropriate.
To give you a better idea of the features here is a photo of one of the Paris Vélib’ bikes with information to help explain all the functions.
Paris Vélib' Bike with Annotations - Credit @austinevan from Flickr
Click on the image to go to Flickr and have a look at the many annotations regarding the features on the bicycle.
As JCDecaux is operating both systems and based on what I saw on the day it looks like the bikes will be similar
Yes. They are exactly the same hardware as the Parisian Vélib’ system and indeed all the other systems run by JCDecaux (Dublin, Calais, etc). Even their websites are the same!