JERSEY CITY — Last Wednesday, Steven M. Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, got ready for one of his regular morning bike rides. He had his helmet on, but rather than his usual spandex jersey, he wore khakis, an oxford shirt and a light down vest. And instead of his $3,000 Kuota carbon-fiber racing bike, which Mr. Fulop, a former Marine, rides in triathlons, he mounted a hefty, bright blue Citi Bike.

“I’m impressed,” the mayor said as he coasted past Hamilton Park. “I was not excited about this bike ride, to be honest. I didn’t appreciate how easy these bikes are to ride.”

Though he has spent the past two years trying to bring a bike-sharing program to New Jersey’s second-largest city, it was only on Wednesday, five days before the Monday afternoon start of Citi Bike here, that the mayor actually rode one of its bicycles.

That night, less than a mile to the north, Dawn Zimmer, the mayor of Hoboken, had a pair of community meetings to attend. Rather than walk or drive, she did what she often does: ride her trusty Specialized hybrid bike. Afterward, she met up with her husband, who had left his bike at home. “We were joking that it’s too bad we don’t have bike share yet,” Ms. Zimmer recounted the next day.