Pros / cons of riding a bike?
apparently my city literally literally banned public rail funding, and people online love jerking off about how good biking is, so i figured might as well try. I have come up with:
pros:
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good for mental health / exercise / endorphins
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arguably quaint
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feel like an old timey guy taking his wares to market
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feel european
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can annoy others
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less of a police state around them vs cars
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more flexible parking, routes
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capacity to be peaceful
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nice in summer
cons:
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look like an annoying dork (esp w neon - which also hurts the quaint factor)
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have to wear a helmet (^)
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getting sweaty, potentially "unpresentable" for work
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still have to find safe parking
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still takes a while
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have to find new routes to places
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can't listen to music or might die
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little meaningful protection against severe injury
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can only carry so many groceries/etc
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sucks in winter
From a European perspective (I use car/bicycle/train/longboard), a few pointers rather than a pro-con/list
The more people use a bicycle, even casually, The more it put pressures on local politician to do something
For short distances (<5km) in town, it's faster than the car
Gloves are more important than helmet, on the couple of fall I got, gloves protected my hands, while my head didn't hit. However, if you're in a severe accident a helmet can make the difference so I still recommend one.
Beware of your clothe, if you wear black, at night, without lights, you call for problem, and I can see how even good faith motorists can hit you.
Paint isn't infrastructure but at least remind the motorists that you have the right to be there. I can see how the mayor call the infrastructure director and ask them for bike lane without any budget, but it sucks
Be a bit agressive, and look for eye-contact before passing between car, keep distance from parked car, they can open a door, If you don't think a car can pass you with a safe distance (small urban streets) stay in the middle of the road, and stop to the side when you can to let the car pass you.
A backpack, or bike pack helps a lot carrying groceries, not really an excuse
The problem isn't that much the winter (unless you live on a really cold place) but the rain, good clothe can help, but still.
Just wanted to comment on this bit.
Gloves will save you from very annoying and painful scratches on your hands, but helmet can save you from becoming vegetable or dead. I don't think there's any competition for which is more important, helmet any day.
Still, definitely recommend both but at very least a helmet
What kind of gloves do you use?
In Summer, I use "weight lifting fingerless gloves", it's very similar from "cycling fingerless gloves" but half of the price. In winter, I use "light" outdoor gloves.
Upvote because longboard
Wanted to reply to OP. Moving my post.
Rebuttals to a few of the cons:
Nope, always wear the helmet. To not wear one is just stupid.
I don’t disagree. I’ve worked on an ambulance, I’ve seen what the results of improper protection does to a person. But also how it affects everyone else involved- from the people scraping you off the street to the family that has to take care of you. The unseen injuries of head trauma. At the end of the day, it’s a personal choice- just think about the possible consequences to yourself and those around you.
Think of it this way- don’t wear a helmet because you ride a bike, wear a helmet because everyone else is in a car… they don’t look for you, they don’t care about you. Only you can care about you. It’s car culture pushing the responsibility of safety onto the cyclists to avoid culpability.
Two fairly interesting videos arguing each point and may help yall convince others to wear a helmet better than calling them stupid.
https://youtu.be/rhzH6mEpIps?si=UGH6OVQVYDOH7oLf
https://youtu.be/1JfbTwrtOWU?si=WF7RlOLg4h_uv58e
Be safe, anything can happen. Wear a helmet, even for the ‘safe’ rides so it becomes second nature.
100%. When one of the cons is no meaningful protection against injury, a helmet should be a huge pro. It absolutely saves lives.
Guess dutch people are stupid, but at least they have way less death per kilometer while cycling ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ikr, I live in the Netherlands and not only do i not wear a helmet myself but I've seen dutch people ride with no hands, holding an umbrella and a phone, with bikebags full of groceries, in the rain, without a helmet.
That shit is close to a circus act, istg.
For an outsider, it was very funny to see women fully dressed for a night out, riding with an umbrella and speaking on the phone at the same time.
Could be even lower if they wore helmets though. I don't even wear a helmet myself, but it's objectively smart to do so.
My friend got something caught in his front wheel and went over the handlebars at 20mph. Could have been turned into a vegetable if he wasn't wearing a helmet.
And we could save a lot of people if they put on helmets to walk down stairs, and yet I don't see anyone saying that people are stupid not to wear them.
And your friend, if he drives at 30mph, of course he has to wear a helmet, but the subject is not a sporty practice of cycling, but bike commuting. And helmets does not protect you from a shitty infrastructure and tank-like cars that run you over, so maybe it would be good to stop insulting people and bring some nuance to this debate.
I'm not insulting anybody. I'm simply stating the fact that it's smart to wear a helmet, because if you hit your head on the ground, you could die. That's all.
Walking down the stairs is less dangerous than biking and you know it.
A guy in my lab in his early 50s went over and busted his neck and is now a quadriplegic. He WAS wearing a helmet.
I'm not saying don't, I'm saying if the universe wants you, it'll get you.
No it's not. Believing the helmet is the sole saviour is stupid.
The helmet is not the sole saviour. But If I can eliminate or even highly reduce any risk, especially high risk brain injuries just by wearing a helmet, why wouldn't you?
Seems silly to tempt fate when a helmet is so easy and mitigates a lot of risk.
I also don't wear a helmet when i walk down the stairs of my appartment. Is that stupid and silly too, or for some reason just fine? I don't think riding a bicycle, which you learn at three years old, is necessarily a dangerous activity.
Not if you are taking a nice leisurely ride by yourself around rolling hills and the occasional butterfly.
No I'm talking about riding a bike into town with a dozen other riders, pedestrians who dont look, dogs that'll just wander in front of you, cars passing 1 foot too close over the line..... Ya, not exactly how I learned to ride a bike. I'll wear the helmet in the risky situation.
Makes you wonder why skydivers bother to wear a helmet at all.
Wear a helmet for whatever activity that you'd like one for, just don't call people stupid and silly if they have different experiences and conclusions.
I don't believe I did
A helmet is only needed if you intend to spend significant time in traffic. Most of the world doesn't use one.
The math behind using one is a lot more on the margins than people realize. In order for it to save you, it first has to prevent a head injury, and then prevent one that is in the range of severity that makes it useful. The vast majority of bike injuries won't fall in that range, they'll either be related to another part of the body, or in the case of high speed crashes from a car, too severe for a helmet to matter. But helmets do give people a false sense of security. Statistically people ride faster and take more risks with a helmet on. Lastly, again statistically, the visibility gear you put on yourself while riding does more to keep you safe in traffic than a helmet. Lights, reflectors, reflective vest, etc.
All this to say, the religiosity with which people proselytize helmets is misplaced. I still wear one, but I don't judge people who choose not to.
The worst wreck I've ever had on a bike was without a single car in sight. Pinch flat while carrying speed through a steep downhill curve. I split an expensive MIPS helmet in two and still hit hard enough that I had a minor concussion, road rash up one side of my body, and cracked the face of a week old watch just to pour salt in the (metaphorical) wound. I mostly landed on my head and that helmet is the reason I didn't have drastically more severe head injuries.
Helmets aren't just for traffic.
I don't doubt anything you are saying, but it's worth mentioning that (iirc) 80%+ of severe injury and death on a bicycle is caused by motor vehicles, or complications of motor vehicle involvement. People very rarely have severe injury or death on dedicated bike infrastructure. The primary risk on bicycles is motor vehicles. If you remove motor vehicles, there is still risks, but someone might decide that risk is low enough to forgo a helmet. I don't feel those people should be called stupid for their choice.
There is considerable evidence that everyone wearing a helmet in a car would save vastly more lives and prevent severe head injury, and yet pretty much no one even considers that as a normal thing to do. The bike helmet thing is therefore just as much a cultural attitude, as it is about safety.
I still use a helmet, and more importantly, visibility gear, on my bicycle in 100% of my rides. I've never worn a bike helmet walking or driving in a car, even though my cousin died from a head injury getting hit by a car while walking and my grandma-in-law died of a head injury in a car...
There is also this interesting dutch study, where somehow helmeted cyclists were 25 times more likely to end up in a hospital. Of course the reason for that never comes up as something problematic from the side of our solely safety concerned citizens, they will congratulate you for your new speed record down that hill.
Which would mean ~1 in 5 have absolutely nothing to do with a motor vehicle. That's significant.
Then that should be an easy [citation needed] for you because my searches are coming up blank for actual studies. Lots of assertions of it, but I'm not finding anything in terms of actual data.
It's very easy, on the other hand, to find comprehensive meta analyses on the efficacy of helmet use.
It's also worth noting that the introduction makes a point of calling out another common online assertion that you repeated -- that helmets make people engage in more risk-taking behavior -- as false:
I don't think they're stupid. I think they're bad at risk analysis. That's a pretty inherent feature of humans. It's the reason I want to see actual data.
It feels very much religion like, but also an online phenomenon only. IRL the helmet discussion goes like this for me: "You don't wear a helmet?" "No."
The topic coming up is super rare too, while on every picture of a cyclist without a helmet on the internet you got all these comments from helmet fundamentalists going nuts over it.
Personally, I have cracked open a helmet once. On a quiet country lane, with no traffic. Pot holes can catch you any time.
I don't remember the crash, just the slide.
That is what makes me tell people to wear helmets.
And your friends don't get annoyed?
I hope you also posted one of those wonderful "today the helmet saved my life" topics on reddit so the community could get together for their daily service.
My cycling club mandates helmets, so not a problem. Only really come up with the hire bikes in cities etc.
Nope, I was to busy being miserable about having a broken collar bone.
Broken collar bone, the classic.
Sorry if i came off rude, i am just so over people claiming that every kind of cycling is dangerous and all that can save you is a helmet.
I mentioned in another comment that there is a dutch study that finds the helmeted rider to be more than 25 times more likely to end up in a hospital. 25 times more likely. Obviously roadies and MTBers. I am absolutely not saying people should stop road or mountain biking, even that is not all that dangerous and practitioners don't all end up dead or crippled sooner or later.
But if a person is just casually cycling without a helmet, they are doing much more for their safety than those sporty riders with helmets. Somehow this then always gets countered with "i know someone who fell on his head while stationary and is now being spoonfed by his loved ones. No, he didn't have clips / clipless pedals". Made up bullshit in 99.9% of cases, i have seen this in almost every helmet topic i have read.
It's all about risk tolerance. It was thought that improved brakes on cars would hugely improve safety. However it had a much smaller affect as people just braked later... There is a level of acceptable risk that everyone has, increasing safety measures just means they take more risks up to that level.
Helmets make people feel safer so they do more risky things and therefore hurt themselves more in other ways.
Doesn't mean you shouldn't wear one though!
You make some good points.
I don't wear one and I judge myself for not doing so 🤷
Complicated issue.
no matter what gear you have you dont want to bike on snow
Not true, winter biking really isn't that bad and bikes are remarkably stable even on ice
What kind of ice are you riding on? Snow, even packed snow it usually ok, but turning/braking on ice is a disaster without studded tires. Source - I've crashed on ice several times despite being a very competent rider in all conditions for 3 decades.
That's my experience as well. I haven't done it much (not much snow here) but I was always surprised at how easy it was even when all the cars seemed to have a really hard time.
Finnish children cycle to school
At 06:25 they explain that 35% of the people use special wheels with nails, so that's different of course (they also use such rails for the winter triathlon (running (with spikes), cycling (with spike wheels), cross country skiing)).
With such wheels it for sure is safer, if someone wants to go cycling in winter that's definitely the way to go. But if there are 20 cm of fresh snow you'll still get stuck, you need clean roads like in the video. If the roads are clean (at 09:20 they say that the roads are clean 24h per day, max. 2 cm of snow, absolutely highest they let it go is 4 cm but that's the exception, they also have an app that shows snow levels on each street in real time) and there's no elevation and no sharp turns it even works with normal tires, but that's rarely the case.
Ty, always trying to improve my English. Comments like that are really helpful because noone corrects those things in real life, ig they assume they're trivial.
Refer to my last sentence in the comment you replied to (no elevation, no sharp turns).
Even with spike tires you'll struggle greatly as soon as you add elevation. But in one of the cities without elevation you're correct, yes.
Of course it'd be stuck, but generally the situation is, at least in my country: It snows, there are for example 20 cm of fresh snow -> roads get cleaned -> there's no / hardly any snow on the streets anymore. So the situation where you'd have to cycle on snow is when the snow is a bit deeper. If I really can't wait for the roads to get cleaned (which happens very quickly so usually it's no problem) I go by foot or use skis, depending on how much snow there is.
I really want to try though! Not dared to try on a road bike though...
Get spike wheels and stay on clean roads, if there's too much fresh snow you'll get stuck. Avoid elevation! And obviously avoid sharp turns
Or use one of these (only downhill) https://images.app.goo.gl/A1NitHgRBS3Qanza7 You can rent them in most ski resorts (at least in Austria)
Paper and liquid products are not cooperative with two-wheeled transportation, so there's still a tangible limit
Where there is no will, there is no way.
If it’s a Costco monthly trip, no. On your carbon road bike, no. Full suspension downhill bike, no. Holding a 2liter bottle of Shasta Cola and three rolls of TP? Rethink some things.
If you know it’s going to be a utility bike, yea. Easily done. If it’s a zippy get about thing, consider a little trailer for the hauling trips- buy used, even the old ones roll fine.
I’ve been going for about a year, with two panniers and a front rack, for weekly groceries for a family of 3. Milk, eggs, toilet paper, no problem. Back when Mission Workshop just split off from Timbuk2 I got their expand-o Marry Poppins backpack (the rambler)which is awesome- though I wouldn’t buy it at the current price (eye watering)…it does fit A LOT, like 12kg bags of dog food and still has room. It can carry the weirdest things.
The worst part is getting the panniers up the flight of stairs to our apartment…which would be the same struggle regardless of transportation.
I have a trailer that I attach to my bike whenever I have to haul a lot of stuff. It's very convenient. You can add a little wheel at the front to use it by hand with its handle. It carries 40 to 60 kg and is foldable to take less space if needed.
I love my bike trailer. I added an aluminium box to make it water proof and I use it almost weekly for groceries.
I wear the same clothing when I am biking and not biking. The clothing is by no means a requirement.
If you were trying to get to work that could be problematic, especially business attire in a hot place.
I used to bike to work occasionally. It was maybe a 5 minute drive, 15 minute bike ride. I would bring a backpack with a change of clothes and change in the bathroom once I got to the office.
Back in office I remember a few people who did that, they were definitely a bit sweat smelly lmao, I live in a very warm place though, probably much more viable in a more temperate place
Bikes are a scam perpetuated by big tire. Run at full speed for all of your travel.
Pros:
Green (non industrial footprint)
No bike to get stolen
Harkens back to primitive man chasing gazelles
Fantastic for heart health
Just as fast as biking if you run as fast as you bike
No need for safety equipment (raw)
Cons:
Just as fast as a car if you run as fast as a car.
*hearken back
Electric bicycles are much less tiring to use and go faster / further. Quite a game changer.
With pannier bags and a backpack you can carry quite a lot of groceries.
Music: use bone conduction headphones
are there like gold standard ones I can start looking at?
Shokz ig? Idk if they’re the absolute best but generally up there
I use Shokz also.
I've been using Shokz for a decade now. They've replaced a couple sets at no cost. I wear mine every day. Even for the occasional swim.
Listening to podcasts definitely gives longer battery life than listening to music. Though even the odd time I've drained the battery in a day, I charge it with a battery pack for fifteen minutes and it's charged again.
Not many products I'd say are worth every cent, but from the quality to the customer service, Shokz are great.
The bone conducting ones make me nauseous so I got a pair of Bose open earbuds. They're not as good in loud environments but that's kinda the point. I ride and listen to music with them daily
Pros
Cons
wow. just wow. what an american hot take. tell me the cons of fresh vegetables please.
Tastes worse than junk food. Need to chew forever to get the number of calories required to survive. No dopamine hit for eating a bite of radish. More expensive than frozen/canned alternatives.
🦅🇺🇲
You have the elitist weekend cyclists on 15-20k bikes and the casual commuter folks all rolled up in one list. Not the same crowd.
Get an ebike. I wear normal clothes. Lycra is for fitting in to fitness biking groups, most don't wear it.
I just use my ebike as a car alternative so I don't have to fight for parking at popular spots in the city or pay for $5/gal gas unnecessarily (unless I'm actually going to a remote place, then I use my car). Gets me to my destination in roughly the same amount of time due to traffic lights and bad traffic. I've actually beaten friends in Ubers because the bike paths are much more direct, typically.
Recharging costs pennies, and I'm usually down to half a battery 45 miles in as long as I'm going in hybrid mode where I'm still pedaling. Gets you stupidly into shape as a side benefit, since you are always pedaling and you can turn the battery off if you want a 67lb exercise bike that also goes places.
Throw some panniers on and you can carry or tow a decent amount of stuff since the bike is electric.
For rain and stuff in the Netherlands (we have some rain) you can get a rain suit I causing pants you can just wear over your normal clothes to work.
Make sure the rain suit has reflector strips or patches.. your lighting and reflectors are key in Beiing seen.
Depending on the commute distance getting an Ebike helps keep your speed up without becoming massively sweaty. You can still exercise but you do it at a steady 25kph.
For groceries you can get cargo bags for on the back of the bike. Depending on the type you get they can store a lot.
Listening to music.. put in one earbud only and have the volume low. But in the Netherlands we have mostly separate bike infra (protected bikebanes and such) so this might still be dangerous if there is no good bike infra.
Lastly, you can choose other routes that would normally not work by car. If you find a cut through somewhere, you maybe can avoid the dangerous stroads all together.
I have many friends in the Seattle area, which is supposedly relatively bike friendly compared to other places in the US. Of those friends, only 2 bike to commute. In the last year, both of them have gotten hit by a car and hospitalized.
I know that's just anecdotal, but I don't see bikes as a safe way of travel US unless there is significant change in infrastructure for them.
Bikes are popular in Seattle, but I'm not sure I'd call it a bike-friendly city. Tons of rain, tons of hills, tons of bridges, tons of crappy roads. We put bike lanes in a bunch of places, but a lot of them still have to go through confusing intersections or only cover part of your commute. Add on the new trend of no-hands driving, it's still pretty dangerous.
Have you ever been to the Alps? That's cycling heaven for most people apparently
Not really for casual cycling and commuting.
Surprisingly yes it is, cause big cities are in valleys which are flat (valleys were flattened by massive glaciers), and there is a lovely bike infrastructure.
I tried biking in a city awhile back, and someone actually tried to hit me with their door.
Any city that thinks its a great idea to share the road on a bike has never personally tried it.
I've done it for almost 2 decades and confirm people are assholes.
Thats why cities should build seperated lanes so cars and bikes mingle as little as possible
Yeah, in an ideal bubble, I would like to see trams replace cars for dense sectors that see a lot of traffic.
If we’re talking infrastructure buildouts I’d rather just go the extra step and build a few tram/train lines vs adding a bike lane to every road
I sorta agree and sorta don't, all streets should be 30km/h or less and shared traffic, everything else should be with bike lanes. Streets meaning a piece of infrastructure that provides access to places lining it, not a piece of infrastructure for longer distance travel.
The Netherlands is good not because there is a bike lane on every street but because all the streets with destinations (private homes, business, schools)are connected by bike lanes as well as roads, often more and more direct bike lanes.
There are a lot of areas where cars bikes and sometimes pedestrians share the same space both in inner cities and in residential neighborhoods, it's just that they aren't through roads for cars or at least very very slow ones, while they are often through roads for bikes and peds.
I see where you are coming from there. My comment is mostly concerned with north america and our street/road design and layout is awful. There are many school zones where cars could easily exceed 100km/h if the driver wanted to. Because of these deisgns I think it is best we keep cyclists and pedestrains as seperated from cars until better street design and traffic calming can be massively implemented. The scale of the street redesign is massive and would have to be city wide to be truly effective.
An easier and cheaper start to pitch politically would be proper bike lanes along major corridors. A few years down the line streets along those lanes would improve and the city could slowly redevelop.
I wish I could just snap my fingers and have safe streets but stroads and the attitude of driving is so bad in much of north america we are going to have to fix it in stages. We can't just convert our stroads overnight unfortunately.
Yeah I'm in Germany so my context is somewhere in between and here the projects that improve my life the most is when cars don't get to/need to travel on the streets as much, this can either be through modal filters, removing car lanes or just banning cars (with the usual delivery window in the morning and such). And they are starting to get to the kind of streets where you could go 100km/h (in terms of size) that are in practice 50km/h, and are now getting them down to 30 (taking 1 of 2 car lanes and giving it to bikes as well as adding obstacles to indicate slower speeds). So it's doable and of course it takes time, but with a bit of luck it might be faster than some Americans imagine it could be.
So of course bike lanes along mayor roads (corridors) make sense, and it can be a good starting point to get a skeleton network in place, which then can Kickstart intersection redesigns and traffic calming, wherever it's reasonable around it. To me the best bike paths don't go along roads though, they are the "recreational" paths that still connect things. Cutting through a patch of Forrest or a park, going along the waterfront, parallel to a tramway or rail corridor or just along/through the fields. These are probably also politically cheaper than some other measures, but you run the risk of building a thing that just connects nothing because there is no real infrastructure on either end.
I feel like Americans think they are 60+ years behind when they are probably only 30-40, if the attitude turns somewhat sharply, either just in your local area or more generally, maybe just 15-25.
A lot of this stuff is monetarily very cheap, depending on how desperately you wanted change the actual infrastructure you'd need, would boil down to planters, bollards, cones, maybe hay bails or large stones/concrete pieces. The problem with that stuff is that it's only possible with the right opportunity politically, otherwise your traffic calming might get bulldozed by police or something.
I agree, everyone thinks cars, bikes, buses, and people all should follow the same line along the same corridor. Having bike lanes seperated more can be very benefecial and helps seperation without need for physical barriers. For example a road could run down the center of a commercial area, with a dedicated BRT lane, and bike/ped pnaes closer to the businesses or even a seperate enterance/laneway behind the businesses dedicated to people.
But most of North America thinks a painted bicycle gutter along a busy road, crossing many car intersections and entrances is the best we can build.
There are plenty of protected lanes in my city, but they just hide bicycles behind parked cars, making it less safe at every intersection.
The only way I can think that might work better would be to convert a 3-lane road (with suicide/turn lane in center), into a 2-lane road. The center lane gets converted into a two-way bicycle road - raised up like a sidewalk with curved curb. No left turns allowed for cars, only right turns. This way bicycles are visible and protected.
A better option is to make seperate intersections for cars and bikes. Bike lanes do not exclussively have to run right next to the car lanes.
Pro:
Con:
If you're going moderate or short distances in a city, odds are it will literally be faster to bike, even at a no sweat/leisurely pace.
Average speed of commuter traffic in cities is sub 20 kph.
In my city cycling is faster even if you're not stuck in traffic because you can take one way streets and shortcuts. During rush hour it's not even comparable.
I'll just comment on the con list
You don't have to wear Lycra to bike commute. Comfy shorts, T-shirt and trainers is fine
Get a decent helmet, it's way less annoying when the helmet is breathing well and sits on your head properly.
Yeah this is pretty annoying. Best advice I can give is to have your stuff sacked into a bag attached to your bike (handlebar bag, pannier, etc). Backpack prevents the airflow in your back and causes ton of sweating
No comment on this one, as European I've never found myself in a situation where parking a bike is anything but fine
May take longer but is 267% (I measured) more fun than a car
This should be a pro
Headphones with transparency mode on are great for cycling
I'm pretty sure I've seen seen studies suggesting bike commute lowers the chance of injury on average due to the health gains. Or something, not bothering to search for it now. Also I think this might be a bit eurocentric, since the bikelanes are not that great on many other places
If you plan on carrying a week worth of groceries for a family of 3, then cargo bike might just be for you. Otherwise, daily shop visits for what's needed are fine with bicycle bags or basket
Attitude issue. I love cycling in winter
Only thing I'd say (as a cyclist) is that "skill issue" is not a great reply for all cases. My city swings from +40 to -40 and it's not uncommon to see wind chills down below -50. Winter cycling is not always viable, which is why a robust transit network needs to include a variety of options.
Otherwise, this is a good comment.
Yeah it's a bit poking fun, but you have some extreme temperature swings wherever you live :o
Yeah that's what allows me to afford to live here, lol
Looks like standard Midwest USA temp ranges to me, we get all the extreme temps + natural disasters like tornadoes, large hail, blizzards, living near major fault lines for eventual mega earthquake, and don’t forget the gun psychos!
Just to add, if you go with a bicycle, you do not need to forgoe cars altogether. For those days you need to haul around a bunch of items, you can rent a car through a car sharing service. You can rent them for a few hours.
I've been riding bikes for more than 50 years and never wore a helmet. Now I got an ebike - and a helmet. And I actually like it. It provides a bit of shade, the airflow is still good (it has many air holes), and it keeps almost all sweat from running down my face.
Do you live in a city or an are with a lower population? I strap the helmet on in the city or doing some speed, but when we're out visiting with family in the country or a small town, we usually go without it.
I live in the city, but with the ebike I now can also go to the surrounding country side. I still like the helmet there, because shade for the head and a lot less sweat in my face. And it's not a high end helmet, it is a cheap one from Aldi.
How to say you’re in America without saying you’re in America
Con: not suitable for elderly or hanicapped people.
Go to asian countries, plenty of elderly on bicycles. It is just the elderly in western countries are sedentary which leads to atrophied muscles.
With the handicapped you can make the same argument with operating a motor vehicle.
Side note: I like cars. I even have a sim rig at home to race around in. But car centric infrastructure brings more negatives than positives.
The major difference is depending on the city.
Absolutely in Tokyo and Saigon, bike riders of all ages were going about their lives. But I can't imagine being a elderly bike rider in some US cities. Some drivers WANT to fuck with bikers. It's disgusting.
Indeed, I should have worded my comment better. I just want to point out that it is an infrastructure issue rather than bicycles being objectively worse than cars.
You can say disabled, it's not a bad word! :) there are quite a few bike options for disabled people actually. From 3 wheeled bikes to handbike/ebike hybrids. It's awesome.
Source: I'm a wheelchair user from The Netherlands
Trike! Or recumbent trike. Or an e-trike.
E-bike or custom made bike
This was a cute video
Nice toy, but nothing my wife could actually use. Apart from that, it is way to wide and would cause loads of issues on most of the bike paths here.
Have a look into E-Bikes, theres a great Micromobility community on Lemmy.
My dad has one with saddlebags and says its more like owning a small motorbike. Sure he has to pedal but he never has to pedal hard. If you're worried about looking like a dork Mercedes make ones that look cool AF.
cargo bikes are getting really practical if thats your bigger worry.
Buy a good lock and put an air tag on it though.
Thanks! It's !micromobility@lemmy.world if anyone was interested btw
I like the idea of an E-bike but it just wouldnt be practical in my life at the moment. But its a pretty good community, generally stays on topic and doesnt degenerate into arguments.
Just dress like a BMXer and not those dorks that do the Tour De France. 🤷🏻♂️
Even their helmets are cooler.
One con not mentioned: Exposure to the elements. Being able to ride a bike comfortably in the weather depends on where you live. Prolonged exposure to the sun even with sunscreen is not good. Also, air pollution.
Edit: Lol at the downvotes. I invite you all to bike in my state in the almost 5 months of sweltering heat in our summer. I'm not anti bike at all and I wish more people would do it. I just wanted to remind people that you also have to be equipped for the weather of the place you will be biking at. Also, I do not like melanoma.
Bad faith argument. The topic of discussion is reasonable in city trips, not cross country slogs. Op is frustrated his city banned public funding for trains, ergo his question is about getting around his city. Your statement, exposure to the elements, is made more eloquently elsewhere, due to things like rain and snow.
I'm sorry, but I'm not arguing in bad faith. City trips and (not country biking) doesn't automatically mean you're not exposed to the elements. I live within city limits and it's a 10 mile bike ride to get to downtown. According to maps, it's a 1 hour trip, which is manageable, but 95% of the time I would biking directly under the sun. I will only be able to avoid exposure in limited spurts as I get near downtown with all the overpasses. As of this comment it's 95F and 70% humidity. Elements does not just mean rain and snow. A lot of people underestimate how bad prolonged sun exposure is.
But for that you can also wear protective clothing, no?
Hard to wear clothing that both keeps sun off and heat out.
Get an ebike. It solves several of your cons at once.
No need to wear spandex or neon to ride on an ebike (or any bike honestly I bike everywhere and the only neon thing I own is my rain pants) just put lights on your bike and don't dress all in black.
Can't help you with the helmet, that one's pretty important but there's lots of nice looking helmets out there.
No getting sweaty on an ebike unless you want to, because you can crank the pedal assist if you're starting to sweat.
Have literally never had an issue finding somewhere to park my bike. Sure have an issue finding car parking though. At the downtown garage I park at, cars are $20 an hour but bikes are free.
You'll probably go faster than the cars if there's lots of traffic. We've done a car vs bike race a few times when we had both starting the same place and going to the same place and the ebike always wins or is like 10 minutes behind at most.
Bluetooth speakers and transparent headphones both solve the music issue.
Many ebikes have extra cargo capacity, so grocery runs are easier. If you've got a large family then you might need a cargo bike or to rent a car periodically for large trips.
The only real downside imo is the weather if you live somewhere extremely cold/hot and the safety from riding near cars. The rest is easy to get over once you're zipping down the road at 20mph getting those sweet, sweet biking endorphins.
Bone conduction earphones will let you listen to music without occluding external sound.
https://lectricebikes.com/products/xpedition-dual-battery
I have the extra large crago bags for this and I have brought home a week's worth of food from the store up and down a mountain near where I live. It is still a bit of a struggle but pedal hard. I use it to go to work 2 miles away (I know, I'm VERY lucky) and I use it to replace driving anywhere over 10 miles away from home. The charge on the batteries last forever since I use only lvl 2-3 on pedal assist since I prefer to pedal.
There are solutions
Legit medical issue for men, doing it too often can negatively impact your performance in bed, IIRC especially if you ride on unpaved terrain a lot.
Conversely, I have a lot more stamina in the bedroom now that I've been regularly cycling
You can also get a more comfortable softer riding saddle instead of a hard racing one. It really depends on the bike.
I have a pretty comfy saddle, and if it's too bumpy I prefer cycling standing up anyway. Don't really get why people insist so much on sitting down all the time.
There have been studies debunking claims of bike-induced ED, buuuuut, if you are really worried, you can get a ventilated or slotted saddle and occasionally stand up on your bike at traffic stops and such. There are specialized saddles and a variety of bikes with different riding positions.
I love downhill mountain biking, singletrack, and city riding, and never had issues with getting it up either. When the shitty OEM saddle made my balls fall asleep, I swapped to a better saddle made by SQ Labs and changed the seat angle slightly.
Also... if ED were an issue, the Netherlands and Japan would be like...sterile, hahah
Aren't the Netherlands and Japan both facing fertility crises?
I am dutch and I have never heard of this issue/myth. Even tour de grance cyclists manage to have kids just fine after 20 years of full time cycling, so I wouldn't worry.
This is why I'm an advocate for seatbelts for bicycles.