• Deme@sopuli.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    18
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 day ago

    Consider a bicycle. Very low maintenance, simple to fix, no need for fuel, unlimited range. Complete independence, with the sole exception of winter maintenance of paths, but that’s also a problem for cars and public transport.

    • desktop_user@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      arrow-down
      6
      ·
      1 day ago

      bikes absolutely do not have unlimited range, at some point the human will die of exhaustion or starvation without food or dehydration without water. cars needs far less winter path clearing than all but the best fat tire bikes. cars suck in cities the majority of the earth is not a city.

      • the_strange@feddit.org
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        1 day ago

        cars needs far less winter path clearing than all but the best fat tire bikes

        I drive a regular city bike, nothing fancy, just studded tires. I’m talking about Norway here, so studded tires are the norm in winter for almost any vehicle. I prefer biking especially in winter because of the amount of cars stuck on the roads. With the bike I’m flexible, I can drive around obstacles or impasses, worst case lift it over a ditch to make my way somewhere else. On an average day I’m at least twice as fast biking than I would be driving.

        • Որբունի@jlai.lu
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          24 hours ago

          You live in an urban area right? If you’re in the North of Norway and you still think like this you must be superhuman (I’ve only visited the North of Sweden once in February and I wouldn’t want to cycle anywhere further than 5-10 km in those conditions).

          • the_strange@feddit.org
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            6
            ·
            21 hours ago

            You live in an urban area right?

            Yes, like about 80-85% of Norwegians inhabitants do. https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/folketall/statistikk/tettsteders-befolkning-og-areal.

            Of course, if you live in the woods in the middle of nowhere a bike won’t get you far in winter, but neither gets you a car until the snowplow has come through and dug you out. Skis are much more useful in these conditions.

            I’ve lived in the North and commuted by bike except for days with extreme weather conditions. And again, you shouldn’t be driving then either. Now that I’m a bit older I’d go for an electric bike though, I think.

      • Deme@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 day ago

        The range of the bicycle is constrained only by the rider. Assuming that the rider eats, drinks and sleeps (as most of us tend to do anyways for the sake of staying alive), the range is unlimited. You can’t drive a car either if you starve to death.

        I’m not disagreeing with you on the rest, I was just talking about dependencies, which the bicycle has the least (apart from walking or skiing for example).