I love the deluge of people trying to convince you to use a bike anyway. I’m getting old and live where it can hit -20° or worse, with snow and ice. Cold is almost half the year. There’s no fucking way I’d ride a bike for almost two hours each way in the cold when I have to go into the office, over a nice heated 18 minute car ride. Plus every day I bring a bag to and from the office, and some days 2-3 bags of stuff I pick up to bring home. I keto on that here or when I was on Reddit and some asshole will inevitably be like “YOU CAN HANDLE THE COLD AND ICE AND FOUR HOURS OUT KF YOUR DAY UR JUST WEAK” and those people are bad people I don’t like.
Telling Grandma/grandpa to use an ebike in the snow or in lethal wet bulb temperatures isn’t a real solution. It’s great that it worked for your folks but it cannot work for mine.
You don’t even have to be old. Ebikes are car replacements and can tow children, groceries, and furniture with ease. They flatten hills, get you to work on time and without sweat, and significantly extend the realistic travel radius around your home/work/last transit stop. Expect to pay pennies to recharge it, rather than two or three figures for a full tank of gas.
Any fitness benefits you get are just a cherry on top. Ebikes just make it so much easier to skip the car trips in your village or city.
I wouldn’t ask my 9YO on a bike at 7:30 am on winter to go to school everyday. Also no family trips. The place we go to the most is on the other side of mountains 3 hours away by car.
Groceries would have to be more regular. I currently fill the car and go like once a month or month and a half
I know this might sound pedantic by I will try to write with love. 90% of the world population buy groceries weekly or more often. Many European countries buy fresh food on the daily. Yes, from the grocery downstairs, or across the road. Car centric urban design fucked you up. It’s built for the car, not for human beings. Your perception and expectations are completely out of wack with normal human existence.
For example, Costco style mega stores are not a thing in almost all of the world. No, no one needs a 3 year supply of mustard for a family of 4. Most businesses don’t need a heavy duty truck, why would a middle class family need one just to get to the school and office. You don’t need a 4x4 for the two trips a year you take to the mountains, on an asphalt road.
It’s all bizarre, it is all out of proportion. But it is not a personal failure, oil corporations and car manufacturers created this weird mar on the planet that is suburban sprawl and car dependent infrastructure. We just live with the consequences.
You’re aware that families in europe go on family trips by taking the train across the mountains?
That’s part of the problem, you americans don’t like to think far beyond your horizon (cars). Or maybe you just can’t imagine what a city would look like that is built for pedestrians and public transportation.
I’m from Latin america. There is a single train that goes through my city and has only a few stops. I’d love to take the train. It just doesn’t take me where I need to go. Heck I’ve been looking for an excuse to take one for months
I wouldn’t ask my 9YO on a bike at 7:30 am on winter to go to school everyday
Why not? In a lot of the world that’s pretty normal.
When I was a kid I walked 30-40 minutes to and from school in the winter. I would have preferred to bike, but they didn’t clear the bike lanes. In places in Europe they make plowing the bike lanes a priority, so everybody can count on being able to commute by bike.
The place we go to the most is on the other side of mountains 3 hours away by car.
You shouldn’t have to rely on a car to get somewhere that’s that far away. It’s more reasonable to take a train to get that kind of distance.
Groceries would have to be more regular. I currently fill the car and go like once a month or month and a half
Do you not like fresh food? Do you ever eat fruit or vegetables? Or meat that hasn’t been frozen?
I used my car today to go about 2km away. I picked up a couple heavy packs of drinks, a box of litter, and and five bags of groceries. The travel maybe cost me 1USD. There is no fucking way I could lug all of that home for my family with something that isn’t a car.
I am not disappointed in myself. I just have to play with the cards I’m dealt.
Wheels with spikes work pretty well if it comes to hard packed snow and ice.
Normal mointainbike wheels work well enough for me in the snow though, I was always just a bit careful and nothing ever happened so far.
Snow and rain, but mostly snow.
Hills. I’m 60, and not getting younger, my knees are going.
Some people just can’t. But, when I could, I did.
I love the deluge of people trying to convince you to use a bike anyway. I’m getting old and live where it can hit -20° or worse, with snow and ice. Cold is almost half the year. There’s no fucking way I’d ride a bike for almost two hours each way in the cold when I have to go into the office, over a nice heated 18 minute car ride. Plus every day I bring a bag to and from the office, and some days 2-3 bags of stuff I pick up to bring home. I keto on that here or when I was on Reddit and some asshole will inevitably be like “YOU CAN HANDLE THE COLD AND ICE AND FOUR HOURS OUT KF YOUR DAY UR JUST WEAK” and those people are bad people I don’t like.
That’s the problem we want to fix.
I am SOOOOO with you when it comes to that sentiment. I shouldn’t have a 18 minute car ride that’s also a two hour bike ride. That’s fucked up.
Have you thought about getting an ebike instead? My old folks got a pair and it completely changed the game for them
Telling Grandma/grandpa to use an ebike in the snow or in lethal wet bulb temperatures isn’t a real solution. It’s great that it worked for your folks but it cannot work for mine.
It’s not uncommon for population centers in the US to be basically uninhabitable without AC/climate control.
The air can be so saturated with water that you cannot evaporate sweat which is the primary way your body sheds heat.
It is unsafe for anyone, let alone the elderly, to travel in these conditions unless you have a vehicle with climate control.
Yes when that happens don’t leave the building, whatever reason. Transportation is inadvisable. But that happens rarely.
You don’t even have to be old. Ebikes are car replacements and can tow children, groceries, and furniture with ease. They flatten hills, get you to work on time and without sweat, and significantly extend the realistic travel radius around your home/work/last transit stop. Expect to pay pennies to recharge it, rather than two or three figures for a full tank of gas.
Any fitness benefits you get are just a cherry on top. Ebikes just make it so much easier to skip the car trips in your village or city.
“tow furniture with ease” is complete bullshit lmao
Have you seen the new electric motors coming out? 120 nm of torque is a lot.
My ebike has 80nm of torque, and that’s enough to hit 21% grade hills at 9mph. On flats, that’s enough to lift 235 lbs and do a wheelie, haha.
It doesn’t necessarily mean fast, but it does mean it can haul gear.
tow a couch with a bike and tell me its easy, e bike or no
also i have a couple decent e bikes and theyre sick but i straight up would never move furniture with them lol
Depends a bit on the furniture, a couch wouldn’t even fit in my car. But a futon or some leather barstools? Absolutely.
https://youtu.be/BXDP9WQe0io
Also family and groceries.
I wouldn’t ask my 9YO on a bike at 7:30 am on winter to go to school everyday. Also no family trips. The place we go to the most is on the other side of mountains 3 hours away by car.
Groceries would have to be more regular. I currently fill the car and go like once a month or month and a half
I know this might sound pedantic by I will try to write with love. 90% of the world population buy groceries weekly or more often. Many European countries buy fresh food on the daily. Yes, from the grocery downstairs, or across the road. Car centric urban design fucked you up. It’s built for the car, not for human beings. Your perception and expectations are completely out of wack with normal human existence.
For example, Costco style mega stores are not a thing in almost all of the world. No, no one needs a 3 year supply of mustard for a family of 4. Most businesses don’t need a heavy duty truck, why would a middle class family need one just to get to the school and office. You don’t need a 4x4 for the two trips a year you take to the mountains, on an asphalt road.
It’s all bizarre, it is all out of proportion. But it is not a personal failure, oil corporations and car manufacturers created this weird mar on the planet that is suburban sprawl and car dependent infrastructure. We just live with the consequences.
You’re aware that families in europe go on family trips by taking the train across the mountains? That’s part of the problem, you americans don’t like to think far beyond your horizon (cars). Or maybe you just can’t imagine what a city would look like that is built for pedestrians and public transportation.
I’m from Latin america. There is a single train that goes through my city and has only a few stops. I’d love to take the train. It just doesn’t take me where I need to go. Heck I’ve been looking for an excuse to take one for months
Ah sorry, maybe my restriction to the US of A was wrong, I apologize for expluding central/south america that seems to have the same problem.
Why not? In a lot of the world that’s pretty normal.
When I was a kid I walked 30-40 minutes to and from school in the winter. I would have preferred to bike, but they didn’t clear the bike lanes. In places in Europe they make plowing the bike lanes a priority, so everybody can count on being able to commute by bike.
You shouldn’t have to rely on a car to get somewhere that’s that far away. It’s more reasonable to take a train to get that kind of distance.
Do you not like fresh food? Do you ever eat fruit or vegetables? Or meat that hasn’t been frozen?
You can just take some other transportation for long trips.
Cars and bikes take you wherever you want, whenever you want. Cars are just faster.
Other transportation methods don’t go whenever nor whenever.
Cars are not perfect. And for short trips don’t make sense. But they are the most useful.
The only level head in this thread lol.
Im convinced most people on here live in a closet sized apartment and buy 1 bag of groceries a week. Its sad.
I just used my car to go 3 blocks away and I’m so disappointed in myself.
Also the way back was like 10 blocks
I used my car today to go about 2km away. I picked up a couple heavy packs of drinks, a box of litter, and and five bags of groceries. The travel maybe cost me 1USD. There is no fucking way I could lug all of that home for my family with something that isn’t a car.
I am not disappointed in myself. I just have to play with the cards I’m dealt.
If you measure in blocks and not miles, youre already likely in bike country! Im at least a 15 min drive from any grocery. So an hour bike.
I don’t measure in miles because I live in a metric country. So I used blocks that we all understand.
I have a lot of options for gfocieries nearby. They are just more expensive than the large sellers. ( 3 in a 2 block radius)
I gotcha, but blocks dont work in non city areas or spread out cities
Cars are also a major contributor to the climate crisis and exacerbates social issues like increased anxiety via noise pollution and social isolation.
Wheels with spikes work pretty well if it comes to hard packed snow and ice. Normal mointainbike wheels work well enough for me in the snow though, I was always just a bit careful and nothing ever happened so far.