This is merely a series of opinions in academic article form.
Cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles
21–30 of 115 posts
Re: Cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles
#22Can someone explain why the title and abstract is in 3 languages (English, French, Spanish), but the article just in English? Is this a new thing?
I'm guessing it's an EU thing to make the article easily discoverable for 3 main EU languages (how the English language thing will work after Brexit, no idea. EU may still have English as an official language for cross border communication). Many academic people speak English well enough to read the article. I'm guessing from my own struggles while Googling stuff in a different language, that is a different art.
English is an official language of Ireland and Malta, so it will retain that status.
It's currently a procedural language of the EU, and is likely to retain that position as its so well understood in the North and East of Europe.
Re: Cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles
#23Does anyone know why dads riding these are called "soft"? I've never ridden a cargo bike, but it takes strong legs & constitution to regularly tow a kid or utility trailer more than a few miles. Is it just that whole notion that fathers who are involved with their children are not masculine?
It may have to do with not using a car instead. Even here in the Netherlands, a car can be a status symbol in certain circles — particularly among the yuppie office crowd.
There is also the fact that this is a certain subclass of cargo bikes with a bench in the 'cargo hold' that tends to be specifically designed to hold two young children. These bikes are marketed at yuppies (in both price and design); people who can't afford one of these, or who are more pragmatic about it tend to settle for attachable seats (mounted behind the handlebars or behind the saddle on the ubiquitous rear luggage rack above the rear wheel) on a normal bicycle, so riding a special cargo bike just for the few years that the kids can't ride their own bicycle may come across as overly luxurious and soft.
Re: Cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles
#24Can someone explain why the title and abstract is in 3 languages (English, French, Spanish), but the article just in English? Is this a new thing?
I'm guessing it's an EU thing to make the article easily discoverable for 3 main EU languages (how the English language thing will work after Brexit, no idea. EU may still have English as an official language for cross border communication). Many academic people speak English well enough to read the article. I'm guessing from my own struggles while Googling stuff in a different language, that is a different art.
I don't think it's that; German would have been chosen instead of Spanish if that was the case.
Re: Cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles
#25I bike around SF with my kids in a Cargo bike all the time. The bike is freeing in the city, and the kids love it. As they’ve gotten bigger and older, I had to put a motor on it for the hills. I hate that bikes are controversial in the City, as they are such a great way of increasing mobility around town. eBikes, are also amazing for this aspect of mobility. With all the new scooters and rental bikes though, it’s str…
> I hate that bikes are controversial in the City, as they are such a great way of increasing mobility around town.
Doesn't this assume that you live in the city though?
Re: Cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you haven't considered it already, a bike trailer is likely to be a cheaper alternative to a cargo bike. I've had a bike trailer for years. Mine is a Croozer 2. I transported my kids to nursery in it, and did supermarket runs etc. The tradeoff is it is an extra thing you have to worry about. It's much less convenient to park / lock-up than just the bike on its own. Regardless, I'm looking forward to getting it out…
A bike trailer has the dangerous property of not being in your peripheral vision. I personally would never transport kids in a bike trailer; I have seen my sister (her daughters) get into hurtful situations and potentially dangerous situations. Whenever you can spend more for a front-load cargobike, I would highly advise to do so.
Would you suggest it for hauling inanimate objects? Does it handle well?
Re: Cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you haven't considered it already, a bike trailer is likely to be a cheaper alternative to a cargo bike. I've had a bike trailer for years. Mine is a Croozer 2. I transported my kids to nursery in it, and did supermarket runs etc. The tradeoff is it is an extra thing you have to worry about. It's much less convenient to park / lock-up than just the bike on its own. Regardless, I'm looking forward to getting it out…
A bike trailer has the dangerous property of not being in your peripheral vision. I personally would never transport kids in a bike trailer; I have seen my sister (her daughters) get into hurtful situations and potentially dangerous situations. Whenever you can spend more for a front-load cargobike, I would highly advise to do so.
I'm a long term cyclist, run a cycling business, ride tons of bikes. I can definitely say the bike with a trailer is easier to ride, and is safer by far. Full harness, roll cage, head whiplash protection etc. Just putting this comment out there so other people reading see another perspective and don't dismiss trailers as unsafe. They are great!
Re: Cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles
#28This is a really interesting read for me, as I'm considering the purchase of a cargo bike. Apparently, I fit the stereotype pretty well -- highly-educated urban coffee-drinker (no yoga, no vegetarianism, though). The cargo bike would solve the problem of hauling hardware-store purchases home with kid and sans car. But they're expensive! 1.5 or 2 thousand dollars! So for now we're making do with the bus and the stroll…
Expensive compared to a regular bike, but cheap compared to a car.
Depends on your definition of "regular bike". I have a road bike and a MTB, both of which cost a fair bit more than this one.
Re: Cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
A bike trailer has the dangerous property of not being in your peripheral vision. I personally would never transport kids in a bike trailer; I have seen my sister (her daughters) get into hurtful situations and potentially dangerous situations. Whenever you can spend more for a front-load cargobike, I would highly advise to do so.
Would you suggest it for hauling inanimate objects? Does it handle well?
If you're never going to haul kids, just get a utility trailer. They're much cheaper, probably because they don't have to be designed to protect humans.
Re: Cargo bikes as symbolic markers of egalitarian gender roles
#30This is a really interesting read for me, as I'm considering the purchase of a cargo bike. Apparently, I fit the stereotype pretty well -- highly-educated urban coffee-drinker (no yoga, no vegetarianism, though). The cargo bike would solve the problem of hauling hardware-store purchases home with kid and sans car. But they're expensive! 1.5 or 2 thousand dollars! So for now we're making do with the bus and the stroll…
If you haven't considered it already, a bike trailer is likely to be a cheaper alternative to a cargo bike. I've had a bike trailer for years. Mine is a Croozer 2. I transported my kids to nursery in it, and did supermarket runs etc. The tradeoff is it is an extra thing you have to worry about. It's much less convenient to park / lock-up than just the bike on its own. Regardless, I'm looking forward to getting it out…
Check out this invention my buddy made - it turns ANY bike into a cargo bike!