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France offers each cyclist €50 for bike repairs once lockdown ends

cyclingweekly.com

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Re: France offers each cyclist €50 for bike repairs once lockdown ends

#141

Post by chewz »

jamil7 wrote: post #73

People in this thread are getting really hung up on the idea that someone with a bike == cycling enthusiast. In Europe a huge amount of people just own a bike. Often some beaten up thing they probably paid €30-200 for at a flea market or bike shop and use to commute or meet friends. Maybe it's fallen into a state where it's unrideable. The €50 is just a simple nudge for all those people to get it roadworthy so they c…

I have paid 40€ for my second-hand 1973 Peugeot road bike. Best bike I have ever had.

Re: France offers each cyclist €50 for bike repairs once lockdown ends

#142

Post by BurningFrog »

CalRobert wrote: post #11

People are focused on the relatively small amount here, and that's valid, but I suspect that some of the incentive here is to keep momentum in cycling going (from people avoiding transit, enjoying temporary bike infra, etc.) and trying not to lose that progress. There might be a lot of people for whom that €50 means a tuneup that gets them to take the bike out when before it would've just rusted. I mean, data would b…

My cynical read is that the bike rider/repair lobby was one of the groups at the table, and this is what they managed to get.

Re: France offers each cyclist €50 for bike repairs once lockdown ends

#143

Post by brianwawok »

groestl wrote: post #139
com2kid wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing confused me about this. In major American cities bike theft is incredibly common, to the point that the police won't help at all. I've had bikes repeatedly stolen out of locked garages at home! I'd never buy a bike that was worth any reasonable amount of money, my commute pre-covid was a good candidate for an electric bike, but no way would I spend more than a 2 or 3 hundred dollars on something that will g…

> no way would I spend more than a 2 or 3 hundred dollars on something that will get stolen within 3 years. I'd neither, but a friend of mine did. He got his bike insured (replacement value), for a pretty reasonable amount, considering. And AFAIK most people with expensive bikes do, which is probably also the reason police is not too keen on acting.

I keep my expensive bikes locked inside the dwelling part of my unit.

Pros: Never had a bike stolen

Cons: Can't really just ride it somewhere and let it sit all day.

My use cases have been:

1) Commute to work (my work let me bring it up to my office to park it during the day)

2) Ride somewhere and back home (always parked in my dwelling)

3) Ride it to maybe a place to eat, but park it literally outside the window, locked, so I can watch it while I eat.

Sucks I can't just do whatever with it, but I have a beater if I needed to do that.

Re: France offers each cyclist €50 for bike repairs once lockdown ends

#144

Post by bovine3dom »

DonHopkins wrote: post #81

"we want the bicycle to be the queen of deconfinement" I'll bet that sounds really beautiful in the original French.

« Nous voulons que cette période fasse franchir une étape dans la culture vélo, et que la bicyclette soit la petite reine du déconfinement en quelque sorte » [1]

I think the English version is nicer. More succinct.

Edit: ah, ok, my rudimentary knowledge of French meant that I missed out on a pun as another reply to your comment points out. I take it back: a pun trumps all brevity.

[1]: https://fr.news.yahoo.com/d%C3%A9confinement-plan-20-million...

Re: France offers each cyclist €50 for bike repairs once lockdown ends

#145

Post by amiga_500 »

chewz wrote: post #141
jamil7 wrote: post #73

People in this thread are getting really hung up on the idea that someone with a bike == cycling enthusiast. In Europe a huge amount of people just own a bike. Often some beaten up thing they probably paid €30-200 for at a flea market or bike shop and use to commute or meet friends. Maybe it's fallen into a state where it's unrideable. The €50 is just a simple nudge for all those people to get it roadworthy so they c…

I have paid 40€ for my second-hand 1973 Peugeot road bike. Best bike I have ever had.

These are really nice. Next "second bike" I get will be one of these.

Re: France offers each cyclist €50 for bike repairs once lockdown ends

#146

Post by technofiend »

BurningFrog wrote: post #140
com2kid wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One thing confused me about this. In major American cities bike theft is incredibly common, to the point that the police won't help at all. I've had bikes repeatedly stolen out of locked garages at home! I'd never buy a bike that was worth any reasonable amount of money, my commute pre-covid was a good candidate for an electric bike, but no way would I spend more than a 2 or 3 hundred dollars on something that will g…

When I lived in Sweden, on average one bike would get stolen per year. My experience in California is similar. Once you accept that, it's not that much money. The bad part is that you can never buy that Really Nice bike you'd really want.

Exactly why I have a pawn shop beater with some minor upgrades for cycling to work and my well it was super cool when I bought it road bike that never gets left locked up anywhere.

Re: France offers each cyclist €50 for bike repairs once lockdown ends

#147

Post by markus92 »

simlevesque wrote: post #44
hk__2 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Let's be honest, 50 Euros per person is a drop in the bucket compared to the subsidies governments give to other modes of transportation. And that’s largely sufficient. Having a bike doesn’t cost a lot per year: according to the FNAUT (Fédération des associations des usagers de transport), on average, bikers spend ~€0.21/km. An air chamber costs €5; an air pump (one-time purchase) is €10.

Don't buy cheap air pumps. Those things need to be strong to last. They handle a lot of pressure. A 10€ air pump will break at the first fall and most have small bases so they tip easily. And when they break you must buy a new one. If you really use it, a 25€ pump will cost you way less over as little as 3 years.

If you need to put 8 bars in your quick speedy bike? Absolutely.

For a simple urban commuter bike? No difference, you aren’t going to put in more than 3,5 bars in those fat tires anyways.

Re: France offers each cyclist €50 for bike repairs once lockdown ends

#148

Post by input_sh »

com2kid wrote: post #121
NicoJuicy wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Often some beaten up thing they probably paid €30-200 for at a flea market or bike shop In Belgium, Belgian people buy mostly new ones in the range of 500-1000. People who don't earn much or students, buy the cheap/used bikes you mentioned. Electrical bikes are > 2000 € and pretty popular. In general, a whole family can bike together and it's very popular during the summer. We can bike were-ever we want during Covi…

One thing confused me about this. In major American cities bike theft is incredibly common, to the point that the police won't help at all. I've had bikes repeatedly stolen out of locked garages at home! I'd never buy a bike that was worth any reasonable amount of money, my commute pre-covid was a good candidate for an electric bike, but no way would I spend more than a 2 or 3 hundred dollars on something that will g…

What I've learned while I lived in Amsterdam is that you want to invest ~30% of the value of your bike to purchase a bike lock. Basically make it not worth the effort to break the lock.

Also second-hand and rusty ones are better than new ones. Some Dutch cities have a free-of-charge engraving mechanism where you basically engrave a serial number on a bike to make it easier to track down stolen bikes, as well as to know that you're not actually buying a stolen bike.

Also, you'll be responsible if you're caught with a stolen bike, which is a nice deterrent to actually use a reliable source when purchasing a bike. Shops act as a middlemen between you and the person selling the bike, and they're responsible for making sure that the bike you're purchasing from them isn't stolen. On the downside, that drives the cost up a bit, but on the bright side, you usually get some months of warranty period in which they'll repair your bike free of charge in case anything happens to it.

Re: France offers each cyclist €50 for bike repairs once lockdown ends

#149

Post by lostlogin »

chewz wrote: post #141
jamil7 wrote: post #73

People in this thread are getting really hung up on the idea that someone with a bike == cycling enthusiast. In Europe a huge amount of people just own a bike. Often some beaten up thing they probably paid €30-200 for at a flea market or bike shop and use to commute or meet friends. Maybe it's fallen into a state where it's unrideable. The €50 is just a simple nudge for all those people to get it roadworthy so they c…

I have paid 40€ for my second-hand 1973 Peugeot road bike. Best bike I have ever had.

I lost my ‘70s Peugeot (I’ve no idea how that happens). Having the gears as little levers on the frame was user unfriendly but something I loved.

Re: France offers each cyclist €50 for bike repairs once lockdown ends

#150

Post by gnarbarian »

wolco wrote: post #58
gnarbarian wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few things here, wd40 actually accelerates the wear on your bike's drivetrain. It's sticky and will attract grime which chews away at your chainring and cassette. It also gets all over your pants and stains your leg. Use some proper chain lube and your drivetrain and clothes will last longer. If you ride your bike a decent amount you'll need to do morem maintenance. Per mile ridden, cheap Walmart bikes require more…

A lot of people would just get a new bike before repairing.

A lot of people don't buy $4000 bikes.
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