Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

forbes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 969 posts

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#251

Post by vishnugupta »

raphaelj wrote: post #36

Somewhat unrelated to the article, but I live in a mid-size EU city and dumped my car for an e-bike a few months ago. Surprisingly, it hasn't been that hard (my GF kept her car, and I have a car-sharing subscription): Pros: - Immediately stopped having insomnia. Better feel overall; - about €300/month in additional disposable income. That's basically a free lunch everyday! - significantly faster if parking is taken i…

> might be impossible depending ... children

Bakfiets[1][2] FTW!! I lived with my two young (under 10) children in Amsterdam for one year without car relying 90% on Bakfiets and occasional Uber rides. After a brief period of teething issues it worked out perfect, even in winters/rains. I used the non-e-bike version as I didn't want to splurge on Urbanarrow about which I kept hearing raving reviews.

[1] https://www.bakfiets.com

[2] https://urbanarrow.com

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#252

Post by null_object »

pastage wrote: post #175
bowsamic wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also very illegal to bike when drunk where I live in Germany

Not in Sweden and we have less accidents than Germany.

> Not in Sweden and we have less accidents than Germany.

I don't think you got the memo where everyone seems to think getting blind drunk and then getting on an electric scooter is totally ok "in Sweden".

I've had a few near-misses myself with crazy drunk riders on pedestrian streets in central Stockholm; I once interviewed a job-candidate with a cut-up face who laughingly told us he'd crashed a scooter with two(!) friends on the back after a drink night; a friend of mine smashed their hip after a night drinking and then jumping on a scooter.

The rules may be there. The actual reality is different.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#253

Post by planede »

bartread wrote: post #229
Xylakant wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What you say would only really be true if there weren't a portion of the population - even only a minority - who are, for want of a better word, massive dickheads (or simply very inattentive and situationally unaware). Isn‘t the same statement true for car drivers? But the major difference is that a car turns a dickhead into a mortal danger for other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike, while a bike doesn‘t.

> Isn‘t the same statement true for car drivers? In theory I agree with you, but in practice the behavioural differences are noticeable, at least in Cambridge. One example (admittedly anecdata from somebody who spends a lot of time on the road using different modes of transport, including foot): lots of cyclists blow through red lights, (relatively speaking) very few car drivers do so. Of course, the stakes of a car…

I'm also in Cambridge. Many car drivers are also dickheads, at least they think that using the indicator is optional when leaving a roundabout. This mostly annoys me when I'm on foot and try to cross the street near a roundabout. I found traffic in Cambridge to be very hostile to pedestrians.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#254

Post by yurishimo »

yourusername wrote: post #204
sandworm101 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> As the Dutch like to say: there is no such thing as bad cycling weather, only bad cycling clothes. Easy to say in a country famously flat, small, and with a relatively narrow weather window. I welcome any Dutch person to attempt a 15+km commute during a rocky mountain winter. I know of driveways in US/Canada with more vertical than any Dutch commute.

It would be easy to say but that's not a common Dutch saying at all. It's a bastardised version of a Swedish/Norwegian saying.

Je bent niet van suiker...

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#255

Post by crote »

britzkopf wrote: post #131
raphaelj wrote: post #36

Somewhat unrelated to the article, but I live in a mid-size EU city and dumped my car for an e-bike a few months ago. Surprisingly, it hasn't been that hard (my GF kept her car, and I have a car-sharing subscription): Pros: - Immediately stopped having insomnia. Better feel overall; - about €300/month in additional disposable income. That's basically a free lunch everyday! - significantly faster if parking is taken i…

Don't have to worry about theft?! Wow, Europe must be so different than North America. I'm much more worried about my biker being stolen (has happened about a dozen times in my life) than my car. If the former happens you get absolutely zero support, while if the latter happens the police will actually try to do something.

Not really. I've never had one of mine stolen, despite usually using a fairly crappy lock.

The trick is to have a bike which stands out. If you can recognize your individual bike from across the street, people won't steal it. Bonus points if it looks crappy despite being well-maintained. Beyond that it is mainly a matter of parking in bike garages with cameras where possible, and using a chain lock to fix it to an immovable object otherwise.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#256

Post by thinkindie »

nonethewiser wrote: post #150
thinkindie wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Berlin, within the Ring (for those familiar with the city). I don't own a car, I have multiple carsharing subscriptions and I have two children, 1 and 4. We have a cargo bike to move them around and do groceries, almost in any weather (as long as it doesn't rain), otherwise we have public transport as a backup.

Where do you live for those of us unfamiliar with the city? Paris? More on topic - Bikes make a lot of sense in the city but if you add kids to the equation the safety risk just becomes too high to stomach IMO.

it says right at the beginning "I live in Berlin".

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#257

Post by swexbe »

margorczynski wrote: post #209
orobinson wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in London. We have three kids, no car and an electric cargo bike which they can all fit in. It's brilliant and all we need for getting around London. I've also used it for picking up furniture and building materials - such a versatile vehicle and much more enjoyable to use than a car.

Aren't you wary that the bike doesn't offer almost any protection at all when an accident happens? Something that causes minor or no damage when inside a car can easily cause serious injury on even death when on a bike.

The ”safer” your car is, the more dangerous it is for everyone else in traffic usually.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#259

Post by mytailorisrich »

raphaelj wrote: post #36

Somewhat unrelated to the article, but I live in a mid-size EU city and dumped my car for an e-bike a few months ago. Surprisingly, it hasn't been that hard (my GF kept her car, and I have a car-sharing subscription): Pros: - Immediately stopped having insomnia. Better feel overall; - about €300/month in additional disposable income. That's basically a free lunch everyday! - significantly faster if parking is taken i…

> you will not kill someone if you ride after a night drinking;

You definitely can still kill someone.

In at least some countries an 'e-bike', depending of exactly which type it is, may be motor vehicle that falls into the exact same laws as drink driving a car. If not it may still be illegal to ride a bike on the road while drunk.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#260

Post by crote »

margorczynski wrote: post #209
orobinson wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in London. We have three kids, no car and an electric cargo bike which they can all fit in. It's brilliant and all we need for getting around London. I've also used it for picking up furniture and building materials - such a versatile vehicle and much more enjoyable to use than a car.

Aren't you wary that the bike doesn't offer almost any protection at all when an accident happens? Something that causes minor or no damage when inside a car can easily cause serious injury on even death when on a bike.

That's a local minimum. Serious injuries or deaths only occur when a bike gets hit by a car. Bike-on-bike accidents are pretty much a non-issue.

This is solved by better bike infrastructure, and by holding drivers accountable for the accidents. The more people cycle, the safer it becomes.

Post reply on HN