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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

#241

Post by dredmorbius »

FrojoS wrote: post #199
groestl wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Yes! Bike insurance is the way to go once you have a nice bike. I don't and carry a big lock. But I have friends with quality bikes (~1500 EUR) and they park at the train station with laughable locks because it's insured.

... with laughable locks because it's insured. ...

Morale hazard:

https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/morale-hazar...

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

#242

Post by prennert »

I am a bit late to the game, so maybe someone already said it in this thread. I am asuming this is intended to have people cycle to work instead of taking public transport once the lockdown is lifted. There is just one problem:

As a cyclist in locked down London, the few times I needed to get to the office on almost empty(!) streets, I noticed how much more difficult social distancing on a bike is. Not while moving, but while waiting on a red light. It is usual to wait in front of the queue in the cycle waiting area just in front of the traffice light. A few times when I waited there more cyclists or scooters with open helmets would join me there, not respecting social distancing at all (pedestrians are much better at this).

I think if the direction is going into pushing people into using bicycles much more than before, an education campaign needs to start that tells cyclists and scooters how they should behave on red lights. Not sure what the best solution will be, as I am sure there wont be much space. I guess most people really would prefer to take their car that naturally enforces separation to others. So I really expect the roads to become very full in the next weeks.

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

#243

Post by Zenbit_UX »

prennert wrote: post #242

I am a bit late to the game, so maybe someone already said it in this thread. I am asuming this is intended to have people cycle to work instead of taking public transport once the lockdown is lifted. There is just one problem: As a cyclist in locked down London, the few times I needed to get to the office on almost empty(!) streets, I noticed how much more difficult social distancing on a bike is. Not while moving,…

> I am asuming this is intended to have people cycle to work instead of taking public transport once the lockdown is lifted.

No. It literally says in the subtitle, and then again in the first paragraph that this is about keeping pollution levels down.

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

#244

Post by Jenda_ »

GhostVII wrote: post #9

Do most people really need $50 for bike maintenance? I think I've spent about $15 on my beater bike over the last couple years, just to buy a new tube and maybe some wd40. For the vast majority of people I would imagine that they don't maintain their bike at all, modern bikes hold together pretty well.

I have to replace the chain every 1500 km. I replace the chain multiple times, store the old chains and then do a second run (the rationale is that putting a new chain on a used drivetrain does not work, so I need to wear them gradually). After 12000 km (4 chains in the process, 3000 km per chain) I need to replace the cassette and after two of these replacements (24000 km) even the front gears. That's 4 * 6 EUR for chains + 10 EUR for the cassette + 20/2 EUR for the front gears every couple years, or more than twice more than what you say, and that's only the drivetrain... I ride 4500 km/year (daily 2 * 7km commute + a few bigger trips during summer). According to a quick Google search, 3000km per cheap chain is reasonable.

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

#245

Post by michaelt »

karatestomp wrote: post #211
cultus wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn't get enough attention in cycling promotion. One of the absolute biggest reasons that people aren't on their bikes is maintenance. Wheels go out of true, shifting gets wonky, and it starts to look like an unreliable form of transport. Sturdier commuter bikes help a lot with this, but every commuter seems to think they need a bike with super-light wheels and a thin, weak 12-speed chain.

This is the only reason I don't ride anymore. I don't get why my complex car full of caustic liquids and burning them to drive a bunch of parts super fast can go tens of thousands of miles with nothing but oil changes and nothing breaks or doesn't work almost-like-new unless I run over a nail, but bikes? Ugh. Every time I go to get on it, something's broken. Flat tires constantly. Changing them sucks and takes foreve…

> Give me a bike that doesn't break all the time

What you need is a 'commuter bike' with an aluminium frame, Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub gear and Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres. Should cost less than $500.

You'll need to pump up the tyres every 3 months, and have a bike shop service it every 2000 miles or so. But I've been riding this configuration twice a day for 5 years and had maybe 3 punctures in that time and no problems more severe than that.

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

#246

Post by Jenda_ »

testing312 wrote: post #105
alias_neo wrote: post #17

It's a nice gesture but hardly solves a problem. If the payment is for a mechanic to perform some "service" on your bicycle to make it roadworthy again, and from it you gain neither the tools nor the knowledge to perform two simple, necessary tasks for a cyclist; replace a tyre/inner tube, or replace a chain; what's the long term benefit? How about put 50 euros per cyclist into a tool kit, a dozen inner tubes and som…

> to perform two simple, necessary tasks for a cyclist; replace a tyre/inner tube, or replace a chain Never had to do either of those things, driving a bike almost daily throughout the city to school, hobbies, friends,... The few times my tire went flat, a short visit to a mechanic cost alsmost nothing

What total mileage do you have? In my experience, it will start skipping on some gears after 7000 or maybe 10000 km and then you need to change the entire drivetrain, because it got destroyer by the heavily worn-out chain.

Learning to fix the flat myself was good because I can do it immediately in 10 minutes without having to walk the bike to the shop (which are closed during evenings/weekends) and wait.

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

#247

Post by zdragnar »

adwww wrote: post #163
cultus wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn't get enough attention in cycling promotion. One of the absolute biggest reasons that people aren't on their bikes is maintenance. Wheels go out of true, shifting gets wonky, and it starts to look like an unreliable form of transport. Sturdier commuter bikes help a lot with this, but every commuter seems to think they need a bike with super-light wheels and a thin, weak 12-speed chain.

> One of the absolute biggest reasons that people aren't on their bikes is maintenance I wish that was the case. The reason people are not on their bikes is because the roads are scary and we don't have nearly enough dedicated bike infrastructure. (By "we" I mean the entire world with just a handful of European exceptions.)

Europe also has a very temperate climate compared to much of the world. My area many years goes from -40 to over 100F (or 38 if you prefer c). Public and private enclosed transportation must accommodate 100% of the population, because for half the year commuting by bike is fundamentally unsafe" whether by frostbite or heat stroke.

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

#248

Post by jabroni_salad »

Scoundreller wrote: post #162
jabroni_salad wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do see a lot of people riding beaters with flat tires and I get the impression that they do not really like riding their bike but it's better than walking. Seasonal tuneups are pretty popular for people who actually like riding and do so recreationally. Working with the cables and derailleur can be vexing if you don't know what you are doing. It's also nice to support a local business that serves your hobbies, bu…

I just use chainsaw oil. 1L for $5 and I’ll likely die before I use it up. And an eBay sourced $3 applicator bottle. Or just re-use another oiler.

Does it smell like bananas, though? This is important.

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

#249

Post by def8cefe »

Zenst wrote: post #217
zerni wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Founder of a bicycle insurer here and I can tell you that the only way to deter people is by parking in secure private or public spaces (never, ever semi-public) and by making your bike less attractive than the one next to it. 2 locks is indeed the standard in big cities. Also make sure they are sold secure gold rated or Art 3. Anything else is a waste of money. There are a few new lock types which are supposed to wo…

Can you get GPS tracking systems that are reliable enough that insurance companies take note enough to discount if they are installed?

Where would you install them on the bike where they couldn't be removed easily? I've thought you could place one in the frame, but that would be difficult to do aftermarket and the GPS and WWAN antennas would need to exit it somewhere.

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

#250

Post by Wohlf »

nullc wrote: post #189
zachrose wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I saw a guy outside a grocery store taking one of those to a U-lock. He said it was his own bike. Wasn’t sure what to do after that.

Take a really good picture including his face. Send picture to the local police department in case someone reports that bike stolen. Presumably if it's actually his bike, he'll be thankful.

I was under the impression recording people requires their consent in most of western europe?
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