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Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

forbes.com

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Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#271

Post by samstave »

I have been a daily bike commuter for over a decade.

I recently got an e-bike, and I would not want a non-e-bike aftger this.

I have an Orbea Rise and I love it. It is heavy though, and the tires are too wide for some of the bus bike racks...

Also, WRT to lighting - I highly recommend getting these, instead of the expensive lights they sell in places like mikes bikes...

I have these on my bikes - they are awwesome because they are weather-proof, solar charged, motion sensing activation and give a wide throw of light. I have one on the front of my bike and on on the back. They automatically turn on at night and go bright when the bike starts moving.

https://www.amazon.com/Otdair-310-Lighting-Waterproof-Securi...

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#272

Post by ilyt »

mikepurvis wrote: post #203
matsemann wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - might be impossible depending on work or children; The newer style of cargo bikes can for many families replace a car. Have two kids seated in the trunk of the bike and drop them off at kindergarten, then continue biking to work and pick them up on the way home. Those are a bit on the pricier side, though. Still cheap compared to a car, but people often look at them as something "extravagant" or "in addition" to…

As a parent myself who has always had a car but has aspired at times to go car-free, I think the whole "semi-frequent short term car rental" thing only really gets realistic when the kids are old enough to just need those tiny Mifold booster seats / seatbelt adjusters. Conventional UAS-attached car seats are just too bulky and troublesome to be installing and uninstalling all the time in cars you only rent for a few…

I guess if renting was big enough there could be option to rent a car with those pre-installed

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#273

Post by yakubin »

swexbe wrote: post #235
alkjsdlkjasd wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To quickly do the calculations: Walking: 5 km/h * 70kg = 97 kgm/s e-bike: 20 km/h * 90 kg = 500 kgm/s car: 50 km/h * 2000kg = 28,000 kgm/s

Wouldn’t joules be more indicative of damage caused?

Just as there is the law of conservation of energy, there is also the law of conservation of momentum. Both explain it equally well IMO.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#274

Post by Tade0 »

yourusername wrote: post #230
giraffe_lady wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Cities aren't loud, cars are loud."

Said someone that has never lived across the street from a elevated subway, on a street with a streetcar or near a bus stop.

Or a cargo rail line.

Or my favorite: historical buildings with equally historical distances between them. You could go deaf just from clapping your hands there.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#275

Post by ilyt »

koonsolo wrote: post #269
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…

Some time ago I was surprised how fast these e-bikes are compared to my motorcycle. In Belgium we have plenty of roads where bikes can go but not cars & motorcycles. One morning I overtook a colleague on an e-bike (max 45km/h) with my motorcycle. A few streets later I overtook him again, since he took a shortcut that I was not allowed to take. A bit later I overtook him again, since I had a red light and he again too…

I've seen someone on one of those e-scooters going like 40km/h. It looked terrifying. I'd be worried doing that much on bicycle but on tiny scooter wheels anything bad and you're catapulted into pavement.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#276

Post by giraffe_lady »

yourusername wrote: post #230
giraffe_lady wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Cities aren't loud, cars are loud."

Said someone that has never lived across the street from a elevated subway, on a street with a streetcar or near a bus stop.

The saying isn't "only cars are loud" smartass.

And I've lived across from from an elevated transit line in an otherwise carless city center and it was quieter than any north american subwayless city I've lived in so this isn't even true lol.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#277

Post by ilyt »

jraby3 wrote: post #83
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…

I’ve had 5 bikes stolen and no cars stolen, so have to disagree about worrying about theft.

Yeah mine goes from my apartment to my work's underground parking so little risk here. Would be way more wary if I had to park it on the street

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#278

Post by ilyt »

tokai wrote: post #103
DangitBobby wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Many places in the world riding a bike drunk is as illegal as driving a car drunk. Even if you assume the the risks outlined in your comment as relatively high likelihood (which I don't), it still makes 0 sense to think it's anywhere near as serious as driving drunk.

Riding a bike drunk is asocial and a danger to yourself and others. You might like to think of it as less serious, just like people thought of drunk driving as okay if you were careful. It's a judgment call you make, but it is objectively more dangerous than when you are sober.

So is walking anywhere

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#279

Post by jkaljundi »

nicehill wrote: post #207
Xylakant wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meet Oulu, the winter cycling capital of the world. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2021/01/22/meet-the-bike-... https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/what-on-earth-winter-biking-...

Fascinating How do Europeans keep ice off bike lanes? Salt?

Tractors and snowplows. Salt kills the bicycles and salty slush is much worse to drive in. Hard packed snow is actually the best to ride on.

Interestingly Oulu bike roads clearing contract states the company doing the snowplowing can do inspections only on bicycles, not cars :)

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#280

Post by crote »

yourusername wrote: post #230
giraffe_lady wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Cities aren't loud, cars are loud."

Said someone that has never lived across the street from a elevated subway, on a street with a streetcar or near a bus stop.

What is louder: 1 subway train, or 200 cars?
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