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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

#71

Post by jabroni_salad »

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.

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, but that's just me. Trade the wd40 for some triflow though. wd40 does not stand up to water.

Bar tape, inner tubes, and lube are all I really buy regularly; and the tape is just because I am vain and like to change up the look.

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

#72

Post by ogre_codes »

cultus wrote: post #69
ogre_codes wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bikes tend to degrade slowly over time if you don't do regular maintenance. Most people don't notice the slow decline until it's quite bad when suddenly it feels like an unreliable POS. Giving people who are just a little frustrated with their bike might go a long way to helping keep people from getting to that point at least once.

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 reasons I think people like the bike share programs. The bikes are burly and slow, but they get the maintenance they need where they usually don't end up truly horrible.

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

#73

Post by jamil7 »

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 can start using it again or sell it to somebody who will use it.

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

#74

Post by Y-bar »

fluffything wrote: post #67
wolco wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would they go through all of that in the hopes of getting upto $50.00?

Through all of what? Walking your bike 200m to the closest bike shop? With 50 EUR, every bike shop does the usual tear fixes: changing tubes, adjusting gears and brake levers, changing break pads, changing the handlebar tape, centering the wheels, and cleaning / oiling. Those 50 EUR can't cover major damage, but lots of people in Europe have multiple bikes in their basement that are just "rusty" / flat tire / etc. an…

> Walking your bike 200m to the closest bike shop?

This also illustrates a secondary benefit of these €50, namely that bike repairs are hyper-local. In addition to making bike repair more affordable for some and helping keep the momentum going on bike commuting, these euros can also drive more commerce to local small repair shops, helping them stay in business.

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

#75

Post by Raed667 »

profikid wrote: post #29

In holland you can buy a bike for 50 euros.

And in France as well (leboncoin.fr), I guess the idea here is to encourage people who needed a push to fix their tires or breaks to make the move and use all those bikes left collecting dust.

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

#76

Post by NicoJuicy »

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…

> 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 Covid as long as it's in the 25 km. range.

I actually have 2 bikes ( 1 normal and 1 race bike) and a bike lending subscription when friends come over ( 1 € / bike / 24 hours for 12€ / year)

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

#77

Post by vadansky »

ogre_codes wrote: post #66
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…

Bikes tend to degrade slowly over time if you don't do regular maintenance. Most people don't notice the slow decline until it's quite bad when suddenly it feels like an unreliable POS. Giving people who are just a little frustrated with their bike might go a long way to helping keep people from getting to that point at least once.

Now you have me worried about what maintance I should be doing. Going to a bike shop once a year at the start of summer seems to have been enough for me. After a quick google search I got crazy suggestions that I should be changing my cables every 6 months.

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

#78

Post by chrisseaton »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #13
soperj wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

because most people who bike are rich?

That's beside the point. If you have a bike and puncture a tyre, you do not wait for the state to give you money before you repair it. France is one of the world's richest countries so I'm thinking that the French were not saving up to change their bikes' tyres... They've been given free money to spend on bikes, so they will spend it on bikes (repairs or not, let's be honest, because it's ridiculous to think that the…

> France is one of the world's richest countries

Not even in the top 20.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)...

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

#79

Post by [deleted] »

aplummer wrote: post #35
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…

If you’re right that money in a public health system will pay back dividends I imagine.

[deleted]

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

#80

Post by abyssin »

GhostVII wrote: post #63
abyssin wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want working brakes and use your bike more than twice a year, you definitely need more than buying a new tube every two years. Working brakes will save your life.

I can lock up the front and back brakes easily with a single finger, and haven't touched them in a couple years. And I use that bike constantly.

What type of brake is this? I've never heard of such performant and maintenanceless brakes. Drum brakes like Shimano Rollerbrake can go for thousands of kilometers with very little maintenance (although you're supposed to grease them), but they wouldn't lock up with a single finger. Disc brakes and v-brakes require to change pads every few hundred kilometers. How many kilometers do you ride every year?
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