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Copenhagenize Index 2025: The Global Ranking of Bicycle-Friendly Cities

copenhagenizeindex.eu

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Re: Copenhagenize Index 2025: The Global Ranking of Bicycle-Friendly Cities

#71

Post by petermcneeley »

prmoustache wrote: post #66
petermcneeley wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Vancouver this mostly works because it is cold but not cold enough. There are only a few days where it is very sketchy. The rest of Canada is not like this.

Studded tires. This is an investment but it works. Caveat is you need space to store them on a second set of wheels or bike because you don't want to ride them all year long so it is not for everyone.

'space to store them on a second set of wheels' This probably explains everything about this discussion. I think im dealing with very poor people (Europeans).

I think I have space in my pool shed or my other shed. Worst case I will put them in one of my many empty rooms.

Re: Copenhagenize Index 2025: The Global Ranking of Bicycle-Friendly Cities

#72

Post by spooky_deep »

betaby wrote: post #37
spooky_deep wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100%. Only a North American could consider Montreal bike friendly.

Montreal is bike friendly in comparison with Paris. Personal opinion of course.

Paris is not bike friendly (much better than a decade ago of course)

Re: Copenhagenize Index 2025: The Global Ranking of Bicycle-Friendly Cities

#73

Post by analog31 »

mnky9800n wrote: post #28
aallaall wrote: post #3

Of course it helps if the city, and country in general, is completely flat. Cities in Norway or Nepal have mother nature against all form of manual locomotion.

I think Norway is more about being comfortable riding in the cold on spiked tires. The hills of Oslo don’t bother you after a couple months of riding them.

I'm in Wisconsin, and I just got the bike with spiked tires out today. Even if there's not a lot of snow, I prefer to sacrifice one bike to road salt than have to maintain my "nice" bike through the winter.

People act like I'm some kind of freak when I arrive at work on my bike in the middle of the winter. But I remind them that there are people who work all day outdoors in places like Alaska and Canada, and 20 minutes on a bike doesn't even come close.

Re: Copenhagenize Index 2025: The Global Ranking of Bicycle-Friendly Cities

#74

Post by Etheryte »

petermcneeley wrote: post #48
Etheryte wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Helsinki hits more or less the same weather, people cycle there just fine. It's only a matter of infrastructure and gear.

Yes I agree but in general we dont have infrastructure and it gets much colder. Salt doesnt work at some point so you dont have dry pathways.

Bike paths don't have to be dry though, you can sweep them and it's fine. If you use studded tires, you can ride a bike in places where you can't even walk. Source is I used to do this when I lived in the middle of nowhere in Sweden. I agree with you that infrastructure is key though. The temperature doesn't really matter, if you're good to go on a walk, you're also good to go for a ride.

Re: Copenhagenize Index 2025: The Global Ranking of Bicycle-Friendly Cities

#75

Post by petermcneeley »

Etheryte wrote: post #74
petermcneeley wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes I agree but in general we dont have infrastructure and it gets much colder. Salt doesnt work at some point so you dont have dry pathways.

Bike paths don't have to be dry though, you can sweep them and it's fine. If you use studded tires, you can ride a bike in places where you can't even walk. Source is I used to do this when I lived in the middle of nowhere in Sweden. I agree with you that infrastructure is key though. The temperature doesn't really matter, if you're good to go on a walk, you're also good to go for a ride.

I see bikes in the summer here. I dont see almost anybody biking in the winter here. Like 100:1. The winters here are not mild (like in vancouver). This is basically artic-like weather. People also tend not to walk. The very poor take the bus. Most drive.

Re: Copenhagenize Index 2025: The Global Ranking of Bicycle-Friendly Cities

#76

Post by DonHopkins »

aallaall wrote: post #3

Of course it helps if the city, and country in general, is completely flat. Cities in Norway or Nepal have mother nature against all form of manual locomotion.

On my first visit to Amsterdam, my friend picked me up on a bike at Centraal Station, and I rode to his apartment in the traditional Dutch style sitting on the back rack.

On the way said "only three more mountains to go till we're home"! I asked "WTF?" and he explained that's what they call the bridges over the canals.

This is one of the intersections we went through right after one of the mountains, showing how much the local culture affects the traffic safety and bicycle friendliness as much as the geography:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqQSwQLDIK8

Re: Copenhagenize Index 2025: The Global Ranking of Bicycle-Friendly Cities

#77

Post by DonHopkins »

maelito wrote: post #22

Ranking Bordeaux and Nantes next to Amsterdam is nonsense. Amsterdam is miles ahead in terms of infrastructure. This ranking dilutes the most important thing to get these results : good bike lancés everywhere with no discontinuity. Disclaimer : I've built villes.plus, an open source automated evaluation of bike lanes. 100 points, compute itineraries in "secure" mode with Brouter between these points, count the % of s…

>Amsterdam is miles ahead in terms of infrastructure.

Amsterdammers prefer to think of themselves as kilometers ahead. ;)

Re: Copenhagenize Index 2025: The Global Ranking of Bicycle-Friendly Cities

#78

Post by betaby »

heresie-dabord wrote: post #69
betaby wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 'Bicycling is part of the mobility culture' That's a very {Plateau,reddit,no-kids}-centric view.

It's evident that people use bicycles in Montreal -- TFA itself attests this. But if your point is that North American cities all tend to have the same downtown/suburban contrasts, you are quite right. People who live $Downtown usually have walkable neighbourhoods and perhaps even access to underground transit. People who live outside the centre of the city mostly end up depending on a private vehicle. Bicycles are p…

> It's evident that people use bicycles

They do. Also people who use bicycles in Montreal are disproportionately males and mostly of the certain age group. That's very apparent if you stay for ~10 minutes near Grande Bibliothèque for example or any other relatively busy piste cyclable. If you call it a 'mobility culture' it a very niche one. Bicycling is a thing for very specific demographics in Montreal in comparison with Amsterdam and even with Eastern European cities.

Interestingly that high schoolers are not biking that much in Montreal, again in comparison. Biking to school was/is an exception where I live(d) in Montreal, i.e. Le Sud-Ouest, NDG.

Re: Copenhagenize Index 2025: The Global Ranking of Bicycle-Friendly Cities

#79

Post by alamortsubite »

petermcneeley wrote: post #65
vlabakje90 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is was like that in the Netherlands about a week ago. It really doesn't make a difference.

Ah well that settles it then! Im going to tell the female lawyer I know to stop taking her car and instead buy gear and a bike so she can bike in the freezing cold for 20 minutes to get to her job where she also has to dress as a lawyer. No problem just pack a bag of clothes in a pack + all other workthings and then don artic style gear. So much fun!

My gf is a doctor and rides year-round. In the winter I swap wheels with studded tires onto her bike (it takes a couple minutes). Where there's proper infrastructure, it's far safer to go out on a bike in poor conditions than it is an automobile. Plus you accumulate tremendous health benefits from not being sedentary. I'd work that into your pitch (of course, my gf is lucky to observe this first-hand at work every day, which an attorney might not).

Re: Copenhagenize Index 2025: The Global Ranking of Bicycle-Friendly Cities

#80

Post by petermcneeley »

alamortsubite wrote: post #79
petermcneeley wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah well that settles it then! Im going to tell the female lawyer I know to stop taking her car and instead buy gear and a bike so she can bike in the freezing cold for 20 minutes to get to her job where she also has to dress as a lawyer. No problem just pack a bag of clothes in a pack + all other workthings and then don artic style gear. So much fun!

My gf is a doctor and rides year-round. In the winter I swap wheels with studded tires onto her bike (it takes a couple minutes). Where there's proper infrastructure, it's far safer to go out on a bike in poor conditions than it is an automobile. Plus you accumulate tremendous health benefits from not being sedentary. I'd work that into your pitch (of course, my gf is lucky to observe this first-hand at work every da…

People dont live like this here. We would view this as hardship for peasants of another ancient time.

This is not to say it must be cars. It can be other forms of transit like bus/subway. Of course standing in an unsheltered area waiting for a bus is also highly undesirable. The windchill makes this literally dangerous.

Perhaps there is a cultural barrier here? or perhaps you are not familiar with real winter.

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