apparently my city literally literally banned public rail funding, and people online love jerking off about how good biking is, so i figured might as well try. I have come up with:
pros:
- good for mental health / exercise / endorphins
- arguably quaint
- feel like an old timey guy taking his wares to market
- feel european
- can annoy others
- less of a police state around them vs cars
- more flexible parking, routes
- capacity to be peaceful
- nice in summer
cons:
- look like an annoying dork (esp w neon - which also hurts the quaint factor)
- have to wear a helmet (^)
- getting sweaty, potentially “unpresentable” for work
- still have to find safe parking
- still takes a while
- have to find new routes to places
- can’t listen to music or might die
- little meaningful protection against severe injury
- can only carry so many groceries/etc
- sucks in winter
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Legit medical issue for men, doing it too often can negatively impact your performance in bed, IIRC especially if you ride on unpaved terrain a lot.
There have been studies debunking claims of bike-induced ED, buuuuut, if you are really worried, you can get a ventilated or slotted saddle and occasionally stand up on your bike at traffic stops and such. There are specialized saddles and a variety of bikes with different riding positions.
I love downhill mountain biking, singletrack, and city riding, and never had issues with getting it up either. When the shitty OEM saddle made my balls fall asleep, I swapped to a better saddle made by SQ Labs and changed the seat angle slightly.
Also… if ED were an issue, the Netherlands and Japan would be like…sterile, hahah
Aren’t the Netherlands and Japan both facing fertility crises?
I am dutch and I have never heard of this issue/myth. Even tour de grance cyclists manage to have kids just fine after 20 years of full time cycling, so I wouldn’t worry.
Conversely, I have a lot more stamina in the bedroom now that I’ve been regularly cycling
You can also get a more comfortable softer riding saddle instead of a hard racing one. It really depends on the bike.
I have a pretty comfy saddle, and if it’s too bumpy I prefer cycling standing up anyway. Don’t really get why people insist so much on sitting down all the time.
Have a look into E-Bikes, theres a great Micromobility community on Lemmy.
My dad has one with saddlebags and says its more like owning a small motorbike. Sure he has to pedal but he never has to pedal hard. If you’re worried about looking like a dork Mercedes make ones that look cool AF.
cargo bikes are getting really practical if thats your bigger worry.
Buy a good lock and put an air tag on it though.
theres a great Micromobility community on Lemmy.
Thanks! It’s !micromobility@lemmy.world if anyone was interested btw
I like the idea of an E-bike but it just wouldnt be practical in my life at the moment. But its a pretty good community, generally stays on topic and doesnt degenerate into arguments.
Just to add, if you go with a bicycle, you do not need to forgoe cars altogether. For those days you need to haul around a bunch of items, you can rent a car through a car sharing service. You can rent them for a few hours.
Pro:
- Look this shitload of money you don’t have to pay for insurance, parking and gaz
Con:
- Look this shitload of time you’ve spent to “fix just this another thing”
I’ll just comment on the con list
- look like an annoying dork (esp w neon - which also hurts the quaint factor)
You don’t have to wear Lycra to bike commute. Comfy shorts, T-shirt and trainers is fine
- have to wear a helmet (^)
Get a decent helmet, it’s way less annoying when the helmet is breathing well and sits on your head properly.
- getting sweaty, potentially “unpresentable” for work
Yeah this is pretty annoying. Best advice I can give is to have your stuff sacked into a bag attached to your bike (handlebar bag, pannier, etc). Backpack prevents the airflow in your back and causes ton of sweating
- still have to find safe parking
No comment on this one, as European I’ve never found myself in a situation where parking a bike is anything but fine
- still takes a while
May take longer but is 267% (I measured) more fun than a car
- have to find new routes to places
This should be a pro
- can’t listen to music or might die
Headphones with transparency mode on are great for cycling
- little meaningful protection against severe injury
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen seen studies suggesting bike commute lowers the chance of injury on average due to the health gains. Or something, not bothering to search for it now. Also I think this might be a bit eurocentric, since the bikelanes are not that great on many other places
- can only carry so many groceries/etc
If you plan on carrying a week worth of groceries for a family of 3, then cargo bike might just be for you. Otherwise, daily shop visits for what’s needed are fine with bicycle bags or basket
- sucks in winter
Attitude issue. I love cycling in winter
Only thing I’d say (as a cyclist) is that “skill issue” is not a great reply for all cases. My city swings from +40 to -40 and it’s not uncommon to see wind chills down below -50. Winter cycling is not always viable, which is why a robust transit network needs to include a variety of options.
Otherwise, this is a good comment.
Yeah it’s a bit poking fun, but you have some extreme temperature swings wherever you live :o
Yeah that’s what allows me to afford to live here, lol
Con: not suitable for elderly or hanicapped people.
Go to asian countries, plenty of elderly on bicycles. It is just the elderly in western countries are sedentary which leads to atrophied muscles.
With the handicapped you can make the same argument with operating a motor vehicle.
Side note: I like cars. I even have a sim rig at home to race around in. But car centric infrastructure brings more negatives than positives.
The major difference is depending on the city.
Absolutely in Tokyo and Saigon, bike riders of all ages were going about their lives. But I can’t imagine being a elderly bike rider in some US cities. Some drivers WANT to fuck with bikers. It’s disgusting.
Indeed, I should have worded my comment better. I just want to point out that it is an infrastructure issue rather than bicycles being objectively worse than cars.
E-bike or custom made bike
Trike! Or recumbent trike. Or an e-trike.
You can say disabled, it’s not a bad word! :) there are quite a few bike options for disabled people actually. From 3 wheeled bikes to handbike/ebike hybrids. It’s awesome.
Source: I’m a wheelchair user from The Netherlands
I wear the same clothing when I am biking and not biking. The clothing is by no means a requirement.
If you were trying to get to work that could be problematic, especially business attire in a hot place.
I used to bike to work occasionally. It was maybe a 5 minute drive, 15 minute bike ride. I would bring a backpack with a change of clothes and change in the bathroom once I got to the office.
Back in office I remember a few people who did that, they were definitely a bit sweat smelly lmao, I live in a very warm place though, probably much more viable in a more temperate place
If you’re going moderate or short distances in a city, odds are it will literally be faster to bike, even at a no sweat/leisurely pace.
Average speed of commuter traffic in cities is sub 20 kph.
In my city cycling is faster even if you’re not stuck in traffic because you can take one way streets and shortcuts. During rush hour it’s not even comparable.
look like a dork
Just dress like a BMXer and not those dorks that do the Tour De France. 🤷🏻♂️
Even their helmets are cooler.
I’ve been riding bikes for more than 50 years and never wore a helmet. Now I got an ebike - and a helmet. And I actually like it. It provides a bit of shade, the airflow is still good (it has many air holes), and it keeps almost all sweat from running down my face.
Do you live in a city or an are with a lower population? I strap the helmet on in the city or doing some speed, but when we’re out visiting with family in the country or a small town, we usually go without it.
I live in the city, but with the ebike I now can also go to the surrounding country side. I still like the helmet there, because shade for the head and a lot less sweat in my face. And it’s not a high end helmet, it is a cheap one from Aldi.
https://lectricebikes.com/products/xpedition-dual-battery
I have the extra large crago bags for this and I have brought home a week’s worth of food from the store up and down a mountain near where I live. It is still a bit of a struggle but pedal hard. I use it to go to work 2 miles away (I know, I’m VERY lucky) and I use it to replace driving anywhere over 10 miles away from home. The charge on the batteries last forever since I use only lvl 2-3 on pedal assist since I prefer to pedal.
There are solutions
Pros
- cheap
- fun
- doesn’t pollute
- much lower chance of accidentally killing someone compared to driving
Cons
- might get killed by someone
- get wet if it’s raining
- hills
Get an ebike. It solves several of your cons at once.
No need to wear spandex or neon to ride on an ebike (or any bike honestly I bike everywhere and the only neon thing I own is my rain pants) just put lights on your bike and don’t dress all in black.
Can’t help you with the helmet, that one’s pretty important but there’s lots of nice looking helmets out there.
No getting sweaty on an ebike unless you want to, because you can crank the pedal assist if you’re starting to sweat.
Have literally never had an issue finding somewhere to park my bike. Sure have an issue finding car parking though. At the downtown garage I park at, cars are $20 an hour but bikes are free.
You’ll probably go faster than the cars if there’s lots of traffic. We’ve done a car vs bike race a few times when we had both starting the same place and going to the same place and the ebike always wins or is like 10 minutes behind at most.
Bluetooth speakers and transparent headphones both solve the music issue.
Many ebikes have extra cargo capacity, so grocery runs are easier. If you’ve got a large family then you might need a cargo bike or to rent a car periodically for large trips.
The only real downside imo is the weather if you live somewhere extremely cold/hot and the safety from riding near cars. The rest is easy to get over once you’re zipping down the road at 20mph getting those sweet, sweet biking endorphins.
Electric bicycles are much less tiring to use and go faster / further. Quite a game changer.
With pannier bags and a backpack you can carry quite a lot of groceries.
Get an ebike. I wear normal clothes. Lycra is for fitting in to fitness biking groups, most don’t wear it.
I just use my ebike as a car alternative so I don’t have to fight for parking at popular spots in the city or pay for $5/gal gas unnecessarily (unless I’m actually going to a remote place, then I use my car). Gets me to my destination in roughly the same amount of time due to traffic lights and bad traffic. I’ve actually beaten friends in Ubers because the bike paths are much more direct, typically.
Recharging costs pennies, and I’m usually down to half a battery 45 miles in as long as I’m going in hybrid mode where I’m still pedaling. Gets you stupidly into shape as a side benefit, since you are always pedaling and you can turn the battery off if you want a 67lb exercise bike that also goes places.
Throw some panniers on and you can carry or tow a decent amount of stuff since the bike is electric.
