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
Rebuttals to a few of the cons:
- don’t dress like an ‘annoying dork’- unless that’s your vibe, no need to change anything to ride a bike.
- you don’t ‘have’ to wear a helmet. Though there are some less bulky, big, or wherever this cons comes from. Probably best to wear one.
- no need to go fast and work up a sweat, or e-bike as other have mentioned. There may be financial rebates available. Other commuter tips include: bring extra clothes, and wet wipes to clean up once getting to.
- until a matter transporter comes along, it takes time to go anywhere.
- you get to find new routes. Find new shops, new neighborhoods, new parks. Feel like a part of you community. Not locked in a metal box or tube.
- bone conduction headphones, or other non noise canceling headphones
- there are bikes, racks and bags in any combination that can carry all sorts of groceries.
- no bad weather, only bad gear. I’d say heat of summer is worse than winter.
I don’t disagree. I’ve worked on an ambulance, I’ve seen what the results of improper protection does to a person. But also how it affects everyone else involved- from the people scraping you off the street to the family that has to take care of you. The unseen injuries of head trauma. At the end of the day, it’s a personal choice- just think about the possible consequences to yourself and those around you.
Think of it this way- don’t wear a helmet because you ride a bike, wear a helmet because everyone else is in a car… they don’t look for you, they don’t care about you. Only you can care about you. It’s car culture pushing the responsibility of safety onto the cyclists to avoid culpability.
Two fairly interesting videos arguing each point and may help yall convince others to wear a helmet better than calling them stupid.
https://youtu.be/rhzH6mEpIps?si=UGH6OVQVYDOH7oLf
https://youtu.be/1JfbTwrtOWU?si=WF7RlOLg4h_uv58e
Be safe, anything can happen. Wear a helmet, even for the ‘safe’ rides so it becomes second nature.
Guess dutch people are stupid, but at least they have way less death per kilometer while cycling ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ikr, I live in the Netherlands and not only do i not wear a helmet myself but I’ve seen dutch people ride with no hands, holding an umbrella and a phone, with bikebags full of groceries, in the rain, without a helmet.
That shit is close to a circus act, istg.
Could be even lower if they wore helmets though. I don’t even wear a helmet myself, but it’s objectively smart to do so.
My friend got something caught in his front wheel and went over the handlebars at 20mph. Could have been turned into a vegetable if he wasn’t wearing a helmet.
A helmet is only needed if you intend to spend significant time in traffic. Most of the world doesn’t use one.
The math behind using one is a lot more on the margins than people realize. In order for it to save you, it first has to prevent a head injury, and then prevent one that is in the range of severity that makes it useful. The vast majority of bike injuries won’t fall in that range, they’ll either be related to another part of the body, or in the case of high speed crashes from a car, too severe for a helmet to matter. But helmets do give people a false sense of security. Statistically people ride faster and take more risks with a helmet on. Lastly, again statistically, the visibility gear you put on yourself while riding does more to keep you safe in traffic than a helmet. Lights, reflectors, reflective vest, etc.
All this to say, the religiosity with which people proselytize helmets is misplaced. I still wear one, but I don’t judge people who choose not to.
A helmet is only needed if you intend to spend significant time in traffic.
The worst wreck I’ve ever had on a bike was without a single car in sight. Pinch flat while carrying speed through a steep downhill curve. I split an expensive MIPS helmet in two and still hit hard enough that I had a minor concussion, road rash up one side of my body, and cracked the face of a week old watch just to pour salt in the (metaphorical) wound. I mostly landed on my head and that helmet is the reason I didn’t have drastically more severe head injuries.
Helmets aren’t just for traffic.
the religiosity with which people proselytize helmets is misplaced.
It feels very much religion like, but also an online phenomenon only. IRL the helmet discussion goes like this for me: “You don’t wear a helmet?” “No.”
The topic coming up is super rare too, while on every picture of a cyclist without a helmet on the internet you got all these comments from helmet fundamentalists going nuts over it.
The helmet is not the sole saviour. But If I can eliminate or even highly reduce any risk, especially high risk brain injuries just by wearing a helmet, why wouldn’t you?
Seems silly to tempt fate when a helmet is so easy and mitigates a lot of risk.
Not true, winter biking really isn’t that bad and bikes are remarkably stable even on ice
At 06:25 they explain that 35% of the people use special wheels with nails, so that’s different of course (they also use such rails for the winter triathlon (running (with spikes), cycling (with spike wheels), cross country skiing)).
With such wheels it for sure is safer, if someone wants to go cycling in winter that’s definitely the way to go. But if there are 20 cm of fresh snow you’ll still get stuck, you need clean roads like in the video. If the roads are clean (at 09:20 they say that the roads are clean 24h per day, max. 2 cm of snow, absolutely highest they let it go is 4 cm but that’s the exception, they also have an app that shows snow levels on each street in real time) and there’s no elevation and no sharp turns it even works with normal tires, but that’s rarely the case.
Get spike wheels and stay on clean roads, if there’s too much fresh snow you’ll get stuck. Avoid elevation! And obviously avoid sharp turns
Or use one of these (only downhill) https://images.app.goo.gl/A1NitHgRBS3Qanza7 You can rent them in most ski resorts (at least in Austria)
there are bikes, racks and bags in any combination that can carry all sorts of groceries.
Paper and liquid products are not cooperative with two-wheeled transportation, so there’s still a tangible limit
Where there is no will, there is no way.
If it’s a Costco monthly trip, no. On your carbon road bike, no. Full suspension downhill bike, no. Holding a 2liter bottle of Shasta Cola and three rolls of TP? Rethink some things.
If you know it’s going to be a utility bike, yea. Easily done. If it’s a zippy get about thing, consider a little trailer for the hauling trips- buy used, even the old ones roll fine.
I’ve been going for about a year, with two panniers and a front rack, for weekly groceries for a family of 3. Milk, eggs, toilet paper, no problem. Back when Mission Workshop just split off from Timbuk2 I got their expand-o Marry Poppins backpack (the rambler)which is awesome- though I wouldn’t buy it at the current price (eye watering)…it does fit A LOT, like 12kg bags of dog food and still has room. It can carry the weirdest things.
The worst part is getting the panniers up the flight of stairs to our apartment…which would be the same struggle regardless of transportation.
I have a trailer that I attach to my bike whenever I have to haul a lot of stuff. It’s very convenient. You can add a little wheel at the front to use it by hand with its handle. It carries 40 to 60 kg and is foldable to take less space if needed.
