4 ms·

also helps when cities/towns are older than the US as a whole. much denser, built for different times. also helps when your country is dead flat. old people ca

also helps when cities/towns are older than the US as a whole. much denser, built for different times. also helps when your country is dead flat. old people can cycle on flat roads. SF style hills ... not so much.

_ph_ 11y ago
This is why electrically assisted bikes are a huge thing. For the weak, they give the ability to ride at a decent speed and also they help with going uphill. Which is also important, if you use the bike as vehicle rather than a sports device, like biking in business clothing.
- awjr 11y ago
  My wife has an arthritic knee and we bought a e-bike with a throttle. So she can go for a ride with me and then when her knee starts twingeing she can just stop peddling and carry on. We did consider a mobility scooter, but that in no way looks cool in anyway possible.
  - jacquesm 11y ago
    Have a look at these: http://www.trikkelev.com/ http://www.trikkelev.com/
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
pjmlp 11y ago
Never been in SF, but lived in Switzerland. Everyone cycles there, even in the Alps centric cities.
- usrusr 11y ago
  Cycling in Switzerland (not as a commuter, but as part of the yearly lycra invasion riding to the alpine roads), I was very impressed with the cleverness of their mix of separate lanes, on-road lanes, mixed traffic and the occasional dedicated cyclepath. The Swiss cycle infrastructure is clearly driven by compromise in terms of money and space, but it always respects the cyclist and is very good at avoiding safety pitfalls like dedicated cycle infrastructure at roundabouts. In Germany, otoh, cycle infrastructure is everywhere (even in placed where law doesn't actually allow it) but suffers a lot from a tradition of building cycle infrastructure for the benefit of cars, dating back to you-know-whom. Instead of picking the type of infrastructure by how well it matches the specific needs of the place where it is built, this decision is mostly driven by one size fits all best practice ideas that change like fashion. The result is a dangerous, inconsistent mess that makes some cyclists envy American "cyclists share the road" signs. Unfortunately, Swiss cities don't have the modal split numbers required to be internationally recognized as a template to copy (even Basel! Maybe statistical methods are to blame?). I think a full copy of Swiss infrastructure would be much more useful than an incomplete imitation of the Netherlands or Copenhagen in places that lack the dedication necessary to do the latter.
jules 11y ago
I don't know how hilly SF is, but the Netherlands does have some areas that are somewhat hilly. With a bike with gears it's not much of an issue. You go slower yes, but it still works great. In fact I prefer to bike in the hillier areas because they tend to be less windy than the flat land near the seaside. From age 12 to 18 I biked 12.5km to high school each day (and 12.5 back home), so even moderate distances are certainly doable. It's fun to think that in total I biked around 40,000km to school, approximately the circumference of Earth. It really helps to say in shape; I know people who bought a car and in a few years they were obese.
- chiph 11y ago
  SF can be very hilly. I would want the disc brakes of a mountain bike to be assured I could stop. And the gearing to be sure I could get to the top. http://imgur.com/qZROsx0 http://imgur.com/qZROsx0
- tinco 11y ago
  The hills of San Francisco are comparable to The Netherlands' highest 'mountain' ;) You'll have to go to the most southern tip of Limburg to get something that might resemble SF, except SF's hills are steeper.
rjprins 11y ago
Actually older cities are harder to make compatible for bikes. New cities, with a better urban planning are the ones that win in terms of cycling comfort. Most parts of most cities are flat. A couple of hills doesn't mean you can't cycle in the rest of the city.

_ph_ 11y ago

This is why electrically assisted bikes are a huge thing. For the weak, they give the ability to ride at a decent speed and also they help with going uphill. Which is also important, if you use the bike as vehicle rather than a sports device, like biking in business clothing.

awjr 11y ago
My wife has an arthritic knee and we bought a e-bike with a throttle. So she can go for a ride with me and then when her knee starts twingeing she can just stop peddling and carry on. We did consider a mobility scooter, but that in no way looks cool in anyway possible.
- jacquesm 11y ago
  Have a look at these: http://www.trikkelev.com/ http://www.trikkelev.com/
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

pjmlp 11y ago

Never been in SF, but lived in Switzerland. Everyone cycles there, even in the Alps centric cities.

usrusr 11y ago
Cycling in Switzerland (not as a commuter, but as part of the yearly lycra invasion riding to the alpine roads), I was very impressed with the cleverness of their mix of separate lanes, on-road lanes, mixed traffic and the occasional dedicated cyclepath. The Swiss cycle infrastructure is clearly driven by compromise in terms of money and space, but it always respects the cyclist and is very good at avoiding safety pitfalls like dedicated cycle infrastructure at roundabouts. In Germany, otoh, cycle infrastructure is everywhere (even in placed where law doesn't actually allow it) but suffers a lot from a tradition of building cycle infrastructure for the benefit of cars, dating back to you-know-whom. Instead of picking the type of infrastructure by how well it matches the specific needs of the place where it is built, this decision is mostly driven by one size fits all best practice ideas that change like fashion. The result is a dangerous, inconsistent mess that makes some cyclists envy American "cyclists share the road" signs. Unfortunately, Swiss cities don't have the modal split numbers required to be internationally recognized as a template to copy (even Basel! Maybe statistical methods are to blame?). I think a full copy of Swiss infrastructure would be much more useful than an incomplete imitation of the Netherlands or Copenhagen in places that lack the dedication necessary to do the latter.

jules 11y ago

I don't know how hilly SF is, but the Netherlands does have some areas that are somewhat hilly. With a bike with gears it's not much of an issue. You go slower yes, but it still works great. In fact I prefer to bike in the hillier areas because they tend to be less windy than the flat land near the seaside. From age 12 to 18 I biked 12.5km to high school each day (and 12.5 back home), so even moderate distances are certainly doable. It's fun to think that in total I biked around 40,000km to school, approximately the circumference of Earth. It really helps to say in shape; I know people who bought a car and in a few years they were obese.

chiph 11y ago
SF can be very hilly. I would want the disc brakes of a mountain bike to be assured I could stop. And the gearing to be sure I could get to the top. http://imgur.com/qZROsx0 http://imgur.com/qZROsx0
tinco 11y ago
The hills of San Francisco are comparable to The Netherlands' highest 'mountain' ;) You'll have to go to the most southern tip of Limburg to get something that might resemble SF, except SF's hills are steeper.

rjprins 11y ago

Actually older cities are harder to make compatible for bikes. New cities, with a better urban planning are the ones that win in terms of cycling comfort. Most parts of most cities are flat. A couple of hills doesn't mean you can't cycle in the rest of the city.