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I have very mixed feelings about riding bikes in cities. The health benefits can be completely negated (or worse) depending on the air quality around where you

by tabeth 9y ago

I have very mixed feelings about riding bikes in cities. The health benefits can be completely negated (or worse) depending on the air quality around where you are riding. There are certainly reasons to ride other than that -- speed, freedom, etc. Electric bikes are good in that you can get to your destination faster than a regular bike, reducing exposure to the mentioned issues. There are few downsides to going electric -- hardly cheating.

Johnny555 9y ago
If you live in a city where the air quality is so bad that getting outdoor exercise is worse than not exercising, then you ought to move out of that city since it's killing you.
llukas 9y ago
Sitting in a car is still worse as you're exposed to same air but got no benefit. (unless you sit in HEPA filtered tesla or something...)
- hollerith 9y ago
  Although a HEPA filter can be very helpful, it does not remove most of the pollutants in car exhaust (CO, NOx, SOx).
  - llukas 9y ago
    PM2.5 particles are thing that give you cancer and higher concentrations are related to car traffic. PM10 are not healthy either.
    - hollerith 9y ago
      Oh, sure, but again the CO, NOx, SOx and most of the unburnt hydrocarbons in gasoline-fueled vehicle exhaust are not particles (they're gasses) and are not removed to any significant degree by a HEPA filter. In the US, diesel cars are rare, and I would guess that the non-diesel cars in the US produce very little in the way of particulate pollution. Am I wrong about that?
      - llukas 9y ago
        Hmm. According to this https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/sbai_pres.pdf https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents... Most particulates are from exhaust but amount of this is falling and soon most contributing factor would be brake/tire wear.
        hollerith 9y ago
        That's why I used the qualifier "gasoline-fueled": the particulates are coming mostly from _diesel_ engines. (I didn't belabor that point earlier because I assumed that people here would already know that because the VW diesel-emissions cheating scandal was such a big story.) During a busy commute in a major US metro area, the vast majority of the vehicles on the road are gas-powered (because a large fraction of trucks will avoid busy commutes). I realize the situation is different in Europe where diesel-powered cars are much more common.
deleted 9y ago
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by tabeth 9y ago

Johnny555 9y ago

If you live in a city where the air quality is so bad that getting outdoor exercise is worse than not exercising, then you ought to move out of that city since it's killing you.

llukas 9y ago

Sitting in a car is still worse as you're exposed to same air but got no benefit. (unless you sit in HEPA filtered tesla or something...)

hollerith 9y ago
Although a HEPA filter can be very helpful, it does not remove most of the pollutants in car exhaust (CO, NOx, SOx).
- llukas 9y ago
  PM2.5 particles are thing that give you cancer and higher concentrations are related to car traffic. PM10 are not healthy either.
  - hollerith 9y ago
    Oh, sure, but again the CO, NOx, SOx and most of the unburnt hydrocarbons in gasoline-fueled vehicle exhaust are not particles (they're gasses) and are not removed to any significant degree by a HEPA filter. In the US, diesel cars are rare, and I would guess that the non-diesel cars in the US produce very little in the way of particulate pollution. Am I wrong about that?
    - llukas 9y ago
      Hmm. According to this https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/sbai_pres.pdf https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents... Most particulates are from exhaust but amount of this is falling and soon most contributing factor would be brake/tire wear.
      - hollerith 9y ago
        That's why I used the qualifier "gasoline-fueled": the particulates are coming mostly from _diesel_ engines. (I didn't belabor that point earlier because I assumed that people here would already know that because the VW diesel-emissions cheating scandal was such a big story.) During a busy commute in a major US metro area, the vast majority of the vehicles on the road are gas-powered (because a large fraction of trucks will avoid busy commutes). I realize the situation is different in Europe where diesel-powered cars are much more common.

deleted 9y ago

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