4 ms·

It's always from Denmark and the Netherlands, these studies. Super-flat places with compact cities. Cycling to work isn't so casual when you have hills around o

by vacri 9y ago

It's always from Denmark and the Netherlands, these studies. Super-flat places with compact cities. Cycling to work isn't so casual when you have hills around or a 'new-world' spread-out city.

doug1001 9y ago
this is a core use case for e-bikes--at least for those deterred by hills in their route. Others (because of, for instance, geared drive trains) are ok with elevation gain/loss, and still others actually prefer hills (like my colleague training for a triathalon). Having showers at work is nice as well
- s0rce 9y ago
  I have a standard 21 speed, my commute home (SF East Bay) has a 15% grade for part of the 300ft gain, even with the gears its still fairly intense. I don't mind too much since its on my way home but I'm definitely tired when I get home. I can see a lot of people not wanting to deal with this, especially if they have other commitments after work.
  - wdb 9y ago
    I am also tired even when it's flat after my 40km bike ride back from work to home.
jmknoll 9y ago
Speaking from my experience in the Northeast US, most cities are still pretty flat. Washington, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston could all be very cycle-able with the right infrastructure in place. A bit cold in the winter, but nothing unbearable. Suburbs are a bit hillier, as are cities on the West Coast, but even just by selecting for the flattest/most temperate places in the US and building up solid cycling infrastructure, you're still talking about something thats affecting potentially 10's of millions of people.
wjnc 9y ago
TBH, there's a significant part of people cycling longer commutes as well (30k seems to be a natural limit). You work out two hours and hardly miss any work since you skip traffic jams. Most offices of larger firms have locker rooms and showers for those commuters making it easy to plan a bike day. With ebikes, hilly terrain should be conquered. It's all about mindset and making safety a priority. People will adapt if the benefits are clear.
veidr 9y ago
I ride to work (and just about everywhere else) in Tokyo. Tons of hills, pretty minimal bike lanes (but those are increasing, recently). Coming from car life, though, it's unbelievably good. There are two factors that I think make it work so well: 1. Hills are negated by electric assist bikes. Those are super-common here, mornings are packed with moms taking preschoolers to school on them. Mine evens out even steep hills to an exertion level similar to a regular bike on flat ground. (You of course can exert yourself when you want, and go faster.) 2. Technically, you aren't supposed to ride on sidewalks, but this is absolutely ignored by all, per common understanding. You can always ride on the sidewalk, as long as you exhibit common sense and courtesy and ride more slowly and safely. This means when a road feels too dangerous, you have a slower safer option. My own commute is about 50-50 road vs sidewalk. I hope I never have to do any other kind of commute. I'm originally from rural Northern California, and even though I did ride my BMX along miles of dangerous road, I wasn't allowed to, and wouldn't allow my kids to, either. Too many blind curves with very little shoulder, and pretty fast speeds. But I think most cities could be as awesome as Tokyo is — which for me is for all practical purposes just as good as when I lived in the famously bicycle-friendly Amsterdam — if they just made judicious decisions about "share the sidewalk" in addition to "share the road".

by vacri 9y ago

It's always from Denmark and the Netherlands, these studies. Super-flat places with compact cities. Cycling to work isn't so casual when you have hills around or a 'new-world' spread-out city.

doug1001 9y ago

this is a core use case for e-bikes--at least for those deterred by hills in their route. Others (because of, for instance, geared drive trains) are ok with elevation gain/loss, and still others actually prefer hills (like my colleague training for a triathalon). Having showers at work is nice as well

s0rce 9y ago
I have a standard 21 speed, my commute home (SF East Bay) has a 15% grade for part of the 300ft gain, even with the gears its still fairly intense. I don't mind too much since its on my way home but I'm definitely tired when I get home. I can see a lot of people not wanting to deal with this, especially if they have other commitments after work.
- wdb 9y ago
  I am also tired even when it's flat after my 40km bike ride back from work to home.

jmknoll 9y ago

Speaking from my experience in the Northeast US, most cities are still pretty flat. Washington, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston could all be very cycle-able with the right infrastructure in place. A bit cold in the winter, but nothing unbearable. Suburbs are a bit hillier, as are cities on the West Coast, but even just by selecting for the flattest/most temperate places in the US and building up solid cycling infrastructure, you're still talking about something thats affecting potentially 10's of millions of people.

wjnc 9y ago

TBH, there's a significant part of people cycling longer commutes as well (30k seems to be a natural limit). You work out two hours and hardly miss any work since you skip traffic jams. Most offices of larger firms have locker rooms and showers for those commuters making it easy to plan a bike day. With ebikes, hilly terrain should be conquered. It's all about mindset and making safety a priority. People will adapt if the benefits are clear.

veidr 9y ago

I ride to work (and just about everywhere else) in Tokyo. Tons of hills, pretty minimal bike lanes (but those are increasing, recently). Coming from car life, though, it's unbelievably good. There are two factors that I think make it work so well: 1. Hills are negated by electric assist bikes. Those are super-common here, mornings are packed with moms taking preschoolers to school on them. Mine evens out even steep hills to an exertion level similar to a regular bike on flat ground. (You of course can exert yourself when you want, and go faster.) 2. Technically, you aren't supposed to ride on sidewalks, but this is absolutely ignored by all, per common understanding. You can always ride on the sidewalk, as long as you exhibit common sense and courtesy and ride more slowly and safely. This means when a road feels too dangerous, you have a slower safer option. My own commute is about 50-50 road vs sidewalk. I hope I never have to do any other kind of commute. I'm originally from rural Northern California, and even though I did ride my BMX along miles of dangerous road, I wasn't allowed to, and wouldn't allow my kids to, either. Too many blind curves with very little shoulder, and pretty fast speeds. But I think most cities could be as awesome as Tokyo is — which for me is for all practical purposes just as good as when I lived in the famously bicycle-friendly Amsterdam — if they just made judicious decisions about "share the sidewalk" in addition to "share the road".