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Privately owning a bike comes with a ton of hassles though. - I live in a 570ft studio so storage space is limited. We have bike storage in my building, but it

Privately owning a bike comes with a ton of hassles though. - I live in a 570ft studio so storage space is limited. We have bike storage in my building, but it's $15 a month. - If I go somewhere and bring the bike with me, I have to bring it back. If it starts raining, I can't just choose to leave the bike and take an Uber home. - If I'm on a bike and I meet up with people that aren't, coordinating travel is a huge pain in the ass. - I travel a lot and have been in 4 major cities this week. Having a bike at home helps there, but doesn't solve any problems in the other cities. Sharing services are great for visitors. - Living in a major city, bike theft is a huge problem. By using shared bikes, I don't have to worry about that. - On top of it all, Lime/Bird is just cheaper. I really only use one once every week or two. I've probably spent less that $30 this year on Lime/Bird. Even if I got a bike for free and it never needed any maintenance a decent U lock would cost more than that. So yeah, I could own a bike, but these are more convenient and cheaper, so why would I?

justinator 8y ago
I've used a bike for my primary transportation for the last 15 years. I'm not sure if your points are all real, or just what you imagine would be blocks. Let's go through some! - I live in a 570ft studio so storage space is limited. We have bike storage in my building, but it's $15 a month. Hang the bike up with a hook. - If I go somewhere and bring the bike with me, I have to bring it back. If it starts raining, I can't just choose to leave the bike and take an Uber home. They make clothes specifically to be worn in the rain. Getting a little wet won't hurt ya. - I travel a lot and have been in 4 major cities this week. Having a bike at home helps there, but doesn't solve any problems in the other cities. Sharing services are great for visitors. That, I agree! Goodness, that's a lot of traveling. - Living in a major city, bike theft is a huge problem. By using shared bikes, I don't have to worry about that. I must be lucky, because I've never had a bike stolen. - On top of it all, Lime/Bird is just cheaper. I really only use one once every week or two. I've probably spent less that $30 this year on Lime/Bird. Even if I got a bike for free and it never needed any maintenance a decent U lock would cost more than that. I guess I see the costs saving are from not owning a car. Haha, and I guess, not really needed a gym membership!
- superfrank 8y ago
  Nah, all of these are real points from my life. I live in Seattle and live close enough to work that I can walk. When I moved up here I sold my car and as part of that, I looked into buying a decent bike to use as my main transportation and came to the conclusion that it just wasn't worth it. My original plan was a mix of walking and the bus, but now it's more walking and transportation sharing services (Uber/Lyft, Car2Go, and Lime). Also, I'd like to give a rebuttal to a few of your answers. > Hang the bike up with a hook. I'm not saying I can't do that, but it would definitely be inconvenient. A mix of small elevators, an odd apartment layout (only one wall we could put a hook on), and a girlfriend who is picky about the decorations in our apartment makes that idea less than ideal. > They make clothes specifically to be worn in the rain. Getting a little wet won't hurt ya. You are right, but you still run into the issue of needing to plan ahead. If I leave my house on bike and it's sunny but it starts to rain later I'm going to get soaked. As you said, that won't kill me, but if I'm going from a bar to a party at a friends house, it would suck to show up soaked. Having the option to go from point A to B on bike and then B to C in a Lyft is a nice option to have. > That, I agree! Goodness, that's a lot of traveling. Hahaha agree with you there, I'm exhausted. This isn't my norm though, just had a friends birthday, a family event, and work travel happen to be back to back to back. Just to kind of wrap my point up, I'm not trying to petition against people owning bikes. There are a lot of people who it makes sense for and if Bird/Lime weren't a thing, I would probably be one of them. If I had no other options, I could definitely make it work, but for me, it's more convenient and less expensive to rent one when I need it.
  - justinator 8y ago
    I think what helped me, when I transitioned to using a bike for everything was having a large circle of friends that also rode bikes primarily. We laughed, we cried, but we also saw what we did as being normal things to overcome. For example, if we all went out, we did so on bikes. If it rained - so be it! We all got wet, and we laughed about it. In Seattle, I've joined up with these guys: http://point83.com/ http://point83.com/
baroffoos 8y ago
You might want to consider a foldable bike. They seem to address a lot of your issues.

justinator 8y ago

I've used a bike for my primary transportation for the last 15 years. I'm not sure if your points are all real, or just what you imagine would be blocks. Let's go through some! - I live in a 570ft studio so storage space is limited. We have bike storage in my building, but it's $15 a month. Hang the bike up with a hook. - If I go somewhere and bring the bike with me, I have to bring it back. If it starts raining, I can't just choose to leave the bike and take an Uber home. They make clothes specifically to be worn in the rain. Getting a little wet won't hurt ya. - I travel a lot and have been in 4 major cities this week. Having a bike at home helps there, but doesn't solve any problems in the other cities. Sharing services are great for visitors. That, I agree! Goodness, that's a lot of traveling. - Living in a major city, bike theft is a huge problem. By using shared bikes, I don't have to worry about that. I must be lucky, because I've never had a bike stolen. - On top of it all, Lime/Bird is just cheaper. I really only use one once every week or two. I've probably spent less that $30 this year on Lime/Bird. Even if I got a bike for free and it never needed any maintenance a decent U lock would cost more than that. I guess I see the costs saving are from not owning a car. Haha, and I guess, not really needed a gym membership!

superfrank 8y ago
Nah, all of these are real points from my life. I live in Seattle and live close enough to work that I can walk. When I moved up here I sold my car and as part of that, I looked into buying a decent bike to use as my main transportation and came to the conclusion that it just wasn't worth it. My original plan was a mix of walking and the bus, but now it's more walking and transportation sharing services (Uber/Lyft, Car2Go, and Lime). Also, I'd like to give a rebuttal to a few of your answers. > Hang the bike up with a hook. I'm not saying I can't do that, but it would definitely be inconvenient. A mix of small elevators, an odd apartment layout (only one wall we could put a hook on), and a girlfriend who is picky about the decorations in our apartment makes that idea less than ideal. > They make clothes specifically to be worn in the rain. Getting a little wet won't hurt ya. You are right, but you still run into the issue of needing to plan ahead. If I leave my house on bike and it's sunny but it starts to rain later I'm going to get soaked. As you said, that won't kill me, but if I'm going from a bar to a party at a friends house, it would suck to show up soaked. Having the option to go from point A to B on bike and then B to C in a Lyft is a nice option to have. > That, I agree! Goodness, that's a lot of traveling. Hahaha agree with you there, I'm exhausted. This isn't my norm though, just had a friends birthday, a family event, and work travel happen to be back to back to back. Just to kind of wrap my point up, I'm not trying to petition against people owning bikes. There are a lot of people who it makes sense for and if Bird/Lime weren't a thing, I would probably be one of them. If I had no other options, I could definitely make it work, but for me, it's more convenient and less expensive to rent one when I need it.
- justinator 8y ago
  I think what helped me, when I transitioned to using a bike for everything was having a large circle of friends that also rode bikes primarily. We laughed, we cried, but we also saw what we did as being normal things to overcome. For example, if we all went out, we did so on bikes. If it rained - so be it! We all got wet, and we laughed about it. In Seattle, I've joined up with these guys: http://point83.com/ http://point83.com/

baroffoos 8y ago

You might want to consider a foldable bike. They seem to address a lot of your issues.