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I see this argument and I just don't get it. My local grocery store is less than a mile away on city streets. There is no way an ebike is faster, more comfortab

I see this argument and I just don't get it. My local grocery store is less than a mile away on city streets. There is no way an ebike is faster, more comfortable or healthier (since it's an ebike I'm not pedaling, or not much, so maybe a touch healthier) than my car. I'll go along with cheaper and better for the environment, but as for the others I don't see how that can be. Especially after getting groceries, which since I'd be on a bike would have to be a small amount (say 1 bag or so) as opposed to my car where I could do a week's worth of shopping at once, saving time and number of trips. I'd love to find a reason to get one, but I can't justify it. I work from home 3 days a week and my office is 25 miles away on the other side of a major metropolitan area. I live in a suburb and the office is in another suburb, so non-freeway travel to it would be a nightmare.

roxas232 7y ago
One option for getting groceries would be to get a bike trailer (like the one you see people dragging small children in). This could let you carry a weeks worth of groceries pretty easily. And that does sound like a tough commute, but you could try looking at google maps and using the bike option to see if a potentially usable route would work. If you could charge at work, then even better!
- chrisdhal 7y ago
  The commute isn't too bad especially since I only do it twice a week (and technically wouldn't need to at all). Since I'm not customer facing or anything I have shifted my hours to be from 6AM-3PM so I miss all the morning traffic and the afternoon is just starting to pick up at that time, so it's more of a distance thing than traffic. For grins I looked at Google Maps and it says my biking commute is 1 hour 47 minutes. Yikes! With an ebike I'm sure it will be less, but it's still significantly longer (which is expected, that's not a criticism). Note, however, that I do live in a Northern climate and have snow during the winter, which would definitely contradict the "more comfortable" claim that some of said. Also, yes, I could do groceries more often, but I hate to do it which is why I actually tend to have them delivered.
  - roxas232 7y ago
    Totally fair, it would probably be closer to an hour on an ebike depending, but that is rough. I will say that it is super fun though!
stefs 7y ago
(no ebike here though, normal bike only) "My local grocery store is less than a mile away on city streets. There is no way an ebike is faster than my car." as i don't have private parking at home a bike is a lot faster, as the overhead of getting to the car before and finding a parking spot + getting back home afterwards is huge. furthermore i can take a more direct route with my bike (may or may not apply to others), i'm more nimble and can thus get around obstacles and i don't get stuck in traffic jams. so for a single trip, from door to door, a bike is a lot faster for me than the car. on the other hand, i actually go shopping almost every day; i mostly buy only as much as i can fit into my back pack. as i have shopped this way for the last 20 years i don't even know where i'd put perishables for a week; i buy, i cook, i eat. that said, i'm a remote worker and i welcome the opportunity to get some fresh air and exercise during the day
Someone 7y ago
Op writes “can be faster”, not “is faster”. In densely populated neighborhoods, cycling can certainly be faster than driving a car. Also: how long does it take you to find a parking spot for your car at the grocery? How far from the shop is it, on average? Do you have to find a parking spot at home, too? And a double bag on the back of a bike can easily hold 50 liters. That’s quite a bit of shopping.
- chrisdhal 7y ago
  Fair enough about "can be". It takes me seconds to find a parking spot. The parking lot is large and right there, I could park in the farthest away spot and be inside in less than a minute. I live in a detached single family home and have a garage, so I don't have to find parking at home. Again, I'm not saying it's not viable, but in many cases the "advantages" aren't there. Note: this is in a suburb of a major US city. There is plenty of space, all single family homes, US-like supermarket. Edit: added note about city.
  - Noos 7y ago
    I don't think the people replying to you understand what a suburb or small town or city is like. I feel sometimes I should make a video of my home town (pop 40,000) to show people here why a lot of things like bicycling to work would actually play out here. Edit: Like I really do't have traffic jams here...traffic is steadily moving at 40 mph or so with only minor stop and starts.A lot of things you have to get on the highway for, which makes bicycling simply impossible. Even depending on the town, where you work matters; most people here are knowledge workers who can fit into a downtown center with no hazard. The guys working at the local lowes distribution center, chicken farm, or industrial park have their workplaces in the middle of nowhere due to noise and pollution concerns.
- sjwright 7y ago
  Merely maintaining balance on an e-bike would exercise some amount of muscle. Probably not enough to matter, but still. And you get the option to put the effort in when you feel like it—you don’t ever get that choice behind the wheel.

roxas232 7y ago

One option for getting groceries would be to get a bike trailer (like the one you see people dragging small children in). This could let you carry a weeks worth of groceries pretty easily. And that does sound like a tough commute, but you could try looking at google maps and using the bike option to see if a potentially usable route would work. If you could charge at work, then even better!

chrisdhal 7y ago
The commute isn't too bad especially since I only do it twice a week (and technically wouldn't need to at all). Since I'm not customer facing or anything I have shifted my hours to be from 6AM-3PM so I miss all the morning traffic and the afternoon is just starting to pick up at that time, so it's more of a distance thing than traffic. For grins I looked at Google Maps and it says my biking commute is 1 hour 47 minutes. Yikes! With an ebike I'm sure it will be less, but it's still significantly longer (which is expected, that's not a criticism). Note, however, that I do live in a Northern climate and have snow during the winter, which would definitely contradict the "more comfortable" claim that some of said. Also, yes, I could do groceries more often, but I hate to do it which is why I actually tend to have them delivered.
- roxas232 7y ago
  Totally fair, it would probably be closer to an hour on an ebike depending, but that is rough. I will say that it is super fun though!

stefs 7y ago

(no ebike here though, normal bike only) "My local grocery store is less than a mile away on city streets. There is no way an ebike is faster than my car." as i don't have private parking at home a bike is a lot faster, as the overhead of getting to the car before and finding a parking spot + getting back home afterwards is huge. furthermore i can take a more direct route with my bike (may or may not apply to others), i'm more nimble and can thus get around obstacles and i don't get stuck in traffic jams. so for a single trip, from door to door, a bike is a lot faster for me than the car. on the other hand, i actually go shopping almost every day; i mostly buy only as much as i can fit into my back pack. as i have shopped this way for the last 20 years i don't even know where i'd put perishables for a week; i buy, i cook, i eat. that said, i'm a remote worker and i welcome the opportunity to get some fresh air and exercise during the day

Someone 7y ago

Op writes “can be faster”, not “is faster”. In densely populated neighborhoods, cycling can certainly be faster than driving a car. Also: how long does it take you to find a parking spot for your car at the grocery? How far from the shop is it, on average? Do you have to find a parking spot at home, too? And a double bag on the back of a bike can easily hold 50 liters. That’s quite a bit of shopping.

chrisdhal 7y ago
Fair enough about "can be". It takes me seconds to find a parking spot. The parking lot is large and right there, I could park in the farthest away spot and be inside in less than a minute. I live in a detached single family home and have a garage, so I don't have to find parking at home. Again, I'm not saying it's not viable, but in many cases the "advantages" aren't there. Note: this is in a suburb of a major US city. There is plenty of space, all single family homes, US-like supermarket. Edit: added note about city.
- Noos 7y ago
  I don't think the people replying to you understand what a suburb or small town or city is like. I feel sometimes I should make a video of my home town (pop 40,000) to show people here why a lot of things like bicycling to work would actually play out here. Edit: Like I really do't have traffic jams here...traffic is steadily moving at 40 mph or so with only minor stop and starts.A lot of things you have to get on the highway for, which makes bicycling simply impossible. Even depending on the town, where you work matters; most people here are knowledge workers who can fit into a downtown center with no hazard. The guys working at the local lowes distribution center, chicken farm, or industrial park have their workplaces in the middle of nowhere due to noise and pollution concerns.
sjwright 7y ago
Merely maintaining balance on an e-bike would exercise some amount of muscle. Probably not enough to matter, but still. And you get the option to put the effort in when you feel like it—you don’t ever get that choice behind the wheel.