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This is the whole problem with American bicycle culture summarized in a single post. There’s way too many carbon-fiber sports bikes and not anywhere near enough

This is the whole problem with American bicycle culture summarized in a single post. There’s way too many carbon-fiber sports bikes and not anywhere near enough step-through town bikes with panniers, fenders and lights.

Alex3917 7y ago
The basic issue is that in Amsterdam most trips are only a mile or two, whereas in NYC it's often a 10 or 15 mile commute between home and work. But yeah if you're only going a couple miles on mostly flat terrain then no question a commuter bike is a better choice.
- aqme28 7y ago
  I don't think that's right. Most of my bike rides are about 1-3 miles. When I commute to work it's about 6 miles and that's farther than most people bike here.
  - zck 7y ago
    I think the statement is "most NYC commutes are longer than Amsterdam commutes, so chances are lower that each commute could be done by bicycle". My commute would be almost six miles by bicycle. I'm not especially looking to replace the subway with a bike trip.
    - danieldk 7y ago
      My commute would be almost six miles by bicycle. I'm not especially looking to replace the subway with a bike trip. We cycled 8 miles to high school every day (so, 16 per day). Cycling 6 miles is not a lot, unless you have to stop every minute at a traffic light. Up till 1.5 year ago (when I wasn't working remotely), I cycled 7 miles to work every single day (also through rain and snow). For good measure, I'd take an extra hilly route the way back twice a week for some extra exercise.
      - zck 7y ago
        > Cycling 6 miles is not a lot... If you say so. It is for me. It's not only a long distance (google maps says 35 minutes, which I suspect is an underestimate), but also would be significantly inconvenient -- do I shower at work, and when I get home? What if I want to go somewhere after work -- leave the bike and come back for it? I love the idea of biking, but I don't see it being useful for my commute.
        thedance 7y ago
        Fundamentally there is no transportation solution to land use problems. If your destinations are inconveniently far apart, no bicycle, tram, bus, or train can fix that. The closest you can get to the convenience of a car without all the externalized social costs is an electric bicycle.
        zck 7y ago
        I have an average commute, I'd say, for NYC. It's not like I'm some sort of supercommuter (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-surging-ranks-of-super-commuters/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-surging-ranks-of-super-comm...).
        thedance 7y ago
        I don’t doubt it but statistically New York has a very high average commute time compared to other American cities.
        watwut 7y ago
        > do I shower at work, and when I get home? Observation: those who bike fast and get sweaty or live far shower at work. It is typically quick shower. No idea what they do at home. Slow people who dont sweat dont shower at work.
- vikramkr 7y ago
  And commuting even a couple miles on Philadelphia roads is basically like off roading at times - and San Francisco hills are legendary in their own right. I was rattling my brain out of my skull trying to deal with rough Philly roads in the winter and a proper carbon bike with good brakes/ability to stop on a dime if a crazy driver is cutting me off (I have heard legends of these things called "protected bike Lanes" - I hope to see one someday...) was a godsend.
  - thedance 7y ago
    On rough roads I’ve never been happier than on my longtail Xtracycle Edgerunner. With the seat post far removed from the axle, and a flexible steel frame, and Big Apple tires, it is ultra-comfortable.
    - vikramkr 7y ago
      That sounds like a sweet ride - glad you found one that works for you. I got a trek something (one of those cases where the fancy version from last year was on sale because the new model has cables inside instead of outside and made it obsolete or something) and it's been awesome. It also got me into cycling for fun as well - and again - Philly streets, it's been nice to have something able to stand up to it instead of what I had before haha
- thedance 7y ago
  If you have further to go you’ll be even less happy with the sporting bike because it can’t carry your stuff. The solution to long distances is electric bikes, not sports bikes.
  - jcheng 7y ago
    There’s a huge range of bikes between ones so sporty that they can’t take a rack and fenders, and step-through city bikes. Here’s a typical example, it has an endurance geometry and has mounts for a rack: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/road-bikes/gravel-bikes/checkpoint/checkpoint-al/checkpoint-al-3/p/24969/?colorCode=white https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/road-bikes/gravel-b...
- watwut 7y ago
  Amsterdam has humidity and weather in which parts corrode. And bikes get stolen often. It just does not make sense to buy expensive bike that gonna get damaged fast or stolen fast.
tjr225 7y ago
Eh, the trend now is for steel bikes that can ride anywhere with braze ons for accessories. It’ll just take a while for it to catch on.
- Alex3917 7y ago
  If you can't bring your bike inside your building then no question steel is the way to go. NYC has some laws to encourage building owners to provide bike storage though, e.g.: https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikesinbuildings.shtml https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikesinbuildin...

Alex3917 7y ago

The basic issue is that in Amsterdam most trips are only a mile or two, whereas in NYC it's often a 10 or 15 mile commute between home and work. But yeah if you're only going a couple miles on mostly flat terrain then no question a commuter bike is a better choice.

aqme28 7y ago
I don't think that's right. Most of my bike rides are about 1-3 miles. When I commute to work it's about 6 miles and that's farther than most people bike here.
- zck 7y ago
  I think the statement is "most NYC commutes are longer than Amsterdam commutes, so chances are lower that each commute could be done by bicycle". My commute would be almost six miles by bicycle. I'm not especially looking to replace the subway with a bike trip.
  - danieldk 7y ago
    My commute would be almost six miles by bicycle. I'm not especially looking to replace the subway with a bike trip. We cycled 8 miles to high school every day (so, 16 per day). Cycling 6 miles is not a lot, unless you have to stop every minute at a traffic light. Up till 1.5 year ago (when I wasn't working remotely), I cycled 7 miles to work every single day (also through rain and snow). For good measure, I'd take an extra hilly route the way back twice a week for some extra exercise.
    - zck 7y ago
      > Cycling 6 miles is not a lot... If you say so. It is for me. It's not only a long distance (google maps says 35 minutes, which I suspect is an underestimate), but also would be significantly inconvenient -- do I shower at work, and when I get home? What if I want to go somewhere after work -- leave the bike and come back for it? I love the idea of biking, but I don't see it being useful for my commute.
      - thedance 7y ago
        Fundamentally there is no transportation solution to land use problems. If your destinations are inconveniently far apart, no bicycle, tram, bus, or train can fix that. The closest you can get to the convenience of a car without all the externalized social costs is an electric bicycle.
        zck 7y ago
        I have an average commute, I'd say, for NYC. It's not like I'm some sort of supercommuter (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-surging-ranks-of-super-commuters/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-surging-ranks-of-super-comm...).
        thedance 7y ago
        I don’t doubt it but statistically New York has a very high average commute time compared to other American cities.
      - watwut 7y ago
        > do I shower at work, and when I get home? Observation: those who bike fast and get sweaty or live far shower at work. It is typically quick shower. No idea what they do at home. Slow people who dont sweat dont shower at work.
vikramkr 7y ago
And commuting even a couple miles on Philadelphia roads is basically like off roading at times - and San Francisco hills are legendary in their own right. I was rattling my brain out of my skull trying to deal with rough Philly roads in the winter and a proper carbon bike with good brakes/ability to stop on a dime if a crazy driver is cutting me off (I have heard legends of these things called "protected bike Lanes" - I hope to see one someday...) was a godsend.
- thedance 7y ago
  On rough roads I’ve never been happier than on my longtail Xtracycle Edgerunner. With the seat post far removed from the axle, and a flexible steel frame, and Big Apple tires, it is ultra-comfortable.
  - vikramkr 7y ago
    That sounds like a sweet ride - glad you found one that works for you. I got a trek something (one of those cases where the fancy version from last year was on sale because the new model has cables inside instead of outside and made it obsolete or something) and it's been awesome. It also got me into cycling for fun as well - and again - Philly streets, it's been nice to have something able to stand up to it instead of what I had before haha
thedance 7y ago
If you have further to go you’ll be even less happy with the sporting bike because it can’t carry your stuff. The solution to long distances is electric bikes, not sports bikes.
- jcheng 7y ago
  There’s a huge range of bikes between ones so sporty that they can’t take a rack and fenders, and step-through city bikes. Here’s a typical example, it has an endurance geometry and has mounts for a rack: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/road-bikes/gravel-bikes/checkpoint/checkpoint-al/checkpoint-al-3/p/24969/?colorCode=white https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/road-bikes/gravel-b...
watwut 7y ago
Amsterdam has humidity and weather in which parts corrode. And bikes get stolen often. It just does not make sense to buy expensive bike that gonna get damaged fast or stolen fast.

tjr225 7y ago

Eh, the trend now is for steel bikes that can ride anywhere with braze ons for accessories. It’ll just take a while for it to catch on.

Alex3917 7y ago
If you can't bring your bike inside your building then no question steel is the way to go. NYC has some laws to encourage building owners to provide bike storage though, e.g.: https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikesinbuildings.shtml https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikesinbuildin...