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Cycling is wonderful and I've lived with only a bike and no car at least three times in my adult life. But cycling just isn't going to work in many, many cases.

Cycling is wonderful and I've lived with only a bike and no car at least three times in my adult life. But cycling just isn't going to work in many, many cases. Large parts of the population are too old, too infirm or handicapped in some way to make it more than a few blocks. Yes, some could be forced to lose some weight and get in better shape, but that's not going to work for many people with chronic conditions. Then you need to take into account that the weather is bad for a significant part of the year. In the north, snow and ice make it dangerous to drive a car with all wheel drive. Bikes are downright dangerous in those conditions. Gentle rain may be workable but many rainy days make it dangerous to ride. Even a sunny, summer day is not-so-good for those who need to go into an office or a meeting without taking a shower to wash off the sweat. Now mix in the fact that bikes can't carry more than a token amount of luggage. Parents with small kids, people with groceries, and anyone working on any project bigger than say, knitting or watchmaking, can't carry their stuff on a bike. The extra weight exacerbates all of the issues with hills, health and weather. Now mix in darkness. In winter, many people leave home before it gets light and come home after darkness. Sure, you can manage with a good light, but it's just markedly more dangerous at night on a bike. Now let's talk about how this dream of biking hurts the poor. By definition, people who can't afford very much end up in the worst homes and that almost always means the places with the longest commutes. Sure bikes are cheaper than cars and that sounds good for the poor, but the reality is that their poverty consigns them to live much, much further away. I like bikes and I would like them to be used when possible, but bike-rights advocates don't do themselves any favors by making extreme statements like this. Bikes just can't replace cars for a significant number of people. Oh, sure, the young, unmarried, childless hipsters who write these things can do okay, but they're ignoring that there are many, many people who can't. Bike talk like this is anti-old, anti-family, anti-worker and anti-poor.

aBioGuy 6y ago
I have two little kids. I also own an electric cargo bike. It has replaced over 2,000 car miles in the past year. I can bike to the grocery store, with two kids, and come back with a week's worth of groceries.
- jrussino 6y ago
  Which bike? I also have two little kids and would do this in a heartbeat if I felt that they could be reasonably safe.
  - aBioGuy 6y ago
    Tern GSD
- xhkkffbf 6y ago
  So it replaced 2000 miles. If the average person puts 10k-15k on a car, it sounds like you only used it on a few little trips around the neighborhood. You're making my point for me. I'm not saying bikes don't work. I'm just saying that there are many times that they don't work. And it sounds like you're a bike lover and even then, you couldn't replace 8k-13k a year of car travel. And I'll note that you're using an electric bike. That's like an electric car, but with only two wheels. So you're really on the wrong side according to this article.
  - maccard 6y ago
    > if the average person puts 10k-15k on a car, it sounds like you only used it on a few little trips around the neighborhood. The average mileage in the UK is 7k miles annually. Americans just drive too much.
  - cameronh90 6y ago
    If most people managed to reduce their car driving by 2000 miles per year, I fail to see how that is a bad thing.
    - xhkkffbf 6y ago
      IT's not. But my point is that you still need cars for the other 5k++ miles. I'm not saying that bike riding isn't nice, merely that it is not possible for many, many people during many, many parts of the year. Okay, some hipster with two young kids can take a saturday jaunt on a super-long, super-expensive electric bike, but that's not going to work for most people when it's cold, dark and rainy.
vinni2 6y ago
Sounds like what you need is this https://www.podbike.com/ https://www.podbike.com/
- xhkkffbf 6y ago
  That's an electric car which, according to the article, is the wrong choice. It has all of the parking issues as a regular car. It needs all of the electricity to move its weight. Just because it has two pedals doesn't make it a bike.
  - vinni2 6y ago
    It’s compact approved for bike paths and parking.
  - slaymaker1907 6y ago
    In terms of the parking, it can apparently be parked on its end with a density of 8x compared to a car. I agree it's not quite a bike, but it's also not fair to characterize it as merely an electric car.
s0rce 6y ago
Large parts of the population are too old and infirm to drive safely any distance.
- xhkkffbf 6y ago
  And so? Would they be able to handle a bike? I don't think so. The point is that large parts of the population can't make the transition to this bike shangrila because of age and/or health.
  - estebank 6y ago
    That's why urban density allowing for frequent public transport is a necessity that happens to also integrate well with cycling infrastructure.
cameronh90 6y ago
Bikes are unlikely to replace every use case, however for many people, they can replace a significant chunk of their travel. In the USA, 60% of all vehicle trips were less than 6 miles - which is a perfectly cyclable distance for the majority of people. With pannier racks, it is completely feasible to cycle with groceries. Weather and danger is for sure a problem, but better urban planning can make this much less of an issue. Provide incentives for employers to offer showers. The whole point of this article is that cycling is a great thing for carbon footprint so it deserves investment to fix the reasons why people feel unable to cycle. Obviously push cycles are not a panacea. If you live somewhere very hilly, you might need an e-bike. If you live in the suburbs, you might cycle to a train station and continue your journey by train. If you live somewhere rural, you almost certainly still will need to own a car for part of your transport needs. But I cycled about ten thousand miles on my last £300 bicycle over a few years (now upgraded to an e-bike), which saved me a ton of money, improved my health and reduced congestion/pollution for everyone else.

aBioGuy 6y ago

I have two little kids. I also own an electric cargo bike. It has replaced over 2,000 car miles in the past year. I can bike to the grocery store, with two kids, and come back with a week's worth of groceries.

jrussino 6y ago
Which bike? I also have two little kids and would do this in a heartbeat if I felt that they could be reasonably safe.
- aBioGuy 6y ago
  Tern GSD
xhkkffbf 6y ago
So it replaced 2000 miles. If the average person puts 10k-15k on a car, it sounds like you only used it on a few little trips around the neighborhood. You're making my point for me. I'm not saying bikes don't work. I'm just saying that there are many times that they don't work. And it sounds like you're a bike lover and even then, you couldn't replace 8k-13k a year of car travel. And I'll note that you're using an electric bike. That's like an electric car, but with only two wheels. So you're really on the wrong side according to this article.
- maccard 6y ago
  > if the average person puts 10k-15k on a car, it sounds like you only used it on a few little trips around the neighborhood. The average mileage in the UK is 7k miles annually. Americans just drive too much.
- cameronh90 6y ago
  If most people managed to reduce their car driving by 2000 miles per year, I fail to see how that is a bad thing.
  - xhkkffbf 6y ago
    IT's not. But my point is that you still need cars for the other 5k++ miles. I'm not saying that bike riding isn't nice, merely that it is not possible for many, many people during many, many parts of the year. Okay, some hipster with two young kids can take a saturday jaunt on a super-long, super-expensive electric bike, but that's not going to work for most people when it's cold, dark and rainy.

vinni2 6y ago

Sounds like what you need is this https://www.podbike.com/ https://www.podbike.com/

xhkkffbf 6y ago
That's an electric car which, according to the article, is the wrong choice. It has all of the parking issues as a regular car. It needs all of the electricity to move its weight. Just because it has two pedals doesn't make it a bike.
- vinni2 6y ago
  It’s compact approved for bike paths and parking.
- slaymaker1907 6y ago
  In terms of the parking, it can apparently be parked on its end with a density of 8x compared to a car. I agree it's not quite a bike, but it's also not fair to characterize it as merely an electric car.

s0rce 6y ago

Large parts of the population are too old and infirm to drive safely any distance.

xhkkffbf 6y ago
And so? Would they be able to handle a bike? I don't think so. The point is that large parts of the population can't make the transition to this bike shangrila because of age and/or health.
- estebank 6y ago
  That's why urban density allowing for frequent public transport is a necessity that happens to also integrate well with cycling infrastructure.

cameronh90 6y ago

Bikes are unlikely to replace every use case, however for many people, they can replace a significant chunk of their travel. In the USA, 60% of all vehicle trips were less than 6 miles - which is a perfectly cyclable distance for the majority of people. With pannier racks, it is completely feasible to cycle with groceries. Weather and danger is for sure a problem, but better urban planning can make this much less of an issue. Provide incentives for employers to offer showers. The whole point of this article is that cycling is a great thing for carbon footprint so it deserves investment to fix the reasons why people feel unable to cycle. Obviously push cycles are not a panacea. If you live somewhere very hilly, you might need an e-bike. If you live in the suburbs, you might cycle to a train station and continue your journey by train. If you live somewhere rural, you almost certainly still will need to own a car for part of your transport needs. But I cycled about ten thousand miles on my last £300 bicycle over a few years (now upgraded to an e-bike), which saved me a ton of money, improved my health and reduced congestion/pollution for everyone else.