> You can't take passengers in a bike. Mostly true, though plenty of bikes can haul 1-2 kids or 1 extra adult. There is a guy in my neighborhood I see take his

> You can't take passengers in a bike. Mostly true, though plenty of bikes can haul 1-2 kids or 1 extra adult. There is a guy in my neighborhood I see take his kids to school every day in one of these. https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/8/20791435/radwagon-electric-cargo-bike-review-car-replacement https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/8/20791435/radwagon-electric... > You can't transport large or bulky items. Cargo bikes or bike trailers are extremely nice in flat cities, and even in hilly cities, e-bikes make them feasible. I routinely haul 100lbs up hills in Seattle with a trailer behind an e-bike. Here's an article by (admittedly a bit of a bike fanatic) about hauling patio sets, stoves, grills, etc. https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2014/06/23/how-to-carry-major-appliances-on-your-bike/ https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2014/06/23/how-to-carry-majo... > You can't safely store things This is a good point and I think your observation about how it's overlooked is important. Going on multi-store trips in a bike is mildly annoying since you often have to take what you got from one store into the next store because you can't leave it on your bike. > Cars are faster if you are going more than about a mile - even including parking. This is highly dependent on the city you're in. In Seattle, bike is, by far, the fastest way for me to commute. My commute is 6 miles (West Seattle to Downtown). Biking, door-to-door, is 25 minutes. It's 35 minutes by bus or car. This is because a large chunk of the trip is on a dedicated use bike trail without stop lights or traffic. > You can't ride a bike in bad weather Amsterdam has pretty bad weather (it rains 50% of days of the year), yet somehow they have extremely high cycling rates. For me (in Seattle, also lots of rain), the game changer was getting a proper bike poncho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLM_mTUuHlc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLM_mTUuHlc I agree that a torrential downpour like what you might get in the midwest is not realistic to cycle in. But for light to medium rain, the poncho punches above its weight. > snow is impossible They make it work in Finland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU > If you live in a place with hills, bikes are just not practical. Seattle and SF are both quite hilly, yet both have among the highest rates of cycle usage. This is a barrier for those starting from a low level of fitness, though. And even for otherwise fit people, it takes a few weeks for your legs to adjust to the new movement pattern. E-bikes make hills trivial, though, which is why they are exploding in popularity (in Seattle at least). > Bumps in the road, potholes, etc, are very dangerous in a bike. Agreed. This is one of the reasons it's so important to have dedicated bike infrastructure. Road damage is proportional to the 4th power (!!) of a vehicle's weight. So cyclist infrastructure, once built, degrades extremely slowly compared to car infrastructure.