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At this point I am really wondering when massive shift to bikes/cargo bikes will happen? Like... it needs NO fuel or can be charged at home for electric ones,
by Moldoteck 4y ago
At this point I am really wondering when massive shift to bikes/cargo bikes will happen?
Like... it needs NO fuel or can be charged at home for electric ones, companies literally can't offer other subscription services aside from "free repair" for x$ a month, because bicycle is too simple... Maybe battery leasing, idk...?
It doesn't need driver license to operate, if infrastructure is good, it can be much faster in the city and you don't need to pay a ton of taxes, in many situations you can repair it by yourself
With electric cargo bikes/bakfiets a big chunk of car use-cases is gone, like buying groceries, moving light-medium objects, even take childs to school.
For other 5% of use-cases, people can like... rent a car for a day or take taxi...
I can't imagine how cheap this could be
And for people that can't use them, there are tricycles, carts or duofiets
Aaaaaand you can add a small bicycle trailer at the back, increasing further total capacity.
Of course all this is possible with protected bike lanes AND at least decent public transport like buses AND bike parking. Car drivers will drive without encountering bicyclists and vice-versa, everyone happy, everyone safe, much less stress
- nicbou 4y agoI can see why. Cycling in Europe is fantastic, but cycling in North America is terrifying. I have a car and a motorcycle, but German bike routes are so nice that I still prefer the bike. I bike from the outskirts to the centre of Berlin on a dedicated bike path in nature. It's awesome! Canada has few such routes. You have to fight for a place on a wide, ugly boulevard lined with box stores, and the drivers take personal offence to your existence.
- Moldoteck 4y agoyep, i can only imagine... I went recently to Switzerland... oh god, so many bikes, dedicated lanes, a ton of parking places inside and outside of buildings. I can imagine myself biking there, but where I live... it is still possible, but much harder(at least for now, but there are plans for improvement)
- parkingrift 4y agoEightSleep has a subscription service for a mattress. Bike companies will find a way, and consumers will gobble it up because we have no self control.
- shellfishgene 4y agoMany electric bikes are supposed to go back to the shop for maintenance once a year. If you lease the bike this often becomes mandatory. Also more and more manufacturers lock down the electronics and battery systems so nobody can really work on their own bike, at least those drivetrain parts.
- underbluewaters 4y agoI waited a whole year to bring my electric bike in and my maintenance bill was $300+. The higher speed and braking energy puts a lot of wear on the components. After that I learned how to do maintenance myself to save some money but I warn people considering an e-bike that maintenance costs will be non-trivial.