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If it’s raining/snowing, or too hot, or too cold, I’d much rather be in an small enclosed car than exposed to the elements on a bike. The Ami has a primitive h
by MontyCarloHall 4y ago
If it’s raining/snowing, or too hot, or too cold, I’d much rather be in an small enclosed car than exposed to the elements on a bike.
The Ami has a primitive heater but no air conditioning, but there’s no reason that these limitations are inherent to a vehicle of this size. I imagine an Ami-sized car with creature comforts of a regular vehicle would sell extremely well in cities.
Biking is great when the weather is amenable to it. When the weather is not, I'd rather not show up to my destination drenched in sweat, soaked in rain, or freezing my ass off.
- masklinn 4y ago> there’s no reason that these limitations are inherent to a vehicle of this size. Of course not, but the manufacturer tried to keep the costs down as much as they could. An Ami with A/C for double the price would be a lot less attractive. Although maybe a reversible heat pump could make the heating kinder on the battery... > I imagine an Ami-sized car with creature comforts of a regular vehicle would sell extremely well in cities. Seems rather doubtful, it would still have to provide limited amenities, but the price would shoot way up. And given the range of the car, the amenities are a lot less problematic: you can not use the car for long.
- gus_massa 4y ago> Although maybe a reversible heat pump could make the heating kinder on the battery... Isn't a normal AC a reversible heat pump?
- masklinn 4y agoA normal AC is a heat pump, but lots are not reversible. Especially in cars, it's a very recent development in some EVs: on an ICE, the ICE provides the heating so a reversible AC is just more complexity for no gain.
- the_mitsuhiko 4y ago> If it’s raining/snowing, or too hot, or too cold, I’d much rather be in an small enclosed car than exposed to the elements on a bike. Yes and no. I have a three wheeler cargo bike I use for most of my commuting or city riding and very rarely do I opt for my car, particularly when the weather is bad. The main reason is that since where I live I basically cannot find parking and when the weather is bad, the roads are full of cars. In that case I'm usually quicker and more relaxed just loading the kids into the cargo bike (they have a roof) and I accept the wetness / cold than to try to use my car instead. It just works out much better for me.
- jack_pp 4y agoI don't even have a driving licence, mostly go by subway / bus or scooter and right now if I go over 20kph on a scooter my face freezes, do you use a bike helmet (full face shield) when it's cold outside or are you just used to it?
- scajanus 4y agoIt's different when you do the work to move you yourself (or even a part of it, on an e-bike). Other than that, a well designed hood helps, but at a cost of reducing your vision.
- kreskin 4y agoI used to bike year round in Canada. In the winter I would use a neck warmer to cover my face as I also had problems with my face getting cold. You'll adapt to the cold a little bit but even now when I go for a walk outside at < -10C and there's a slight breeze I need to cover my face.
- the_mitsuhiko 4y agoI guess my face does not freeze? I have a scarf and a hat, and that's pretty much it for me to feel … fine? Generally I never really get cold cycling because I am moving. It's different when I'm walking in the cold where typically my feet get cold fast and I feel abysmal.
- 4y ago
- dghlsakjg 4y agoQuite honestly, an ebike solves a lot of this. I thought I would never use it in the winter, but a cheap rain suit is perfect to keep me warm and dry, and takes about 20 seconds to put on or take off. I don’t have to worry about sweat since if I get too hot I can just use the throttle or dial up the electric assist. I thought I would never use the thing in winter, but I actually find it absurdly practical.
- moonchrome 4y agoSorry but that's delusional - riding in the rain, and especially when it's snowy/icy - is order of magnitude more dangerous - traction/breaking/reduced visibility.
- Marsymars 4y agoStudded tires work well enough that I’d be really surprised if it was an order of magnitude more dangerous on snow/ice with them.
- tlaundal 4y agoAnd the same applies to every other vehicle, but I suppose you would still get in a car on a rainy day? You adjust speed and cycling style to the conditions, and for winter cycling there are plenty of good options for studded tires. The Nordics have succeeded in making winter cycling a more common activity, and you might want to check out the "winter cycling capital of the world": Oulu, Finland.
- moonchrome 4y agoLast year a friend broke 2 ribs and forearm by slipping over some wet leaves on a bycicle - I don't see how that's comparable to a car. Also I don't have windshield wipers on my face (or windshield for that matter) - but maybe I'm just wired like that.
- cuu508 4y ago> I don't see how that's comparable to a car. Yesterday, local news, a car crash with all three involved drivers dead.
- unglaublich 4y agoThat 'raining, snowing, too hot, too cold' argument keeps coming up. You know, we humans are perfectly capable of dressing up appropriately and just enjoying the fresh air, whether it's warm or cold. In fact, it makes you feel alive! Get the nice warm gloves and raincoat out for winter, or the super light and loose shirt with sunglasses for summer.
- lzooz 4y agoGood luck convincing people to give up their cars and go to work soaked in a raincoat every day.
- iancmceachern 4y agoI'm an American visiting Paris and have noticed many folks on scooters and ebikes have these skirts that are fabric covers that cover the bike seat and also the legs of the rider when they ride. They also have these mitten like things that attach to the handles that allow you to operate the bike but also protect your hands from the elements. Between those two things, and a decent rain jacket (which you need anyway) it seems to protect folks well and allow them to do just about anything one would do with their car. It's not that far fetched.
- TeMPOraL 4y agoHave you seen any solution they're using for transporting things, like groceries or computers or extra clothes?
- onlyrealcuzzo 4y agoYes - a bike cargo rack. You have a waterproof bag that attaches to it. Problem completely solved. It rains quite a bit in Netherlands, and it's the biking capital of the world. It's almost as if rain isn't really that big of a deal.
- dghlsakjg 4y agoBaskets, racks, panniers, backpacks, delivery services, cargo bikes, trailers. A significant number of Parisians don’t own cars so this is no different than before for them.
- lm28469 4y agoAs my grandma would say, you're not made of sugar. If the new baseline for human life is to not be exposed to rain and never sweat we can give up now because we'll never manage to make that sustainable.
- johnisgood 4y agoAluminium-based antiperspirants work for days between re-use if anyone is worried about sweating (and yeah, according to studies it is not as unhealthy as people think it is, at least not in those amounts, and no one told you to bathe in it). Not being exposed to rain... well... I dunno, I live in Europe and people just dress up appropriately. Mostly it is just a matter of using an umbrella anyways... and proper clothes, seriously.
- lm28469 4y ago> Aluminium-based antiperspirants work for days between re-use if anyone is worried about sweating Or go to the bathroom, change tshirt, use some deo and you're set for the day, it really isn't rocket science. You're exercising, saving hundreds of kilos of co2 per year, and saving 10+ sqmeter of parking space. Not to mention no gas, no insurance, virtually no maintenance.
- johnisgood 4y agoSure, there are many alternatives. I prefer the antiperspirant way, because I hate sweating a lot, and I would rather not wash clothes more regularly, but to each their own. It is still car-less. :)
- scajanus 4y agoFor short distances, getting my car out from under fresh snow is more work than taking the bike. Even when it's just a small layer of light snow that needs to be dusted off. Also if I'm going to spend any time outside, I need to spend equal amount of time picking my clothes and dressing for the weather regardless of whether I pick the car or the bike.
- InCityDreams 4y agoThe weather is only as bad as your worst clothing. I did invest in Shimano neoprene overshoes to catch the crap my super-low muguards don't, but only because my gf objected to plastic bags (which were admittedly, a nit of a pain. On very cold days i put bubble wrap inside them for added wind-breakage/ windsulation. For my hands, I absolutely refuse to not wear washing up gloves, with liner gloves inside, though.
- jcpst 4y agoWhen I was younger my car broke down and I did not have the money for the replacement part. So I rode my bike to work for 5 months. This was quite enjoyable most days, it was only 3.5 miles each way. On rainy days, I packed a 2nd set of clothes wrapped in a plastic grocery bag, and also wrapped my laptop in one. The worst was when it started to drop below 40F outside, and raining. It was fun until it wasn’t- then repairing the car went near the top of the list.
- PiotrVonKleve 4y agoCheck the FreZe NIKROB EV [1]. EU version of the popular Chinese Mini EV, 4 seats, has AC. [1] https://nikrob.at/ https://nikrob.at/ edit: typo.
- MonaroVXR 4y agoAs a Dutch person im out here exposed to these elements on the bike and yes I do own a car and even when it rains I do take the bike,I'm adjusted too it. I did never broke something, yes I did stupid things on a bike. Even in the snow and ice. Using a bicycle isn't difficult.