17 ms·

I'm guessing you live somewhere that does not get very cold. I love my ebike but sometimes it's just not feasible.

by 14u2c 3y ago

tapland 3y ago
I bike year round, from -25 to 25c. Schwalbe marathons tyres and their studded version in winter. I slip on light windbreaker pants on top of the regular, regular winter jacket and gloves, a thin hat and a scarf. What issues did you run into while trying?
- epivosism 3y ago
  A large fraction of humanity is young or old. Like, >50% of people are not really safe to ride a bike on their own, let alone at -25C. There are people who can do it, but as a solution it lacks generality.
  - cycomanic 3y ago
    Are you serious? My mother is 72 and pretty much bikes everywhere. If you walk or bike around in many European cities you'll see people from 2-90 on bikes. Have a look a Videos from Finland where you see people of all ages biking around in sub - 10 C. It's also hilarious how - 25 C is being brought up as not suitable for people to bike around. Like how many people in Europe/Northern America actually encounter these temperature even once (let alone regularly that it should determine our traffic policies). These are the same arguments that ICE car proponents make against electric cars, "I might want to make a cross country road trip once every 5 years and so every car with a range of less than 800km on a single charge is not suitable".
    - ineedasername 3y ago
      The level of risk your mother is willing to take with a body that can’t bounce back from injuries very easily does not generalize to an obligation for others to accept the same level of personal risk.
      - kiba 3y ago
        Sedentary behavior is in itself risk factors for dying. If you break your hip bones, then your health is going to spiral downward because you can't walk. You need to load your body. A car takes load off of you.
        ineedasername 3y ago
        Irrelevant. A person can stay fit without avoiding cars.
        inferiorhuman 3y ago
        Irrelevant. A person can avoid cars without increasing their risk for injury.
        enriquec 3y ago
        as a cyclist, no, they can't.
        inferiorhuman 3y ago
        As a pedestrian who often uses public transit, yes they can.
        ineedasername 3y ago
        >As a pedestrian… This is not the topic. Cycling is the whole point of this little sub thread. Specifically with respect to the increased risks or lack of accessibility it offers for some sub populations. Besides, public transport is not an option for many people. I have a grocery store 3 miles away from me, and no public transport to get there, but again that wasn’t the topic.
        inferiorhuman 3y ago
    - epivosism 3y ago
      Yes, I am. What percent of people have dementia or alzheimer's - it's at least 5-10% right? What about Parkinson's? What about cancer? What percent are not able to manage their own lives and need constant oversight (psychological, etc.) What percent are <10 years old? these are huge chunks of humanity.
    - epivosism 3y ago
      I lived in Beijing for 10 years, where it regularly gets to -10 or -20C for a few months, and I did commute by bike through those winters, and it is extremely taxing and hard. I don't think you'll succeed in convincing more than say 20% of the population to do that in reality. If you think you have the power to convince more, please go for it!
      - waveBidder 3y ago
        20% is actually the trip fraction by bike that places like Amsterdam have, so that's actually what success would look like. it's one option many.
  - xrikcus 3y ago
    The problem with that argument is that in places that are setup for it, it clearly works because people do it. So we have to ask whether there is something unusual about the people in those places, or the infrastructure. It apparently isn't something wrong with being young or old, within obvious limits.
  - Aeolun 3y ago
    My grandma at 90 still rides a bike. Not in -25 degrees I’ll grant you, but the range is larger than you think.
skyyler 3y ago
We're talking about San Francisco.
remexre 3y ago
Native Minnesotan here -- I know at least 3 people who bike to work in our winters. Obviously they're all insane, but none of them are frostbitten...
- aaronbrethorst 3y ago
  Minneapolis is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country. https://www.vox.com/2015/12/3/9843562/minneapolis-bike-friendly https://www.vox.com/2015/12/3/9843562/minneapolis-bike-frien...
z3ugma 3y ago
This too is a policy choice. Oulu is colder and snowier than Minneapolis but because they have prioritized a built environment where cold weather cyclists get top priority, more people cycle year round: Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can) https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU via @YouTube

I'm guessing you live somewhere that does not get very cold. I love my ebike but sometimes it's just not feasible.

by 14u2c 3y ago

I'm guessing you live somewhere that does not get very cold. I love my ebike but sometimes it's just not feasible.

I bike year round, from -25 to 25c. Schwalbe marathons tyres and their studded version in winter. I slip on light windbreaker pants on top of the regular, regular winter jacket and gloves, a thin hat and a scarf. What issues did you run into while trying?

epivosism 3y ago
A large fraction of humanity is young or old. Like, >50% of people are not really safe to ride a bike on their own, let alone at -25C. There are people who can do it, but as a solution it lacks generality.
- cycomanic 3y ago
  Are you serious? My mother is 72 and pretty much bikes everywhere. If you walk or bike around in many European cities you'll see people from 2-90 on bikes. Have a look a Videos from Finland where you see people of all ages biking around in sub - 10 C. It's also hilarious how - 25 C is being brought up as not suitable for people to bike around. Like how many people in Europe/Northern America actually encounter these temperature even once (let alone regularly that it should determine our traffic policies). These are the same arguments that ICE car proponents make against electric cars, "I might want to make a cross country road trip once every 5 years and so every car with a range of less than 800km on a single charge is not suitable".
  - ineedasername 3y ago
    The level of risk your mother is willing to take with a body that can’t bounce back from injuries very easily does not generalize to an obligation for others to accept the same level of personal risk.
    - kiba 3y ago
      Sedentary behavior is in itself risk factors for dying. If you break your hip bones, then your health is going to spiral downward because you can't walk. You need to load your body. A car takes load off of you.
      - ineedasername 3y ago
        Irrelevant. A person can stay fit without avoiding cars.
        inferiorhuman 3y ago
        Irrelevant. A person can avoid cars without increasing their risk for injury.
        enriquec 3y ago
        as a cyclist, no, they can't.
        inferiorhuman 3y ago
        As a pedestrian who often uses public transit, yes they can.
        ineedasername 3y ago
        >As a pedestrian… This is not the topic. Cycling is the whole point of this little sub thread. Specifically with respect to the increased risks or lack of accessibility it offers for some sub populations. Besides, public transport is not an option for many people. I have a grocery store 3 miles away from me, and no public transport to get there, but again that wasn’t the topic.
        inferiorhuman 3y ago
  - epivosism 3y ago
    Yes, I am. What percent of people have dementia or alzheimer's - it's at least 5-10% right? What about Parkinson's? What about cancer? What percent are not able to manage their own lives and need constant oversight (psychological, etc.) What percent are <10 years old? these are huge chunks of humanity.
  - epivosism 3y ago
    I lived in Beijing for 10 years, where it regularly gets to -10 or -20C for a few months, and I did commute by bike through those winters, and it is extremely taxing and hard. I don't think you'll succeed in convincing more than say 20% of the population to do that in reality. If you think you have the power to convince more, please go for it!
    - waveBidder 3y ago
      20% is actually the trip fraction by bike that places like Amsterdam have, so that's actually what success would look like. it's one option many.
- xrikcus 3y ago
  The problem with that argument is that in places that are setup for it, it clearly works because people do it. So we have to ask whether there is something unusual about the people in those places, or the infrastructure. It apparently isn't something wrong with being young or old, within obvious limits.
- Aeolun 3y ago
  My grandma at 90 still rides a bike. Not in -25 degrees I’ll grant you, but the range is larger than you think.

skyyler 3y ago

We're talking about San Francisco.

remexre 3y ago

Native Minnesotan here -- I know at least 3 people who bike to work in our winters. Obviously they're all insane, but none of them are frostbitten...

aaronbrethorst 3y ago
Minneapolis is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country. https://www.vox.com/2015/12/3/9843562/minneapolis-bike-friendly https://www.vox.com/2015/12/3/9843562/minneapolis-bike-frien...

z3ugma 3y ago

This too is a policy choice. Oulu is colder and snowier than Minneapolis but because they have prioritized a built environment where cold weather cyclists get top priority, more people cycle year round: Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can) https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU via @YouTube