6 ms·

My love of cycling in every form is one of the greatest gifts my dad gave to me. I wish everyone was so lucky to find an activity they were obsessed with that h

by ervine 4mo ago

My love of cycling in every form is one of the greatest gifts my dad gave to me. I wish everyone was so lucky to find an activity they were obsessed with that has only upsides. So much North American rhetoric is focused on hatred of the cyclist - while that bums me out, what bums me out even more is that all the haters are missing out on the wonderful world of cycling. Commuter, road, gravel, mountain, track, indoor, fixed, single speed, folding, electric, uni, cargo, whatever. I'm gonna go ride now.

__mharrison__ 4mo ago
Recumbent...
- ervine 4mo ago
  Nah, they’re freaks.
  - bluebarbet 4mo ago
    But unbelievably ergonomic. A decade ago I rented one to do a week's touring (in France and Switzerland). On a standard bike the first two days of such outings were invariably spoiled by sore butt and shoulders. On the recumbent I knocked off 80km on the first day with not the slightest ache. A total revelation.
    - 7e 4mo ago
      Recumbent bikes can promote over flexion of the neck, sometimes. Your neck isn’t neutral, it’s bending forward slightly, like tech neck. That’s not to say a recumbent isn’t ergonomic on the whole, but there are trade offs.
      - bluebarbet 4mo ago
        Yes, absolutely. Although the neck issue is mostly solved by a 3/4 recumbent (which is what I used), where you are not completely flat. A potentially worse problem is that recumbents allow enormous force to be applied through the legs (because you can push against the lower back, as in rowing). This is one of their superpowers but you need to be aware of it to avoid knee issues.
        mrgoldenbrown 4mo ago
        Yep, i switched to a under seat steering recumbent to avoid any pressure on my (startup workload damaged) wrists. I almost immediately hurt my knees because it was so fun to go really fast by pushing against the seat back.
deleted 4mo ago
[deleted]
matsemann 4mo ago
Yeah, so weird how biking has become an identity politics thingy. (Not sure if it translates well into English). I enjoy how it's fast and easy to commute, and I keep healthy. Works even in hilly and snowy Norway. I love how fun it is to use my road bike to go fast and get a good workout. I love my gravel into the woods and the serenity. This weekend I'm bikepacking 6 hours into the woods,sleeping a night in a hammock, and bike back. Can't wait!
mmooss 4mo ago
> So much North American rhetoric is focused on hatred of the cyclist My impression is that only people in the bicycling social world believe that. It seems like a victim mentality that they reinforce by repeating it to each other. It's always possible I just haven't seen it, but localities around the country are building bicycling infrastructure, which doesn't correspond to hatred. Where do you see it? I hardly ever hear someone expressing hatred of cyclists. People who ride obviously like it. The great majority don't care about it - it has little impact on their lives. In cities, on streets I see people honk at, yell at, and flip off cyclists just like they honk, flip off, and yell at other drivers. IME the cyclists generally 'drive' as well/poorly as the automobile drivers. I do notice that people in spandex racing outfits on road bikes tend to behave with attitude problems toward everyone - pedestrians, non-racing cyclists, cars, etc. They are aggressive and fly by people, often with little margin, at dangerous speeds without warning. It's as if they think they own the road. I was just talking to a bike mechanic I know who brought it up. If people don't like them, it's obvious why.
- DangitBobby 4mo ago
  You clearly haven't spent much time on YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, FaceBook, or really anywhere there is a huge community. Americans fucking HATE cyclists. > The great majority don't care about it My own dad will take any opportunity to actively bitch about perceived annoyances perpetrated by cyclists and opine about how useless bike lanes are expensive and not actually productive because people only use them for exercise. Why don't you try actually bringing up cyclists and bike lanes somewhere, especially in the south, and then you tell me what people think.
  - mmooss 4mo ago
    > Americans fucking HATE cyclists. I haven't met those Americans, somehow. Maybe it's just more social media nonsense - people joining the mob fun and far overestimating the loud voices?
    - DangitBobby 4mo ago
      Did you ask them? Lots of things I don't like don't come up until it's relevant.
PorterBHall 4mo ago
What saddens me about this topic is the large amount of hatred coming at cyclists from drivers in the opinion page of the local newspaper (Seattle Times). Why not have some gratitude they are not contributing to traffic, not taking up parking, not polluting, etc. It comes across as pure madness.
- whateveracct 4mo ago
  seattle cyclists are gigantic PITAs. they pick and choose when to be cars and when to be pedestrians. and they are always bad at being both LOL
  - Cpoll 4mo ago
    I think this is probably a bit selective, but I understand the sentiment. When I'm cycling I keep seeing awful drivers, and when I'm driving I keep seeing reckless and inconsiderate cyclists. The awful infrastructure (poorly considered bike lanes, at best) doesn't make it easy to co-exist, either.
  - eliaspro 4mo ago
    If they had proper infrastructure, they wouldn't have to choose between "being cars or pedestrians", they could simply be cyclists.
  - mrgoldenbrown 4mo ago
    Usually this happens when there isn't dedicated bike infrastructure, both physical and legal and cultural. Of course they have to pick and choose.
antonvs 4mo ago
> … has only upsides. The three most avid cyclists I know have all had life-changing accidents on their bicycles - my best friend who introduced me to cycling, my brother in law, and an ex-business partner who I introduced to cycling. All broke their hips and various other bones, and all had to have surgery and extensive rehab. So “only upsides” is perhaps a little too rosy.
- whateveracct 4mo ago
  no, you see / those downsides are due to cars those shouldn't exist. therefore, they are free.
  - antonvs 4mo ago
    One of the accidents was due to trains. He lost control riding over railroad tracks. Another was due to a pothole, which I suppose indirectly may have been due to cars.
whateveracct 4mo ago
[flagged]
thefz 4mo ago
American rhetoric is anti exercise, anti sport, pro GLP, pro car, anti human being, at least in this forum.

by ervine 4mo ago

__mharrison__ 4mo ago

Recumbent...

ervine 4mo ago
Nah, they’re freaks.
- bluebarbet 4mo ago
  But unbelievably ergonomic. A decade ago I rented one to do a week's touring (in France and Switzerland). On a standard bike the first two days of such outings were invariably spoiled by sore butt and shoulders. On the recumbent I knocked off 80km on the first day with not the slightest ache. A total revelation.
  - 7e 4mo ago
    Recumbent bikes can promote over flexion of the neck, sometimes. Your neck isn’t neutral, it’s bending forward slightly, like tech neck. That’s not to say a recumbent isn’t ergonomic on the whole, but there are trade offs.
    - bluebarbet 4mo ago
      Yes, absolutely. Although the neck issue is mostly solved by a 3/4 recumbent (which is what I used), where you are not completely flat. A potentially worse problem is that recumbents allow enormous force to be applied through the legs (because you can push against the lower back, as in rowing). This is one of their superpowers but you need to be aware of it to avoid knee issues.
      - mrgoldenbrown 4mo ago
        Yep, i switched to a under seat steering recumbent to avoid any pressure on my (startup workload damaged) wrists. I almost immediately hurt my knees because it was so fun to go really fast by pushing against the seat back.

deleted 4mo ago

[deleted]

matsemann 4mo ago

Yeah, so weird how biking has become an identity politics thingy. (Not sure if it translates well into English). I enjoy how it's fast and easy to commute, and I keep healthy. Works even in hilly and snowy Norway. I love how fun it is to use my road bike to go fast and get a good workout. I love my gravel into the woods and the serenity. This weekend I'm bikepacking 6 hours into the woods,sleeping a night in a hammock, and bike back. Can't wait!

mmooss 4mo ago

> So much North American rhetoric is focused on hatred of the cyclist My impression is that only people in the bicycling social world believe that. It seems like a victim mentality that they reinforce by repeating it to each other. It's always possible I just haven't seen it, but localities around the country are building bicycling infrastructure, which doesn't correspond to hatred. Where do you see it? I hardly ever hear someone expressing hatred of cyclists. People who ride obviously like it. The great majority don't care about it - it has little impact on their lives. In cities, on streets I see people honk at, yell at, and flip off cyclists just like they honk, flip off, and yell at other drivers. IME the cyclists generally 'drive' as well/poorly as the automobile drivers. I do notice that people in spandex racing outfits on road bikes tend to behave with attitude problems toward everyone - pedestrians, non-racing cyclists, cars, etc. They are aggressive and fly by people, often with little margin, at dangerous speeds without warning. It's as if they think they own the road. I was just talking to a bike mechanic I know who brought it up. If people don't like them, it's obvious why.

DangitBobby 4mo ago
You clearly haven't spent much time on YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, FaceBook, or really anywhere there is a huge community. Americans fucking HATE cyclists. > The great majority don't care about it My own dad will take any opportunity to actively bitch about perceived annoyances perpetrated by cyclists and opine about how useless bike lanes are expensive and not actually productive because people only use them for exercise. Why don't you try actually bringing up cyclists and bike lanes somewhere, especially in the south, and then you tell me what people think.
- mmooss 4mo ago
  > Americans fucking HATE cyclists. I haven't met those Americans, somehow. Maybe it's just more social media nonsense - people joining the mob fun and far overestimating the loud voices?
  - DangitBobby 4mo ago
    Did you ask them? Lots of things I don't like don't come up until it's relevant.

PorterBHall 4mo ago

What saddens me about this topic is the large amount of hatred coming at cyclists from drivers in the opinion page of the local newspaper (Seattle Times). Why not have some gratitude they are not contributing to traffic, not taking up parking, not polluting, etc. It comes across as pure madness.

whateveracct 4mo ago
seattle cyclists are gigantic PITAs. they pick and choose when to be cars and when to be pedestrians. and they are always bad at being both LOL
- Cpoll 4mo ago
  I think this is probably a bit selective, but I understand the sentiment. When I'm cycling I keep seeing awful drivers, and when I'm driving I keep seeing reckless and inconsiderate cyclists. The awful infrastructure (poorly considered bike lanes, at best) doesn't make it easy to co-exist, either.
- eliaspro 4mo ago
  If they had proper infrastructure, they wouldn't have to choose between "being cars or pedestrians", they could simply be cyclists.
- mrgoldenbrown 4mo ago
  Usually this happens when there isn't dedicated bike infrastructure, both physical and legal and cultural. Of course they have to pick and choose.

antonvs 4mo ago

> … has only upsides. The three most avid cyclists I know have all had life-changing accidents on their bicycles - my best friend who introduced me to cycling, my brother in law, and an ex-business partner who I introduced to cycling. All broke their hips and various other bones, and all had to have surgery and extensive rehab. So “only upsides” is perhaps a little too rosy.

whateveracct 4mo ago
no, you see / those downsides are due to cars those shouldn't exist. therefore, they are free.
- antonvs 4mo ago
  One of the accidents was due to trains. He lost control riding over railroad tracks. Another was due to a pothole, which I suppose indirectly may have been due to cars.

whateveracct 4mo ago

[flagged]

thefz 4mo ago

American rhetoric is anti exercise, anti sport, pro GLP, pro car, anti human being, at least in this forum.