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> getting wet/hot is a pretty big disadvantage of e-bikes compared to cars I use an ebike as primary transportation 365 days a year in Vermont, and you'd be su
by jakintosh 1mo ago
> getting wet/hot is a pretty big disadvantage of e-bikes compared to cars
I use an ebike as primary transportation 365 days a year in Vermont, and you'd be surprised how infrequently you have a day that is actually miserable to be out on a bike, even in a place with very cold winters and a lot of rain. By dressing properly (gloves/scarf when it's cold, rain jacket if the weather is not cooperating), you can eliminate 95% of the annoyances. Something I've learned as a year round cyclist is that most of the rain you experience from inside a car is actually not that heavy when you're out in it. There are maybe 10 days a year where I just have to suck it up (below 0F, heavy rain), and then I usually just skip a trip, take the bus if I can, or deal with it. I get stuck biking in real rain maybe 3x a year, and tbh I think it's probably good for people to encounter occasional friction like that.
And so taking on all of the disadvantages of depreciation, insurance, traffic, inspections, parking, gas prices, parking bans, worrying if that car alarm in the middle of the night is mine, is actually a much worse deal to me than putting up with a few uncomfortable trips per year.
- vlovich123 1mo agoI’d be worried about the safety of driving a bike in wet weather. You’d have to make sure the brakes and tires are really rated for that kind of weather or you’re going to be in for a bad time.
- IshKebab 1mo agoNah wet weather is fine. The only time I've slipped off my bike in wet weather was going round a corner on a path covered in squashed leaves, which can get really slippy and really should have been cleared (which they actually did later, and resurfaced that section with grumpy surface so it clearly wasn't just me!). Cycling in snow is when it gets really sketchy. I have done it (along with many other students in Cambridge) but you have to be very slow and careful and quite a few fell off.
- IshKebab 1mo agoI live in the UK and used to commute by bike every day. I had a waterproof, waterproof trousers, waterproof overshoes, waterproof gloves... And also I once had to soak my t-shirt in water to survive the heat. (I stopped commuting before this year thankfully otherwise that "once" would have been practically every day this year.) So as I said... in many situations.