7 ms·
I'm not looking for an excuse not to cycle, I'm a pretty fit cyclist and spend at least 10 hours a week on a bike. I'm saying that holding this up as an example
by slimbods 13y ago
I'm not looking for an excuse not to cycle, I'm a pretty fit cyclist and spend at least 10 hours a week on a bike. I'm saying that holding this up as an example that others can follow isn't ideal as they have a big natural advantage over practically anywhere else. Unless you can overcome the issues of terrain and climate, it's just not going to become mainstream like it has there. Look at the bikes they're riding, big heavy comfortable clunkers. Most people simply couldn't get those up the hills surrounding my town, they'd have to push.
- MattLaroche 13y agoAs a cyclist, I'm sure you already know this. Properly geared, bikes aren't hard to get up hills - they're just slow.
- Segmentation 13y agoI think the ultimate solution long-term are assisted electric bicycles. They aren't fully electric, you always have to pedal, but when you're going up hill you can enable the assistance to help you go up the hill faster. Think of it like gym bands to aid you doing pull ups. If the bike could charge itself through pedaling that would be a double plus. A lot of people don't cycle because it's slow, and they may not care about the exercise benefits. If commuting they don't want to wear special attire or be sweaty when they show up to work. However, they would probably be cool with an assisted electric bicycle if they could get up hills faster without breaking a sweat.
- slimbods 13y agoPerhaps, but it's a tough sell to get someone to ride a £2k electric bike instead of buying a car.