In Europe helmets are mandatory and no matter what gear you have you dont want to bike on snow
Comment on Pros / cons of riding a bike?
Bahalex@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Rebuttals to a few of the cons:
-don’t dress like an ‘annoying dork’- unless that’s your vibe, no need to change anything to ride a bike. -you don’t ~have~ to wear a helmet. Though there are some less bulky, big, or wherever this cons comes from.
- no need to go fast and work up a sweat, or e-bike as other have mentioned. There may be financial rebates available.
- until a matter transporter comes along, it takes time to go anywhere -you ~get~ to find new routes. Find new shops, new neighborhoods, new parks. Feel like a part of you community. Not locked in a metal box or tube. -bone conduction headphones, or other non noise canceling headphones -there are bikes, racks and bags in any combination that can carry all sorts of groceries. -no bad weather, only bad gear. I’d say heat of summer is worse than winter.
pumpkinseedoil@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
rbesfe@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Not true, winter biking really isn’t that bad and bikes are remarkably stable even on ice
spidermanchild@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
What kind of ice are you riding on? Snow, even packed snow it usually ok, but turning/braking on ice is a disaster without studded tires. Source - I’ve crashed on ice several times despite being a very competent rider in all conditions for 3 decades.
AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That’s my experience as well. I haven’t done it much (not much snow here) but I was always surprised at how easy it was even when all the cars seemed to have a really hard time.
Waryle@jlai.lu 2 weeks ago
pumpkinseedoil@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
At 06:25 they explain that they use special wheels with nails, so that’s different of course. They also use such rails for the winter triathlon (running (with spikes), cycling (with spike wheels), cross country skiing).
With such wheels it for sure is safer
Waryle@jlai.lu 2 weeks ago
- Those are tires, not wheels.
- 35% which uses them means that 65% don’t use them.
- You said “no matter gear you have”, so you can’t use that point.
- With 20cm of fresh snow, even a normal car would be stuck. But if you tell me that you use a special car (a pick-up for example), I will argue that you can use a special bike (such as a fat bike) and roll with it without problem.
Nighed@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
I really want to try though! Not dared to try on a road bike though…
pumpkinseedoil@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Get spike wheels and stay on clean roads, if there’s too much fresh snow you’ll get stuck.
Or use one of these images.app.goo.gl/A1NitHgRBS3Qanza7
XeroxCool@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
there are bikes, racks and bags in any combination that can carry all sorts of groceries.
Paper and liquid products are not cooperative with two-wheeled transportation, so there’s still a tangible limit
Bahalex@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Where there is no will, there is no way.
If it’s a Costco monthly trip, no. On your carbon road bike, no. Full suspension downhill bike, no. Holding a 2liter bottle of Shasta Cola and three rolls of TP? Rethink some things.
If you know it’s going to be a utility bike, yea. Easily done. If it’s a zippy get about thing, consider a little trailer for the hauling trips- buy used, even the old ones roll fine.
I’ve been going for about a year, with two panniers and a front rack, for weekly groceries for a family of 3. Milk, eggs, toilet paper, no problem. Back when Mission Workshop just split off from Timbuk2 I got their expand-o Marry Poppins backpack (the rambler)which is awesome- though I wouldn’t buy it at the current price (eye watering)…it does fit A LOT, like 12kg bags of dog food and still has room. It can carry the weirdest things.
The worst part is getting the panniers up the flight of stairs to our apartment…which would be the same struggle regardless of transportation.
AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I have a trailer that I attach to my bike whenever I have to haul a lot of stuff. It’s very convenient. You can add a little wheel at the front to use it by hand with its handle. It carries 40 to 60 kg and is foldable to take less space if needed.
theonyltruemupf@feddit.de 2 weeks ago
I love my bike trailer. I added an aluminium box to make it water proof and I use it almost weekly for groceries.
LordCrom@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Nope, always wear the helmet. To not wear one is just stupid.
Bahalex@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I don’t disagree. I’ve worked on an ambulance, I’ve seen what the results of improper protection does to a person. But also how it affects everyone else involved- from the people scraping you off the street to the family that has to take care of you. The unseen injuries of head trauma. At the end of the day, it’s a personal choice- just think about the possible consequences to yourself and those around you.
Think of it this way- don’t wear a helmet because you ride a bike, wear a helmet because everyone else is in a car… they don’t look for you, they don’t care about you. Only you can care about you. It’s car culture pushing the responsibility of safety onto the cyclists to avoid culpability.
Two fairly interesting videos arguing each point and may help yall convince others to wear a helmet better than calling them stupid.
youtu.be/rhzH6mEpIps?si=UGH6OVQVYDOH7oLf
youtu.be/1JfbTwrtOWU?si=WF7RlOLg4h_uv58e
Be safe, anything can happen. Wear a helmet, even for the ‘safe’ rides so it becomes second nature.
hangonasecond@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
100%. When one of the cons is no meaningful protection against injury, a helmet should be a huge pro. It absolutely saves lives.
Waryle@jlai.lu 2 weeks ago
Guess dutch people are stupid, but at least they have way less death per kilometer while cycling ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
MolochAlter@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Ikr, I live in the Netherlands and not only do i not wear a helmet myself but I’ve seen dutch people ride with no hands, holding an umbrella and a phone, with bikebags full of groceries, in the rain.
That shit is close to a circus act, istg.
Railcar8095@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
For an outsider, it was very funny to see women fully dressed for a night out, riding with an umbrella and speaking on the phone at the same time.
imaqtpie@lemmy.myserv.one 2 weeks ago
Could be even lower if they wore helmets though. I don’t even wear a helmet myself, but it’s objectively smart to do so.
My friend went got something caught in his front wheel and went over the handlebars at 30mph. Could have been turned into a vegetable if he wasn’t wearing a helmet.
Waryle@jlai.lu 2 weeks ago
And we could save a lot of people if they put on helmets to walk down stairs, and yet I don’t see anyone saying that people are stupid not to wear them.
And your friend, if he drives at 30mph, of course he has to wear a helmet, but the subject is not a sporty practice of cycling, but bike commuting. And helmets does not protect you from a shitty infrastructure and tank-like cars that run you over, so maybe it would be good to stop insulting people and bring some nuance to this debate.
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
A guy in my lab in his early 50s went over and busted his neck and is now a quadriplegic. He WAS wearing a helmet.
I’m not saying don’t, I’m saying if the universe wants you, it’ll get you.
MonkRome@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
A helmet is only needed if you intent to spend significant time in traffic. Most of the world doesn’t use one.
The math behind using one is a lot more on the margins than people realize. In order for it to save you, it first has to prevent a head injury, and then prevent one that is in the range of severity that makes it useful. The vast majority of bike injuries won’t fall in that range, they’ll either be related to another part of the body, or in the case of high speed crashes from a car, too severe for a helmet to matter. But helmets do give people a false sense of security. Statistically people ride faster and take more risks with a helmet on. Lastly, again statistically, the visibility gear you put on yourself while riding does more to keep you safe in traffic than a helmet. Lights, reflectors, reflective vest, etc.
All this to say, the religiosity with which people proselytize helmets is misplaced. I still wear one, but I don’t judge people who choose not to.
commandar@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The worst wreck I’ve ever had on a bike was without a single car in sight. Pinch flat while carrying speed through a steep downhill curve. I split an expensive MIPS helmet in two and still hit hard enough that I had a minor concussion, road rash up one side of my body, and cracked the face of a week old watch just to pour salt in the (metaphorical) wound. I mostly landed on my head at north of 30 MPH and that helmet is the reason I didn’t have drastically more severe head injuries.
Helmets aren’t just for traffic.
MonkRome@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I don’t doubt anything you are saying, but it’s worth mentioning that (iirc) 80%+ of severe injury and death on a bicycle is caused by motor vehicles, or complications of motor vehicle involvement. People very rarely have severe injury or death on dedicated bike infrastructure. The primary risk on bicycles is motor vehicles. If you remove motor vehicles, there is still risks, but someone might decide that risk is low enough to forgo a helmet. I don’t feel those people should be called stupid for their choice.
There is considerable evidence that everyone wearing a helmet in a car would save vastly more lives, and yet pretty much no one even considers that as a normal thing to do.
I still use a helmet, and more importantly, visibility gear, on my bicycle in 100% of my rides.
AchtungDrempels@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s feel very much religion like, but also an online phenomenon only. IRL the helmet discussion goes like this for me: “You don’t wear a helmet?” “No.”
The topic coming up is super rare too, while on every picture of a cyclist without a helmet on the internet you got all these comments from helmet fundamentalists going nuts over it.
Nighed@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Personally, I have cracked open a helmet once. On a quiet country lane, with no traffic. Pot holes can catch you any time.
That is what makes me tell people to wear helmets.
imaqtpie@lemmy.myserv.one 2 weeks ago
You make some good points.
I don’t wear one and I judge myself for not doing so 🤷
Complicated issue.
AchtungDrempels@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
No it’s not. Believing the helmet is the sole saviour is stupid.
LordCrom@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The helmet is not the sole saviour. But If I can eliminate or even highly reduce any risk, especially high risk brain injuries just by wearing a helmet, why wouldn’t you?
Seems silly to tempt fate when a helmet is so easy and mitigates a lot of risk.
AchtungDrempels@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I also don’t wear a helmet when i walk down the stairs of my appartment. Is that stupid and silly too, or for some reason just fine? I don’t think riding a bicycle, which you learn at three years old, is necessarily a dangerous activity.