I’m all for biking everywhere, but depending on the state of the roads in your city, you’ll want a decent enough bike to handle potholes and the general shakiness you’ll get from uneven road. That makes the inexpensive part utter bullshit, especially because bike theft is a huge problem. I’ve had enough stolen that I now don’t cycle anywhere without indoor secure parking.
Anon likes bikes
Submitted 10 months ago by Early_To_Risa@sh.itjust.works to greentext@sh.itjust.works
https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/c899624a-545d-467a-a3de-39f042ab7fbe.jpeg
Comments
EnderMB@lemmy.world 10 months ago
RisingSwell@lemmy.world 10 months ago
It’s a bike, you just… Don’t hit the pot hole. They are small and agile vehicles, it really isn’t that hard unless it’d a literal sink hole in which case a car isn’t going over it either
EnderMB@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Maybe the roads are pretty good where you are, but in the UK you’re forced to the side of the road, and there are loads of holes that wear down your bike. They’re bad enough that I’ve had to switch away from my ebike and road bike into using a mountain bike to get around.
Being “agile” is good and all when you’re not sharing the road with dozens of 1T killing machines…
HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I hit one once because it was dark and I didn’t see it it time (despite the streetlights and my own light). Literally hit the road head first (thank fuck for helmets)
Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 10 months ago
Some roads are absolutely mangled
DillyDaily@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Plus because my bike is my primary vehicle, I’ve customised it and kitted it out with everything I need, from rear rack to trailer mounts, I added turn signals and extra safety lights, kevlar lining for my wheels because the shit roads shred my tires.
The bike itself was expensive, but affordable, the additional kit, and the time and labour I put into making it a transport system that perfectly works for me is much harder to replace.
But I’m lucky to live in an area where you can find secure bike cages at transport hubs, and there are enough other bikes around that my clunky 30kg step through frame isn’t as desirable as a lightweight carbon fibre roadster frame when someone is going around with the bolt cutters.
My front strobe light has been stolen 8 times though.
That one is baffling. Because I keep my saddle bags on my bike at all times, so you’d think someone would take those, or at least have a rummage through them and take my tool kit or pump or stuff. Or steal any number of the expensive fixtures I have, like the tail light that plugs into my brakes, or the actual bike flood lamp that’s attached to the handlebars with a quick release scew… But no, they keep stealing the $3 headlamp I buy from the dollar store that’s cable tied onto the handlebar stem.
EnderMB@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I live in a mid-sized city in the UK, and if I lock my bike outside, someone will try to steal it within 30 mins, almost without fail. We’ve tried getting public bike cages set up, but then motorists get shitty because those portable cages end up taking up space that cars could use.
I’ve dropped hundreds on bike locks alone, and despite this have had parts of my bike stolen when someone decided that they couldn’t get through the lock, or couldn’t cut through where I’ve secured the lock.
Raiderkev@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I do wish licensing and insurance was required. I’ve been hit by 3 cyclists. 3 claims that would need to use uninsured motorist coverage and I had to go out of pocket on the deductible if I wanted to fix my car to fix my car even though none were my fault. The one time damage was bad enough to where I did submit a claim, the insurance company tried to shake down the cyclist for my deductible, but failed, so I was out $500 or so. The other 2, I just accepted that my car now has a scratch there which was shitty too.
GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 10 months ago
Tell you what, we could do that once car drivers start paying for all the damage that their mode of transportation causes to the world.
All of the trillions of dollars of damage that climate change causes - all of the trillions of dollars that it costs to construct their infrastructure (no, gas tax doesn’t pay enough, don’t even go there), all of the insane amounts of damage caused by all of the death and other bodily harm caused by vehicle collisions.
Once you pay for all of that, then you can have a few bucks to buff out that tiny little scratch of yours.
You’d be bankrupt by that point though, and left without a vehicle, of course.
tiredofsametab@kbin.social 9 months ago
Tokyo actually requires bicycle insurance to be carried by riders now. Nothing nationwide here.
sirdorius@programming.dev 10 months ago
- Will be yours for an average of 1.2 days in a major city before it gets stolen
Jax@sh.itjust.works 10 months ago
Unless everyone has a bike.
Think about it. No need to steal if it’s easy as fuck to obtain.
LongStrong@sh.itjust.works 10 months ago
Bikes aren’t stolen to ride. They’re stolen to sell for drugs.
sgbrain7@lemm.ee 10 months ago
My problem is that I have terrible balance on a bike, and the last time I tried to ride one I had an anxiety attack. I still am strongly for bike usage, though.
Hagdos@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Practice makes perfect
nifty@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Ableist comment.
porthos@startrek.website 10 months ago
What about an electric scooter? Or honestly tricycles with a big cargo spot on the back are pretty sweet so long as you have the space and aren’t going up any crazy hills (could get an electric tricycle thoo).
At the end of the day though, I love bicycles but they can’t work for everyone… which is why the hope for most American cities at least is in busses. I know everyone hates busses and they are usually considered the least cool thing ever but honestly they are the future for mass transit in the US.
LONG LIVE THE BUS
sgbrain7@lemm.ee 10 months ago
I’ll admit that I’ve considered an electric scooter, but I haven’t gotten around to it.
GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 10 months ago
If practice doesn’t help, then maybe an adult tricycle could work? I remember my grandfather used to have one, and he had a debilitating muscle disease. Served him well enough.
Pat_Riot@lemmy.today 10 months ago
Being able to travel almost 100 miles in just an hour is a pretty significant advantage to motor vehicles. Not everything is within cycling distance. Not everybody lives in your overcrowded city.
rx8geek@aussie.zone 10 months ago
EvokerKing@lemmy.world 10 months ago
The fact is goes as far as as fast as you can isn’t really a good thing. Also collisions are more likely to kill you.
flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works 10 months ago
…aaand we’re back to adjusting our speed to suit the circumstances.
Cities are inhospitable, but mostly because they’re built around 1 tonne death traps as opposed to other means of transport
EvokerKing@lemmy.world 10 months ago
You won’t be able to adjust it very high. And what is a better solution than 1 ton death traps? Is it trains? No. That would require rebuilding every city in America to be like 4 buildings and nothing else and the places where it would work already have it like new York. Is it buses? No. They are already in place and nobody uses them. So tell me, what is the actual solution besides cars?