this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2026
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[–] Visstix@lemmy.world 64 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Mostly true but I find the price is pretty high nowadays.

[–] zaphod@sopuli.xyz 45 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You don't need a carbon road bike to cycle to the supermarket, you're not racing in the tour de france.

[–] Visstix@lemmy.world 32 points 2 months ago (7 children)

Yeah well even basic bitch bikes go from 300-1000 euros. Even second hand is 175 cheapest. And then you have a shitty one.

[–] f314@lemmy.world 19 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Almost as if cost of living has increased, but wages have not…

[–] Visstix@lemmy.world 21 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah that's my point. We don't exactly live in a "oh it's stolen, oh well" time.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 12 points 2 months ago

Paint it with extra rust and stick some exposed wires on it for +15 to theft resistance.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

but wages have not…

This makes me appreciate the UK minimum wage rising faster than inflation over the past several years.

A weeks work at minimum wage will get you a pretty decent bike. Not a carbon race bike, but a good bike for general riding.

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[–] snooggums@piefed.world 41 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (5 children)

Cars can easily long distances in a short period of time in most weather conditions comfortably, allowing the freedom of movement even if it isn't done daily. It is a symbol of long distance freedom on weekends and holidays, not daily commuting.

[–] charokol@lemmy.world 15 points 2 months ago

goes as far and as fast as you can

And cars go much further and faster than I can

[–] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 13 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I prefer to call it "freedom". Nowadays your vehicle spies on you and you're tracked everywhere you go and anaylized.

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[–] DahGangalang@infosec.pub 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

These are great points and suddenly I feel like the all weather point is showing a nonexistant / totally under served market.

A quick google search shows even quadricycles tend to be un covered. Man, this feels like a real business opportunity.

Ofc, cause #Murica, I'll bet I'm the one in a million people who'd want a covered bicycle / quadicycle (vs trying to get a golf cart) for local mobility.

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Probably because the cover is extra weight and cumbersome rigging for all of the time you don't need it. Rain gear works well enough in a pinch.

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[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Do they not have coats where you live?

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[–] roteradler@sh.itjust.works 30 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Because cars make a shit load of money for the ~~economy~~ the rich people.

[–] TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago (8 children)

the only bikes that make any money to sell are the ones that are for rich people.

the profit on a $500 bike is like 200 bucks, the profit on a $15,000 bike, is like $10,000

[–] justaman123@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

I bet it's closer to like 13k profit, depends on how you do the math on the supply chain

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[–] dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 24 points 2 months ago (9 children)

Anon missed the biggest sin of all:

Monetizable, but only at two or three orders of magnitude less than automobiles.

TL;DR: "He's cheating because he's not spending as much as I am."

They're cheaper in every conceivable way than cars, and that's why the worst people out there hate them. Once you see the systems in place to equate personal validity and social values with what wealth may be extracted, it's impossible to look back. Bikes are effectively a form of protest by way of scaling back one's economic interaction, because of this.

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[–] Nighed@feddit.uk 22 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

Have definitely seen bike traffic jams in London before, you get a lot more people through though!

I don't have a photo of a big one though ☹️

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[–] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 20 points 2 months ago

Bikes are awesome. Bike infrastructure helps wheelchair users and pullcart users as well.

[–] Frostbeard@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I use a bike to commute 6.5 km to work and it's not just a good time. I do have a dedicated bike/pedestrian paved path (with few pedestrians, just a lot of other bikes) which is nice.

But in rain it sucks. And in winter it sucks even harder with the cold, and snow and ice. I have studded tires but that adds to the suck as they make you slower. I always have to shower when I get to work. I deliver and pick up in kindergarten, and there is no place to lock the kid trailer, so it adds an extra km to pick up and dump of the trailer at home.

I still use a manual as it gives me some excercise, but an electric bike would solve many of the issues.

And I save money on parking and toll. And bc of traffic I use about the same time.

Nothings perfect

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[–] Labna@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago (3 children)
[–] synapse1278@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago (4 children)

I have some coworkers, that have E-Bikes, live 5km from the office and ride their bikes maybe 10x per year because there is a 5% chance of rain today, or it's too cold (15°C) or it's too hot (25°C) or whatever other excuse. Very sad...

[–] Aibo1@ani.social 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

As someone who hasn't missed a single day due to riding my e-bike 9kms to work and once rode it to work through a snowstorm I can sympathize with this.

It's almost comical how even just a little bit of rain can deter people from taking their bike. On sunny days I sometimes barely have room on the bike paths, but if the weather forecast is even a little bit ominous I almost always have the roads all to myself.

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[–] cynar@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

10x per year is still better than never.

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[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

Hey i had a bunch of energy before i had to use it all on a bunch of shit i didn’t even wanna do.

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[–] Alberat@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

someone compared efficiency and long distance trains are more efficient, but that's it.

[–] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Further proof that trains are the ultimate form of transportation. But we all knew this. Choo choo!

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[–] BenLeMan@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago (6 children)

One downside I haven't seen mentioned yet is the hassle of having to laboriously lock up your bike front and back, saddle bag, too, so some freaking degenerate won't steal anything that isn't secured. I've had my rear wheel stolen before (who even DOES that?) and am not looking for a repeat.

I love riding my bike and do most trips with it in the summer (shopping, appointments, gym, etc.)

But I envy motorists sometimes who just get out of their car, push the button on their key and everything's neatly locked up.

[–] glibg@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Friendly reminder that if you only have enough lock to lock your frame and ONE wheel, make sure it's the rear wheel! It is the most expensive of the two to replace.

That said, bike thieves should have their fingers broken.

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[–] AnimalsDream@slrpnk.net 5 points 2 months ago

As a full time car-free person, this is absolutely a valid argument. I'm lucky to live less than 10 minutes away from my job. I could bike there in even less time, but walk anyway specifically because I don't want to deal with these logistics.

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[–] TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (9 children)

I live in a city where this a lot of bike commuting.

All the same shitty stuff that you deal with while driving, you now deal with while riding your bike. People going way too slow, people riding up your ass, people going way too fast, people who speed up when you pass them, folks that violate every law/signal/sign and don't give a fuck. idiots blasting shitty music, idiots with sound isolating headphones, idiots who come straight at you head on going the wrong way in the bike lane, etc, etc.

So I basically stopped riding my bike to work. I don't want to deal with bike traffic, bike aggression, and bike accidents.

It was awesome when nobody else did it, but now you have to wait for specially little bike traffic lights, and there are like 30 people in front of you, who are either slow as shit, or blazing around on e-bikes, and it's generally just a total shitshow. The 'freedom' of cycling isn't really free when you are forced to deal with all the same stupid bullshit you would in a car. On top of the hostility you get from drivers, pedestrians, and other cyclists. there is also a ton of richdouchebag mom/dad's on giant e-cargo bikes riding around like they would in their giant BMW SUVs, and acting like entitled selfish pricks and flipping out at you for 'endangering' their children if you get to close or something. It sucks.

I take the subway now because at least on the subway people leave me the fuck alone and play weird passive aggressive racing games with me and aren't trying to head-on collision me everyday.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 12 points 2 months ago (3 children)

I cycle to work and have none of these problems because the bike route is pretty wide. Old railway converted into a bus route, no cars allowed but bikes can use it. The bus is every 15 mins so at most I have 1 bus overtake me along it.

It's dead straight and nothing crosses it all the way along. It's great. Overtaking is easy because there is loads of space.

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[–] echodot@feddit.uk 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Hills. If you live near hills bikes don't work too well at least not as transportation, they work more as exercise equipment then.

I've actually got an electric bike and it does solve the hills problem but then it has the it weighs as much as a baby elephant problem. So it's still a pain if you have to lug it on and off the train.

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[–] Simulation6@sopuli.xyz 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (12 children)

Can only be safely used in good weather.
Collisions will, in fact, fuck you up bad.
Limited cargo space.
Single occupancy.

[–] Tuxman@sh.itjust.works 13 points 2 months ago (5 children)
  1. Try a rain poncho
  2. Two bikes colliding may fuck one up, but death is VERY unlikely
  3. Electric cargo bike
  4. Electric cargo bike

Most arguments against bikes are from people who never even tried to address the issues. It's like "I've seen a BMX and that's ALL there is!"

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[–] tdawg@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

Scandinavia and the Netherlands disagree on all but one of those points

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[–] Zaphod@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 2 months ago

If only we had good bicycle infrastructure everywhere 😔

[–] GhostFace@lemmy.today 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Suppose that I decide to pack up the cat and everything I own and just disappear one day?

I can't do that with a bike.

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