Study finds that once people use cargo bikes, they like their cars much less
Study finds that once people use cargo bikes, they like their cars much less
Even some one-car households ditched vehicles in favor of cargo bike-sharing.
This seems kind of a weird study as they're polling the self-selected group that has already chosen to use these bikes anyway. This pretty much excludes all the people that didn't like using the bikes.
I live in Finland and I love mountain biking but it's a bitch when there's snow on the ground so I bought an eFatbike so I could ride year around. And I mean a proper full size one. It does what I intented it to which is keeping me on the trails year around but last winter I thought I'd give bike commuting a chance aswell. My conclusion was that it fucking suuucks. If I had to choose between a bus and a bike then I'd perhaps favour the bike but compared to a car there's no competition. There's zero chance I'd replace my car with a bike. I'm more than happy to pay extra for the luxury and freedom it provides. If I lived in a big city then perhaps this would be a different but most of the trips I use my car for I couldn't reasonably do with a bike.
Another effect I noticed bike commuting to cause is that I no longer had the desire (or battery charge) to go for joyrides after work. It turned an enjoyable hobby into chore.
Yeah this would get me killed. No one and I mean no one rides bikes on the roads I have to drive.
That makes sense. Biking feels more real than driving. Like you’re actually part of a place. I’ve had huge mental benefits from switching to biking and walking for my groceries when I can
I feel like it’s not spoken about enough. There’s something fundamentally weird and off about driving around town in a car. You don’t really see it until you stop using a car for a while and then get back into one … it’s a weird experience … more weird IMO than flying on a passenger jet.
Also the deep frustrations built into the experience. Traffic, stop lights, navigating obstacles, bad drivers, pedestrians etc, while in a car that is relatively big, sometimes too big for its environment and that naturally wants to go much much faster than is often practical or safe. It can really be maddening. We talk about road rage in terms of how crazy some people must be, when in reality it’s obviously the experience of driving that’s like being forced to play an unenjoyable video game … all the time.
In retrospect I think the future will look weirdly on the idea that we all did this all the time and how stressful it must have been to do something that takes up so much of our time and to do something so dangerous everyday.
Yeah exactly. Taking mass transit like trains and planes is mindless and communal and you can pay attention to or ignore what you’re passing. Driving leaves you having to pay a little attention to it, but only a little and you’re in control but not like “I can stop and enjoy the sights or easily duck out for a breather level of in control. And yeah that really gets to the point of it, cars are extremely anti social. You’re left outside the experience of community with them.
And you’re exactly right. It’s low level stress. To do anything or go anywhere and it has a ton of perks but they’re all relative to how many people drive. If society is built around an assumption of cars, bus service is at best decent but inconvenient and restrictive with no sympathy to transit related issues. If you’re one of the few drivers it’s just way faster because the roads let you do it. But for every perk there’s cost and it compounds across all of us until our cities are filled with parking lots and we don’t know our neighbors’ faces
I think off driving like having to navigate an obstacle course and if you mess up once you're financially screwed. driving is such a hassle, and everyone kinda knows it. why do people like to do big ass grocery hauls if it's supposedly so convenient to drive? because it's actually a pain in the ass. the only fun driving is rural/road drip driving and that's a whole other story
I could not relate less to what you just said. I thoroughly enjoy driving. One of the contributin reasons to why I stopped bike commuting was that my truck just sat unused in the carage all day and I missed driving. To me this sound more like that you're perhaps not very experienced driver and you find it stressful due to how much concentration it requires. This is not the case for me. Just like when riding my mountain bike I don't really think about how to operate the bike. I don't even think of me being on the bike but rather the bike just being an extension of me. I get the same feeling when driving a car. Driving a boat on the other hand I do find stressful and I'm quite sure the reason is that I only do it a handful of times a year so I'm not 100% confident in my skills.
That makes sense. Biking feels more real than driving. Like you’re actually part of a place.
You put into words what I've been feeling every time I'm on a bike.
My wife asked me to drive her somewhere last night, and I hated it. Sitting felt uncomfortable, being boxed in was unpleasant, having no connection to the real world other than from a metal and glass box sucks. And this was just a short trip across town, had it been in traffic, I would have sent her off in an Uber. LOL
When I ride my bike, even through a small subdivision or quiet downtown streets, I'm able to hear the world around me, smell the wonderful meals being cooked or laundry being dried. And I can feel the ground beneath me and wind on my face as I glide along. Pure joy.
Exactly. And even when I tune out on my bike I am moving an easily comprehensible distance at a comprehensible speed under my own power. And for public transport it feels like a feature of the location “this spot takes you to any of these spots” much like “this spot lets you borrow books for a few weeks”. For cars you have to kinda isolate, tune out, and become traffic.
the fact that you can just stop wherever whenever on a bike is nice, versus having to find a place to park a car, which is a little annoying to frustratingly difficult.
I love the idea of a cargo bike, but I think that most people would still be better off with a normal bike + a trailer and/or panniers.
Why?
- Much, much more affordable.
- Easier to store.
- Easier to maintain a regular bike.
- More flexibility.
- You can take a regular bike to more places (off road, on a train, into a shop, etc.).
- You can travel with a regular bike or folding bike.
- It's easier to get around with a regular bike.
But cargo bikes have their uses, especially if you're hauling kids all the time, or your primary use is to carry cargo. I love seeing people using cargo bikes, I'm not going to lie. 🤗
Cargo bikes are nice...but man they are not affordable for the average Joe.
Electric ones are crazy expensive. Like, "more than a car", expensive.
If you can still find a non-electric version, and you've got the leg strength to move it, they are generally less than < $3000 Canadian. Not terrible, but still way more than a regular bike + extras to add cargo capacity.
The biggest problem I have is that cars are incentivized all the time, especially electric cars. But most places don't have e-bike or cargo bike incentive rebates at all, and the ones that do are frustratingly bad.
If governments were really serious about reducing car dependency; traffic; pedestrian safety; and getting people to move more, then we should try to make it easier (more affordable) to buy these bikes.
There’s some things that frustrate me about panniers. For instance, let’s say I’m going to visit a friend, and then might do some grocery shopping on the way home. Now I need to bring my panniers, and since they’re valuable alone, I don’t want to leave them on the bike when it’s locked. So I carry them with me to visit my friend, and then have to reattach them coming back. Then, same thing bringing them into the grocery store, or it could turn out I don’t have time that day.
A cargo bike basically seems to keep more options open for a lot of trips, just like the versatility of driving around the city with a 4-person car.
There’s some things that frustrate me about panniers. For instance, let’s say I’m going to visit a friend, and then might do some grocery shopping on the way home. Now I need to bring my panniers, and since they’re valuable alone, I don’t want to leave them on the bike when it’s locked. So I carry them with me to visit my friend, and then have to reattach them coming back. Then, same thing bringing them into the grocery store, or it could turn out I don’t have time that day.
I can certainly appreciate this. There are a few ways around that, depending on your needs.
For example, a front basket (either permanent or detachable) might work in that scenario. A pannier backpack is also another option to consider. More outside the box would be a packable/stuffable backpack, which could fit in your pocket and open to a full size (albeit, thin) backpack. For some basic grocery stuff, it would work.
I like to bring the Arkel Metropolitan if I'm going to be somewhere, and I might need to run some errands afterwards. It's a stylish bag that doubles as a functional pannier. It can expand if needed, but the size is smaller than a messenger bag if left as-is.
The Burley Travoy is yet another option if you need a trailer, but also need to be able to take it with you off the bike (either folded or as a handcart). This has been one of my favorite bike things over the last two months.
I do plan my bike trips so I know what gear to bring, but I've been in situations where I've been over (and under) geared, so I do appreciate that these things happen.
A cargo bike basically seems to keep more options open for a lot of trips, just like the versatility of driving around the city with a 4-person car.
Absolutely, but to me, it's like driving around to visit friends in a large pick-up truck "just in case" you need it to run to the Home Depot for 500lbs of lumber.
If I had a cargo bike, I'd probably only take it around if I knew for certain that I would need the carrying capacity. Pretty much the same as leaving the panniers and bike trailer at home unless I know I'm going to need them.
My middle school science teacher would hunt down whoever made this chart if he saw it ಠ_ಠ
You can tell your teacher that I'll help.
I got a fixed gear bike last year and a trailer to pull my kids around in (when they want to go with me).
I pretty much exclusively use that to get around and get groceries instead of my car now.
Even in the rain, it's just so much more fun to be on a bicycle than to drive.
fixed gear bike last year and a trailer to pull my kids around
Please explain! I've been looking at single speed bikes, but I keep hearing "it's too hard" and "you'll never be able to carry weight with it!".
I'll admit that I ride with a cargo trailer (groceries), and I do have to use gears or it would be impossible to climb some of the hills we get.
Where I live is mostly flat and am running 46x16. Hills really wouldn't scare me too much (I still have brakes)
The biggest limiting factor I have found in towing is that there is a point where the trailer will unload my front wheel and then my steering becomes more of a suggestion (about 100+ lbs... I am routinely exceeding the suggested limits)
Here is an article about ratios. It's really about finding the least worst setup for your needs; easier hill climbs means more spinning when going down hills and lower top speed.
I use a trailer pram to ride my twin boys around. We ride to the shops, swimming lessons, parks, and the nearest shopping centre together. They absolutely love it.
We also get the best parking spots wherever we go and avoid traffic, which is more pleasant even if the ride takes longer.
I splurged on an electric bike ($2k) instead of investing in upgrading my vehicle. I haven't sold my vehicle yet, but now I prefer to bike to the store than drive. The way our town is laid out, you have to drive around a few other businesses and through two busy traffic light sections to get to the supermarket, but on foot or bike you can just cut down the back of a strip mall and halve the distance. Now, I get exercise on grocery runs, I am limited in space so I don't impulse buy, I don't have to pay for gas, I don't have to sit in traffic, I have less chance of getting into an accident, AND it's just as quick as going by car. My only complaint is the lack of bike parking in the parking lot, so I have to chain it up to a fence round back.
Why oh why are city planners so far behind on developing the right infrastructure. Still attached to suburbs? No problem! We could keep the suburbs with small grocery stores spread around all connected through secured bike lanes that take you everywhere. God, ho fukin awesome would that be....
I don’t even have a cargo bike and I’m hooked. Unfortunately, most drivers in my city wants to run over bikers.
Main problem I see is having the space for secure storage if you have a fairly small house or flat
Amen, I live in a small one bedroom flat and we have 3 bikes. We have a tiny outdoor space where I can keep my main commuter for easy access but the other 2 are in the house and I have parts stashed all over. Add in a healthy collection of skateboards / long boards and my house is starting to look like a garage and my gf hates it but there is fuck all we can do about it! Can barely afford this rent let alone finding a bigger house of some kind.
Can I get one of these, but electric? I'll take two if they look way cooler.
Most modern cargo bikes are electric. It is actually kinda hard to find a non electric cago bike nowadays.
The bike from the article looks like a Tern
Can I get one of these, but electric? I’ll take two if they look way cooler.
I think the bike in the article is electric I thought it looked like this, but it could be another manufacturer's design
I like bucket bikes. Check out the Yuba super cargo.
I have an Aventon abound, and I use it for most of my <10 mile trips. I like it a lot, but I wish it was mid-drive, and my next cargo bike will be mid for sure.
belt + mid drive = chef's kiss
Upgraded to a newer camry a few years ago when I got my first "real" job - bought a commuter bike with panier bags soon after and use it exclusively in town. I LOVE my bike. Would sell the car if it were possible to out of town with public transportation where I live.
Anyway, you can carry a lot without a cargo bike - especially if you have no kids and thereby have small grocery hauls
So it works in Germany, one of the best countries in the world when it comes to bikes. How about other countries?
Imagining riding around with the sidecars full of water. (shudder)
https://www.tripsavvy.com/weather-in-portland-oregon-2743084
"Among U.S. cities, Portland ranks third with 164 rainy days annually."
There's no way those things don't drain and you can 100% ride in the rain, just saying.
they have dem buckets!