

On your bike - eru
http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?source=hptextfeature&story_id=12270958

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ardit33
It is kinda funny In poor countries people use bikes as they can't afford
cars. Poor countries become countries in development, and cars start becoming
prevalent As more people can get cars, it becomes very expensive to keep them
(parking, clogged streets, etc). And people in developed countries switch back
to bicycles...

full circle.

Addition: I have seen it in my own country. Having a car when a lot people
didn't, was awesome. I could go everywhere faster, easy to park, girls take
more notice of you... etc.

10 years down the road, now that everybody has cars, it is hard to park,
traffic everywhere, not a status symbol anymore.. .etc.

Simply, wealth is a very relative thing.

~~~
eru
What's your country?

~~~
ardit33
Albania. Until 1991 there were no private cars in the country. Only government
cars, and taxis. I remember when I was a little kid, that I would go with my
friends in a road, and play/count if the next car plate was even or odd. Even
in main roads, cars would come only once or twice a minute.

After 91 everyone could buy a car. My parents got their first car in 96, when
traffic was pretty light. I started driving then, and it was awesome. Parking
was easy. My high-school friends were impressed. I could go to the beach on my
own timeline, and no need to get into a bus, or a van. And enjoy some really
nice scenery going to the south.

Fast forward 2007 (last time I was back home), there is traffic everywhere,
parking is hard. Lots of shiny cars, that can't go more than 10mph b/c of the
traffic. smog/pollution increased . Etc.

I have a friend, that switched to bikes to get to work (he still has a car,
but uses it only for out of town trips), and another one that bought a
scooter, as they are much more practical.

~~~
eru
Thanks for reporting.

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kmt
I've got a compact folding bike that I take with me on public transportation
if I have to or anywhere really since it folds into a compact carry on. I'm
always in shape and would never want to go back to driving a car again unless
I'm forced to. Great fitness, great spirit, very civilized, extremely frugal,
the fastest and most pragmatic way of transport in the city. There's a social
bonus as well: almost every day I have a chat with a stranger (yes, chicks
too) who get impressed by the idea. Highly recommended.

~~~
Tichy
What folding bike would you recommend? I have toyed with the idea for a while,
but all bikes I have seen so far seemed to heavy in the end.

~~~
eru
[http://www.einradladen.net/shop/images/big_ei1007_einrad_24_...](http://www.einradladen.net/shop/images/big_ei1007_einrad_24_zoll_quax.jpg)

That's what I use. It does not fold and is slower than most normal bicycles.
But very light weight and it's mechanics are easy to understand and repair
even for me.

~~~
silentbicycle
What kind of speed can you attain on one of those? I have one with a 26" tire
(mountain-bike size), because I've pretty tall, but I still haven't quite got
the hang of riding it.

~~~
bmj
Because of the small tires, you aren't going to fly around, but a reasonable
commuting speed (~15mph) on flat-ish is normal.

Bike Friday (<http://www.bikefriday.com/>) and Dahon (<http://www.dahon.com/>)
are popular in the U.S.

In case you don't think folders are "real" bikes, note that they are ridden by
many serious cyclists (<http://www.bikefriday.com/node/4813>).

~~~
eru
On my unicycle (24") I am as fast as a jogger. So more like 15 km/h than 15
mph for me.

~~~
eru
By the way: My recumbent bike has even smaller tires (20") but it is way
faster. The size of the tires is not the limiting factor in unicycle speed ---
it's the fact that you have to keep balance and input power using the same
system.

~~~
silentbicycle
Right, which is why my speed tends to very briefly approach terminal velocity.

I have a fixed-gear mountain bike with 700c x 42mm ("really big") tires, and
that doesn't really affect speed much either. The wheels very clearly have a
sort of flywheel effect, though: once I'm moving, they hold a lot of momentum.
(It's excellent for commuting in snow, BTW.)

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mseebach
I bike most places. There's good access and good parking at my university, so
on bad weather days, or when I'm late, I take the car. My problem is sweat, as
much as rain. After biking for 25 minutes I absolutely need to change my
shirt. This is fine for everyday use, since a sweater or polo fold nicely in a
backpack, but for business meetings (I'm halftime student, halftime PM), I
need a suit-coat and a shirt, and they'll wrinkle way too much in a backpack.
Suggestions?

~~~
wallflower
If you do not have shower facilities, a reasonable proxy is to wait until
you've stopped sweating (usually 10 min. post-ride) and clean up with
_unscented_ baby wipes in the bathroom (and if needed, use a travel bottle of
shampoo to rinse sweat out of your hair). The rule is try not to pack what you
can leave at your destination (towels, clothes)

Most bike commuters I know bring batches of clothes to the office and/or wear
sweat-wicking business casual (Nike's golf apparel or cheaper). Hopefully you
might be able to store a suit/pants with a colleague? They discuss and dissect
bike commuting on Bike Forums endlessly.
<http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=20>

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jbrun
I have been biking everywhere with an old school speed bike for the past two
years - faster than cars downtown, save $$, environment and feel great man.
Cars are for suckers.

~~~
pmorici
What do you do when it rains?

~~~
bmj
Full mudguards, with mudflaps. Rain jacket (or even better, a rain cape). Wool
shirts (year 'round as they keep you warm in the winter, they don't stink, and
they can go a week or so between washings). Studded tires in the winter
months.

Granted, there are few people who can suddenly become full time bike
commuters, unless you happen live in a flat area with a moderate climate. I've
been bike commuting full time for about six years, and I did about half time
for three years prior to that. I've gotten to the point that when I have to
run an errand, I automatically think about hopping on the bike rather than in
the car (and this includes errands that requires pulling the kids in the
trailer).

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rcoder
My quality of living is substantially higher due to the fact that I commute by
bicycle instead of by car. I save hundreds of dollars a month, get at least 40
minutes of exercise every day, and have an interesting sport/hobby to engage
in when I have a few hours free on the weekend.

As a programmer, the exercise and outdoor activity components are particularly
critical. I do some of my best "mental coding" while riding to and from work,
and while I may have put on a few pounds in the last couple of years, it's not
the unhealthy, inactivity-driven sort of weight gain that would make me worry
about heart problems or diabetes.

~~~
dhuck
I love biking: I ride a fixed gear to school almost every day, it's only a few
miles and I can get to class faster if you include the time it takes to park
and walk to class.

The health benefits for riding a bicycle are a fantastic reason to start and
continue doing it.

But one thing I would just like to point out to everyone - you are going to
pay for fuel, either way. You might not be paying for oil when you bike, but
you definitely need to pay for food. If you are trying to lose weight and
reduce your calories, I guess you can afford to eat less, but eventually
you'll need to eat a lot (really, it's a noticeable increase) of food to make
up for your exercising. And that costs money - so I really wonder about the
savings gained from biking.

This shouldn't detract anyone from riding a bike, I'm just sayin'.

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tlb
Going from 4 wheels to 2 is a good start. The next step is a commuter
unicycle, like these:
[http://nhoover.smugmug.com/gallery/5974354_EUa4J#372904495_M...](http://nhoover.smugmug.com/gallery/5974354_EUa4J#372904495_MTrvv)
(that's me on the right edge.)

Surprisingly, I feel safer on it than on a bike, because my CG is higher than
the roof of most cars. Also, the dreaded "door prize" would be more at thigh
level than head level.

It's pretty hard to uni after dark, though, because you need to anticipate
bumps and potholes.

~~~
Tichy
How fast can you go with a unicycle? Do the pedals always turn as fast as the
wheel, or are they "disconnected"? How do you brake?

~~~
pchristensen
When I've seen people unicycle (I'm a 2 wheel man), they go faster than a
power walk but slower than a run. Plus, they're smaller and more maneuverable
than a bike so they're much easier to take on sidewalks and around
pedestrians. Pretty similar to a Segway.

Pedals drive the wheel directly (no gears), so to slow down or stop you just
pedal slower and then hop off.

Wikipedia (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicycle>) is pretty fascinating,
including these notable unicyclists: Adam Corolla, Donald Rumsfield, and
Claude Shannon!

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wallflower
When I feel the need to wake up and get out of my apartment, I get on my bike,
go out the door and bike in the city. Nothing like unpredictable pedestrians
and car traffic to wake you up and get you living in the very moment. J.
Forester's Effective Cycling literally has hundreds of pages on the effective
way to ride in traffic. (<http://www.johnforester.com/>) [#1 rule - You are
invisible - act like you are invisible but signal like you aren't]

I have a monthly public transportation pass but the bike is by far the best
way to get around. Since I value my brain, I wear a helmet and I always
dislike when I see the pretty girls not wearing helmets (fashion/convenience
over safety).

~~~
jules
from <http://www.johnforester.com/>

> Bikeways neither make cycling much safer nor reduce the skill required. They
> probably do the reverse.

This is not true.

~~~
wallflower
Biking safety is more about your individual experience and ability than it is
about having a critical mass of bikers (unless of course the critical mass is
majority - as in Amsterdam).

In his book, J. Forester quotes a statistic that roadways are 2.6x safer for
bikers than bike paths. Based on this study from Kaplan:
[http://www.bikexprt.com/research/synthesis/corvallis.htm#kap...](http://www.bikexprt.com/research/synthesis/corvallis.htm#kaplan)

How you ride your bike also depends on your personality - and how much you
want your ride to be a videogame... Check out this video of a guy biking
through NOLA: <http://www.vimeo.com/1918279>

From my experience, paths that are physically separated from car's roads that
are shared by pedestrians/roller bladers/joggers/baby strollers and bikers on
it are _not_ the safest place to be on a moving bicycle. The movement of a
pedestrian is not predictable - they might suddenly stop - do a 180, cut in
front of you, stoop to tie a shoelace. The skill level of some of the bikers
on a path may be beginner (e.g. they do not understand the importance of
riding predictable e.g in a straight line). If I do ride a bike on such a
path, I'm riding slow and constantly saying 'On your left'. Predictability is
very important (see this article about crossing streets in Rome)
[http://www.worldhum.com/how_to/item/cross_the_street_in_rome...](http://www.worldhum.com/how_to/item/cross_the_street_in_rome_20080226/))

Marked bike lanes that are on the side of roads are much safer. You still have
to watch out for opening car doors and random-walk pedestrians (again!) but
you have room to do evasive maneuvers.

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timtrueman
I envy Denmark: <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/opinion/10friedman1.html>

It's tough to ride a bicycle to work with so many cars; It's dangerous when
the sidewalks are small and crumbling, and there are no bike lanes. The
problem is every dollar you spend on infrastructure supporting cars means more
people will use cars. Start diverting money to public transit and biking!

~~~
jrockway
_It's dangerous when the sidewalks are small and crumbling, and there are no
bike lanes._

Not really. Just drive your bike like it's a car. Bike lanes and sidewalks are
actually more dangerous than just riding your bike on the street. Most
accidents are at intersections; drivers tend to only look for vehicles where
they expect them, not on the side of the road (bike lane) or on the sidewalk.

~~~
timtrueman
Ahh I've definitely thought about that but I don't think I have the balls for
it. It would be so much faster, though...

~~~
pchristensen
Do it! For any road where cars are going 35-40mph or less, I'd much rather
take my chances with the road. If you're a decent biker you're going 15-20mph
so you're from cars' perspective you're going < 20mph and very easy to see and
avoid. For pedestrians, you're much bigger AND much faster, and there aren't
well-defined rules, so you're very difficult to deal with.

On the sidewalk, you have a narrower, less predictable path, pedestrians, curb
cuts, more frequent bumps, plus you're basically invisible to turning cars
when going through an intersection. Visibility, road quality, and avoiding
pedestrians are the biggest benefits to riding on the road.

For reference, I've bike commuted in Tampa, Provo (at the University),
Stockholm, Chicago city and Chicago suburbs)

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silentbicycle
There are a lot of old bikes collecting dust in peoples' garages. Cycling for
transportation really doesn't require a new bike, just one that works and is
the right size.

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elai
The problem i have with 2 wheeled transportation is rain pants. They are an
absolute pain in the ass to work with because of shoes. A rain cape doesn't
look that consistent and I cant for the love of god find rain chaps anywhere!

~~~
bmj
I have heard that Rain Legs (<http://www.rainlegs.co.uk/>) are the cat's
pajamas.

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brlewis
The green one is my folding bike:
[http://ourdoings.com/brlewis/photo.html?th=ve/ee/xmuk.jpg...](http://ourdoings.com/brlewis/photo.html?th=ve/ee/xmuk.jpg&d=2008-09-15)

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river_styx
It would be interesting to see car vs. motorbike production/sales also.

~~~
silentbicycle
Mopeds have become quite popular here (GR, MI) over the last few years
(<http://www.mopedarmy.com/>).

