

Two wheels good - jeffesp
http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13565800&fsrc=rss

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amalcon
What's wrong with, you know, a regular bicycle? Everyone says people need to
get more exercise, and many people spend hours at the gym when they could just
combine their workout and commute.

OK, so it's not so great to show up to work smelly. More and more workplaces
are offering showers and such, and many gyms offer cheaper "shower-only"
memberships.

The main problems with a regular bicycle (cargo/passenger capacity and
exposure to weather) are just as present on electrics.

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dougp
The problem with bicycles in Northern Va is that the season is too short it is
either burning hot and you will die of heat stroke or freezing cold and your
fingers and ears get frost bite. I had much more luck walking (2.5 miles) to
the metro station and then to work then riding a bike that same distance and
it felt much safer. At least with electrics the heat stroke part is fixed.

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joeyo
The problem of cold fingers and ears is solvable for more or less any
reasonable climate-- certainly for northern Virgina. There are really
excellent bike gloves and hats that can be worn under a bike helmet. Having a
good pair of socks is also important. Jackets are less of a problem than you
would think because they only really have to break the wind-- the act of
cycling keeping you warm-- until the temperatures get well below freezing.

The larger problems with winter bike commuting are dangerous road conditions.
Ice and slush on the road are bad enough to contend with if you have four
wheels, but they can be quite tricky when you have only two. And to further
compound the problem is the fact that the bike lanes and side streets that a
cyclist prefers tend to be less frequently salted and cleared.

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harpastum
There are problems with biking (and e-biking) up here in Wisconsin that pretty
much eliminate it as a primary mode of transport.

Riding a bike in the rain is dangerous, but riding in snow is downright
insane. Also, things tend to be pretty spaced out around here. Several of my
friends work ~40 miles from where they live--even at 20mph, two hours to get
to work is simply not acceptable (not to mention e-bikes running out of
charge).

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ionfish
Meanwhile, in crowded London, a 90-minute commute is far from rare...

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khafra
For that kind of commute, you probably want a rapid folding bicycle like the
smaller-wheeled Dahons or the Mobiky Genius to take from bus to train to work.

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huherto
One thing that I see wrong with our current city model

\- Big houses with big yards. This makes cities way bigger, expensive to build
infraestructure for, and makes us depend on cars.

I bet that, If we all lived on smaller houses our living expenses would be way
lower. Has any city tried this?

~~~
warfangle
I think New York City has been experimenting with high density housing for a
couple centuries now.

~~~
huherto
damn! This is what I get for asking a stupid question.:-P

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cubix
I've noticed a lot of electric scooters lately. I'm curious if they're gaining
in popularity elsewhere. Because it technically meets the province's
definition of a power assisted "e-bike", you get a slow speed scooter without
the hassle of licensing and insurance requirements. They allow a lot of
freedom because you can legally ride in both bicycle and car lanes, and park
almost anywhere. People are also illegally removing the 32km/h regulator
(among other hacks), which is difficult for the police to enforce. It's
probably a reasonable way to travel if you live downtown and don't need to
climb any steep hills. Of course, the government has caught on now, so I
expect the game will change when the e-bike pilot program ends this fall.

[http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/vehicle/emerging/e-bi...](http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/vehicle/emerging/e-bike-
faq.shtml#a27)

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rjprins
I'm pretty sure by far the biggest win in energy savings can be made in
smarter spatial planning.

A good city plan keeps the vehicle roads long, bicycle lanes short, has
facilities close to housing (shops, schools..)

Or specific for bicycles: here is an interesting document about (re)designing
cities for cycling.

[http://www.fietsberaad.nl/library/repository/bestanden/Cycli...](http://www.fietsberaad.nl/library/repository/bestanden/CyclingintheNetherlands2009.pdf)

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imack
....four wheels better?

Joking aside, biking is actually a good option here in Vancouver. I actually
see it as a form of multi-tasking; Commuting and exercising at the same time.

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flipbrad
just imagine Los Angeles after widespread adoption of electric bikes...

... nah, neither could I.

