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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   29569 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of August 26, 2024

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My prediction is that we'll see more enthusiasm for cycling in general (and therefore for cycle lanes) as electric bikes become cheaper and more popular. The world is getting more urban and more childless. For urban singletons and DINKs, commuting by electric bike can make a lot more sense than by car.

I'm also seeing more segregated cycle lanes in UK cities which are obviously far superior to the kind that drivers can park on.

My hope is that adoption of e-bikes will improve the behavior of cyclists as well, as it seems like the most annoying behaviors are driven by their desire to never lose momentum and especially never to come to a complete stop.

The start -stop behaviour is fairly unnatural. People don't do it when walking, cycling, boating or ridng horses. It is really a car specific behaviour. Urban areas existed for thousands of years without traffic lights and then as soon as the car came they were all over the place. Good urban design is less built around starting/stopping and more around interactions. Speed probably needs to come down a lot.

When you stop on a bike - a commuter bike, with a high saddle - you have to swing your leg to anchor on the concrete, which has the side effect of crushing your testicles. The desire to avoid this at all costs is like, half the motivation of attempting to keep the bike moving.

which has the side effect of crushing your testicles

something is wrong with your bicycle if that happens

Is it possible that your saddle is just set up wrong? This isn't something I experience. Clip right foot out, slide weight forward, stop, foot down. No big swing, no nuts crushed.

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