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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   31395 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of September 30, 2024

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These folks do have the answer. The cycle in every American city has been:

  1. Pedal Bikes - The obese and the stylish simply won't use them.
  2. Electric Scooters - Cheap to produce, but a friend who works for the CDC has mentioned these are a public health nightmare. The fast-twitch nature of scooter handles, no suspension, and the tendency to be on the sidewalk meant cracked skulls everywhere. Plus they're easy to steal.
  3. Electric Bikes - These can be made heavy and difficult to steal, store bigger or auxiliary batteries, and are far more stable than a scooter. We'll see if they stick.

As a cyclist I can say that the risk of thievery is high enough there's no way for me to justify ever leaving my nice, light bike out of my sight. I'd rather outsource the risk to someone else, and they're great mobility enablers for tourists who misjudge the relative risk of public transport vs being on their own two wheels.

Pedal Bikes - The obese and the stylish simply won't use them.

To be hard to steal and stand up to abuse at all, they're also heavy and slow. My 20 year old boat anchor of a low-end hardtail mountain bike is far nicer to ride than a Citibike.

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