Greentext

Suppose that I decide to pack up the cat and everything I own and just disappear one day?

I can't do that with a bike.

One downside I haven't seen mentioned yet is the hassle of having to laboriously lock up your bike front and back, saddle bag, too, so some freaking degenerate won't steal anything that isn't secured. I've had my rear wheel stolen before (who even DOES that?) and am not looking for a repeat.

I love riding my bike and do most trips with it in the summer (shopping, appointments, gym, etc.)

But I envy motorists sometimes who just get out of their car, push the button on their key and everything's neatly locked up.

Distance. Carrying capacity Speed

Hills. If you live near hills bikes don't work too well at least not as transportation, they work more as exercise equipment then.

I've actually got an electric bike and it does solve the hills problem but then it has the it weighs as much as a baby elephant problem. So it's still a pain if you have to lug it on and off the train.

someone compared efficiency and long distance trains are more efficient, but that's it.

I use a bike to commute 6.5 km to work and it's not just a good time. I do have a dedicated bike/pedestrian paved path (with few pedestrians, just a lot of other bikes) which is nice.

But in rain it sucks. And in winter it sucks even harder with the cold, and snow and ice. I have studded tires but that adds to the suck as they make you slower. I always have to shower when I get to work. I deliver and pick up in kindergarten, and there is no place to lock the kid trailer, so it adds an extra km to pick up and dump of the trailer at home.

I still use a manual as it gives me some excercise, but an electric bike would solve many of the issues.

And I save money on parking and toll. And bc of traffic I use about the same time.

Nothings perfect

If only we had good bicycle infrastructure everywhere 😔

Anon missed the biggest sin of all:

Monetizable, but only at two or three orders of magnitude less than automobiles.

TL;DR: "He's cheating because he's not spending as much as I am."

They're cheaper in every conceivable way than cars, and that's why the worst people out there hate them. Once you see the systems in place to equate personal validity and social values with what wealth may be extracted, it's impossible to look back. Bikes are effectively a form of protest by way of scaling back one's economic interaction, because of this.

Can only be safely used in good weather.
Collisions will, in fact, fuck you up bad.
Limited cargo space.
Single occupancy.

Mostly true but I find the price is pretty high nowadays.

It is cool and all, but I don't wanna haul a crap load of tools on a bike

I love bikes, and don't own a car. But, this is misleading.

Bikes are terrible off road where there are no paths. They're decent if there's a well worn path, as long as there are no exposed roots or big rocks, but if the path isn't well maintained walking is probably better.

Where bikes excel is very flat surfaces. The modern world is filled with those. The problem is that in most places the assumption is that those flat surfaces belong to either cars or pedestrians. Theoretically, in many places, bikes are allowed in the same places as cars most of the time. But, if a biker shares the space with cars, it's just a matter of time before that biker collides with a car. When that happens, the person in the car won't be injured. The biker may be dead.

When a driver hits a car, normally the driver gets off easy. Even if there's evidence of malicious intent, it's almost never treated as manslaughter or even murder. If there's no evidence of malice, it's treated as an "oopsie daisy" and there's virtually no chance that the driver will spend any time in jail or prison.

Finally, bikes aren't treated as important property that the law should protect the way that cars are. Even in places like Amsterdam where biking is one of the most common ways to get around, the canals are filled with bikes that have been stolen and thrown in. If you steal a car and get caught, you're in serious trouble. If you steal a bike, the odds of getting caught are tiny, and if it happens it's not treated as a very serious issue.

Sure, laws can be changed. But, drivers tend to be older and richer. The older they are, the more dependent they are on their cars. So, they almost always manage to defeat any potential changes to the law.

Bikes do give you a lot of freedom, but in a world designed around cars first, it's not as much freedom as you get with a car. Maybe in 50 years it will be different. I hope so.

Have definitely seen bike traffic jams in London before, you get a lot more people through though!

I don't have a photo of a big one though ☹️

Cars can easily long distances in a short period of timeinn most weather conditions comfortably, allowing the freedom of movement even if it isn't done daily. It is a symbol of long distance freedom on weekends and holidays, not daily commuting.

Bikes are awesome. Bike infrastructure helps wheelchair users and pullcart users as well.