Bike bloat.
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Bike bloat. Unlike car bloat, it's a good thing. Bigger bikes with wide handlebars and child seats and shopping baskets and cargo trailers and people carriers. Safe, functional everyday transport. Better, quicker, nicer, quieter, healthier and more likely to make you smile and say ‘whee!’ going downhill than a car.
One downside: bike rack design is lagging behind. Bike park engineers still design racks with narrow spaces as if we’re all just sporting around for fun on slim racer bikes.
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Bike bloat. Unlike car bloat, it's a good thing. Bigger bikes with wide handlebars and child seats and shopping baskets and cargo trailers and people carriers. Safe, functional everyday transport. Better, quicker, nicer, quieter, healthier and more likely to make you smile and say ‘whee!’ going downhill than a car.
One downside: bike rack design is lagging behind. Bike park engineers still design racks with narrow spaces as if we’re all just sporting around for fun on slim racer bikes.
For the third time recently, I got oil on my clothes while untangling my bike from neighbouring e-bikes at a bike rack. The racks are too narrow for modern bikes, so some aren't secured in the wheel clamp. Wind knocks them over. Heavy e-bikes are quick to smear oil as you battle them apart from odd angles. 1st time, it took many washes to get the oil out of a dress. 2nd time, it cost me a dry-cleaning bill. 3rd time, I'm moaning to you about it. And begging engineers to design for modern bikes.
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For the third time recently, I got oil on my clothes while untangling my bike from neighbouring e-bikes at a bike rack. The racks are too narrow for modern bikes, so some aren't secured in the wheel clamp. Wind knocks them over. Heavy e-bikes are quick to smear oil as you battle them apart from odd angles. 1st time, it took many washes to get the oil out of a dress. 2nd time, it cost me a dry-cleaning bill. 3rd time, I'm moaning to you about it. And begging engineers to design for modern bikes.
My own bike is acoustic. And has a chainguard. So it doesn't smear oil. But like many modern city bikes, it has wide handlebars and a big basket. So it's not just e-bikes that don't fit in bike racks. It's not the fault of the e-bike owners that they can't fix their bikes securely so they remain upright in wind. I struggle with the weight of some of the e-bikes, though. Bad bike racks create an accessibility issue if your bike gets stuck under an e-bike that is too heavy for you to lift up.
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My own bike is acoustic. And has a chainguard. So it doesn't smear oil. But like many modern city bikes, it has wide handlebars and a big basket. So it's not just e-bikes that don't fit in bike racks. It's not the fault of the e-bike owners that they can't fix their bikes securely so they remain upright in wind. I struggle with the weight of some of the e-bikes, though. Bad bike racks create an accessibility issue if your bike gets stuck under an e-bike that is too heavy for you to lift up.
Cargo bike parking - great to see that designated wide spaces are now included when the council installs new public bike racks in the city.
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One year ago, the council invited us to tell them 'what's crap and what's great' about cycling in the city. It was a user-friendly survey with intuitive maps where you could pinpoint, say, a good bike park or a too-narrow cycleway. I think they listened, because they're installing great new stuff now. Two-way bike lanes to save time crossing a main road. Cargo bike parking. Wider bike lanes with room for modern bikes and safe overtaking. Park & Ride bike shelters at bus stops.
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J jeppe@uddannelse.social shared this topic
J jwcph@helvede.net shared this topic
