everyone should realize that e-scooters are a physically risky form of transport, especially when driven above about 20km/h.
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@Canageek @geonz @adub or put bike racks at bus stops?
More bus stops also means, more stopping, weaving in and out of traffic, generally a longer and less reliable bus connection. There is a case having a lot of bus stops, but people also value a connection that is reliable.
There will always be some kind of trade off, but saver connecting infrastruce is generally a win-win situation.
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@wsslmn @geonz @adub I mean, I also want to tax vehicles by weight (increasing at the scale of road damage, so by the square or mass^4 depending on who's numbers you believe), charge a fee for cars with only one person in them per km, and eventually ban private vehicle ownership all together.
(Which is also why I'm so down on bikes: I don't think they scale well to "the entire population" as to many people have medical conditions or are just out of shape, and to much of Canada gets icy roads.)
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@wsslmn @geonz @adub I mean, I also want to tax vehicles by weight (increasing at the scale of road damage, so by the square or mass^4 depending on who's numbers you believe), charge a fee for cars with only one person in them per km, and eventually ban private vehicle ownership all together.
(Which is also why I'm so down on bikes: I don't think they scale well to "the entire population" as to many people have medical conditions or are just out of shape, and to much of Canada gets icy roads.)
They won't and probably shouldn't scale to the entire population, but they do scale a whole lot better than private cars do! Plus they scale at a level that ends sprawl, which helps people who are unable to ride a bike or drive a vehicle as well.
All modes play a role, but walking (or rolling) should come first, and driving a private vehicle last. But that is a hell of a challenge at scale!
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They won't and probably shouldn't scale to the entire population, but they do scale a whole lot better than private cars do! Plus they scale at a level that ends sprawl, which helps people who are unable to ride a bike or drive a vehicle as well.
All modes play a role, but walking (or rolling) should come first, and driving a private vehicle last. But that is a hell of a challenge at scale!
@Canageek @geonz @adub Finland has got some insights on icy roads: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231220-why-oulu-finland-is-the-winter-cycling-capital-of-the-world
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bicycles have always struck physicists (e.g. me!) as almost miraculous. they are simultaneously:
• dynamically elegant,
• mechanically simple,
• energetically near-optimal, and
• extraordinarily cheap, as a conveyance.YES I DO LOVE BICYCLES. so should everyone, tbh.
with the added proviso that not everyone can ride a bicycle and that's OK. humanity will always need other transportation options. we just aren't anywhere close to bikemaxxing yet and we should be.
@adub Are there any configurations that can carry the advantages that escooters (and scooters) bring to a more bike-structured form that doesn't drop the benefits bikes get? (even if it takes a lower max speed than bikes)
- better ability to convert between multi-modal usage much better -- riding to walking to riding
- (related) portability/packageability, to carry onto mass transit or into a friend's car (don't know how wide of a feature this is for escooters -- it's a common reason I grab my plain-scooter over my bike) -
@marjolica @adub I tried again in my mid-thirties, just biking for kilometer between two buildings that I work at. After the third time I crashed the bike (into a thorn bush) I gave up and just have walked between them or taking the bus everyday since.
@Canageek @adub certainly no rule that biking will suit everyone. That's why we should work together on creating transport alternatives to cars that work for everyone, if not the same solution for everyone.
I'm must admit surprise that in the Netherlands and Copenhagen (been there) sit-up-and-beg bikes and in London hire bikes (Santander Bikes) work as well as they do when people don't dress to use them. Maybe the distances are less. I would pop down a mile or so to the butchers when I lived in London, but to bike to work (and now retired for leisure) I always wear cycling specific clothing, such as cycling shorts with inserts* and a helmet.
I was out biking yesterday, 31 miles in 21-30°C and with a light cycling specific top, it was pleasant and strictly not need for a shower after. I admit cycle commuting in the rain, even with good waterproof clothing, less so and I would sometimes catch the overground instead.* and a woman-specific saddle.
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bicycles have always struck physicists (e.g. me!) as almost miraculous. they are simultaneously:
• dynamically elegant,
• mechanically simple,
• energetically near-optimal, and
• extraordinarily cheap, as a conveyance.YES I DO LOVE BICYCLES. so should everyone, tbh.
with the added proviso that not everyone can ride a bicycle and that's OK. humanity will always need other transportation options. we just aren't anywhere close to bikemaxxing yet and we should be.
@adub I have a tricycle.
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@adub I'm frustrated by how much money we put into bikes. We could put that into decent transportation like a train or more buses! Things that don't involve showing up at work exhausted and sweaty and with horrible helmet hair, that don't become dangerous due to ice most of the year
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@Canageek @geonz @adub Finland has got some insights on icy roads: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231220-why-oulu-finland-is-the-winter-cycling-capital-of-the-world
@wsslmn @geonz @adub I've read articles about that before and they haven't ever addressed the issue with I've seen: freezing and refreezing. You plow perfectly and move the snow off the path. Then it warms up over the day, melting that snow and forming a lake in the path. It them freezes overnight and you've got a very smooth ice sheet.
This is why when I was biking between the two buildings at my university I stop after the first snowfall, that would happen all fall and most of the winter
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@wsslmn @geonz @adub I mean, I also want to tax vehicles by weight (increasing at the scale of road damage, so by the square or mass^4 depending on who's numbers you believe), charge a fee for cars with only one person in them per km, and eventually ban private vehicle ownership all together.
(Which is also why I'm so down on bikes: I don't think they scale well to "the entire population" as to many people have medical conditions or are just out of shape, and to much of Canada gets icy roads.)
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@catzilla @PapyrusBrigade @adub
That's why someone invented walking bikes for seniors.
https://www.sollso.com/ -
@catzilla @PapyrusBrigade @adub
That's why someone invented walking bikes for seniors.
https://www.sollso.com/@benbun That's brilliant!
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@wsslmn @geonz @adub I've read articles about that before and they haven't ever addressed the issue with I've seen: freezing and refreezing. You plow perfectly and move the snow off the path. Then it warms up over the day, melting that snow and forming a lake in the path. It them freezes overnight and you've got a very smooth ice sheet.
This is why when I was biking between the two buildings at my university I stop after the first snowfall, that would happen all fall and most of the winter
@Canageek @geonz @adub That surface would make any way of moving around dangerous and unpredictable. Studded tires could play a role, I once met some Norwegians who cross a frozen lake on mountainbikes with studded tires in winter, making commutes faster in winter. That sounded quite fun
edit: I know most people wouldn't go that far or even think about this. I think it is fun, but there are some real risks here.
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@Robotistry
Sorta snap, except being on a bicycle seems to not count as sitting for my chronic hip pain. Driving can be excruciating on a bad day, cycling has always been fine so far. The pedal assist is almost always on max though.
@catzilla @PapyrusBrigade @adub -
@adub Are there any configurations that can carry the advantages that escooters (and scooters) bring to a more bike-structured form that doesn't drop the benefits bikes get? (even if it takes a lower max speed than bikes)
- better ability to convert between multi-modal usage much better -- riding to walking to riding
- (related) portability/packageability, to carry onto mass transit or into a friend's car (don't know how wide of a feature this is for escooters -- it's a common reason I grab my plain-scooter over my bike)@gaditb like a kick scooter? my Razr folds nicely, has 20cm diameter wheels, and is great for the last 2-3km or so of a trip.
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@adub I have a tricycle.
@JerodLycett i should have picked #CycleMaxxing 🫣
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@adub I'm a fan of (unmotorized) kick scooters too. It's easier to trip on them than on a bike, but as you're already in a standing position you'll often be able to run the momentum off or just scrape the knee when falling, versus falling much farther and in a less advantageous position on a bicycle.
Also here in Germany, kick scooters count as free hand luggage on most buses and trains, whereas bicycles have restrictions during rush hour and require a whole second ticket just for the bike. And e-scooters have been banned completely by many local transit operators because a few shit-quality ones went up in flames and there's apparently no reliable safety certification system to allow specifically safe quality scooters.@LunaDragofelis i'm a big fan of my Razr kickscooter. it folds easily, has 20cm diameter wheels which go over tram tracks, and it's really nimble. a great little conveyance for all the reasons you mention. i wear a skateboarding helmet when i ride. great for up to 3km rides, for me. i haven't tried longer trips.
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@adub @Daveography the stability of a bicycle is an impressively rich study in dynamics. You can even take away trail and have a stable "bicycle", as in Koojiman et al. (2011) which is also an excellent review of the mechanics in detail (rather than the hand-wavy claims that tend to dominate the subject)
http://ruina.tam.cornell.edu/research/topics/bicycle_mechanics/stablebicycle/
The less-pithy version is: there are zones of stability and instability based on a lot of factors like most complex dynamical systems, and the bicycles we're familiar with just happen to have great big zones of stability, a combination of evolving design and plain old good luck.
@SnoopJ @Daveography cheers.
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