everyone should realize that e-scooters are a physically risky form of transport, especially when driven above about 20km/h.
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@dplattsf we have tram tracks on a number of major arterials in Toronto too. i once got my bike wheel caught in a track on a rainy day and - by the grace of god or whoever - there wasn't a car to run me over from behind when i splatted. i got up very quickly but the outcome could have been so much worse!!
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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
Bikes are a rounding error on pretty much every budget when compared to the money put into car infrastructure.
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everyone should realize that e-scooters are a physically risky form of transport, especially when driven above about 20km/h. if you fall off, you're going to have facial trauma at a minimum. just ask my 50-something brother who got stuck with a big dental bill. ALWAYS wear a FULL FACE HELMET on these things - a bike helmet isn't enough. and NEVER EVER ride with MORE THAN ONE RIDER on board.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/e-scooters-pediatrician-survey-9.7305210
@adub@beige.party Honestly it makes me wonder where they live that the state of their streets doesn’t clearly preclude using them. Same for typical rollerblades (there are ones with larger-sized wheels intended for rough-terrain skating that are somewhat suitable).
We routinely have potholes larger than the wheels on those things.
(Even some of the smaller foldable bikes have wheels that can get hazardously small.)
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upshot: don't get your child an e-scooter, get them a bicycle instead.
an added bonus if you get a bicycle without a battery: you won't find the room where it's stored engulfed in flames in 90 seconds if it catches fire.
@adub Consideration: LFP batteries are okay. (This generally requires doing business with places making custom e-bikes & batteries, where one can specify the cell-type to use.)
It should however be regulated against to deploy Lithium-ion incendiary devices in environments that expect frequent disturbance, human interaction or to be in highly flammable environments (such as homes).
(Why yes this basically reserves them for industrial environments or ones with active fire control measures, indeed.) -
@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 @adub How are folding bicycles considered? -
@LunaDragofelis @adub How are folding bicycles considered?
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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 love the hashtag!
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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 It may be that more people than you think can cycle, if you're not already aware of You Can Bike Too. https://www.miltoncountrypark.org/ycbt
#Cambridge -
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 In our city riding a bicycle is like renting your lungs to all the air pollutants
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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 we should create save roads for bicycles and there would be many more people and kids who would use them - for most ppl I talked about cycling and everyday use it is not rain or snow that keeps them from using a bike.
It is the danger of other traffic, especially cars & trucks. This is also the most frequent cause of death of cyclists. -
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.
this is so much fun
when the bicycle was invented, there were probably 10 other things people tried - skateboards, etc, and the bicylce survived cause it is the only form that hits all the benefits you mention
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everyone should realize that e-scooters are a physically risky form of transport, especially when driven above about 20km/h. if you fall off, you're going to have facial trauma at a minimum. just ask my 50-something brother who got stuck with a big dental bill. ALWAYS wear a FULL FACE HELMET on these things - a bike helmet isn't enough. and NEVER EVER ride with MORE THAN ONE RIDER on board.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/e-scooters-pediatrician-survey-9.7305210
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everyone should realize that e-scooters are a physically risky form of transport, especially when driven above about 20km/h. if you fall off, you're going to have facial trauma at a minimum. just ask my 50-something brother who got stuck with a big dental bill. ALWAYS wear a FULL FACE HELMET on these things - a bike helmet isn't enough. and NEVER EVER ride with MORE THAN ONE RIDER on board.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/e-scooters-pediatrician-survey-9.7305210
The speed and wheel size makes me really nervous.
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@Wyatt_H_Knott yeah, it would be a mighty steep cognitive challenge for an 8yo to understand that risk correctly. i'll stick my neck out and call it a major parenting fail
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The speed and wheel size makes me really nervous.
@gbargoud your intuition is spot-on
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Take it from a professional physicist. (Note: physics is the branch of knowledge involved in road accident reconstruction.)
E-scooters are generally much less inherently stable than bicycles, especially at low to moderate speeds. A bicycle possesses several passive self-stabilizing mechanisms that scooters either lack or possess only weakly. As a result, scooters demand more active balance control from the rider and are less forgiving of bumps, steering errors, and surface irregularities.
@adub But the rider must be part of the equation. I feel like 50 years on skateboards help my command of scooters.
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@adub Mmm. My school bike, a reward for passing the 11+ and going to grammar school was a 'tourer' with Sturmey Archer 3 speed. It did improve in the VIth form when I got a recon 'racer' with 5 speed derailleur gear, but it was still too hard to be fun. I got a moped instead, then a mighty BSA Bantam.
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@adub But the rider must be part of the equation. I feel like 50 years on skateboards help my command of scooters.
@kawentzmann oh for sure, being secure on a skateboard helps a lot! i am not an experienced stakeboarder but i can ride a longboard and even that helps
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@kawentzmann oh for sure, being secure on a skateboard helps a lot! i am not an experienced stakeboarder but i can ride a longboard and even that helps
@adub Yes in fact, I count in longboards. I switched to longer decks myself in the 90s and currently have boards of various lengths.
