@pthane my first bike had a Sturmey Archer 3-gear too! it was not built for the hill my parents lived on but was great on the more-or-less flat. my next bike was a 12-gear and i could get up that hill in first if i stood on the pedals and (ahem) tacked up the very steepest bit

@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

@gbargoud your intuition is spot-on

@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

@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!!

@dplattsf oh no, that's awful!

@libewa i mean, velomobiles (bikes with streamlined shells) do better, but those aren't available to most of us

@SnoopJ @Daveography cheers.

@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.

@JerodLycett i should have picked #CycleMaxxing 🫣

@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.

@pthane by e-scooters here i'm referring to these (with battery) rather than these

@hamishb agreed. i've even wondered about getting my next bike with shocks because of all the potholes and utility cuts

@Canageek it's not a case of either or. we can have both and.

@losttourist yup. if people would wear full face helmets on e-scooters that would eliminate a hefty fraction of the injury burden. bike helmets are designed differently, afaik more for the typical ways in which cyclists fall off. when i rode an e-scooter briefly i even wore wrist elbow and knee guards too.

@catzilla @PapyrusBrigade great points, both!

i've even had a periods of my life where my little kickscooter (with 20cm diameter wheels) was a mobility aid. toe problem on one foot, that got put on the deck, i whizzed around pretty nimbly. but it wasn't an *approved* mobility aid so no use allowed inside medical clinics

@Cassandra @catzilla iirc they're banned in winter months when the temperature gradient between inside and outside the TTC vehicle is harder on battery stability. less risky in summer.

@PapyrusBrigade agreed, tighter e-bike battery safety regulations are sorely needed - so says the Toronto Fire Chief

@Cassandra i've asked our Condo Board to seek advice on this, at the AGM. there's also a (larger) fire risk for electric cars, of course, but their components like batteries are considerably more tightly regulated.

@lasagne 60km/h sounds terrifying on one of those things! i've ridden one at barely 25km/h and that's scary enough for me