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by Vinnl 988 days ago
Then again, the only reason that that's particularly dangerous is because of the car. Such behaviour in front of a bike, for example, would ve annoying but not really dangerous.
2 comments

It would be more dangerous for the cyclist.
When a pedestrian and a cyclist collide, it would be more dangerous for the cyclist indeed, I think.

But it would be less dangerous for the cyclist, than it would be for a pedestrian to collide with a car.

And of course, in the former case, it's the person who chose the riskier mode of transport who assumes the risk.

bike brakes are usually pretty terrible though
Maybe yours but not most people I know who use their bike frequently. Maintaining a bike is cheaper and easier than maintaining a car.
> Maintaining a bike is cheaper and easier than maintaining a car

also debatable

I changed the brake pads of my car two years ago, for 50 euros.

They are still perfectly functional (according to my mechanic opinion).

Admittedly I drive ~200kms a month, but nonetheless maintenance, at least for me, is really cheap.

Nonsense. How much do you think bike parts cost? Basic pads for a bike are about $10-15, depending on rim or disc brakes. With most rim brakes you only an allen key. Most cars need a tool to depress the piston, not to mention you have to lift the car and remove, remove lugs, etc. Compared to a disc bike, you can compress the caliper using only a tire lever, and most bikes have quick release hubs or worst case 2 nuts to remove per wheel.
> Basic pads for a bike are about $10-15,

same for cars (retail price on Amazon for consumers, it's cheaper if you buy them as a professional).

https://www.amazon.it/BREMBO-23-160-Pastiglia-Freno/dp/B01LW...

> Most cars need a tool to depress the piston, not to mention you have to lift the car and remove

mechanics do it for 50 euros here.

And I can change my brake pads, everybody could do it, it's just that people are unaware of how easy it is.

They mostly are unaware of how easy it is to change brakes on a bike too, that's why bike shops make more money than car shops compared to the amount of work required.

Plus one on the huge gulf between how easy the job actually is and how hard people think it is.

I’ve shown about 5 friends how to do it. I don’t think any have continued to DIY additional work, but I tried and at least they know a bit more about their car now.

maybe the average European bike, which is like this one [1], but much older.

Maybe you shouldn't assume your friends represent a representative sample.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle#/media/File:Left_side_...

> Maintaining a bike is cheaper and easier than maintaining a car.

but very few do it, given that they are not forced to keep it functional, unlike here, where I live, where your car has to pass a state mandated safety inspection every 2 years.

If you're gonna complain about my data sources, can you tell me where you are getting yours?
of course: this is the largest bike parking in the Netherlands (6,000 bikes) [1]

You can see by yourself the kind of the average bike and its maintenance state

notice: I deliberately chose the Netherlands because it's the country with the most bikes, the best infrastructures for bikes and with the best kept bikes, so Imagine that 90% of the bikes in Europe are in much worse shape that those you can see in the picture.

[1] https://www.planetizen.com/files/styles/featured_large/publi...

I've biked all my life (never had a car) and I can always brake better than any car at any speed.
that's impossible, unless you ride at 3 km/h

BTW if you never had a car, how can you tell?

does your bike has ABS?