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by tenacious_tuna 105 days ago
> I have never seen one of these ridiculous looking bikes in any city or anywhere. > > Where do y'all live, a Dr. Suess book?

I saw them every day in Chicago. I see them every day in southern Ontario. I saw them whenever I visited Boston or NYC. Where do you live that you don't?

> I will not bike them in the rain, With soggy bags and squishy pain.

> I will not bike them up the hill, When every pedal feels like drill.

> I will not bike them when it’s hot, With sweat that pours and cheese that rots.

Given that other commenters have addressed basically all of these concerns (waterproof bags, electric assist, insulated bags) it seems more like you just want to be contrarian rather than cite specific problems and discuss if they can be solved.

1 comments

I have an EV as well as an ICE truck. Powertrain is not a concern. It's the load a bike can carry vs a car overall. The bonus of having storage and rain cover is extra. Sure you can do a lite version but why?

I don't want to risk having an injury on a bike either. A car is much safer.

> Powertrain is not a concern. It's the load a bike can carry vs a car overall.

Sure, an automobile will pretty much always win out in raw capacity, but I'd argue it's a policy problem that makes us reliant on automobiles for day to day life. If people only needed a car for their weekly grocery trip but could bike to work or school or the doctor's office that would still significantly reduce our reliance on automobiles, with benefits in health and energy.

> I don't want to risk having an injury on a bike either. A car is much safer.

Also a reasonable concern, but again more of a policy problem: we prioritize cars over pretty much every other form of transportation to the detriment of everyone else in public spaces. If we had more protected walkways / bikeways then everyone would be safer.

In general I don't think we regulate the safe use of automobiles nearly as much as we ought to in the states. Leaving it as an individual concern makes it a race to the bottom, with everyone buying bigger and bigger cars in the name of safety, all other externalities be dammed.