Living Car Free - How Will We Ride Once the Oil is Gone?

The oil supply thread got me thinking. How will cyclist continue to ride once the oil is gone? How much of our gear is produced using the demon liquid :rolleyes:? Tyres, most likely any of that fancy technical gear that is popular now and plenty of other things we never think about. What are your thoughts on OUR future without oil?

did not tires used to be made out of actual rubber from like Brazil.? My wife would probably prefer the return of the horse, over even the bike culture. HOw about the return of the tall sailing ships. Sounds eloquent.

You can make plastic out of plant materials. Petroleum is just much cheaper.

veggie grease packed bearings, teflon lube,

The rubber used in tires are mostly made from plants.
Tires also use cloth, & thin metal wire.

How much of our gear is produced using the demon liquid :rolleyes:? Tyres, most likely any of that fancy technical gear that is popular now and plenty of other things we never think about.

You forgot to mention the roads. Not that we gotta ride on asphalt, but the roadies of the world aren't going to be happy on loose crushed gravel or plain dirt.

Wait a moment. The world is not going to run out of oil. We will have to make do with less, however. There will be plenty of resources left for bikes. Per vehicle, bikes use only a minute fraction of the resources consumed by a car.

Stop panicking.

Wait a moment. The world is not going to run out of oil. We will have to make do with less, however. There will be plenty of resources left for bikes. Per vehicle, bikes use only a minute fraction of the resources consumed by a car.

Stop panicking.
Oh c'mon you know everyone is going to just buy bigger and bigger vehicles that are less and less fuel efficient, not to mention more and more people buying vehicles, and keep driving them till the very last drop drips from the very last well :eek:
When that happens the bigger question is not how will we get where we need to go it is where the heck is there going to be to go?
j/k

Without driving, flying and riding a bike, there's always the ability of mankind to walk. The downside, it will take you longer to get to your destination.

Without driving, flying and riding a bike, there's always the ability of mankind to walk.

Now that's just crazy talk right there. ;)

Saying stuff like that is MORE than enough to get you committed to the looney bin.

(Wait.... they don't call them looney bins anymore... I meant 'Mental Health Hospital')

How will I ride when the oil runs out? I don't think it's relevant because we aren't going to run out in any of our lifetimes. We've got a helluva lot of it; so does Canada, so does the middle east. It's not a question of when we run out, its a question of when it gets prohibitively expensive to the average consumer, which is far more likely than running out.

did not tires used to be made out of actual rubber from like Brazil.? My wife would probably prefer the return of the horse, over even the bike culture. HOw about the return of the tall sailing ships. Sounds eloquent.

The horse culture was a far worse environmental curse than the automobile.

The entire surface of new york city was covered in horse manure and they were constantly dragging dead horses through the city

The automobile was known as an environmental savior of the day even though gas was initially even more expensive than it is today.

Saying stuff like that is MORE than enough to get you committed to the looney bin.

(Wait.... they don't call them looney bins anymore... I meant 'Mental Health Hospital')

For someone who does not believe there's an end to all (natural) resources, I agree, he should check into the looney bin house AKA 'Mental Health Hospital'.

We won't, because we'll all be deader'n a doornail.

Rather post the question as when does transportation fuel become scarce enough to make driving
vehicles unlikely.

5.00 gal - longer trips get canceled
10.00 gal - medium length trips get canceled
higher prices - most trips canceled, alternative transportation no longer optional, fuel
rationing perhaps 10 gals per drivers license per month, only emegency services have
larger supplies. Truck drivers out of business due to lack of fuel. Remaining vehicles
and not many of them converted to high mileage fuel vehicles or electric. In any case
longer trips no longer an option.

Given the design of autos w/ relatively low fuel consumption, I'm guessing we would need to see ~$30/gal before it becomes financially unpossible. That being said, we won't see these overnight. Fleet mileage will increase w/ gas prices such that people on average pay the same as they did with gas at a lower price in order to maximize profitability.

If oil prices get too prohibitive, you can bet they'll come up with alternatives. More of an emphasis on mass transit...not to mention the items below :D


Nuclear energy and electric trains
Fuel Cell cars
Diesel reserved for military and transportation with hybrid tech being used for trucks (Kenworth already has a Hybrid Truck, for example, medium duty, but the tech is quite sufficient to power a heavy truck). The Class 8 Road tractors will be offered in a Hybrid Config in 2009 with a 30% increase in fuel mileage ;) this would mean around 15 MPG for an 80,000 pound Tractor Trailer rather than about 11 MPG. http://www.kenworth.com/6100_pre_mor.asp?file=2207

If oil prices get too prohibitive, you can bet they'll come up with alternatives. More of an emphasis on mass transit...not to mention the items below :D


Nuclear energy and electric trains
Fuel Cell cars
Diesel reserved for military and transportation with hybrid tech being used for trucks (Kenworth already has a Hybrid Truck, for example, medium duty, but the tech is quite sufficient to power a heavy truck). The Class 8 Road tractors will be offered in a Hybrid Config in 2009 with a 30% increase in fuel mileage ;) this would mean around 15 MPG for an 80,000 pound Tractor Trailer rather than about 11 MPG. http://www.kenworth.com/6100_pre_mor.asp?file=2207

Fuel cells and hybrids still need an original energy source.

You forgot to mention the roads. Not that we gotta ride on asphalt, but the roadies of the world aren't going to be happy on loose crushed gravel or plain dirt.

Romans built roads that lasted for centuries with no oil:D;)

Aaron:)

Petroleum also powers aircraft, trains, ships, and electricity generating plants. IF we run out, a lot more is going to change on this earth than worrying about bicycle tires and asphalt roads. I also believe more alternatives will become a lot more prevalent long before we "run out."
Until then, I'll just keep enjoying riding and not worry about it too much.

i'm stockin' up on tyres and tubes. i will corner the market and all yall dudes are gonna have to come to me. i will be the OPEC of the bike world!!!!!!! you will pay what i say or else!!!! i will rule!!!!!!!:beer::lol::beer::lol::roflmao:

Pshaw! We will NEVER run out of oil ever!

The last few barrels of oil will be too expensive to recover!:D

The horse culture was a far worse environmental curse than the automobile.

The entire surface of new york city was covered in horse manure and they were constantly dragging dead horses through the city

The automobile was known as an environmental savior of the day even though gas was initially even more expensive than it is today.

only posted because she is a horse lover. As for me, I prefer to propel myself under my own power.

The oil supply thread got me thinking. How will cyclist continue to ride once the oil is gone? How much of our gear is produced using the demon liquid :rolleyes:? Tyres, most likely any of that fancy technical gear that is popular now and plenty of other things we never think about. What are your thoughts on OUR future without oil?


If you don't find a replacement for oil, it might be too dangerous to ride a bicycle. After all, human powered machines will be at a premium and in high demand. People will knock you off your bike just to get to work.

The horse culture was a far worse environmental curse than the automobile.

The entire surface of new york city was covered in horse manure and they were constantly dragging dead horses through the city

The automobile was known as an environmental savior of the day even though gas was initially even more expensive than it is today.

I've seen many pictures of New York City and they were not covered in horse manure. In fact, the sidewalks were white!

I've seen many pictures of New York City and they were not covered in horse manure. In fact, the sidewalks were white!

Cities did struggle to cope with horse poop. I can imagine on rainy days a lot of it would turn to slime covering the streets, as opposed to when the weather was dry and street cleaners would scoop it up before it became a problem. In the New York of the future, draft horses will all wear poop catchers and the stuff will be like gold for gardeners.

I doubt if horses will ever again be a big part of the urban transport mix. But if they are, I imagine we'll do what they used to--scoop it up and haul it away to sell to truck farmers just outside the city. Remember, as recently as the 1940s, most of New York City's food was grown in New Jersey. (That's why they call Jersey "the Garden State.") Now most of NYC's food comes from Iowa, California, Mexico and overseas. That was definitely a step in the wrong direction!

I wish we would run out of oil tomorrow. Global warming is a far bigger threat to the modern economy than peak oil is.