Originally Posted by
SB739
My ideal bike is a commuter. Tern do some really nice machines in the 'car replacement' category of electric utility machine. One big issue I'd have with the carrying people on the back, is convincing them to want to do it. Many of them would be affronted to be seen on one - sadly. But these people also think one is crazy to choose a bike to commute over cars. I'd imagine many of you, outside of your cycling circles, might have the same barrier.
Hard to justify along with a car and other expenses for those on a modest income. I for one don't like having things I don't regularly use of any value but an eBike, I think I'd need to be commuting at least to work every day of the week and then some.
My commute will replace the car hopefully as soon as next week... 3.5 miles one way, 3.5 miles back. Hardly a tour but choosing that and not a warm comfortably Lexus, even on a cold blue-sky British summer morning will still take a tonne of willpower. Hoping it I manage this, the endorphins will make the rest of the commitment in other seasons come a bit easier. Only then can I think about a stunning utility commuter and getting rid of the car altogether.
Are you in Belfast? How common are bike commuters there? Here in NYC, I think more than 1% of commuting trips are by bike. That sounds tiny, but cyclists are very visible compared with the millions who travel on the underground subway trains. Cycling has become more common here in recent years. It is so common that seeing someone wearing or carrying a helmet while NOT on a bike no longer turns heads. I can go wherever I go carrying a helmet, and this tells people how I arrived, and no one raises an eyebrow anymore. That's a change.
So if you become a bike commuter, you will be among the people who cause this change of attitude. I think if you stick with it long enough, you will see the change I've seen.
The weather can be a hindrance, but it's also possible to build techniques for dealing with it as well as for building a tolerance to it. We also have a pretty bad climate here. Winter is cold-ish and wet and windy. Sometimes we get snow and ice but less frequently now that the climate has changed. I ride all through the winter. I don't ride every day, but I ride every month and at least one day a week for all but one or two weeks. Here, the coldest week is usually the third week in January, and I might skip riding that week.
I keep track of what clothing works in which kinds of conditions so that am prepared for most kinds of weather.