This a bit surprising, but here is a quote from the latest (very small, London, England) study.

"The first study found that the lungs of bicycle commuters in London contain black carbon levels 2.3 times higher than pedestrian commuters. The report's abstract notes that inhalation of black carbon is associated with reduced lung function and heart disease."

The rest of the report is at https://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15417025,00.html

Fortunately most of mine is way off peak hours, and mostly on a bike trail.

I commute into NYC from Queens and I would say less than two miles of that is actually in manhattan and before 7am there is usually more, um.... breathing room.

Coming home in rush hour I would believe I suck a lot of tailpipe. Sometimes fumes on the bridge are noticeable.

During the coldest days when I wore my neoprene skimask I thought I could notice the mesh filtering some exhaust, but I could have imagined that.

I'm thinking in my case, after losing significant weight, and improving my cardio, I'm better off than if I didn't bike commute, health wise.

OK, wages are somewhat lower, but i'm just down wind from only Japan
on the other side of the Pacific. Fukushima's melt-down radiation not withstanding ..

I live in a bad air-quality area (central CA), the local 'air pollution control district' issues 'air alerts' on high pollution days (mainly during summer months/days). They say to not use your vehicle, but also not to do any outside strenuous exercise ... so where does that leave the bicycle commuter? I think that leaves him sucking bad quality air. Like was mentioned above, I'm probably better off for commuting by bicycle for the health benefits, regardless of the black-lung that I'm nurturing.

Did they also study car commuters? Car airconditioning systems have been known to concentrate pollutants rather than "filter" them out. Also, if all those bike commuters were to buy cars (which presumably they would need since they dont live in walking distance of work) then even the pedestrians would have increased black crap in their lungs.... stupid study.

Living can be hazardous to your health ...

A number of things to bear in mind here. First, London has an acknowledged problem with air quality, much worse than that of most European capitals. There has been a lot of criticism lately about the failure of the city authorities to take any effective measures. Second, this study looked at only ten individuals. Third, a study a few years ago indicated that the unhealthiest place to be, in terms of exposure to carbon particularates, was the back of a London taxi - presumably because these vehicles are out in the pollution all the time and there is a build-up of the particularates in the relatively static air in the cab. these things aren't straightforward.

Finally, the most encouraging features of the second paper cited in the linked article is the discovery that drinkers are less likely to get asthma. Mine's a red wine, thanks...

Would pollution masks help ease this any? https://www.amazon.com/Neoprene-Carbo...7116350&sr=8-1

Not to mention thoroughly misleading comment headlines. ;-)

All that the study shows is that bike commuting in Europe's most polluted city may have adverse health effects on your lungs, based on a statistically insignificant study group. I have a suspicion that a bike commuter in an average city with average levels of air pollution would find a net benefit to their activity.

I check pollution levels on NOAA daily and accordingly wear a mask quite often in summer. I also reduce my commute considerably on very bad air quality days.

Have to find the study but it would appear that sitting inside the car is far worse for you than than standing beside it and the benefits of cycling and walking far outweigh the health risks.

The inside of a car is a toxic environment as besides concentrating pollutants the materials inside the car out gas chemicals.

I would like to see that study. Most bike commuters use bikes as an alternative to driving, not walking. When I lived within walking distance to work, I did walk, but if were to do that now, more than half my waking, non-working hours would be spent on my commute.

Also, a key part of the article in question:
It's reasonable to assume that more pollutants is worse than less pollutants, but then there's the question of fitness. If more pollutants are breathed in because of more exercise, then it's very difficult to say which activity is healthier based on that one datapoint. This is an interesting study, but it provides nothing to base decisions on.

Ironically, people seem to enjoy that "new car smell."
Ever wonder what creates this odor?
There is plenty of information on this, but I could only find one study from 1995.

But when discussing air quality and respiratory health of car vs. bike commuting, "new car smell" isn't going to be a huge factor given that most people are not driving a new car, and exposure decreases the longer you drive.

Also that study also fails to link actual health concerns to the involved chemicals at the measured levels. It just said we should be "concerned."

Problem: Bike commuter inhale more soot.

Solution: Reduce or get rid of the cars

I think it's neat how they talk about how commuting with a bicycle can be harmful in the first half of the article, then the second half talks about Alcohol may reduce asthma. So the best thing to do is drink and drive more.

I think the solution is to drink more to offset the damage caused by biking.
Put some wine in that bottle cage and explain to the officer that it's medicinal.

My father used to drive a 1996 Ford Tarus with a heavy dose of the new car smell. It made me nasious and dizzy as soon as I got inside. Soon my eyes would start to sting and then inevitably within an hour of beign a passenger in this car I would throw up. After several family trips like this he gave up and bought a new car, being mindfull to avoid the "new car" smell.

I hear many couches have simular problems with chemical odors, if not worse.

I remember seeing something similar.

As for the study cited by the OP:

1. It measures more black carbon than walking, but it doesn't speak to whether either level (of either cyclists or pedestrians) is harmful. It's possible that neither level comes close to the level required to measure adverse health effects.

2. As noted, it's between cyclists and pedestrians. We don't know the level of pollutants that other commuters like drivers or transit users are exposed to.

3. It doesn't attempt to balance the possible negative health consequences with the health advantages of cycling, which are numerous. I'd be shocked if any possible lung damage wasn't far more than offset by the health benefits of regular exercise, but obviously this is something that warrants further study.

4. It was an incredibly small study of only a few handful of individuals that made no apparent effort to distinguish between the different types of routes taken by cyclist/pedestrian commuters, length of commute, time of day, etc. Most walking commuters that I know tend to live VERY close to work (0 - 1 1/2 mile, 10-15 min walk or so), while bike commuters may travel much farther and for much larger time.

The basic conclusion of the study--that when you're huffing and puffing in traffic, you're inhaling more exhaust than someone walking and breathing less deeply--is pretty self-apparent. But until someone can show that there are serious health consequences that outweigh the benefits of cycling, I'm not going to worry myself over it.

I live in Alexandria and have commuted to DC for nearly 10 years now. In addition, I used to live right across from the coal-burning, Mirant power plant and still pass right by it or, in very close proximity to it, every day. A few years ago I was unknowingly exposed to black mold in my apartment. The docs. had me do a bunch of tests and one was a cardio performance exam. I passed that-functioning at 100% or better, in every measurable category. In addition, I've had few colds/flu's, other illnesses-going for nearly 6 years without any. In my experience, the improved health of riding nearly every day, in all weather conditions, is a huge part of my overall fitness and health. I think the advantages of riding, even with the exposure to increased car exhaust, etc far outweigh the risks.

Just the fact that your alive,damages your lungs......Sorry,I refuse to wear a respirator while riding......How much did this study cost? How many doctors does it take to figure this out? Sometimes I really wonder if we ARE smarter than 5th graders......

No matter, cycling in the pollution will lead to less heart disease and lung disease than sitting my (what was and would be again) fat a$$ in a car and driving. I'll take the expodentially lesser of the two evils, thanks.

you can say ass on BF. It's against the rules to change the spelling of an obscenity because it defeats the automatic censor. Thanks


As far as the topic of the thread, I think that there have been recent studies that also found this, but found that car occupants see even worse exposure. I'm not particularly worried about it.

Too late to worry. All aboard on the ship of fools.

Have been to the emergency room a few times over the past several years and have always ridden myself in (allergic reactions)... nurses have always been a little concerned at my vital signs as I should have been more stressed and the first physical I had with my new physician worried him enough to ask if I had a heart condition until I told him I was riding as much as 16,000 km a year.

Funniest incident was during a work physical where they had me running on a treadmill in what was a pretty vigorous test... nurse was astonished at my cardio and said I tested as well as some of the professional hockey players she tested.

I had to apologize for the poor results as I told her I rarely ran this intensively, was just getting over a cold, and was also a smoker at the time.

Something I really like is having a neti pot and use it daily to flush my sinuses and keep them moist... you do breathe in a lot of dust when you are riding and the saline rinse kills germs that might cause colds... something I have not had in over ten years.

getting a little off topic, but what do you use for in the rinse? Just salt?