wolfchild

That's what bigger wider tires are for.

DiegoFrogs

I decided a long time ago never to ride anything smaller than 28 mm in width. Here I've been riding some nice Schwalbe Spicer tires in 35 mm nominally, which measure 32 mm.

I'm going to have to experiment with tires a bit. As it is, I can ride on the cobblestones, just not terribly fast. Just as well, probably, because of all the people on foot!

acidfast7

I know what you mean, this is out of the window from my flat in CPH, and it's all cobbles!

TransitBiker

Do they allow folders onboard? I'd never buy one, but perhaps to address the rack issue you could get some kinda tax break for purchasing a folder & have employer vouch for its use. This way people who can work with a folding bike can do that & people who would rather not might have better luck with rack availability?

- Andy

linus

Not by much. I bike to work even though I live on Yonge St. because of our unreliable transit system. And I can't accept the fact that some of the TTC ticket collectors gets $100k per year.

Out of all the countries that I've been to, Toronto had the worst transit system by far.

Do you know that the bus bike racks don't fit 29er?

wolfchild

Every person has their own opinion about our transit system. Some like it and some don't. I know it's not perfect , it needs improvement. Here in Mississauga where I live, things are better then they were 20 years ago. It's a very slow process but as long as it keeps improving , that's all that matters...I've never tried putting a 29'er with big tires in a bike rack so I don't know. I do see hybrids and road bikes with 700cc wheels fit ok.

wolfchild

Nice idea... The problem is that majority of people have not yet embraced bikes as their daily form of transportation. It doesn't matter if you give them tax breaks, or build more bikes lanes. For a few years bikes were exempt from sales tax and I didn't notice any huge increase in bike commuting. Motorized transportation is the King. The mentality of the people has to change and they need to realize that bikes are more then just toys or sporting equipment.

TransitBiker

You've never ridden SEPTA, then. It sets the bar for crap. The most frustrating thing is they seem to do self-defeating things like cut service vs attempt to increase rider numbers. Ever since we had a tea party republican as governor, it's been tooth and nail fight just to keep some service. If we had a GO/TTC/HSR level of service here, it would be a VAST improvement.

As for 29 inch wheels, the racks are not dependent on wheel size as far as i've seen & fit my old cruiser with room to spare. Where are you getting this info from?

- Andy

anon06

Yeah; I think it's cultural, more than weather-related. I've noticed that, despite having colder weather with rain or snow, people are more outdoorsy in the west, in places like Colorado and Oregon; whereas in the south, where it's warmer, people aren't into exercising outdoors much.

Perhaps, the west's history of settlers and farming continues to influence the culture, today, or the mountains and landscape beckons to people, making them want to be outdoors.

sci_femme

60%. So?

2008 mess dumped scores of woefully unprepared cyclists riding woefully incompetent machines onto the streets. You have all seen him, and heard his chain from three blocks away. That bunch will go straight back to their vehicles as soon as economy improves just a smidgen.
This forum can bounce the topic around for another three pages, but we commute for various reasons besides economic, may be least of all economic (couple months ago there was a thread about what we do for a living and most of the posters hold exciting jobs with appropriate earning potential).
The meaningful change will be brought by today's teenagers and young adults. Many are delaying drivers' licenses (my 16 yo is one of them, and his sprocket-head friends too), they are less obsessive-compulsive about grooming and dress code, they are learning to carry less stuff, they can fix their transportation themselves. They are super-connected while at the same time taking individualism to the whole new level. They rather ride than take public transportation, they are recalibrating their lives' expectations, they are searching for freedom in unexpected places.

And I agree with Acid's 3-cent analogy.

hyhuu

I take that you have never lived in the South.

alan s 

Not sure how this stuff is measured, but if someone sits by the MUP around here on a nice day, with no rain predicted in the afternoon, you'll get many more bike commuters than any other day. Still pretty much only the hardcore in cold or wet weather. If this 60% increase is based on self-reporting, I'd question the numbers. Bike commuting will never be more than a blip on the screen, because you can't get around the fact that most people would only consider it as an option if there was absolutely nothing else available. I'm happy with that, and hope bike commuting never catches on.

kookaburra1701

Personally, I think it has to do with Scandinavians. Everywhere I've lived where there's been a significant Scandinavian influence people just seem to not give a rat's patootie about the weather. I mean, they'll comment on it if it's particularly inclement, but they don't alter their planned activities for the day.

cyccommute 

I hate to have to do this but: I agree. Even the "less than 1% if all commuters" is deceiving. It's 0.6% which can be rounded to 1% but probably shouldn't be. And when you consider that the same report said that 2.9% of commuters walk to work, the number are even more abysmal.

On the bright side, the metrics used have changed over past reports I've seen. This comes from the press release

Past reports have been based on as little as a single bicycle commute per year being classified as a "bicycle commuter".

cyccommute 

I've never lived in the south but I have bicycle toured there extensively. Humidity can be dealt with. A Camelbak packed with ice does wonders.

acidfast7

What I've seen from European data is that walkers often change to cyclists. Meaning that the new cyclists should have lost walkers subtracted from the "increase."

Statistics are the devil.

TransitBiker

Me..
If it's really sunny: Woah, so bright out today!
Pouring rain: Lil damp out there today!
Below zero fahrenheit: Bit nippy out there today!
Dumping snow: Oh man, it is so pretty outside!



- Andy

alan s 

You could be on to something. I'm of Scandanavian descent, with earlier generations coming from Minnesota, and am very tolerant of all weather, except for sleeping in hot, humid weather, which takes a few days to adjust to. My body seems to have an internal heat engine on those cold days, and frigid temperatures don't affect me (not that it gets all that cold here). OTOH, could just be that I like the outdoors.

acidfast7

Scandinavians tend not to complain about anything or really celebrate anything unless it's extraordinarily good/poor.

Law of Jante - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

50voltphantom

That explains a lot.

DiegoFrogs

I was warned by all of my colleagues when I moved here that I mustn't speak to anyone on the bus, lest I be considered "very weird." That's turned out to be true, where even calm comments about weather (a normal "ice breaker" in the U.S.A.) have been handled with eye deflection. A common phrase here is that there's no bad weather, just bad dressing, or some such.

I think the economic factor is a large contributor here, too. I had a car in the U.S., which I bought new in 2006, but I'm not sure I could afford to own one here in Sweden. My salary here is only about 55% of what it was in California, and a cheap beer at a sports bar here will set you back about $9 (but this is the most extreme example of the difference, besides perhaps Levi's jeans).

alan s 

Maybe in Sweden, but how exactly would one dress for a hurricane?

acidfast7

If this is a serious question. No reasonable person should be without a full Gore-tex setup with some proper boots.

To be fair, extreme weather doesn't really exist on the continent. It does exist slightly in Scandiland. Hurricanes doesn't really exist, nor tornados or earthquakes. High temperatures usually kill a fair number of people as A/C doesn't really exist either.

On the other side, of the coin, Americans are some of the worst, style and technically, dressed people on the planet. So, a comment from a Swede in the US does make some sense.

acidfast7

You don't need a car in Sweden.

It's cheaper than Denmark where tax is 180% on cars.

And, yes, why talk? Talking disturbs things.

I do miss Scandiland, the UK is like America's grown up and polite brother in a lot of respects, but is in no way European or Scandinavian.

kookaburra1701

One of my life goals is to someday live in a Scandinavian country. I might be too old to become a citizen now, though.