:rolleyes:

LOL. I was stationed in Lakehurst, the old hangars are still there, you could race indoor crits in there, but they are in bad disrepair...

Oh, it goes boom alright, I thought conspiracy guys were all in with the water is free energy they don't want you to know about HHO?...

The airplane industry did to airships what the car industry did to electric trams in big cities. This was because they already had their eyes at the stars and were pondering spaceflight. Airships are a dead end for that purpose

Electric "trams?" HAHAHAHA! You do realize that the "tram" companies went out of business because they couldn't make any money, right? Why do you think all the railroads stopped offering passenger service? Big Highway? Spoiler alert: THERE'S NO MONEY IN HAULING PASSENGERS.

https://www.messynessychic.com/2016/...the-streetcar/

General Motors and others paid vandals to destroy lines so they couldn’t make money, then bought and killed them

yeah, weird how things (cars) seem cheaper / more profitable when you run them on a network of infrastructure and incredibly valuable land that someone else (the public at large) pays for regardless of whether or not they use it. the hidden costs of the automobile are staggering, with most other transit systems they’re right out front, paid for, and fretted over as the fare box recovery ratio. the recovery ratio from driving on anything but a toll road is nearly 0%.

Who is “they”?

When a fellow is concerned enough about his bike weight to spend a lot of money to drop two pounds from his bike, but not enough to drop 30 lbs. from his own body.

I have a cycling buddy at work who is a minor league weight weenie. He's at least 40 lbs. overweight, but he admits he does it because he's fascinated with the state-of-the-art equipment. He also just bought a very expensive SureFire flashlight that he will not use to its design envelope.

I think most of us do it somewhere or other. If it's not weight, it's some other thing to geek out over.

I bought my first good road bike, a low range Domane. It weighed 23 lbs. out of the box. My friend's carbon Madone is more like 16 lbs. But my previous/other road bike (Trek Verve 3) weighs probably 35 lbs, so this "heavy" Domane feels featherweight to me. I tell myself if I can lose the 30 lbs.I should, I'll treat myself to a lighter bike. :-)

Because they can't clear the firmament?...

I recommend you read a book or two. Start with Spencer Crump's "Ride the Big Red Cars." Transit lines didn't make any money after the 1920s, except for a few years during WWII. Privately-owned public transportation is a LOSING PROPOSITION.

Like it or not, we, the p[eople, are responsible for eh demise of the "tram" companies. Hidden costs whatever. People prefer to drive their own cars. Go figure.

Dropping bike weight is a "one and done" act, and the weight loss is permanent. It won't go up, even if you binge shop on Amazon.

Body weight is an ongoing process that never ends. And some of us are very low body fat types and can't afford to lose what we have.

My new wheelset was delivered yesterday, 1260 grams as advertised. But the skewers (not included in the 1260 grams) weigh 120 grams, the horror! Off to shop for some lightweight skewers.

It's not a problem, it's a hobby.

I think you tip into the abyss when you accept less function/performance for reduced weight

Stay on topic. This thread is about hydrogen transportation, electric railways, and sporks.

Yet, airlines manage to stay in business. I don't know much about how airlines operate to elaborate any further. It's just an observation of an example that is contrary to your statement.

Serious question here: It has been apparent and still is, based on some of the posts on this thread, that some folks will spend quite a bit of money to lose what amounts to ounces here and there to have a light bike. How do you folks who consider yourselves 'weight weinees' feel about the advent of hydraulic disc brakes? Just like that, the industry pretty much created a new standard that appears to go against the 'lighter is better' mantra that they emphasized for so many years.

I learned that purple-anodized titanium is the apex spork configuration. This is important stuff.

What's an airline ticket cost? A bus token?

I'm setting up my 2nd Pro Miyata. (First has epic rust. Sweet, sweet ride so a total keeper but finding the exact same frame without - I'm going for it! The new came with parts. A nice racing, aero Shimano. Single bolt but with a set screw to adjust tilt. Never saw that before but I like it. I was riding a 2-bolt grey anodized SunTour that I figured was an MTB post (as opposed to the polished aluminum finish of my more expensive SunTour).

So, what the heck. I've got both posts out of their frames. Might as well weigh them. (4 kg scale I use for coffee.) Knowing full well the racing Shimano post was going to weigh less than the MTB SunTour. Shimano - 270 gm. Not too bad. Put the SunTour on. 200 gm! Wow! Guess its staying my ride.

2 1/2 ounces off. What can I do next?

I like that.

You didn't include any price qualifiers in your statement. Airlines are privately-owned public transportation that continues to survive. Maybe ticket prices are able to support the business. Maybe there are other contributing factors involved. Like I said, I don't know the airline business.

In this case, for me, style trumps weight.

Me neither.

Do you know any private bus/trolley/municipal transit lines that are profitable?

I agree with you that privately-owned public GROUND transportation has not proven to be widely successful. That said, there may be examples that I'm not aware of. In my limited knowledge, it seems like most current systems rely heavily on tax money. I suppose services like Uber could be considered "privately-owned public transportation", but I assumed you meant vehicles for hauling large quantities of people (bus, tram, etc.).