Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

Re:Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities by lr4444lr on Friday September 14, 2018 @12:12PM (#17988408)

There are problems with cars, but returning to the bicycle, an 18th century city technology, is regressive, not the way forward. The car was a great liberator from the congested and dirty density of the city which was once the luxury of only the rich to escape with their estates and private coaches. Make the suburbs more energy efficient, and figuring out an innovative and fairer way of financing roads is the progressive path.

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Re:Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities by btrettel on Friday September 14, 2018 @12:49PM (#17988772)

> returning to the bicycle, an 18th century city technology, is regressive, not the way forward

Just because something is old does not mean it is a bad idea. By the way, bicycles were first developed in the 19th century (not 18th) and have been continuously improved since then. And motor vehicles are not much newer, anyway. The Benz Patent Motor Car was sold in the 1880s. For comparison, the most popular type of bike sold today, the "safety bike" became popular in the late 1880s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_bicycle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_bicycle

I've explained cycling to high-tech types as taking advantage of the literal nanotechnology the human body uses. Bikes make use of the human body much more than cars in my view.

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Re:Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities by lr4444lr on Friday September 14, 2018 @02:27PM (#17989596)

You're mistaking the movement per unit energy efficiency of the car vs. The bicycle as the only reason for preferring one over the other. There are a myriad of emergent benefits to people having affordable climate-controlled engined-vehicles with storage that has improved their lives dramatically.

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Re:Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities by btrettel on Friday September 14, 2018 @05:08PM (#17990959)

Reread my comment, as I don't know what you are referring to.

I never said bikes are better in every way, or even more efficient. Actually, I think a well designed motor vehicle could easily beat a bike in efficiency, particularly for common diets, but it would be smaller like a bike. E.g., a motorcycle could be better.

My argument was that old technologies aren't necessarily bad and that motor vehicles are nearly as old as bikes, so the age argument also applies to cars. I don't disagree that cars have benefits.

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Re:Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities by village-idiot on Friday September 14, 2018 @01:07PM (#17988933)

By that logic we really should start ditching pants. They’re absolutely ancient!

Newer is not inherently better.

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