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Re:France is now offering a €4k e-bike subsidy to people who... by Xylakant on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @07:45AM (#32563385)
Cargo bikes easily reach 6k. No problem. And those are the ones that often make sense if a family wants to trade in a car.
Re:France is now offering a €4k e-bike subsidy to people who... by egman_ekki on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @09:04AM (#32564322)
Exactly, starting price for an electric cargo bike is 3k€ (https://www.babboe.nl/babboe-big-e) and better models go for 6-7k€ (https://www.butchersandbicycles.com/mk1e-vario).
Re:France is now offering a €4k e-bike subsidy to people who... by whazor on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @09:49AM (#32564890)
For people considering a cargo bike, counterintuitively: a two-wheeled cargo bikes are much easier to cycle than three-wheeled cargo bikes. Actually you are more likely to fall with a three-wheeled cargo bike. Even when parking you would think a two wheel cargo bike easily falls but the kick-stands are easy and it is not a problem.
Re:France is now offering a €4k e-bike subsidy to people who... by Xylakant on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @10:05AM (#32565088)
I’d say so-so. Depends on the use-case. Two wheeled are definitely easier to ride with a faster pace, but they’re much harder to balance when heavily loaded. I have tipped over with heavy loads on emergency stops.

Two wheeled also wins when there’s little space or the track is bad. What’s better really depends on your cycling proficiency, your intended use case and the road network you’ll likely use. And whatever you do, test-ride a few different ones to figure out what works for you. Avoid buying something off the internet without ever trying. (Things are different if you’re buying your second, third,…)

Re:France is now offering a €4k e-bike subsidy to people who... by throw0101a on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @11:24AM (#32566292)
> a two-wheeled cargo bikes are much easier to cycle than three-wheeled cargo bikes.

See video "The Car-Replacement Bicycle (the bakfiets)"

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQhzEnWCgHA

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_bike#Long_John_bicycle

Re:France is now offering a €4k e-bike subsidy to people who... by Xylakant on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @12:40PM (#32567488)
It’s worth noting that the two-wheeler demonstrated in this video is an old-style one with wheels just attached at the box. The Butchers and Bicycles one linked by the grandparent post is one with an actual steering at the front - the box and the bike will lean into a corner, just like a two-wheeler would.

This makes modern 3-wheelers much more agile. They still have certain disadvantages- they’re wide and bulky, you’ll have trouble avoiding potholes etc., but they’re nowhere as bad as those boxes with wheels (tough you can still buy those - their upside is their low price)

Re:France is now offering a €4k e-bike subsidy to people who... by radu_floricica on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @12:01PM (#32566914)
Thanks, that was a good video. I'm more sold on cargo bikes now (though unfortunately I doubt they're much use in my climate in winter)
Re:France is now offering a €4k e-bike subsidy to people who... by throw0101a on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @06:52PM (#32572632)
"Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can)":

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU

Re:France is now offering a €4k e-bike subsidy to people who... by radu_floricica on Wednesday August 24, 2022 @02:24AM (#32575561)
Yeah, I've been linked this before in another thread. But somebody there also provided the statistics: even in the "capital of winter biking", about 22% of trips are taken by bike. Which makes bikes a valid alternative, but not a main solution.
Re:France is now offering a €4k e-bike subsidy to people who... by panick21_ on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @12:43PM (#32567539)
The same channel has other videos about biking in winter. But I of course don't know where you live and what you would use them for.
Re:France is now offering a €4k e-bike subsidy to people who... by bombcar on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @10:26AM (#32565391)
The stable three-wheel trikes have the dual wheels in the front which is found sometimes, but not terribly effective for cargo hauling.

And if you have four wheels, people stop considering you a bike.