Getting around on a bicycle can be an excellent way to clean up our daily commutes and errand runs, but sometimes you need a little bit of a boost, which is where electric bikes come in. And sometimes you need a little more space to haul groceries and gear with you, which is where cargo bikes come in. Combine the two, and you've got an efficient and fun way to not only get from point A to point B, but to also get the shopping home in a single trip without having to stack boxes and bags on your rear rack until you're wobbling your way precariously down the road (been there, done that).
The capital of Norway, Oslo, is looking to get more of its citizens out of their cars and onto bikes, and more specifically, onto a set of wheels that is made to haul more than just a single person, in the form of grants covering part of the cost of an electric cargo bike. Last year, the city council offered residents a financial incentive toward buying an electric bike, up to 20% of the purchase price of an e-bike, capped at 5000 kroner (about $600). Now that effort has been extended a bit into an electric cargo bike grant program, which will cover part of the cost of purchase of one of these electric workhorses.
Is it the cost of cargo bikes that keeps people from buying them, or the lack of secure parking in city apartment buildings?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Friday February 17 2017, @12:56AM
1. Norway... a bit cold in winter.
2. If the batteries are fixed into the bicycle/cargo frame... enclosed parking around 20C (can't recharge batteries at low temperature - ions don't have enough mobility)
I wouldn't like to be around when a battery pack catches fire nearby others.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Informative) by bob_super on Friday February 17 2017, @01:35AM
1. I went there in January, and it was warmer than Chicago. Real Vikings don't make a huge deal about it: They took me on a nice horse ride despite the sub-freezing temps.
2. Detachable batteries do exist, allowing swapping for range, charging convenience, and reducing temptations of uncivil behaviors.
(Score: 4, Informative) by RedGreen on Friday February 17 2017, @01:38AM
"2. If the batteries are fixed into the bicycle/cargo frame"
Got a friend who has one of them the battery is removable and in his model lives under the seat. In Canada here and get plenty of the cold/snow he only uses it in the April-October time frame and takes the battery out to bring in the house when it stored for the winter in his shed.
"I modded down, down, down, and the flames went higher." -- Sven Olsen
(Score: 3, Informative) by iwoloschin on Friday February 17 2017, @02:21AM
1) I live in Boston, bike (on a cargo bike!) through the winter just fine here. As long as it's above about 0°F (about -17°C) it's fine, even without super fancy gear. The only bike specific items I have are gloves, everything else is winter sports gear, along with a pair of Bogs boots.
2) No good electric cargo bike has a fixed battery, because how would you charge it? Mine the battery is locked to the frame, but it pops off in about 5 seconds with the key. It's Lithium Ion, so it's fairly small/light for the amount of power it packs.
As far as battery fires...it's no worse than the Teslas driving around here, and if anything, significantly safer.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Friday February 17 2017, @02:25AM
Don't know about Norway, but here (Canada) apartment rules seem to be biased towards motor-vehicles.
You may get a free parking space, but the lease often stipulates that you are only allowed to park a "licensed vehicle" in it.
If I wanted to be charitable, I can assume they don't want a broken-down project car parked there. However, the wording also excludes various trike designs that are really too cumbersome to drag inside all the time.
(Score: 2) by number11 on Friday February 17 2017, @03:00AM
In the US, a lot of cities issue bike licenses (usually a decal). Most bike riders don't get them. But if your city issues bike licenses, seems like that would meet the formal requirement.
(Score: 1) by DeathElk on Friday February 17 2017, @03:55AM
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday February 17 2017, @04:48AM
Yes, maybe, but batteries don't that work well when cold
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 17 2017, @12:57AM
Or the 55mph traffic in front of my house?
Or the lack of protection from rain?
Or poor traction on ice?
Might be nice on those few pleasant days of summer.
(Score: 1) by DeathElk on Friday February 17 2017, @03:58AM
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 17 2017, @05:28AM
Since you've posted that link multiple times, I'll critique it.
Most of the URL is noise.
Aside from the search string, the only parameter that is necessary is &tbm=isch (Image search).
...and that only needed to be there ONCE. 8-(
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 17 2017, @08:46AM
Or the 55mph traffic in front of my house?
Most (all?) European countries don't allow > 50km/h (31mph) in urban areas (where most bike traffic would be). In non-urban areas there are often separate bicycle lanes if there is much bike traffic (at least in The Netherlands). Also, in the Netherlands, bike riders are well protected by law. If you hit someone on a bike with your car (even if it is not your fault), you'll have a lot of explaining to do and in worst case you could loose your driver's license.
Or the lack of protection from rain?
There are rain suits that protect you against it. Also, most of the times it doesn't rain. A guy here in the Netherlands had co-workers saying more or less the same to him when he mentioned he always drove 20Km on bike to work. He started actually measuring how often he would be in rain, turned out to be a lot less than his colleagues thought.
Or poor traction on ice?
I think Norway (as many Northern European countries) have governmental services that keep roads mostly free of snow and ice, especially in cities. Also, average daily temperature in Norway is only 3 months a year below 0 degrees C. That would be the same excuse to not take solar panels, because they would not work at night.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 17 2017, @01:29AM
At least other countries are TRYING something to deal with their society's problems. It may not work but it still better than our sitting on our asses bickering with one another on what the situation precisely is until after a catastrophic event or electing a denier-in-chief to stick the country's head in the sand, pretend nothing is wrong and it's running like a well oiled machine because we don't want to deal with reality as it is only as we think it should be...
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday February 17 2017, @01:35AM
Please explain how's examining "What can go wrong?" an outright rejection of the idea?
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 17 2017, @01:50AM
Preemptive admonishment for the trolls that will invariably follow. You asked legitimate questions rather than outright rejection so it wasn't intended to target you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 17 2017, @02:22AM
...for Grant Sinclair.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 17 2017, @03:04AM
2) The motorcyclists in my country (for them red lights are just advisory).
3) Heavy rain
4) Very hot days
5) Bad roads - other people avoiding potholes = you injured/crippled/dead, rain water hiding holes/broken grates in the road = you injured/crippled/dead.
If you're in a country where the weather is nice, the drivers and roads are good then sure, cycling is great.
(Score: 1) by DeathElk on Friday February 17 2017, @04:01AM
(Score: 2) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Friday February 17 2017, @04:42AM
Hot weather is harder to dress for than cold weather.
I currently only cycle between the temperatures of -27 and 37 degrees Celsius (-18 to 101 Fahrenheit).
I calculated the upper temperature cut-off as the temperature where moving air no longer cools.
The lower temperature cut-off was kind of trial and error. My chain broke at -37C one cold day. If my bike is going to be out of commission for a week anyway, I might as well take the bus when it is that cold. Cycling is not as fun below -25C anyway.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 17 2017, @12:58PM
I currently only cycle between the temperatures of -27 and 37 degrees Celsius
I calculated the upper temperature cut-off as the temperature where moving air no longer cools.
Except it does. It's called evaporation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enthalpy_of_vaporization [wikipedia.org]
This is why humidity is very important factor, not just temperature.
(Score: 1) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Friday February 17 2017, @04:39PM
I am aware of evaporation.
Practically, I don't have to worry about the upper temperature cut-off much because it never gets that warm where I live.
I did attend a summer camp that experienced those temperatures. You don't feel like moving at all.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday February 17 2017, @09:10PM
There are a number of factors. Some of it comes down to your personal preferences. I biked in all temperatures, but not heavy rain because soggy socks at work are no fun. In the heat (NYC gets hot and humid) or in the cold I'd wear sports shirts and shorts to wick away any perspiration. I'd change in the bathroom when I got to work; I worked for Bill Clinton so I wore a full suit every day.
It was faster and cheaper than the subway (saved a couple thousand dollars/yr on fares) and I lost a ton of weight doing it. After a while I figured that was my exercise and I wasn't really using my gym membership, so I dropped that too and saved more money. There seemed to be mental health benefits, too, because the exercise to work brought me in relaxed and focused; at the end of the day it was a good way to decompress from the corrupt evil insanity of the Clinton-verse.
But then, NYC under Mayor Bloomberg put in a ton of protected bike lanes, which helps a lot. Also, they salt the roads here so they're passable in the winter except in the middle of a blizzard.
I do kind of wonder about the niche of the cargo bike in particular, though. The people I see with them here haul lots of kids around. For everything else, groceries, etc., there's delivery.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 17 2017, @03:36PM