Nice video! I just moved and have been biking using the divvys for a few weeks now. It’s been great. I agree that it can be incredibly cheap with a normal bike but e-bikes take at least some of the uncomfortableness out of the equation. Also there is bike insurance as well. But even if you go that route too biking is still incredibly more cost effective than driving/owning a car
Because the city has spent millions on infrastructure for bikes and you don’t have to pay a dime of it! No registration fees,and no city stickers! Plus,no consequences if you violate traffic laws ( except possibly getting killed)!
Getting a flat sucks! I used to commute 8 miles round-trip 4 days/week for 3 years and got 2 flats. If I got 4 in a year, I would start using tire sealant such as FlatOut or Slime.
For years bike in & out the City of course Cars can be a scarry situation Personaly I dont have problems with. My problems is the other Bicyclists =lots of Egos careless passers out side the bike path between the Traffic + Most of NO Helmets. Your recommentation for cheep Bikes ? I disagree most Chicago, roads are cracked full of patches think the notorious winds :) Also a decent bike start $ 1000 to $ 1700 you buy once and the advantages for me is really worth it. 2024 :)
North Chicago: ✅ Northwest Chicago: ✅ Westside Chicago: ‼️‼️‼️❌❌ Southwest Chicago: ✅ South Chicago: ❌ Ranking based on bike infrastructure and general safety
I’m planning to move next year once I turn 18. I’m gonna get one of those $600 apartments near Hyde park just to start out (hopefully they’ll still be there LOL) 😂 Just subscribed I love your channel btw!
crazy how you say biking is uncomfortable, when most of the time it's just the environment that's not pleasant. for weather, you can dress (more cloths, gloves, ponchos) or undress. and if your city would care for cyclist, snow and cars wouldn't be a problem neither. watch not just bikes videos on these topics. cool video :)
I would always sit in the first car where the driver is, especially at night. No one ever does anything there, and I’ve taken it to the worst of the worst.
For sure. I see people riding around with their knees up in their chests. I saw a teenage girl at the bank, and I offered to adjust her seat to the right height for her. Just watching her made me sore.
Metra and the South ashore trains are not just in or for the suburbs (just as the CTA has stops outside Chicago proper too). Outside of the main stations downtown, there are nearly 75 train stations of Metra and South Shore in the city proper, and for many neighborhoods it is the most used train system where there isn’t easy access to the L. True mostly suburban commuters, but overlooked as big presence and ridership within city limits, particularly parts of the NW, SW and SE side.
You are correct, thanks for the note! I simplified for the purpose of keeping the video short, but agreed--in certain circumstances, Metra can be a great balance between cost and speed within the city when traveling to certain locations.
I live on the northside and bike in Chicago and his five criteria misses the most important. Is it safe? Chicago is rapidly expanding bike lanes in the city but there are streets you do not want to ride on and you must always be vigilant. On average, about six cyclists die each year.
Immediately when you talked about $600 bikes being only marginally better, I remembered that that's the cost of mine. The difference here is that this one folds, which gives you so many more opportunities when it comes to transit and inside storage.
Ideal for the city since you can take it into the store with you and ask for a safe place to put it while you shop. I want a folding bike but my next purchase will be a cargo bike.
I live in the SF Bay Area. Commute on a "Dutch" bike 4 flat miles to work and 4 miles back, 5 days x week. About 25'. The 2 bus lines will take about the same time.
To my way of thinking, it's free. Even with the cost of bikes and maintenance, being in better shape could potentially save you thousands or even hundreds of dollars on medical bills in the future. You are paying out the nose for having and using a car, but you are essentially being paid to ride a bike.
@@aliancemd Some are big, but many aren't. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) for example. On occasions when air pollution was particularly bad, I ride with a filtering mask. Also, car filters *could* easily filter big particles out, but I think that in most cars that doesn't happen. For starters, I don't think that many drivers change or clean filters. But the key point is that health risks (including from pollution) on the bicycle is not really worse than in the cars. In fact, exercise that cyclists get (and drivers don't get) outweighs risks of cycling.
SURE, Cars and whatnot have their pros, but with bikes, think about it...we share the SAME roads with cars with the benefits of no insurance required, no license required, no yearly license fees, no gas expenses, no expensive repairs, no yearly test for your exhaust system, etc. no traffic jams to deal with, etc. etc. It's almost like it's not fair for all you car people lol. Just ribbin' the car folks lol. But no lie - most new cars and even many used cars cost as much as a nice HOUSE did just a few decades ago, and I'm not talking about SUVS! It's insane.
Shushhhhh! Now, everyone will know and want to cycle. We'll lose our advantage.😃 Seriously though, the health benefits are insane, both mental and physical.
I've found using my bike for transport to be cheap, reliable, convenient and quick in a city with traffic. It's also comfortable. I'm so used to a bike that being in a car too long makes me travel sick. Dressing for the weather isn't a problem.
I do not understand the danger of cycling, because i live in the Netherlands, but i reccomend more poeple to bike. I said that because i am like 13 years old going to middelbare school (idk how that called in the us of MERICA) and i cycle allone for like 10 km and never felt in danger or threatend by a driver. SO, getting to my point, i think everyone should think about cycling and protest, because in the 1970's it was very difrant in the NL and only protests got us here! Cycling is very good and comfort can defnitly be chanced by better infrastructure! (Side notes, why did i watched this video? Because i my friend recommended it. Why is my grammer so bad? Because i am still in the eerste (idk how it is called in the USA) and that's only nine monthes! What date was this posted? The seventh of June. (6-7-2024)
Where you live is very different from the USA - Lots of people are VERY mentally unhealthy in Chicago. There has been 85 shootings and 24 murders in Chicago in the last 7 days. I compel you to compare those statistics to the most dangerous part of NL you can pull up, and it won't be close - it doesn't directly relate to cycling, but it relates to peoples mental state which relates to why we can't have nice things, It's even harder to make societal improvements when you can't convince people to stop shooting each other over trivial things. A lot of a very different type of person lives in Chicago then the type of people you're living with in the NL - Not saying the NL's is perfect, but compared to Chicago it is. 😂
I've been riding my bike in Chicago for about 10 years. I've only had two flats in that time. There's still a lot of room for improvement route-wise, but it has definitely improved in the time I've been riding.
Citibike (NYC), BlueBikes (Boston, MA), Bay Wheels (Bay Area, CA), CoGo (Columbus, OH), Denver bikes (Denver, CO), Biketown (Portland, OR), Capital Bikeshare (DC) and Divvy (Chicago, IL) are all run by Lyft now.
Actually you can hold an umbrella when it's rainy. The other option is a poncho that you can wear that goes between you and your handle bars so your legs also stay dry.
Holding an umbrella......are you Mary Poppin???? They do make rain jackets and pants for this purpose. Ponchos don't work on bikes. Been there, tried it.
Comfort should increase with the more people that bike. Infrastructure, although not amazing, is getting better every year. The more people that bike, the more drivers are used to seeing bikes around! Strength in numbers
Exactly. It's called a "critical mass" in sociology and there are "CM events" organized on a regular basis in several cities - although I'm not sure about Chicago.
@@kitchencarvings4621 Physical violence against cars (drivers)? I’ve never witnessed any such thing in critical masses but I’m talking about the European scene. It might be different in the USA. I once took part in a slow roll in Detroit, that’s about all I know about the North American scene.
@@yagi3925 This was about 8 or 10 years ago at a critical mass event in San Francisco, I think. Some drivers got caught in the crowd of bikes, and they started climbing and jumping on the car. They started bashing in the windows with bikes. Many of them were naked. It was a mob. I don't know if they are all like this. I hope not, but I don't want to be associated with such people.
@@kitchencarvings4621 Thanks for the description. It’s insane and I fully appreciate that you should want to dissociate yourself from such people. I am dfinitely against “car centrism” but it’s equally crazy to be “anti car” pure and simple. Thanks again for your account.
It was one of the first planned areas to drive middle class citizens to live in downtown Chicago.. the area had extreme crime therefore its entrances & exits had to be obfuscated.
