America's Greatest Cycling City? | NYC 

Cars going fairly slow in NYC makes a huge difference. When cars are going under 20 mph, it's really not unpleasant or that unsafe to walk or bike beside them. But going above 20 mph, and it becomes intolerable to share the street with them. The true indicator of bikeability is seeing kids and the elderly using them. It's simply not safe enough for this yet. There is a long way to go and they need to take away thousands of miles of car lanes and car parking lanes for that to become a reality.

I’ve always said that New York can be and has the potential to be the Amsterdam of North American. After all it was known at one point as New Amsterdam. However, I think it’s car dependency is what keeps it back. The city needs to clamp down hard on car use and vastly increase the number of micro mobility options and infrastructure.

I agree with most everything you are saying about biking in NYC, but I think the negatives you pointed out are insignificant when compared with the overall biking experience you get in NYC as compared with most every other place in the US, and the number one issue is the feeling of safety. I live in CA and whenever I visit the in-laws in NJ, it's always a highlight for me to bike over the GW, down the Hudson Greenway, with a side trip around the now car-free loop in Central Park. The thing that stands out for me is that I feel safer riding on the streets of Manhattan than I do on my local roads in Northern California, most of which are 2-lane, no-shoulder, high-speed death-traps. I rode 10,000 miles in 2023, and have crossed the country 3 times on a bike, and I have never seen any place as bike-friendly as NYC. In every other place in the US, bicycles are not considered legitimate users of the roadways, but in NYC they are.

Visiting from northern Europe I found biking in New York, 1995 and in 2010, was easy, safe and great fun.

As someone who remembers when we had no bike lanes, it's come a long way in the last 10-15 years. It still has a long way to go, but there is no denying the commitment to micro mobility from multiple city administrations and i expect that to continue and mature. The street infrastructure will continue to expand and upgrade, but the citibike system may not survive sadly. At least not in it's current state which is a shame because it's great.

I live in Bergen County, NJ. Many cyclists come across the George Washington Bridge to cycle on our quiet roads, especially on Sundays.

Imagine,... NY consistently incorporate biking infrastructure with each mobility infrastructure update for 10 years.... By that time they will discover the financial beneficial impact on the city finances... And within 15 years NY will be a shining example for North America.

One reason the network is fractured is every single community board gets a say in infrastructure, and some welcome cycling, others are hostile. It’s a huge fight. DOT for some reason believes they need to work with everyone. They need to seize control and build what they know is safe.

Nice that at least somewhere there is good bike infrastructure

I commute 4 miles to work, 5 days a week. Trip is 20' on a flat trail in California.

Not a bad video and a lot of the problems you mentioned are being worked on; albeit slowly. The QB bridge has been delayed for rework for quite a few years now and TA has been fighting for improved infrastructure over there. Things like parked cars are a problem not just in NYC but in cities everywhere (especially in North America) - though perhaps it is more noticeable in denser cities. We have however been running into some problems with the current mayor and opposition from other politicians which are somewhat stifling the growth of the network - but DOT has made it clear that the order of priority should be -> Peds - Micromobility - Transit - FHV - Private Cars. As for the other forms of micromobility - this is also a larger issue across the industry with so many different modes of transport being introduced. Many European countries still have these outlawed as well (Netherlands, Germany, Poland, UK, Ireland, ...) -> more work needs to be done on this area

Very good video, and you treat NYC very fairly. I was born and raised here in Manhattan. I left for the suburbs and many years later came back. I’ve been in Manhattan most of my life and have been cycling here for most of the time. I still do, about 1,500 miles a year. You’re right that the City has done a good job. It is doing all the right things but at the wrong pace. I feel very mixed. I suppose the culture is one of my problems. I’ve seen drivers improve their behavior towards cyclists etc but not enough, and there is enough bad, dangerous driving to make many of us scared. Even I’m scared, and I’m experienced and have good nerves. We need to do more. Still, I know I’m lucky. The Hudson River Greenway is my commuting route.

Great video! Your takes were very detailed and nuanced!

I would say that bike infrastructure is good only in Manhattan or parts of brooklyn (at least that is where most of them are.) If you live in bronx, queens and even some parts of Brooklyn bike infrastructure is not enough for travel for longer distances and even making local commutes/errands is difficult due to lack connectivity and bike racks. Basically in these boughs you have to get comfortable with biking on the road with cars

We cycled down the west coast from Vancouver to San Diego,then across North America to New York then up to Montreal and by far the best cycling was New York roads and drivers.We live in the UK.

The problem with NY is it's a transit first city in an island surrounded by a nation of car dependency. I saw a lot of that in montreal and vancouver when I visited too tho so it seems like canada has the same problem

I'm moving to NYC from Vancouver next fall. While I plan on ditching my full carbon road bike (I will have little time for long rides, and I'm afraid the roads will be too rough on my skinny tyres) I am crossing my fingers for an apartment with decent bike storage so I can keep the long tail and pick up a hybrid.

@01:45 'Jersey Barriers' I didn't know that was a name for this! @02:02 What a gorgeous path, love to see greenery @05:05 Oh parked cars in lanes is also a European issue :D @05:44 'Triple A infrastructure' I'm stealing this phrase! @08:30 Can't wait to visit New York someday!

not even close, most of the city outside the most gentrified areas of brooklyn, manhattan and long island city is very minimal or non existent.

Well, NYC is developing itself into a cycling city, but it takes time/ years. And cycling infra is never done, there is always room for improvements. I see that in the Netherlands, for example Voorstraat, Utrecht: 1. From 2 direction for cars > 1 direction for cars, with a counter flow bike lane. So cyclists can go in both directions. 2. Turn the Voorstraat into a bicycle street, where cars are guests. Because the number of cars has dropped in ratio to the many cyclists. A maximum of 10 % cars vs. 90 % cyclists is necessary.

You mentioned the cost of Citi-biking a few times, but that's the "tourist rate".... I pay ~$200 per year for a membership and get free regular bikes or ~$4 ebikes (depending on the distance)

Another fantastic video!

A bit of info I found funny was how you were actually quite optimistic towards vehicle traffic and consideration towards cyclists, when everyone will tell you that drivers in NYC are extremely aggressive, and then later on you noted about aggressive cyclists revving ebikes at 30mph and reckless bike messengers/joyriders. You had the same NYC traffic experience but in micro-mobility form. I'd bet had you been driving in NYC, you would've said the cyclists are quite good at maneuvering through traffic, so much so that you rarely notice them, yet the other cars were being aggressive and reckless. That says a lot about the experience of both transport modes in the city; they are pretty separated from each other. The way the city flows, the two modes of transport rarely interact. Everyone is hyper aware there, whether you are walking, driving, or cycling. You have to be. There is so much happening all around you, to be unaware is to make yourself a city statistic and scare story. It all just works there.

good morning from bali my dear friend, thank for taking us with this beautiful video

Outstanding Nic !!

Great video!

You did an amazing job encompassing cycling in NYC. I do deliveries on my road bike to make a living and even before that I’ve always loved biking in general. It was nice to see you on some of the routes I frequent especially the protected bike lane that runs down Crescent street from bridge to bridge. Cycling is a big part of nyc culture, and being on the road is all about respect. Even then sometimes I can get a bit out of hand with my speed and projecting where I’m going through traffic but that’s because I’ve been biking the same streets for years now. But there’s a great understanding between bikers and drivers. The only people that I feel disrupt this are as you said, e-bike and moped drivers along with yellow taxi drivers (who have always been notoriously bad drivers IMO) Lastly I just want to say I’m so thankful that biking is a way of life for me. Due to how bad NYC can be sometimes I often think about moving away but I’m born and raised and it’s hard to see myself living an equally satisfying life somewhere else.

Cycling doesn't have to compete with mass transit. Bikes are allowed on the subways except during peak hours. For longer trips, take the subway most of the way and use a bike for last mile.

you could simply look at pictures of NYC in 2008 compared to now, cycling is a major form of transport

NY just started bike lanes 10 years back tbh

would love to see your thoughts on Portland

NYC is ok for citi bike/commuting, but not good if you're a racer and want areas where you can train on hills or go higher speed for extended periods. have to take the train to the burbs for that.

Get rid of the Bronx “Express”way, extend the subway to Staten Island and build a line connect Bronx to queens

Great video, I didn't know it was possible to bike into the city from LGA. There was just a great job done to redo 3rd avenue, that needs to be the norm. Along with that there just needs to be more space to dock your bike, otherwise its not much different than a car just going further to find some place

Good video and very accurate IMO. Nice work Nic!!!

On the island of Manhattan the cars or better the drivers are used to seeing cyclists especially the mad Messengers who I love to watch do their thing.... However in the boroughs and the further you away you go from the city the less they are on the lookout for cyclists.... However this city on a bike.... itsso good ❤️

Bike lane new york bronx 125th

New Amsterdam

SF has entered the chat.

Is it possible to cycle from LaGuardia to say flushing? I recently went to nyc and got picked up at LGA with my bike. Being my first time in the city, I wasn’t mentally ready to try to figure out if I could actually cycle from LGA. Now that I did a bit of riding there, I wonder if it’s actually possible to land and ride off into the urban jungle?!

What do you mean you can ride to JFK, you can easily take a folding bike and ride to the Airtrain and check in the folding bike 🤷‍♂️

Bike dominickguzman Lanes bronx 125th new york Boohyn

What is your top 10 list of micro mobility cities?

I thought u were going to see u could get off an airplane and get on a bike at the airport.... I was fit to say I'da been on the airplane with my special helmet on the whole time and wishin security would say something

Beijing should be on the list

NYC is great if you're rich or a masochist

LOL, cars in bike lanes are not a side effect of not enough enforcement, they are a microcosm of the progression away from community towards enshrining the individual... a window into the psyche of people who are so inward looking they believe their right to impose their will onto others in their community should be absolute.. fining these people will do nothing extract a little money from them.. they do not care about their impact on their community. A better solution might be to remove the ability to leave personal belongings in the commons period. Can't take a couch, generator, stereo with a soft shelter gazebo and set it up on road just off the curb for 99.5% of the day, even if it was on wheels, but for some reason we accept that a vehicle is good to go and it can be left anywhere there isn't a sign that says it can't... maybe we are just doing it wrong. Not entirely sure why I watch your videos.. you appear to be an apologist for the way things are, someone who goes along to get along but points out that maybe some things could be tweaked to improve the lives of the marginalized a little bit.. the argument that cities need cars because cities have cars and nothing about that needs to change but a few tweaks is not what the micro-mobility community really needs. Cars need to have their dedicated infrastructure limited severely, cities need to be rebuilt to accommodate other forms of transportation, this needs to happen sooner rather than later and everywhere.

0:17 people running on the biking lane are fucking impolite

Cars ruined this city. NYC needs to invest even more into public transit, cycling and pedestrianization.

Bro it’s a BAY-gul not a baggle

J Cole be like

NYC bagels bad tho

Too bad you didn't run into @ZeroEnigma there. He points out lack of discipline of the NYC traffic week in, week out, be it pedestrians, bikes, cars, anything. www.youtube.com/@ZeroEnigma

Do you guys even live in NYC? This city is not safe for cyclist. Bike lanes only exist in Manhattan and are so limited in the rest of the boroughs.

Nah. Not where you. Not “where you.” /

hardly any cycling path that can be labeled as such, dangerous painted gutters as cycling lanes provoking accidents. I would not boast and call them cycling lanes and make a silly hype about NYC. those painted gutters should be illegal, they put cyclist in risk. motorbikes and scooters should not be allowed on cycling path. only cycling path protected by building them between a sidewalk and a parking/truck loading for car/truck while another island between parking/truck loading and cycling path to hinder dooring from right side car door, should be build. no child would want to use those cycling path. which should be the point to build cycling path, bc it should be inclusive and should target people who are not able to drive car by age, aging, illness, economy. I live in europe and we have bad cycling pathes too, no one would boast to have great cycling path here, when its only painted narrow dooring provoking pathes that children can not use. in northern european countries, like netherlands, germany, children have all mandatory cycling lessons in traffic theory and practical test done by real traffic police to get their cycling ID and kids have a broad and basic understanding of traffic and signs in northern european countries. I went to elementary school here in europe and like all, i had to went through getting my cycling ID. Now, as and adult, who owns two bikes and loves to ride to commute, I would not cycle in NYC.

Why does it all look so ugly?

E bikes ruined NYC