The Japanese bikes are called Mamachari, literally mummy bikes, and I was amazed that _everyone_ there rode them, kids, mums, men in business suits, old fishermen. It was honestly great to see. Note that Japan has rules where if a car hits a cyclist or pedestrian, they are pretty much going to jail, no ifs, buts or maybes. It definitely changes the dynamic.
Actually, Mamachari are _literally_ "Mama Chariots", but I agree with the points you've made. I commute on a pedal-assist Mamachari daily. When it's cool, I wear normal clothes. When it's hot, I wear shorts and shower at work. Drivers here are almost too polite sometimes. I often come to a crosswalk and stop, only to have a driver slam on their brakes and nearly cause an accident just to let me cross in front of them. Most times, it would have actually been faster and safer to just keep going, but I do appreciate the gesture. Also, it's acceptable to ride on sidewalks here. Where I live, the streets are too dangerous, but the sidewalks are very wide, and fairly empty, so it's almost like a dedicated bike lane - except for all the curbs and rough surfaces.
Also, where I live, traffic is bloody awful. That's why I ride. It takes me 20 minutes to ride to work. On empty streets, it would take 10 minutes to drive, but in normal traffic, it takes 20-30 minutes. I am really surprised there aren't more cyclists. I find traffic stressful and mind-numbing. Cycling, on the other hand, is a lot of fun, and it helps wake me up. It also helps keep me a little bit more fit.
To be a bit pedantic, Mamachari is a actually a shortening of a composite of "mamano" (mama's) and "charinko", a colloquial term for bicycle whose etymology is long lost. If you google チャリンコの語源 , you will find a number of possible suggestions, but I have not seen "chariot" among them. @@OfTheGaps 🚲💙💛
I’m the person who submitted Kyoto! As for why Japan is ‘out Dutching the Dutch’: First is, I will say Kyoto is exceptionally well biked. There are bike shops on what feels like every corner and the morning commutes, despite often lacking proper infrastructure, there’s just such a critical mass of cyclists that cars are forced to yield. The commuting culture is that children bike to school and of course so do many adults. Second, bike theft is nearly nonexistent. There is both mandatory registration and insurance in Kyoto city. Bike thefts are investigated and found in most cases. On top of that, despite only locking the back wheel to prevent riding the bike away being the typical precaution, I don’t know anyone in my 10 or so friends who’ve had their bike stolen. Third, the inner bits of the city have decent infrastructure, and especially cheap and abundant bike parking, which is critical. Going to the supermarket seems to be an activity that most people prefer to do with a bike to haul their food Finally, the abundance of cheap reliable and repairable bikes. I bought a used Dutch bike, equipped with a three speed internal gear hub, a front generator powered light, and a bike basket. It came out to be ~150$ including 1 year of insurance and registration fees
Thank you for the Kyoto data, and for providing context here. It was a reminder that Japan is too often overlooked as a cycling country. I think I need to plan a trip!
There's another factor too, of course, which is that there was only one Dutch sample and it was in a random rural setting with only 30 cyclists. I suspect that if the data had been from a local employment area in Amsterdam, or near a train station in a medium sized city, that the Dutch characteristics would have come out much more strongly. I know less about Japan, but it seems like the Tokyo location was much more favourable to being busy which means you get more data.
@@Shifter_Cycling Definitely recommend checking Kyoto, Tokyo, and Osaka for urban cycling. There’s also a lot of long haul well marked cycling routes around to check out like the Shimanami-Kaido, Biwaichi, and the Kyoto Nara path where you can easily rent a bike for the duration of a short trip :)
what I feel japan does well in regards to cycling culture, it makes cycling somewhere just the most sensible option: it's often more cheap, flexible, fast, space-saving, safe, and/or practical to take your bike as opposed to walking, bus, car, etc. and interestingly, this happens almost exclusively through policy in other areas (train commuting system, car ownership regulations, etc), and not through focused bike policy (bike paths, rental schemes, subsidies) itself. sure, there's extensive bike parking at train stations, but that's just borne out of the need to manage all the bikes that people already use to begin with, and not in a push to "get up the cycling percentage" or "promoting health" or "reducing carbon emissions". in fact, cycling there often almost feels like an afterthought, so ingrained in people that you don't need to specifically promote it (or fight culture wars about it) - because it just makes the most sense. and because it's so common and sensible, it also doesn't carry the same western connotation of status, where you sadly often only ride a bike when you're educated and can afford to do environmentally-friendly and healthy things, and where hand-crafted artisanal hipster bikes and e-cargo bikes get fancier and more expensive by the year. cool and well-made sure, but it doesn't really help with increasing cycling pickup. in japan? spend 80 bucks on a grandma bike and you're good to go, from school kid to pensioner, from salaryman to harbor worker. people use it because it just makes the most sense.
Brisbane here... regarding helmet law and sporty culture here, there's definitely a correlation. When the law came into effect in 1991, sporty cyclists were pretty much all wearing helmets already so the law didn't bother them. What it did do was basically kill off the utility, casual cycling. People just stopped. So we were left with a massively sporty cycling culture. Cities in Australia also just stopped developing infrastructure for bikes because the helmet laws made us safe right? Took a decade for that to change. So in the last 20 years there's been a concerted effort to encourage people to ride, more bikeways etc, but the helmet law remains a handbrake on the process. Not the law or helmets themselves, but the perception cycling is a strenuous, sporting activity and "I don't want to get hot and sweaty going places". The culture is shifting, but it's taking so long because of this handbrake we put on things 30 years ago. So my message to countries that keep talking about implementing helmet laws: DON'T. They're bad laws. Unless you want to stop people cycling. In which case, yeah, go for it...
Sydneysider here. I was gonna complain about the helmet laws, but looks like you got my back. Down here in NSW it’s even worse because it’s illegal to ride on pedestrian paths, so you’re forced to either contend with drivers or the law if you jump back onto pedestrian paths and you’re over 16. Once you turn 16 it’s pretty much you’re either fit enough to race impatient drivers on the road or you give up on cycling. The only other adult cyclists I know personally are non-Australians, especially Europeans.
yeah I dont think I had ever really believed the argument about how our helmet laws were a huge barrier to casual commuter cycling here until I saw this data. This is a shocking indictment of that policy and we really are going to need to push harder to change it.
I’ve lived and cycled in a few states around Australia, currently in Adelaide. I don’t dare go out riding without a helmet unless it’s a quick duck to the local shop less than a KM away and I take the back streets Over in WA, I lived in Geraldton up north a little bit, coastal town. Very few people wore helmets and the cops didn’t really care. If you were within say a 800m (main highway at 1km) of the beach, you were pretty much good to not wear a helmet, and I often didn’t. It was really nice to ride along the beach, no helmet, and not have to worry about being nagged or fined for not wearing one. Cycled in Melbourne CBD for a week..don’t really miss that 😂
I've seen a few people leave similar comments in videos on various channels about cycling, saying that things "are changing", but to what end? Oh goodie, maybe maybe future generations can benefit. What good does that do us now (especially those that don't have children)? It's like saying they're going to reduce carbon-emissions to reduce climate-change within the next few centuries or like if Russia or Israel would say they're slowly reducing bombing their victims. 😒
Eastern Europe and helmets. I was born and raised in a small town in Ukraine. People in such a rural area actively use old single-speed Soviet bikes to commute through towns and villages and especially to "dacha" (a small piece of land at countryside to plant vegetables). And in such small places there are actually no bike shops at all, you can repair your bike yourself or at a car workshop, but nobody just sells helmets. And even if there's an opportunity to buy one - yes, it could be quite expensive. So riding good old Soviet bike or some cheap MTB is already a part of culture (especially in rural areas, in big cities it's still a rarity), but not a wearing the helmet
I can add that MTBs are often bought to ride on sidewalks, where you don't really need a helmet. Myself I prefer city bikes, but it's not hard to understand why without a safe way to cycle people would do it on the sidewalk (or slowly on the side of the road).
Live in Japan out in Saitama near Tokyo. I think a big part of why cycling is big here despite near 0 infrastructure is the compact towns and narrow roads. I find that cars / pedestrians / cyclists are much more used to sharing spaces, pair that with amazing public transport and it makes sense why everyone from children to the elderly cycle here.
That matches my experience from simply being a tourist in Japan: narrow streets and expensive gas means that cars drive slowly and are preferentially small (e.g. kei cars). When traffic is slow, people feel safe riding a bike even without dedicated infrastructure.
In a real sense, bike infrastructure is _car_ infrastructure, creating a safe space for other uses despite the existence of dangerous cars. If you don't have car danger, then to first order you don't need "pedestrian infrastructure" or "bike infrastructure" (though you might want to separate fast bikes too) The slow streets and wide sidewalks I saw basically _are_ the bike (and pedestrian) infrastructure, you don't need more because it's already safe.
@@mindstalk once Ur out of tokyo alot of roads don't have sidewalks, the bit between the white line and the edge of the road is legally the sidewalk. It's just a general awareness of other road users here that is good.
@@Frostbiker I think one of the biggest things is how the traffic lights work for turning cars. Turning cars are given no reason to rush / try turn while there are pedestrians because the the traffic lights will turn red for everyone (including pedestrians) before changing directions. Making sure everyone knows when it's there turn to go.
Hi, I live in Poznań, Poland, which I assume is in Central and Eastern Europe. Every day I ride a bike to work and on tourist trips. You ask what's going on with us. First of all: we actually have the most mountain bikes, but this is a historical matter. For decades, there was almost no "cycling culture" in Poland. It was only in the 1990s, after the end of the communist system, that thousands of imported mountain bikes from the "West" came to us. This has shaped our "cycling taste" to such an extent that nowadays, even for riding in the city, most people use mountain bikes. Currently, Polish "cycling awareness" is rapidly changing for the better, but many years of "mountain style" still remain in the blood of Poles. Additionally, our cities do not yet have such perfect bicycle infrastructure as, for example, in the Netherlands and therefore, according to many people find it more convenient to get around the city by mountain bike. I don't agree with this because I use a city bike every day, but it's hard to change decades of habits quickly. Another thing: no helmets. I cannot agree here. I think that in the city about 50% of people use helmets, but those who don't do it for the same historical reasons that I wrote about earlier - we simply didn't have them for years. However, I assure you that almost 100% of cyclists engaged in "sports biking" use helmets. When it comes to regular cycling clothes, the division is as follows: city cyclists dress casually, even those on mountain bikes. Sports cyclists, of course, are beautifully dressed in sports clothes ;). Thank you for this YT channel. I watch you regularly and you have helped me with many things. I keep my fingers crossed for the channel and for you. Have a nice day.
The same happens here in the south of Brazil. Mountain bikes are the most used here, even in cities. I copy the Dutch model, but here I am part of the minority. I love this channel and it has everything to do with the way I think. Cycling for me is being free from everything, free from helmets and free from cycling clothes. For me, a bike has to have fenders and racks to be able to use panniers.
Yes. Same situation in Lithuania. Also old and simple/singlespeed bikes on villages(on a good summer day you can count a lot of older people going to shop or run some errands on villages).
I went to Japan this summer and I truly appreciated one of NJB's comments: Cities are not loud, cars are loud. I was in the middle of Tokyo and was extremely surprised at how quiet, given that it's a city of ~40 million people (including the surroundings). I didn't see much bike infrastructure in Tokyo or in any of the cities while I was there, but that's probably because I was not there to bike in the city and not looking for it. Despite that, I would feel totally safe riding on the streets in Tokyo. Drivers there respect the rules and pay attention to pedestrians. What I was there for in Japan was to with to ride the shimani kaido, a ~70km (one way), picturesque ride across 7 different islands, with great transit access on either end and one way bike shop rentals on both ends. There are nice traditional inns along the way , like ryokans and matchiyas. They're all bike friendly along that path. Where I stayed, I couldn't find a picture of this on my camera, but the bike parking reminded me of horse parking. The path itself is newish and had cyclist and other 2 wheel vehicles in mind: all of the climbs that you will have to make are at most 3% grade so it's never super challenging. Japan is totally under rated in the western world as a cycling country.
I just came back from Japan and I think it's 3 things that really make it do well in cycling: 1. The roads are generally pretty safe. Most streets are super narrow and get very little traffic (street parking doesn't really exist) which also leads to cars being much smaller than even what is considered normal in Europe. 2. Good urban design: because of the above there isn't really that much sprawl. Most distances are cyclable and it's very common to do multimodal trips (bike then take a train). Bicycle parking is also generally easier to find in the cities than car parking. 3. The culture: people tend to follow the rules much more in Japan than NA or Europe. Bicycle theft is very uncommon. People would just leave their bike in front of their house without a lock and it would never disappear overnight. Apparently it only really occurs when a drunk salary man misses the last train for the night and needs to get home. Also the drivers were very good and not reckless.
1. It's probably not that way around. Germany has widened parking spaces. We too had tiny cars like the gogomobile after WW2. But then we didn't. Sign of wealth. The Aufschwung. While Japan Had kei car laws. They make it so that 40 % of cars are this tiny and a kei van packs more utility into less size than a Fiat 500 than most midsize cars in Europe do. You can stretch out and sleep in a kei van.
Yes... I think the culture of courtesy and respect for other people, and a consequent respect for the law, IS what makes Japan a safe environment in which cyclists can ride.. and gives them a safe environment in which to leave their bikes unattended. We should all be a bit more Japanese, I think.
@@gur262I think it is also connected to the law and culture. I have a friend living in Tokyo, who had dreamed for years to get himself an Audi TT - not the biggest car. But his dream was broken, when he realised that it was too long for the only parking available for him.
There are a couple of other factors that help biking in Japan as well: 1. people don't worry about their bikes being stolen. This is true in the big cities and rural towns. Big cities have bike parking at the train stations. People rarely (if ever) lock their bikes. 2. There are no dedicated bike lanes. All the streets are for bikes. As you mentioned, the streets are narrow so the cars move at lower speeds so bikes are able to co-exist with other modes of travel. 3. Kids travel by themselves more than in North America and aren't driven everywhere. The kids in Japan bike from an earlier age and it's normalized as transportation.
@@Eddie47707 Your friend just needs to live in any city other than Tokyo or Osaka. Japanese mid-sized cities are much more car friendly, and in the countryside it's kinda required.
Hi Tom, from Brisbane AUS, but with perspectives from other Australian cities I've lived and worked in. On the road bike culture, there are two things to note: 1. Bike racing is a bike deal in Australia and many young riders aspire to own a road bike and ride fast! 2. Our cycling infrastructure often dumps riders onto main roads and getting from A-B ASAP is advantageous. On helmets, confirming your hunch that they are compulsory and have been since the late-1980s.
I think a part of it has to be that our cities have a lot of sprawl, so if you're riding, you're probably going a decent distance. Light and fast helps. Plus the heat means athletic clothing is usually a good idea so you might as well go all in.
A non-scientific comment on Melbourne - I did a three week bike tour in (the state of ) Victoria some years ago and spent a couple of days in Melbourne. I've never been in a city where bike traffic was so fast, almost frenetic. You really had to get out of the way of a lot of people - most memorably one evening rush hour, with streams of people clearly heading home in a hurry to possibly distant suburbs. It's a cycling memory that has stayed with me for years. When you were about to announce the #1 city for road/racing bikes, I said 'Melbourne!' before you did. 🙂
This is so interesting. Please make this a regular (annual) thing! I'm so tempted to do the same sampling in different spots (and at different times of day/year) in my local area now!
Greetings from Slovakia From my perspective, the main reason, why MTBs are so popular here is, that MTB were new wonder after capitalism and free market came in 90s. Since then, fewer people opted to use casual/hybrid bikes (we also call them trekking bikes or cross bikes - not CX bikes). Basically, default bike for person
Brilliant work! 👏As a cyclist in Melbourne (Oceania) I'm not at all surprised about the data on road bikes here. Aside from a few very niche inner urban areas, especially around universities, cycling is largely viewed as a sporting/fitness pursuit or for fast , direct commuting and mainly for men or those with a higher risk tolerance. Helmets are mandatory here, but given the majority of urban bike lanes are mixed with car traffic, cycling can be daunting or terrifying at times for the casual cyclist. I wouldn't leave home without mine. More separated cycle paths would improve cycling take-up, but change is slow and hard won here!
Also Melburnian, and it's frustrating how close we are to getting that critical mass of infrastructure. We have some nice bike routes, but getting anywhere always involves negotiating a scary street or two. I'd like to know where exactly the counting was done too. Beach Road would be 100% road bikes, but my area has a good mix of road, fixies, dutch style, and commuter.
Yes, fully understand dagitab. I live in Auckland. It's worse than Melbourne for bike paths and is plain dangerous. I've been riding about 50 years here and it's ever so slightly better than it was in 1975, but not much so you'd notice. Nationally we've officially just cut all funding to cycling and pedestrian infrastucture to zero. Pretty much sums nz in a nutshell. As Jethro Tull wrote "Living In the Past" that's NZ and bikes
The honest truth is that the public's perception of cyclists is they should get off the road. Our politicians don't support us and there's no commitment to cycling. Maybe they think they're helping, but the ignorance around infrastructure design amazes me, they are incredibly useless at making anything easy or safe.
@@brianwheeldon4643 Love NZ and was there on my honeymoon. NZ has the best TV commercials, so just get the All Blacks to go on a TV campaign to insist on cycling laws that make for safer riding, and it's done! ;-)
I'm so happy to have been part of this. I made the submisson from Porto Alegre, Brazil. But at the same time I feel a little sad about the under representation of South America. Discussions about things like urbanism, alternative modes of transportation and walkable cities are still in their infancy here. Adding a bit of context, back in the 50s, President Juscelino Kubitschek's push for industrialization in Brazil really ramped up our car-focused cities. It's a big reason why we're playing catch-up in urban design compared to other places. There is a great book called Apocalipse Motorizado(unfortunately not available in english, but it is available on the internet for free and can be easily translated with something like Google Translate). It has some great parts about how Brazil got stuck in this car-centric mindset and how it was mainly influenced by the "American Dream" of the time. "It's like we're following in North America's trend, just a decade or so behind it.
Im glad i was able to contribute. I covered Toledo, our bike path has access to parks so people wear a lot of athletic clothing. Ive also commuted in Ann Arbor Michigan. Big college town with bad parking. They converted a lot of two way streets to one way and made the other lane just for bikes.
I was really happy to contribute and see that somehow I was able to put a piece of Southeast Asia (Manila) on the map. In my city's particular instance, the bike infrastructure is still in its infancy and people still see bikes as more of a recreational thing that should be confined to parks or the side streets. Bike lanes are relatively new (only put up during the pandemic) and motorcycles tend to use them as well. People also tend to wait for a jeepney or a bus ride on the bike lane as well. I hope that the government's plans to put up more bike lanes succeeds.
I was so happy to have Manilla included in this project, so thank you for taking the time to contribute. And this additional context is really helpful. Thank you!
@@Shifter_Cycling Also, here in the Philippines, I think small 100-150cc motorcycles (and now electric scooters and trikes) are competing with bikes on personal mobility. You can get a small motorcycle for just around $1000, even less for electric scooters. Although you can get brand new mountain bikes (with working suspension forks & mechanical disk brakes) for as cheap as $100 in some local bike shops.
@@mindstalk yeah sadly that was how it was during the entire 20-minute span I was recording, although I did notice that in some areas, such as Makati or even Roxas Boulevard in Manila, there are more female bike commuters than usual. In the busier roads like España, there are generally more male cyclists.
I’ve visited Japan many times and I think it out Nertherlands the Netherlands for a couple of main reasons. Firstly cycling is very safe in no small part due to who is held liable if a cyclist and a vehicle are involved in an accident, where I understand the driver is liable to personally pay the possibly high medical cost to the victim. Secondly the combination of extremely efficient public transport and often long distance commutes, then combined with the first point, it makes sense to hop on your bike to shorten the journey time to and from the station. Thirdly, possibly bike theft is low too. Anyway, that’s my hot take.
@@Shifter_Cycling I just came back from Japan visiting a friend who had been there for the last 10 years and he explained to me that on Japanese streets, the "big one" is always responsible for any accident with "smaller ones", as far as driving rules goes. So if a pedestrian walked through an intersection without waiting for the pedestrian light and he's hit by a car, the car is at fault. So Pedestrian < Bike < Motorcycle < Car < Truck. So everyone is watching out for more vulnerable people around them when they are circulating. I was surprised to see people cycling on the sidewalk. From all ages, no helmets, no cycling gear. Same in Kyoto, and a lot of rental bikes for the tourists.
I made the only measurements in Russia - in Kazan and attracted Innopolis. It is very sad that no one else was interested in your Index, although I campaigned to participate. But I am very glad that Tbilisi, a magnificent city, is on this list! Batumi did not have time to take measurements, although there is also a great cycling community there.
Unfortunately, the community post went unnoticed by me, otherwise, I’d have recorded data for Saint Petersburg! I think it’s fair to say, it’s Russia’s bike culture capital.
@@cthulhulord9715 Yeah, St. Petersburg would be cool to see. A flat city with lots of fixed gears and terrible city authorities))) Well, never mind, we will involve more cities in the next study)
I submitted the data for the city of Tbilisi, Georgia: Top-3 in MTBs, almost all casual clothing, and one singular helmet (that would be me lol). Tbilisi is quite a hilly city, as most places are located around the Caucasus Mountains, so naturally you see lots of MTBs here. If I remember correctly, there were a lot of food delivery couriers at the time and place of my recording. I would assume that a wider gear range with better handling of a wider handlebar + market saturation is the cause for the Top-3 MTBs. Also, people here don't regard their (or other's) safety highly: reckless driving is one of the first things that you encounter upon arrival, which should, in theory, motivate people to wear protective gear and bike lights, but that's not the case at all. I'm not a local, I don't get it either.
Очень круто, что ты сделал замеры! Мы с тобой единственные из СНГ, попали в индекс) Батуми почти подтянул, но они не успели. А так бы было эпично конечно!
i miss tblisi, but not the drivers. will never forget the time a marshrutka driver got irritated by the rear-most seat (unoccupied) squeaking from a loose spring or something. He got so angry after 10km or so that he stopped the van, got out angrily, slammed his van door, lit a cigarette, actually ripped out the rear seat and threw it on the side of the road, then slammed the rear door shut, finished half his ciggy, then re-entered the van and resumed our journey. from that day onwards, my working hypothesis has been: reason georgian drivers are so bad/angry/aggressive, often times unnecessarily so (even when there is no time deadline and no traffic in the form of other cars) is because they're all just men trying to get to their next smoke break.
I can explain Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. There are a large number of commuters because it is a college town with a divided campus and bad traffic. Biking is cheaper for students than driving or bus pass. Easier and faster to cut through campus on a bike than drive. There are also a lot of 1 way streets that make driving cars baffling to many people. There is limited parking and they REALLY enforce the parking laws with hefty fines. Hope that helps!
Sounds pretty similar in my small college town of Moscow Idaho, minus the divided campus. We just had a very useless, albeit free, circulator bus. The parking fines actually went to maintaining bike/pedestrian infrastructure on campus, like repainting bike lanes or snowplowing the bike trail.
Any input on Motor City Bicycle (Shop)? At least considering a bike fit there, if not for a new bike in the future, at least for finding which size bike I should be looking for. I'm not that easy of a fit and I'm not even average male height at 5'5 1/2.
I haven’t been to Motor City Bicycle. They have a generally good reputation, though. I can put in a good plug for D&D Bike in Brighton, Michigan. They did a good job. The reason I initially went to D&D and not Motor City was because I wanted a Liv brand bike, D&D carried that brand, but Motor City did not. Mainly depends on what you are looking for. Each shop carries different brands.
As someone who bikes to work in Ottawa, I am in one of the main suburbs but we are still 25 km out from downtown. So my daily commute in the summer on the bike is 50 km daily and the lycra kit helps keep me cool and make the ride just easier to make it through
I'm from Bulgaria - I think people get MTBs because of bad streets. Often bike paths have big curbs when crossing road. My personal choice of bike is MTB because I ride in the forest/offroad. I have road bike for long distance between cities, but in city - I prefer MTB, because of bad roads. I talked to some of my friends - and they don't wear helmets, because it gives them false sense of safety and they take risky maneuvers more often. I personally don't wear helmet, because its one thing less to worry. (for example when I go to store or something, I don't need place to park my helmet).
I personally don't wear helmet, because its one thing less to worry. ..... seems a very curious excuse, do you not lock your bike up when you go in a store???? Padlock bike and helmet together! Simple! NB you say you ride in the forest and off road, presumably up and down hills like Smoylan, Blagoevgrad (lovely looking trails) for example- do you still not wear a helmet?? Thanks for your input Warxcell!
@@Mr.Fox2023 Usually I don't lock my bike. (I don't wear lock at all). About forest riding - half of the time I don't wear helmet. If I go out with intention to do hardcore forest riding - I get helmet, but that's not always the case.
Here is something that may sound interesting to you - I usually take my bike only when I have a little bit more time (weekends/holidays) When I don't have enough time - I take my EUC. (I live in village and I go to town - 50km total, tho I don't commute everyday - maybe once a week). With my EUC I always wear helmet, wrist guards, knee pads and (if weather is not too hot) - motorcycle jacket. I do it because of fear that if something happens to electronics - I'm down.
Thanks for putting this together Shifter. Knowing the exact locations, time of day and day of week would help tremendously with understanding this data. I hadn't thought about the popularity of road bikes in Melbourne before being different from other cities. I see a lot of people taking a road bike into the CBD, and sometimes from the suburbs, which means they need to go fast if they are going to get there quickly. The sidewalks are far too dangerous to ride fast on (because of fences that go up to the sidewalk blocking view of driveways) and ebikes are limited to 25km/h, so the only option if you want to be fast is to use a road bike. We do have a lot of trails that can take you into the city if you'd like to avoid cars which follow creeks and rivers, but people use the road too. I don't see kids riding bikes in the CBD. There are more cargo bikes with children on them in the inner suburbs. Probably because more people live there. Are any of these things unique? Are there other factors?
Thank you so much to your community. It is heartening to see such a collaborative approach. As an Australian I am not surprised. We have a very competitive culture that disguises itself as egalitarian. The cargo bike intersection in Sydney is in the heartland of City of Sydney bike infrastructure. Sydney has had its Rob Ford style politics but thankfully in the central city the long time Mayor, Clover Moore has survived whilst hostile state transport ministers like Duncan Gay are a distant memory.
As for Innopolis, it's not only delivery robots, it's also the only city in Russia AFAIK where cars are allowed to drive on full autopilot (the white-red taxis on the video). Strange but lovely place. Mountain bikes are popular probably due to some good trails close to the city.
Congratulations on your study & 100K subscribers. I was glad to contribute, unfortunately I was the lone cyclist frim Bathurst Australia. In Australia helmet wear is the law, I think cycling is seen as a recreational/sport activity (separate issue to helmet wear), people's mindset is just to drive instead of thinking about cycling or public transport. One factor in Japan is the low theft rate, I was shocked when holidaying there previously seeing bikes with NO LOCKS just parked on the street.
I believe Japanese mamachari, like Dutch omafiet, come with a built-in O-lock or rear wheel lock, to at least prevent riding off with a bike. But yeah, they often don't attach bikes to things. There's mandatory bike registration, along with a very high-trust low-theft culture in general; I once saw someone reserve his place in a busy coffeehouse by dropping his smartphone at the seat next to me and walking off.
@@mindstalk agree, I accidentally left my expensive camera (actually still the ecopenny A-cam) on a seat in a restaurant & panickly went back a few hours later & they had it at the front desk for me 🥰
Hi! This is a great video! I feel bad for miss the opportunity to take a part in your research, but I can answer some of your questions about Eastern Europe, especially Russia. There are few reasons of MTB's popularity: 1) It's the ultimate bike. It has a suspension fork, big durable tires, strong disc brakes and looks cool and aggressive (which is very important, right? c: ) 2) Lack of infrastructure. No bike lines, sometimes no good pedestrian zone, no good asphalt. That why people think MTB is a good choice for harsh conditions. 3) It's very cheap to buy one here in Russia. And, since it's the most common bike, you can buy it everywhere, unlike road bikes and even commuters. 4) Lack of bike culture: a majority of people doesn't know much about different types of bikes. And bike is more like a hobby here, In Eastern Europe. Just a small amount of people really use it as an every day vehicle. It's more about riding on the weekends. But there is one hilarious issue with MTB - There is no many mountains near the cities. Most of russian cities are located on a plain surface. So people don't need a MTB, don't need 18+ speeds (they need just 2-3), don't need strong brakes, don't need a suspension fork (many believe that fork makes it more comfortable to ride in a city). In my opinion, people need bikes like gravel, touring or commuter. And, of course, I see a rising amount of e-bikes on the streets - it's a new game changer. And about helmets: again, lack of bike culture. Only amateurs, like fixers, road bikers or BMX riders wear helmets, because they know about consequences. UPD: MTB in Eastern Europe are like pickup trucks in the US - no one really needs this, but everybody wants one.
Congrats on the achievement Tom . I would be fascinated to follow this trend year over year and see just how many places can be represented. Thank you for the awesome community. I am up in Edmonton still commuting strong El Nino has brought crazy good commuting weather to Alberta so far this “winter”
Congrats on the achievement. I went to 3 different areas of town and filmed for an hour each. Not a single cyclist, maybe it was bad timing. I see 2 or 3 go by my home every day at like 7am probably going to work. Our cycling infrastructure and people scared to bike in Sudbury Ontario with snow (they dont plow here) probably didnt help. Went for a ride yesterday for about an hour and seen several bike tracks but not the person 🤷♂️
Here in Ottawa a LOT of people are into going full-on bike clothes/lycra when they're riding. Even when they're commuting. I feel like I almost stand out wearing my regular clothes when I bike here, but I do use a bike path that attracts people covering longer distances. There are very long bike paths here in Ottawa, so that availability might contribute as well.
Wow, kudos to everyone for contributing and thanks for compiling Tom! Some surprises across the board, Asia seems to always get less mentions in urbanist circles but has got it going on. I am equally surprised on the mix of bikes out there. Looking forward to seeing the next survey in years to come.
Congrats on 100k subscribers. Appreciated this video mainly because it really did give me some things to think about, such as cycling attire, numbers of women riders compared to men, and your interpretations of the data. Very cool effort at gathering information about bicycles and bicyclists globally.
In Ottawa, we have summer bike days. Several major scenic roads that close all across the region, these roads have no intersections for 10's of kms. It has become a growing athletic cultural event to race on these roads on the weekend. It's growing the road bike numbers for sure. I bought one, became a cyclist and found your channel. Thanks for the channel.
I can attest, after living in Japan, that biking and walking are the main modes of transport for small, daily trips. Coming from Portland, Or. where most folks ride stylized or personalized bikes, it was interesting to see almost everyone (except for the odd, kitted out, sport cyclist) riding mamachari. It was actually kind of difficult to find a road bike! Not only is it a super safe place to ride, it just makes sense bc of urban density. In our little city, Okayama, over 1.5 million people live in about a 5 mile radius so you can literally ride to anything in 10-15 minutes. So convenient! Thanks for putting tohether the BCI. Its fascinating!
When you wondered about folding bikes in Manchester, did you consider people commuting by bicycle and train? In the UK, you need to book ordinary bicycles in advance in the two bicycle slots on the train. But you can take folding bikes along any time. The alternative is to have two bicycles, one stored in, e.g., Marylebone station London, the other left in Oxford. Or hire city bikes each day.
Some additional variables to track if you try this again in the future: - What kind of cycling infrastructure was this measured on? I'd imagine a bike path cutting through a park would have different types of cyclists compared a painted bike lane in the heart of downtown. - What day of the week was the measurement taken? I'd assume during weekdays you'd see people dress and ride differently compared to weekends, and you'd likely see a larger proportion of children on weekends. - What types of cars are people driving along the same route? I'd expect that cities with larger vehicles would influence the type of riders you see as well as what they wear. - How do demographics affect what people wear and the type of bikes they ride? For example, you're tracking the number of mountain bike riders and the number of women, but we don't know the number of mountain bike-riding women.
Next year we are waiting. We will do it better. I am thinking of filming in more locations in the capital city and definitely during week days and weekend. @@Shifter_Cycling
Can i say about east europe? I'm from Poland, and i have to say that we were under ZSRR history stuff made us differ up to this day. In 90's i was kid and almost only aviable type of bike (for regular ppl) was mouintain bike. And I learned VERY recently that there are a lot more bikes to ride! I think it's not that we like mouintain bikes (though i like that i can fit one easly in my cellar in block of flats and its no that heavy to carry on stairs) but that is cultural for us. It is changing as you see in Warsaw Poland there seem to be more commuter bike, but when i was buying my commuting bike, like 8 years ago, cheap mouintain bike was obvois choise for me, cos I didn't even know any other. Our history with ZSRR is not so visible in first glance, but if you look at quisine and culture it does show off and never fails to suprise me
The highest percentage of observed recumbents was in Nara, Japan, where I saw two bikes parked in front of a small apartment. Both of them were recumbents. If I had circled by the bike garage at the station the number and type of bike may have been slightly different.
It's funny, I'm 52 and ride my step-thru-ebike with my DOT helmet, I have a trunk on my e-bike to carry my things and a 1st aid kit. My son (28) has a small trunk on his e-bike, and he also uses a back pack, his e-bike looks like a normal road bike with the battery hidden in the down-stem, he uses a normal bicycle helmet. We live in Victoria BC Canada. Thank You for this video 😎
In Eastern Europe, especially Romania where I live, lack of bike infrastructure, bad roads and the need to go offroad sometimes recommend a MTB. And all bike stores promote 80% MTBs, even Decathlon, I assume the biggest bike shop seller in Romania. Plus that a MTB offers you a better protection against potholes and rough terrain and road curbs and sewers. A road bike is fragile and that tiny tyre can crack anytime when hitting something. But lately I am prefering my foldable bike because it fits in the elevator and thieves don't care about foldable bikes. MTBs are their top target. So my MTB remains for long rides and offroad rides in the forests nearby. I certainly consider road bikes in Romania as a fast way to kill yourself. :))
I myself even have 2 helmets from Decathlon, but I don't use them. They are annoying for me. :)) And I had some traffic accidents, jumping over cars' doors a few times, but still I don't want to use them. :)) I might like the feel of wind in my hair, I dunno. :)) @@Danokh
Wow, thank you so much for the contribution. This support is so helpful. I appreciate it.
3 месяца назад
If you ever plan to visit Japan, please don't hesitate to reach out if you need any assistance. As a Dutch person, I've had the opportunity to experience both unique bicycle cultures, each with its own variety of bicycles. Keep up the great work on your episodes!
I live in Curitiba in the southern region of Brazil. Here the climate is a little different from the rest of Brazil because it is colder here with lower temperatures. I particularly use the bike to get to and from work 3 kilometers from my house. I don't wear a helmet and I use bike bags, I didn't carry anything on my back. As the commute is short, I usually only take one shirt to change into at work. I like a simple life and the bike contributes a lot to that. I love watching your videos. Thank you very much for your shares.
Dallas, Tx has decent bike infrastructure, but the lack of elevation around here just makes for speedier cycling (and driving). There are plenty of route options on the road when the maps are very grid like as well. I was surprised that I fit right into the category of a helmeted race kit wearing road bike rider. Maybe that camera was at white rock lake- one of the hotspots for roadies! Great video!
Hi Tom! Thanks for sharing! I'm sorry the video quality was not very good. I realized later that the sunlight was kind of blurring the image, which I did not notice while I was recording it. Anyway, amazed to see how you pulled it off. That was A LOT of data! Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
My anecdotal two-cents: Commuting by e-bike for the past 3 years I've observed firsthand the uptick in e-bike riders in Victoria, BC. Back when I started, I might have encountered 1 or 2 others on e-bikes each day; now, it's a 50/50 split.
I'm glad you got data for Edmonton. We've had a big shift in how people bike in recent years, and one of the biggest changes has been in the number of cargo bikes, often parents with kids.
Very proud to have contributed to this one! I've visited Japan and remember very well all the cycling and hope this video gets more people interested. It's a unique place in the usual western perception because they have such a culture but little of the pristine dedicated infrastructure seen in Europe. Same applies to pedestrian culture. I was often on roads without a sidewalk! Also, I may have selected the wrong option on your submission form but you're free to use the video I took in Paris. In the map or in future videos as b-roll.
Excited to see Greenville, SC represented!! I was sad I didn't get the chance to film the Swamp Rabbit Trail for this video but so glad to see someone else beat me to it!!🚲
@@dennisc6716 Greenville has become an island of walkability / bikeability in an ocean of car dependence. Serious props to the city for their great work over the last 10 years
I wish I had been aware that this was happening. Washinton DC has a large cycling community and we have one of the largest bike share systems in the US. Falls church Virginia just doesn't capture what DC bike life is like.
I'd like to comment on cycling in Japan (where I study) and Lithuania (where I lived for most of my live). So Japan: 1) Definitely mamachiari (that's what they call their city bikes) are the nr.1, but being a homeland to Shimano, you see insane amounts of road bikes during weekends. 2) Helmets are actually mandatory since April 2023, but there are no fine nor enforcement - so very few people wear one, unless their on roadbikes. 3) Cycling infrastructure is near non-existent here. In city you are required to cycle on road, but no separate cycle lanes (there are lines painted often on the side of the road, but they are disregarded by drivers, buses, taxis), no separate traffic lights. The cycling paths along the rivers have gates, that prevent you from cycling through in places where you cross any road (even if it's basically unused). So complete neglect of actual cycling infrastructure and favour of car-centric design. Nowhere near the Dutch infrastructur, and even Lithuania beats Japan by a mile here (and that's a pretty low standart compared to Netherlands). Bike-parkings near the stations are amazing though. 4) Absolutely terrible cycling culture. Since you are required to cycle on road, but it's not safe to do so, everyone cycles on sidewalks, which are narrow. Often you can see a cyclist going in the opposite direction to traffic, endangering everyone on road, crossing roads illegally, drunk cycling, cycling while holding an umbrella (all forbidden and with hefty fines, but no proper enforcement). As an European, I'm frightened by this anarchy. About Lithuania: 1) The abundance of basic MTBs is easily explained by low cost and market - even now getting a hold of "city bike" is challenging there. The road and e-bikes are getting increasingly popular, but still majority of supply is MTB or hybrid bikes. Also, e-scooters are abundant. 2) Helmets are not mandatory unless you're a minor, but I would say there is a noticeable increase in usage in the last 10 years. 3) Cycling infrastructure is being developed, and the Dutch are the model here - so experience is way better than in Japan.
Interesting. I live in a suburban CA area and I see many roadies and some MT bikers. Rarely someone that looks like a commuter. I would love to see really safe bike lanes. Every time I ride near cars in traffic, I put my bike away for another month.
I recorded the San Diego data, but it may be biased since I went to downtown and the beach areas (between La Jolla and Pacific Beach). It's mostly gridded residential streets with some bike lanes and paths. I live more inland in the suburbs and see more roadies than anything. I only ride my bike to the trolley station.
From Tucson, Arizona, here. I guess I'm kind of an outlier. I'm a 69 year old male who commutes daily on a road bike (touring bike) and wears a helmet religiously. At 69 I've been riding a bike in this town for 43 years. In the early college days it was for saving money. Now riding is for maintaining health. I use a road bike and especially a touring bike because, basically the city roads are not the best. Lot's of pot holes and uneven repair patches makes for a very bumpy ride. A touring bike has slightly bigger tires and has a longer wheel base. As far as wearing a helmet goes, all I can say is that it just makes sense to wear one. In fact, it's hard to think of a reason not to. As I say to anyone on two wheels, "It doesn't matter how well you ride. It's how badly they drive." Thanks for the informative video.
I live in PNW. There are no dedicated bike lanes, so I ride on the back streets and a city maintained trail[ a whopping 1.5 miles!] A helmet is a must ,as I'm a retired RN and I can tell you the head injury stories. I wear padded lycra tights because they are warm and comfortable. My bike ,as well as public transit that carries my bike, have primarily taken the place of my car. I'm a safe rider in a city of unsafe motorists!
I live in Oceanside, near San Diego. I wear my helmet. But it does seem common that in the county, I only notice the sport cyclist wearing their helmet, but all others don't. I wear mine for safety and legal reasons. Not just because it's the law, but because I've heard of bicyclists suing those that hit them and losing because one big factor is they weren't wearing a helmet.
I recorded the San Diego data in downtown and Bird Rock neighborhood. I only moved here a few months ago, but I was also surprised by the lack of helmets by riders on the 101 and the San Diego beach areas when I started riding. It's not exactly a "bike-friendly" region IMO but the weather is hard to beat.
@AssBlasster Nice, I'm glad you did that. I wish the whole county was more bike friendly. Oceanside has "Bike friendly" signs in places where there is no shoulder nor bike lane. Even a little inland, I don't see many people wear helmets.
Hey Tom, have you ever heard of Ghent, Belgium? It's where I live and surprisingly very often gets forgotten as a super cycling centric city. According to a study back in 2015, there were 322.000 bicycles parked all over the city, which is 3x the number of cars, and more than one for every inhabitant, students included! And it has only gotten more cycling-centric since. That's a bigger bicycle to inhabitant ratio than even Amsterdam!
In Auckland NZ where majority (~30%) of the population and similarly Wellington another big city, the terrain is very hilly throughout the city and suburbs. Cycling infrastructure is also more limited and the area isn't that dense. This probably makes road bikes prevalent because they're designed to be lighter and more efficient especially on roads. With Auckland a large amount of the population commutes from the suburbs to the city. This means those which do commute by bike probably travel longer distances further driving the use if road bikes and sports clothing.
22:00 Japan -> short answer = restrictions to car commuting make it feel safe to bike (other places in the world have the right urbanism/density and they're not alone in prioritizing public transport/combined trips, but afaik no other country has banned both overnight onstreet parking +buying a motor vehicle you can't prove you have a private parking spot for)
@@Shifter_Cycling why thank *you*! ^^ (Like others have pointed out, this is in spite of lacking any quality infra specifically for bikes: meaning cyclists are mostly biking in local streets/alleys for short trips e g to local train stations and not quite so much on avenue sidewalks/similar for longer stretches)
Putting my hand up for Ottawa, here! Ottawa has a great commuting culture, but also a lot of weekend warriors, especially during summer when some major roads are closed for active use. Combine this with the relatively high incomes in the city (the major employers are government, universities, and tech), and you get a lot of fancy roads bikes and Lycra. I tend to associate racing clothing with affluence in a cycling culture more than anything else.
as someone from ottawa, i cant speak for everyone, but the reason i wear more race style clothes is cause riding on the road slow feels like im not getting anywhere and that cars dont pass as far, so i tend to bike in a high gear which results in me getting sweaty, so i got active clothing to help keep me comfortable and when im done riding i can just get changed instead of my main clothes being sweaty, and i got more race clothing cause i was already spending money on active clothes i might aswell get a performance increase also.
definitely a good bikegeek video, thanks! Would certainly be good to know what kind of area (central/commercial/tourist/suburb etc.) the recordings were done, and crucially what day and time. Here in Lisbon (and I guess most places) you see a lot more sporty bikes and lycra at the weekends.(hopefully I'll out a pin in the map for you next time!)
I own and ride a dedicated road bike and a dedicated gravel bike (2021 Ridley Fenix SL for road and 2021 Guerciotti Brera for gravel). I bought the Ridley from Putnam Cyclery in the U.S state of Connecticut. I bought the Guerciotti at Bike Zone Cape Cod but then did a frame swap from small to extra small at Putnam Cyclery. My bike ride from home to work is road, gravel rail trail, road, paved rail trail, then road. I wear an aero road helmet and sometimes an MTB helmet. Run two rear lights and one front light (all Lezyne), run two bike bags, and wear full Giordana Silverline kit. My job actually pretty much requires “athletic leisure” clothing, so it turns out that my work clothing is also my everyday clothing. I love it and would not change it for anything! ❤
This is so fun - I love your map! I would have totally done Calgary if I'd realized in time. If you add more data points in each city with time, I'm game to hit the bluff or somewhere like that!
Here in Iowa, it's a lot of small towns with not a lot of cycling infrastructure, we've got a lot of glacially carved hills, gravel roads, and the side streets tend are a little more rough, so hybrids tend to be very popular. Not sure if those would be classified as commuter or mountain bikes in these datasets, since by definition they land right in the middle.
Hy everyone, Bucharest - Romania here, I am a bike rider in this city ever since I was like 7 years old, I own a hardtail mountain bike and a single speed/ fixie style bike. In my use, depending on where I need to be and the purpose of my ride will directly influence my clothing and whether or not I use my helmet. I own athletic gear but I rarely use it (only on longer rides to the forests near the city) and choose casual clothing for casual riding in the city since it is a lot more comfortable. The helmet does not see a lot of use in the city limits, only due to the fact that I feel safe enough in my riding style and my usual routes to not feel the need for it, but it is a must when going in the mountains for more adventurous riding. I think mountain bikes are so present in Eastern Europe due to the fact that they are the most present model of bike found in stores and people find them suitable for the riding conditions (poor roads and lack of bike lanes) and possibility of using them for work/ commuting and for fun (2 birds one stone kind of deal). For me, when I need to get somewhere fast I get the Single speed out and carve through traffic and get the job done, but when I need to have some fun, the Hardtail comes out for trails in parks, wheelies and all sorts of goofing around. Thank you for all the work you have done to compile this data and to everyone who submitted their data. Stay safe out there and keep riding 🚲❤🌍🌎🌏
When I traveled to China (2007 & 2009), I was fascinated by the fairly homogeneous, yet distinct bike cultures in cities from the different provinces I visited, as well as the changes I observed in only two years. Keep in mind, the 2008 Olympics were in Beijing. Beijing - massive bicycling culture, whole lanes of major streets were dedicated to bicycles, mostly casual commuter style. I bought a bike for $40 US, rode it for a week, then sold it. What a great way to see such a fascinating city! Sorry, my memory is fuzzy as to which interior city it was in which electric bikes were the norm (as in, 90% of the very numerous bikes). I was amazed by the differences in different cities that were so pervasive in each city. I wish you put sample sizes, since you gave a city #1 in a category when the busiest cycle area had only one bike in 20 minutes? Hmmmm…. Anyway, enjoyed the video and thanks for putting in the work to make an effort to understanding bike cultures.
Thank you Shifter, from a cold and snowy Beijing where I (usually) ride my Tern A7 which is so comfortable in its upright position. Love your videos thank you
I live near Snohomish Washington and we have a 30 mile rail trail (Centennial) with the south end in Snohomish, so a lot of people are on go fast road bikes with full Lycra jerseys and shorts. There is a second group of older people on e-bikes and a very small number of us on recumbents. There are plans to connect the trail in Snohomish County with the network of trails in King County (Seattle) and once that happens there might be more commuting
as someone that uses a mountain bike (with smooth, wide tires) as urban transportation, i feel like this deserves comment. mountain bikes are good on rough pavement, like you say ... also, cheap old ones lack a lot of the features that make mountain bikes more differentiated from commuter bikes like super-wide bars, rear suspension, and extreme gearing. cheap old mountain bikes used to be popular delivery vehicles in places like nyc before the ebike took over. i think the deal with mountain bikes is that people aren't choosing them for any particular capability. they're mostly recycling old, widely available, versatile, kinda unfashionable/low-status/cheap bikes into adequate city bikes.
Hey shifter! Helped contribute data for several random cities in the western US (Spokane, San Diego, etc) when I was conveniently traveling with some spare time. It was definitely a mixed bag of results with some busy bike lanes and terrible ones with like 1-2 bikers spotted in 20 minutes...
Thank you so much for taking the time to supply so much data. There are some pretty stark difference between different cities within the same country, especially a country as big and diverse as the U.S. It's really great to be able to see some of these differences, so thank you!
HI I am in tropical Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, very small percentage of people commute on bicycle due to distance and car centric town planning. I cycle 25 km 3 times a week, so i choose a Decathlon Hybrid commuting bicycle with 700x 38C road tyres for less rolling resistance and the large diameter is safer and more comfortable over potholes and worn out tar. I carry about 10 kgs in 'IKEA' bags tied to a rack as it is too hot (limited ventilation) and heavy to carry back packs. I wear long cycle pants and long sleeve to keep out the sun and radiation from tar as it takes one hour each way. So i carry a change of clothes when necessary. Habit to wear helmet which also provide some shade. Several friends use folding bikes as first last mile connect when using trains. Thanks for another good video.
New Zealand here - it doesn’t surprise me that Rotorua had so many mountain bikes, the town has heaps of really great mountain bike tracks and its a tourist destination for people from bigger cities nearby to go mountain biking. In terms of helmets, I don’t know if using them influences us to associate biking with aggressive riding and speed, because everyone wears them growing up and riding around to friends houses. It's more likely that because commuting by bike is not common, most people who ride bikes are the kind of people who are particularly passionate about it. There's fewer casual cyclists, so there are more expensive road bikes in use.
Eastern Europe and mountain bikes. I'm not sure if this is fully correct, but at least what I saw when growing up in Slovenia through the 90s. I remember that there were mostly road, commuter, casual and compact bikes, hardly any MTBs. Shifters were usually a 3 speed internal sifter, or a serious road bike with a shifter. Or is some fortunate person had a pre-WW2 bike with a large internal shifter. But after 1991 there was just this big flood of MTBs from abroad, local companies all started producing MTBs so much so that nearly all commuter, casual and compact bikes till the late 2000s were only vintage or fancy import ones. The used bike market is flooded with MTBs now of various quality and wear. You can get a working used locally made MTB for 50€ from the 90s. Prices are slowly going up for those vintage bikes. Especially now that people notice the value and build quality of those old steel frames. So those old vintage bikes from the 60s are not "virtually-free" anymore but are around 250-500 € now. So much so that many of the ones pulled out from the river in the yearly river cleaning are often being restored. And I suspect a good quality built MTB steel frame will soon end up more than 50€. But while they are this cheap, anyone who does not value a good ride, just buys a used one for peanuts prices and runs it till it stops working. I suspect other Eeastern European nations have a similar story.
Here in Alaska it changes depending on the season, we have a ton of fat tire bikes all year round, but shifts over to more commuter style in the summer due to the a combination of of tourists and seasonal workers
I add to that... I am 41, commuted today 37 Km in a 2008 GaryFisher Wahoo, with a 40 Lt NorthFace backPack... the traffic in Bogotá was insanely slow today; I love commuting and will be upgrading in 2024 so I can commute more often...
I think it would be really cool to collect these data annually! We could track trends and evolution over time considering changes in laws, infrastructure, climate change, etc.
I live in Vilnius Lithuania. Sadly, my city was not represented here, but the numbers of Kaunas seem like they are right on point and the situation is quite similar. I will try to break down the situation that I think applies to many Eastern European cities. Just as close as five years ago our bike lanes were simply drawn on pedestrian pavements, so we had to cycle mostly on concrete tiles that were often broken and made it quite dangerous and uncomfortable, or use the roads alongside other vehicles. The city is also quite hilly. Riding an urban bike was not a great experience at all. Furthermore, almost everyone in Vilnius lives like 15 min. on a bike from woods, where you can enjoy an extensive network of single tracks. Riding a mountain bike was the most logical solution. However, in recent years many cities started pouring money into new bike infrastructure and now the situation is markedly different. The new bike lanes are so nice and easy to ride that those who are used to the old ones don't feel the need to wear a helmet. As a result, we see more and more urban, electric and even cargo bikes. As for the clothing, we usually commute to work in our casual clothes, but, as I mentioned, the nature is so close to the city, that we rarely use cars to bring our bikes to the woods but rather just cycle there in our athletic gear.
I’m glad that someone did Fredericton, New Brunswick. I moved here from Ontario in July and discovered that the city is very bike friendly For a city with a population of 63,000 people, it has 45km of bike lanes, 39km of bike trails and an overall 120+ km trail network for the city and region. From looking at the data, a little more than half wear bike helmets even though New Brunswick has a bike helmet law. The data is interesting but it’s definitely not the whole picture of bike culture. There are so many other variables such as terrain of the cities, population, climate etc.
I'm from Eastern Europe, I have a mountain bike, I don't wear a helmet and wear regular clothes (more like sports clothes, but not special for cycling). In my opinion, a mountain bike is convenient both on roads and off-road (if necessary). Also, because of the aromatization of the fork, it is more convenient to drive onto curbs and something like that
In Brooklyn, NY and I have a Brompton (commuter style bike with fenders ) and when it is colder I use a backpack. When it is warmer I use my bag that attaches to my Brompton.
Good afternoon shifter . Future topic of interest ?? Maintenance of bike paths ,road routes, placing of manholes (very slippery) clearing and bike route /path maps along the route to give you a definite sense of direction. Vancouver here .not many bike route maps on route . Might be good . Happy holidays ,🍺🎄
Florida,as a state,is extremely bike friendly,and the amount of people using bikes is amazing! Several cities,have marked bike trails,and bike shops are very accessible! I can speak of the West Coast,as I now live there,and even the Florida Transportation Map,has info on biking,so its user friendly! Hope the info is useful,and adds to your data base! And an addendum- New York City has been adding much bike infrastructure,and if you check RU-vid,for Aviation Mechanic,my buddy Jimmy Donohue has videos on those bike lanes,and operations! Thank you 😇 😊!
Here in the Philippines, it can get really hot here so it's common to see people wearing shorts and sandals to combat heat and also the rain. I like wearing breathable clothes than can be used for everyday wear or cycling but I never wear cycling-specific clothes like spandex. When it gets sunny, I wear sun sleeves and mask to prevent sunburns and such
What's interesting about my area in Texas is I see commuters on hybrids, mountain bikes, and other bikes more frequently than I see sports cyclists in lycra, but i see more sports cyclists in lycra overall because of how many tend to ride in a single pack.
I'm from The Netherlands and i ride a bike that's a hybrid between mountain bike and city bike. It has the gears and thicker wheels of a mountain bike, has front suspension but also has build in front en rear lights a baggage rack on the back and i have the seat and handle bar set up in a way that is more upright than a normal mountain bike. For me this is the ideal type of bike, having the best of both bike types. And or course i don't wear a helmet while biking and i wear the clothes i will wear at the destination (so mostly everyday clothes). I do ride my bike year long, not matter if it's -15 degrees or 30 degrees (Celsius), in the sun, snow and rain. Personally i don't wear any weather gear (like a rain coat) because i don't like those types of clothes and i don't mind some wet hair.
