from Hacker News

Can we make bicycles sustainable again?

by dragonsh on 4/12/23, 2:43 AM with 86 comments

  • by thenoblesunfish on 4/12/23, 4:01 AM

    All the numbers given here seem tiny in comparison to the emissions from manufacturing or using a car. It seems like premature optimization at best, and might even be counterproductive by implying that because some bikes are more sustainable than others, bikes are somehow unsustainable as a whole.

  • by ggm on 4/12/23, 3:00 AM

    There's nothing wrong with continuous improvement but when you are trying to fine tune something in the flat portion of an exponential scale, and lets face it, even the most expensive bike shown here is 1/2 the burden of an ICE engine car, you have to ask yourself: is this optimisation really the core problem?

    I argue: it's not. It's polishing. It's functionally a bit time-wast-y compared to reductions in the cost, and price of ebikes.

    I tell you what I'd like as a bike rider: I'd like the post evergiven/covid supply chain behind my brake fluid fixed. It's insanely expensive to replace brakes and gears and wheels on a street bike these days: I ride a Movida 200 which is a pretty average, low end disc-brake unit with fluid breaklines, and I am up for a horrendous cost in parts to replace: the labour I can understand, this isn't a zero-work job. But the supply chain fragility in bicycles is truly scary: I paid twice the base cost of my (admitedly secondhand) bike, repairing it these last 2 years.

    I know: I should learn to do this myself. I did once long ago last century take apart a sturmy-archer 3 speed hub gear, and remake it, and I did have no left over parts. Amazing. Some of the springs were like fairy-floss. Now, I have old person shakey hands and to be frank I'd rather pay a hipster to do it for me, but the parts cost is just obscene. I'm not paying his tattoo costs, this is some anonymous bike part warehouse in the cloud, which is ripping us all off worldwide.

  • by cyclotron3k on 4/12/23, 4:30 AM

    I view my carbon bikes as a form of carbon sequestration. Esp. when I ask to be buried with them.

  • by nmpennypacker on 4/12/23, 5:09 AM

    I ride a titanium bike with rim brakes. It was custom made, and relatively expensive ($5,000 USD), but it is the only bike I ride, and it will last my entire lifetime, and more (it will require occasional component upgrades, just like any other bike). Plus, the ride quality is superb. I've found that, as with most things, investing in quality over quantity is the way to go. My bike may have been slightly 'less green' to manufacture, but I only need one, ever.

  • by mitchbob on 4/12/23, 3:42 AM

  • by pfych on 4/12/23, 5:04 AM

    This website offers a lighter weight version of itself if anyone would prefer that[1]. It's so slim the author runs it on a computer running entirely off solar power. It's good to see more of their articles being posted!

    [1]: https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2023/02/can-we-make-bicycl...

  • by newaccount74 on 4/12/23, 4:43 AM

    I think some of their numbers are a bit misleading. The paper that calculates the CO2 usage of e-cargo bike vs e-van compares a huge 4-wheeled electric cargo "bike" (sum-x) with the smallest van they could find (nissan e-nv).

    The kinds of cargo bikes that people get for home use are much smaller and presumably use a lot less CO2 than the commercial transporter with pedals they looked at in the paper.

  • by diebeforei485 on 4/12/23, 4:49 AM

    I feel like modern bicycles seem to be optimized for light weight over ease of maintenance and longevity.

    Modern bicycles (except new e-bikes with chain guards and internal hub gears) require degreasing and lubing every two weeks, These are not going to be very attractive to people who use other means of transport, because cars don't need this sort of frequent maintenance.

  • by renewiltord on 4/12/23, 4:25 AM

    Bicycle is only unsustainable because the probability of theft is high. I switched to Baywheels. Massive QoL improvement.

  • by htag on 4/12/23, 3:42 AM

    Are there any brands that are specifically known for having highly compatible parts of long lifespans of products?

  • by ck2 on 4/12/23, 4:07 AM

    You think this generation is going to be riding more bicycles?

    Likely far far less, the roads are insanely dangerous and toxic now.

    I don't know what it is like in other cities but in mine at least one out of ten vehicles is now one of those new ridiculous monster sized trucks that not only cannot see you, they wouldn't care if they did.

    The bicycle lane line is now something to cruise over for these drivers while they look down at their phones.

    It's only going to take one more generation for people to stop even trying to bike anywhere, people don't want to be that stressed out.

  • by throwaway22032 on 4/12/23, 11:12 PM

    Okay, so they calculate that the worst produced bicycle produces 250kg co2 equivalent.

    That's about 2 months worth of my diet. Maybe less.

    Like, if I cycle for an hour I'll burn enough calories to produce approx 1kg co2e from the foods I eat.

    This is "switch off your LED light bulb" levels of daft.

  • by deafpolygon on 4/12/23, 4:52 AM

    Hello from the Netherlands!

  • by xiphias2 on 4/12/23, 3:50 AM

    From the graph: yes. Just compare electric bikes to cars instead of old bikes, and they are relatively sustainable.