Transport

I started this blog in 2005, later this year it will be 17 years old. Looking back over the hundreds of articles written, I realized I had seen the Fixie trend arrive and disappear again’

Hipsters riding fixed wheel track bikes (Sometimes brake-less.) on the road. What happened to the “Hipster?” They must still be around, but probably under some new name that I have yet to learn.

I imagine they are all riding e-bikes and e-scooters now. Electric assist. The bicycle industry finally overcame the last drawback to riding a bicycle, it requires effort to propel it along, especially up hill.

There has never been a perpetual motion machine made that will run for free without some energy input from somewhere. In terms of efficiency, the bicycle is the best renewable source, form of transport that you can use over and over again for free, aside from initial cost, and a little maintenance.

I am ignoring skates, skateboards, scooters, and the like, because although slightly more efficient than running or walking, (The most basic form of transport.} In a straight-out race, the pedal bicycle would win every time.

In the mid-1980s when my business was operating at its peak, the bikes I produced were probably the simplest and most efficient of that era. Simple friction shift, and rim brakes, and aerodynamically efficient’

However, for an unfit person, the saddle was too hard, the aero position was uncomfortable, and the friction gear levers needed a certain skill set to operate. Add to that, the fact that the bikes were over geared for most but the strongest of athletes.

In other words, a person needed enough dedication to stick with it until their body reached a level of fitness, where riding ceased to be a chore and became a pleasure. Few had this level of dedication, which is why many of the bikes I built in the mid-1980s are still in nearly new condition when re-sold on eBay or Craig’s List.

Any form of exercise regime requires effort and dedication. How many people pay a gym membership or buy an exercise machine and then fail to use it regularly? The bicycle is both a form of transport and an exercise machine, but few take full advantage of that fact.

The drawbacks of commuting to work on a bike is that one is exposed to the elements. You arrive at work soaked in rain or sweat. The advantages of electric assist do not go unnoticed.

Many see electric bikes and electric cars as the future but remember even electricity needs to be transported. The best places for producing wind or solar power are not necessarily where electricity is needed, and there is a cost in getting it there.

Even our most basic need like water must be transported from its source to where it is needed. That means pumping using electricity. Everything, including ourselves needs to be transported often on a daily basis.

In the meantime, all the batteries for these electric vehicles are being produced in China because they are cheaper. One of the reasons they cost less is because China uses cheap fossil fuels to produce electricity.

We also have an abundance of cheap fossil fuel but may do the right thing and not use it. Isn’t that the principle they used when restaurants had a smoking section?