Bicycling in the rain and hauling a refrigerator and kids is something that comes up a lot less than critics of bicycling as transportation think.

Fair weather bicyclists often find that their definition of fair weather expands the more they bicycle.

They start thinking about the times they *can* bicycle as opposed to the tikes they can't.

#Bicycling #BikeTooter

Bicycling in the rain and hauling a refrigerator and kids is something that comes up a lot less than critics of bicycling as transportation think.

Fair weather bicyclists often find that their definition of fair weather expands the more they bicycle.

They start thinking about the times they *can* bicycle as opposed to the tikes they can't.

#Bicycling #BikeTooter

A more comfortable and healthier bicycle saddle - who wouldn't want that? The bicycle manufacturing industry does not seem too keen on it.

I wonder if they could successfully market these seats direct to consumers?

#bicycling #bicycles #cycling

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-24/innovative-bike-seat-designs-to-combat-cycling-saddle-pain/105898628

A more comfortable and healthier bicycle saddle - who wouldn't want that? The bicycle manufacturing industry does not seem too keen on it.

I wonder if they could successfully market these seats direct to consumers?

#bicycling #bicycles #cycling

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-24/innovative-bike-seat-designs-to-combat-cycling-saddle-pain/105898628

In the natural world, what is the probably the most efficient traveler?

Probably a fish like a salmon

Not a horse. Not a bird like a pigeon. And a mouse is surprisingly inefficient

And not a human

But

Put us on a #bicycle and it seems we have the entire natural world beat *and* all of our machines 😲

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-human-on-a-bicycle-is-among-the-most-efficient-forms-of-travel-in-the/

#Science #Biology #Engineering #bikes #bike #bicycles #bicycling #bikestodon

In the natural world, what is the probably the most efficient traveler?

Probably a fish like a salmon

Not a horse. Not a bird like a pigeon. And a mouse is surprisingly inefficient

And not a human

But

Put us on a #bicycle and it seems we have the entire natural world beat *and* all of our machines 😲

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-human-on-a-bicycle-is-among-the-most-efficient-forms-of-travel-in-the/

#Science #Biology #Engineering #bikes #bike #bicycles #bicycling #bikestodon

Achievement unlocked: I have ridden a bicycle with square wheels. This is from earlier this week at our department's "block party" for our majors and interested students.

I'm proud (and a bit intimidated TBH) to work in the same department as Stan Wagon, the mathematician who made the square wheel bike -- and the surface on which you can ride it.

https://stanwagon.com/

https://www.macalester.edu/mscs/multimedia/squarewheeledbike/squarewheelbike/

#HeyMac #macalestercollege #bicycling #catenary

Achievement unlocked: I have ridden a bicycle with square wheels. This is from earlier this week at our department's "block party" for our majors and interested students.

I'm proud (and a bit intimidated TBH) to work in the same department as Stan Wagon, the mathematician who made the square wheel bike -- and the surface on which you can ride it.

https://stanwagon.com/

https://www.macalester.edu/mscs/multimedia/squarewheeledbike/squarewheelbike/

#HeyMac #macalestercollege #bicycling #catenary

Swapping brakes and levers

@bicycles

I have a randonneur bike from the 1980ies which still has many of the original parts. As far as i can tell it still has the original calipers and brake levers (shimano 600 ex or something similar, with cel 60 levers that go perpendicular in front of the handlebar; the caliper just says dia compe, it might be a dia compe gran compe 400). The brake shoes have been changed of course, but still the brakes are not very good. Trying to adjust the bowden cables didn't change much.

I'd like to take the bike for a tour across the alps, and am trying to figure out how to improve the brakes for it to feel safe. Does it make sense to change them completely, or should they still do their job well if set up correctly? If they should be changed, what do I need to consider when changing them? Since they are screwed onto the handlebar, would any modern break lever fit? What kind of brake should I get for a good improvement in brake strength if I don't want to go for disc brakes?

#cycling #bicycles #bicycling

@yianiris@ajsadauskas One more important point to share: Overall road deaths per 100,000 people.

The OECD average is 4.28 people killed driving each year per 100,000 people.

The Netherlands is slightly below this at 4.19.

And the USA? It's at 12.84.

Source: https://datahub.roadsafety.gov.au/progress-reporting/international-comparisons

So you are more than three times more likely to be killed on the roads in the USA than in the Netherlands.

And you are more than four times more likely to be killed cycling (per kilometre cycled) in the USA.

#cycling #cylce #bicycling #urbanism #UrbanPlanning #bicycles #bicycle #bikes #bike #Netherlands #TheNetherlands #Holland #Europe

@yianiris@ajsadauskas One more important point to share: Overall road deaths per 100,000 people.

The OECD average is 4.28 people killed driving each year per 100,000 people.

The Netherlands is slightly below this at 4.19.

And the USA? It's at 12.84.

Source: https://datahub.roadsafety.gov.au/progress-reporting/international-comparisons

So you are more than three times more likely to be killed on the roads in the USA than in the Netherlands.

And you are more than four times more likely to be killed cycling (per kilometre cycled) in the USA.

#cycling #cylce #bicycling #urbanism #UrbanPlanning #bicycles #bicycle #bikes #bike #Netherlands #TheNetherlands #Holland #Europe

@yianiris@ajsadauskas Let's run through this:

"The more you (the state) separate vehicles the more likely is to have car drivers assume the "road" belongs to cars only and display no mercy from "invading" vehicles on their domain. They will not even LOOK for a bicycle at some stage, and motorcycles are also in danger for the same bias."

Typically, the dedicated bike lanes go on main roads.

Side streets still have mixed traffic, and are dropped to 30 kph or less.

Here's what the research shows:

"Pedestrian crash: There is a 10 per cent risk that a pedestrian will be killed if hit by a modern car at 30km/h.

"At a 50km/h impact speed, the risk increases to 80 per cent.

"Side impact crash with another vehicle: There is a 10 per cent risk that a person in a safe car will be killed if they crash at speed of up to 45-50km/h. At a 70km/h impact speed, the risk increases to 80 per cent.

"Side impact crash with a tree/pole: Because the energy is concentrated on a smaller area, side impact crashes with a narrow, fixed object, like a tree or pole, are less survivable than those with another vehicle, and the fatality risk at 45-50km/h is much higher.

"Head on/frontal impact with another vehicle: There is a 10 per cent risk of a driver/passenger being killed at collision speeds up to 70km/h. At 90km/h the risk is up to 80 per cent.

"With increased speed, the amount of energy released in a crash increases. It is inevitable that some of this energy will be absorbed by the human body. However, the human body can only withstand limited forces before injury or death occurs.

"Pedestrians and bicycle riders are particularly vulnerable as they are unprotected during a crash."

https://www.icare.nsw.gov.au/-/media/icare/unique-media/employers/employer-obligations/injury-prevention/road-safety/speed-fact-sheet.pdf

In short, speed is the key risk factor.

So the aim on side streets is to drop the speed limit to 30 kph or less, and add traffic calming, to drop the risk of a fatality to 10%.

On main roads where the speed limit is above 30 kph, you separate out cyclists into dedicated separated lanes, making collisions less frequent.

And the most car-centric drivers who think the road belongs to them tend to be in car-dependent suburban areas where driving is the only viable mode of transport.

"Tremendous expense and useless infrastructure, trillions of tons of more cement to sink into the ground, just so the state can pretend it did something for public safety."

It's a far more effective use of street space than an additional lane for car traffic, which is what the alternative would be.

Because the modal share for driving only decreases when there are viable, safe, and faster alternatives.

"In countries where there are virtually no bike lanes other vehicles have learned to watch and respect cyclists."

The modal share for cycling is far higher in the Netherlands than any major US city:

"Already world-leading in cycling for transport, new figures from the Netherlands show that modal share is now topping 50% of journeys in some regions.

"Utrecht leads the way, with 51% of journeys made by bike, according data from the Knowledge Institute for Mobility Policy. Amsterdam closely follows with 48% of trips cycled."

https://cyclingindustry.news/netherlands-further-builds-on-cyclings-modal-share-hitting-51-in-utrecht/

"US/UK/AUS/NL/FR have the most fatal cyclist accidents than everyone else."

The US has a significantly higher rate of fatal cycling accidents per billion kilometres cycled than the Netherlands.

And it's not even close.

It's 44 per bn km cycled in the US, vs 10.7 in the Netherlands:

"In countries like the Netherlands and Denmark where people cycle an average of 864 and 513 kilometers each year, the number of cyclists killed per billion kilometers of bicycle travel stands at 10.7 and 14.6 respectively.

"Compare that to the United States where the average cyclist travels 47 kilometers in a year. However, the death toll stands at 44 per billion kilometers, pointing towards the fact that the fewer cyclists there are, the more likely accidents and fatalities are to occur."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/02/24/the-more-cyclists-in-a-country-the-fewer-fatal-crashes-report-infographic/?sh=3d721b6d33b3

So you are four times more likely as a cyclist to be killed on roads in the US than the Netherlands.

The big difference is that the modal share for cycling in Utrecht is over 50%.

So yes, if more people in absolute terms are cycling every day, then in absolute terms more people will be in crashes than in cities where hardly anyone cycles.

But per km cycled, the Netherlands is 4x safer than the US.

#cycling #cylce #bicycling #urbanism #UrbanPlanning #bicycles #bicycle #bikes #bike #Netherlands #TheNetherlands #Holland #Europe

A sad and happy day for me. My 2015 Trek Marlin 5 is officially kaput as I have cracked the frame. I put thousands of kilometers on that bike and it just fit like a glove. I put all kinds of upgrades on it like hydraulic brakes, RockShox front forks, double lined rims, improved drive train, EVO pedals and grips, etc. It was the most expensive $500 bike in the forest! Thanks for the memories!

#MountainBike#Biking#Cycling#Outdoors#Nature#SingleTrack#Trek#TrekBikes#Bicycle#Bicycling

And here's why I'm a bit happy - I bought a brand new 2025 Trek Marlin 6 Gen 3 to replace it. Looking forward to taking this bad boy on the single track soon!

#MountainBike#Biking#Cycling#Outdoors#Nature#SingleTrack#Trek#TrekBikes#Bicycle#Bicycling

A sad and happy day for me. My 2015 Trek Marlin 5 is officially kaput as I have cracked the frame. I put thousands of kilometers on that bike and it just fit like a glove. I put all kinds of upgrades on it like hydraulic brakes, RockShox front forks, double lined rims, improved drive train, EVO pedals and grips, etc. It was the most expensive $500 bike in the forest! Thanks for the memories!

#MountainBike#Biking#Cycling#Outdoors#Nature#SingleTrack#Trek#TrekBikes#Bicycle#Bicycling