Do You Really Need A Car? | Why E Bikes Could Be The Future Of Personal Transport
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2024
- Everyone, even cyclists generally accept that cars are essential for everyday modern life. They can carry your shopping, you don't get sweaty while driving them, and you can take your kids to school in them. But are they really that vital?
With the advancement of e-bikes, there are more and more solutions for replacing cars in your everyday life, from commuting, to going to the shops. We wanted to see if Si could actually go without his car, using a pedal assisted cargo bike and a more conventional e-bike. As it turns out, he wasn't the only one to enjoy it, which left us wondering whether you really need a car at all?
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Do you think you could get by with one of these e-bikes instead of a car? Let us know your thoughts in the comments 👇
I just have an e bike, can't drive.
I don’t have a car and use my ebike for day to day stuff so yep. Is Si going to buy one then?
it would be better to just own a car and an ebike. it isnt like cars are actually that expensive especially compared to an ebike. and cars allow certain liberties that in most nice modern areas you cant go without like being able to quickly drive someone to the hospital or go on a road trip or move your belongings from an old residence to house you purchased. ive heard this question (can a cargo ebike replace a car?, etc..) before and it stinks from different angles.
I already have….for some years.
Possibly. But especially the Ca-go needs a garage/storage place - which makes it a bit more difficult for me (and many others) who don't have private parking.
We were about getting a second car, but we decided for the Urban Arrow cargo bike. We soon realized that we could actually go without our first car as well!
Here in the Netherlands is common to spend more on bikes than on cars.
I live in the Netherlands. And I can say with confidence that I have hardly spend any time *on* a car in the last decade. 😉
After moving to Copenhagen from car dominated Australia, it's a revelation to learn that a car is an unnecessary expense--and a huge unnecessary expense at that.
Never owned a car. We had a first generation cargo bike (no assist) until 2011. Worked like a charm in Amsterdam. Back then, when I was carrying my two kids, we were a touristic attraction when cycling through the center of Amsterdam.
My kids furthermore loved singing in the cargo bike.
This is amazing! I would love to be able to do this
Didn't need a car in Amsterdam
Do need a car in Highlands of Scotland
17 mile hilly commute each way. It's doable without an ebike, but it's enjoyable with an ebike. I haven't given up my car, but it only get's used once or twice a week. I find that I'm in a much better mood when I ebike to work or to the grocery store. It's just more satisfying.
I'm seriously thinking about getting an ebike to go to work (2-3 times a week), but I live in an apartment on the 2nd floor and don't have a garage, and no elevator either. How light/heavy is it to carry it a floor or two up?
@@lifeisabeautifulride Mine is on the heavier side (50 lbs), but they do make lighter ones. One example is Specialized Turbo Vado SL which weighs around 35 lbs.
@@mikemazzantini6397 Thank you, Mike! That helps a lot. It's hard to find the actual weight in the bike specs online. I think I'll go to the bike shop and see if they have one that is good for me. Thanks again!
@@lifeisabeautifulride Is there any way you could lock that possible e-bike to somewhere safe outside or under stairs? I’ve seen photos of users in NYC & elsewhere who have drilled a hook into the ground and use two locks, plus a motorcycle cover over the top to lessen attention to their cargo bikes. I’d quickly tire of carrying my 25kg e-bike up stairs.
@@canberrabybike Unfortunately those are not options for me right now :( I'll think of something. Thank you!
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Si's kids are adorable
And smart, too! Bikes are "massively good" and "good for the world". Wise beyond their years.
Critical Path - like a tree!
@@knarf_on_a_bike I mean they could've been told to say that lmao
@@brauljo Probably were, I doubt kids would care/know about that.
@@atnfn Why not just give them the benefit of the doubt? I am sure Si did not say everything off the cuff either, right?
Good to GCN featuring e bikes. My partner will now come out on rides with me, because she has an e bike, doesn't have to wear special clothing apart from a helmet and more importantly doesn't have to worry about hills. The more people cycling can only be a good thing in my book.
That's a good thing in our book too!
I never wear "special clothing" as other than something comfortable, none is required. It's a bike ride, not the tour-de-france after all.
E bikes aren’t bikes just like there’s no such thing as vegan bacon. E-bikes are nothing more than electric mopeds. Cyclists have enough trouble on the road, we don’t need them clogged up with lazy wannabes drifting all over the road sat bolt upright!
@@stevebrambley9948 I don't think everyone interested in an E-bike is a lazy wannabe. In my younger days I didn't have a car and biked everywhere in all kinds of weather. Now I have two young children with all the stuff that must go with them. I'm older and not in as good of shape as I once was. On top of that I now live in a place where coming home from anything would involve going up a big hill. Neither my husband or I can handle all that on our regular bikes pulling a trailer with the kids in it. We are currently researching cargo bikes and will probably get one. I am looking forward to getting our there more and this will allow us to continue to be a one car family. What is not to like about that!
@@stevebrambley9948 For that logic you should walk instead because you damm cyclists are lazy and are cloging up sidewalks lol
Ditched the car a few years back. Had my e-bike for around 14 months now, done around 4500 miles on it so far. THE BEST thing I have ever purchased. As a 48-year-old bloke a complete game-changer. Amazing.
Never ditching my car but love my ebike. 1200+ in 4 months. Have only gassed up my truck a few times this summer.
When will Marc and Hank do a cross England ride on one of these. One of them can sleep in the cargo while the other pedals 😆
There was a team of four women that done a big ride (I think london to Paris?) doing exactly that last year (maybe before)
Good Idea actually!! :D
@@kevinswan7145 The Adventure Syndicate rode 2 cargo bikes Edinburgh to Copenhagen in Christmas 2019 in this manner (covered by GCN), riders included GCN+ presenter Jenny Graham…..
Awesome idea for a video. I'd enjoy watching that!!!! GCN!!! DOOOOOO IT.
Oh please do a relay with this, it would be brilliant 😂 It doesn't even need to be that far for them, it'd just be amusing over 50k
The bikes aren’t really the problem, it’s the UK’s appalling infrastructure that it is. Big sections of my commute have no space for bikes; fast roads with some substantial hills, no space for bikes, only a matter of time until I’d end up in hospital. Given that the infrastructure is unlikely to be fixed, the miserable speed limit for e-bike assistance need to be raised from 25kph.
I've often thought 20mph/ 32kph would be a more sensible limit. 25kph is bang in the middle of your cruising range so if you need to put a spurt on to integrate more smoothly with the traffic, uurgh, suddenly you're on your own. Potentially quite dangerous.
I have a theory that whoever came up with 25kph either (a) doesn't cycle at all or (b) lives somewhere like the Netherlands where mixing with fast road traffic isn't a daily necessity. It definitely needs changing!
I think a higher speed limit for ebikes would definitely be safer for riders. Maybe introduce a very basic MOT type test that bike shops could carry out to test that the brakes are sufficient for the weight of the bike and rider and that the tyres have tread on them and if you pass that you can go up to 30mph (which a decent road bike can do on the flat and any old shed of a bike can do going down a hill)?
@@The1trueDave That's what I thought for a long time.
But when you consider, that anybody (even the most inexperienced ones), can ride an e-bike, without any sort of permit.
That those bikes haven't any mandatory maintenance, you realise that 25km/h can be pretty fast for the slowest cyclists.
I bet they decided on the 25 km/h based on: "how fast the most basic cyclist would go on a regular bike?"
Even if it's slow for an average cyclist, 25 is fast for a granny or a newcomer.
PS: I would love to see the limit at 32km/h, but that wouldn't be safe for everybody.
@@xmtxx The throttle goes both ways, as the saying goes. My car will do 100mph apparently, but I've never tested that out!
25kph honestly isn't fast if you have ridden a bike since childhood. If you're a complete newbie and never learned as a kid (or perhaps haven't ridden for 20 years) it might be. In which case, exercise self-control.
It is true that there are more and more people who fall into that category and the less cycle-friendly our country gets the more that will happen unfortunately. I don't believe the solution to that problem is to stifle the capability of what could be a useful alternative to the car...
@@The1trueDave It's the automotive people who came up with the genius idea of crippling ebikes. Otherwise people wouldn't buy cars.
buy an ebike, rent a car when you _really_ need one
Plus £6 taxis for the grey areas. Seems pretty obvious really
Or go by Uber whichever is easier 😉
Yes!
Exactly what I was thinking. Plus they're bus, Uber , train and walking.
Lol do it!. I'm good with my cars. And have a regular mountain bike for exercise.
This is one of the best videos GCN has ever uploaded. As much as I love the road bike, covering ebikes and how to replace the car is the practical step that we all need to take.
Love this type of content. I've been a year-round cyclist for 40 years, and you can keep the race stuff (yeah I know, burn the heretic...) but this is the way forwards. This should go wider than just GCN, love the channel (GCN+ subscriber) as I do
If more workplaces and public buildings provided secure facilities for bikes and the ability to get showered and changed (workplaces), maybe more people would ride their bikes, but the logistics of owning a bike without these facilities put many people off using them for their daily commute/errands
yeah imagine a room at work you could leave ur bike in
Or imagine if we didn't have a population of scum trying to steal bikes?
@@difflocktwo if only, but sadly that will never be the case
@@kylehagertybanana new builds are often including a secure bike room by default now. Our 10 year old building has a prox card only access bike room, locker room and shower facilities. At least 10% of the staff bike to work every day, including a few with cargo bikes who do they day-care drop off and pick up with them.
You don't need a shower with e city bikes. Not if you don't push the speed.
Si got kids, i thought he was a college student.😳
Years and Years of Cycling made him immortal. 😂😂😂
It's the travelling at relativistic speeds; it does strange things to time.
I read that as 'immoral', like he's still young but just popping out kids everywhere like a legend
Exercise is the secret of youth.
Those kids are sooooo adorable, congrats Si :D
Glad to see them in a video. That was sweet.
Agree. It was really helpful to see that when kids ride up front instead of in back, conversation is easy to have, and you can see when they've had enough, are picking on each other, or have fallen asleep.
0:58 i thought this sentence was going somewhere else
I use my e-bike instead of my car almost all the time for errands and for commuting on many workdays. I use my car also but usually for longer trips, rainy days, snow days, and larger cargo. I think my e-bike saved my car from a lot of wear and tear and saved me thousands of dollars. It also meant I could ride to very distant parks and trails instead of using a car to get to a trail etc.
Sold my Car 5 Years ago. I dont need it in a bigger City. I used my Hardtail and Fully for all Ways for 4 1/2 years. 30 km/h average after some training. Gifted myself a 6k E-Fully and its the best Invention EVER!!!
Si's kids on it reminded me of a year when I took one of my kids to school on a weehoo trailer for the entire year. We lived 800 meters from the school so we made a 2km loop because it was really fun. He was 5 at that time; 12 now and those rides are what he remembers the most from kindergarten.
Where you live, children go to school when they are 5?
@@Pseudynom They start with Pre-school at the age of 4, then move to Kindergarten at 5. I’m in California
@@Pseudynom In the UK children start school in the year they turn 5 years old.
You know youre a true cyclist when your bike costs more than your car
Or brainwashed. How can a bike cost more than a car? Clearly a scam.
It’s like they keep getting more expensive @difflocktwo
8000$ for a bike and he says it coats less than a car that's nonsense
@@giannis077 Total nonsense. Also what about motorcycles? Any 50 cc scooter is going to outperform a bicycle for a fraction of $8000.
I bought my beater car for a 50€. and my bike was 70€ when it was new. So i'm a true cyclist now.
Bought a cargo bike about a month ago! Absolutely love it. They are the future of urban travel!
you talk like as if they are some brand new technology 2021 ....hahaha
I gave up my car 20 years ago. Just using a regular bike has worked for me, but I can see how e-bikes will make it a viable option for greater numbers of people. The money savings are significant. It's cheaper to pay for the occasional cab ride or delivery of large items than it is to own a car. The fitness benefits are huge too. I recently started working from home and took up recreational cycling to make up for not doing a daily bike commute to work. In the past, riding to and from work was one of the highlights of the day.
Had a senior neighbor who bought an electric assist bakfiets ("box bike" in Dutch, but more commonly known as "cargo bikes.)
He only used the car for trips from city to city. His bakfiets do so much of his daily stuff.
Honestly, more people on bikes is a good thing. More exercise, less emissions, less expenses and less congestion and traffic for those who have to travel by car.
Cago might consider rebranding for italy as "Cago" literally means "I shit"
Same in Spanish. Really astonishing, their branding team deserves a rise.
haha that's hilarious
😂
Also in portuguese. These language pitfalls are actually quite common, even between different regions inside the same country.
Cago as I watch this on my phone
As a cyclist in all weathers... You do notice the traffic is a lot worse when its raining!
@metro2002 Exactly... A lot of people and cyclist miss out on some great riding/experiences because they are too soft to go out in the rain... If yr bike is so expensive you won't ride it in anything less than the best weather.. Was it a good purchase?
@Kappa That works too.
"You do not melt with a bit of rain" as we say in The Netherlands. There was a weatherman who rode his bicycle to his work and kept a record of when it rained total percentage was quite low. Over 11 years of keeping the record he came to 9,7% wet and the rest dry. Even if it rained for 1min he would call it raining. A belgium did the same and come to the same conclusion. It does not rain that much.
I sold my car almost a year ago. One of the best decisions I’ve made. I don’t have a e bike yet but maybe one day. My commute is 15 miles each way. Best part is when I get home I already did my riding for the day!
Nice one!
Smart move! I've been without a car now for over 5 years and don't miss it. You also save way more money without a car, that means more money for cycling lol.
At boarding school, many years ago, 2 friends and I used to go out on a bike ride most lunchtimes - to the pub. We'd have a pint, a smoke and a couple of games of pool and then ride back. We did no proper training for the house cross-country run - just going to the pub - and yet we all finished highly in the run!
This what was made me realise that cycling was a very, *very* effective form of exercise.
In the early noughties I lost my job and couldn't afford to run a car, the bus was inconvenient and expensive-ish so, remembering my schooldays, I got myself another bike.
I particularly remember a friend passing me in her car about 3 miles from our destination but, by the time she'd negotiated traffic lights, one-way systems, etc and parked, she looked up to see me roll gently into the yard we were headed for. And she still had a 100 yard walk to get there from where she'd managed to park!
But what do you do when it's pissing down with sleet and you have to carry a shit load of stuff to work?
@@user-ck6kq8zl2i i live in Southern California so it only rains like 3 times a year haha. Also I add a bike trailer that I have towed 500lbs for 10 miles on. It’s not fun to pull that much but it’s possible!
I think the biggest hurdle is hiding in plain sight in Si's vid: not a bicycle lane in sight.. That's actually what is keeping a lot of people from using it as a commuting tool. Sure, it's all fine and dandy riding a bike in a rural area, but in the end most of us still need to get to our destinations, and those are in the city centre.. :-(
What a refreshing and unexpected video from GCN! Despite the quick review format of the show, you did a great job demonstrating the vision of cargo e-bikes. It is clear to me that such bikes are the key to shifting urban planning from car centric to bike and pedestrian centric. To me, it's the size of these bikes which you clearly demonstrated driving though city streets with cars, slowing the traffic and making it safer. Your kids summed it up perfectly: "it will be better for the world".
This is awesome, here in Southern California the Detroit lobby has totally done a number on the infrastructure of our cities since the post-war era. It's so car centric it's ridiculous, most of the roads have cars flying by at 40-60 mph within three feet of cyclist, even roads with bike lanes!
The "Detroit Lobby" is fairly weak these days.
Couldn’t have come at a better time: I’m considering an ebike for my commute when I don’t use the road bike. The road bike is way faster and more fun but Ive been testing ebikes and you practically don’t even sweat on them and you’re still going 20mph it’s great 👍
We’ve replaced our car with an e cargo bike for the last two years (in fairly hilly rural Scotland). It definitely takes some adjustment but we love it. My wife can make me work hard on hills when she has 3 kids in the bike and I’m on my race bike! It doesn’t have to cost as much as the CaGo - ours cost about half.
Thanks Si for doing this video :)
Just wondering what bike you got that was half the price of the Cago? Thanks
I inherited an e-bike from my dad after he'd already had it for two or three years, and 7 years later, it still runs like a dream and I couldn't imagine my life without it. The initial bike cost about 3.5k all included when my dad bought it, and I'm currently on my third battery (the second one got stolen unfortunately) both of which cost me about another 600€. Seeing as those batteries typically last around 4-5 years though, you could feasibly say that after 10 years, I'd soon be on my third battery anyway by now. Total repair costs over the years have run up to maybe another 600.
So, all in all, my trusty e-bike has cost around 5.3k, maybe 5.5k over the last 10 years. That doesn't even pay for a single year of car maintenance, ensurance, taxes and gas. It's one of my favorite things I own! And apart from literally moving appartments, there's pretty much nothing I can't do in my daily life where I'd ever need a car instead of bike or public transport.
been riding a diy bafang mid drive for years. in the progress of upgrading to a slightly more better diy bafang thing. i LOVE it. no car. no insurance. no stuck in traffic. all the roads and cycle ways and shortcuts available. yes you get exposed to the weather but that's just a matter of having the right gear on. cold and wet sometimes is better than stuck in traffic always.
One of GCN’s best ever videos. Good message but great presenters!
I’m looking at getting one of my mates onto an e-bike. Our gang are all 60 and late 50s and while some of us ride a lot, one of the guys has given riding with us away as his physical health has gone downhill.
But he’d be more than capable of riding an evils with us which would be great for his mental health.
Remember giving him a helmet! He's exactly the segment which suddenly restart cycling, but can't manage the speed, and braking length🙈 👀☠️
This is definitely one of my favorite videos out of GCN! Two notes however:
- tell the manufacturer of that amazing cargo bike he won’t be selling any of those in Portugal, with that name. It literally means “I take a du...”
- you should hire your kids as consultants for a new GCN channel: GCN mobility!
Great work!
I think we are not ready for cargo bikes , whos gonna spend a year salary on a bike.
@@weird-guy , even in Portugal, where salaries are very low, a cargo bike doesn’t cost a year’s salary. And this is aimed mostly at replacing car trips, which means it’s a great investment with a quick ROI with the money saved in petrol.
@@weird-guy "whos gonna spend a year salary on a bike" who's gonna spend 2 year's salary and 20% of their paycheck every month on a car
@@abyzma201 a lot people i would say, i agree that we need more diverse modes of transportation, because imo 80% of the time cars only have one to two people onboard but people like flexiblity,so why buy a two seater for the price of a five seater and weatherproof, motorcyclist are not gonna choose bikes and you might say they will choose ev motorcycle but i dont so.
@@weird-guy you can get weather covers for recumbent and other styles of bikes, an electric recumbent with a trailer attached can fulfil the same purpose as a cargo bike and also be weather protected.
I have recently bought a recumbent electric assist with trailer. It does everything you have mentioned plus the Performer is far cheaper. About 25% of yours. I can wear everyday clothes and it not only makes me smile but those I pass. I have also found it is far more comfortable than a conventional bike.
I was watching the video and wondering whether an ebike (recumbent or not) with a trailer wouldn't be a better approach overall than that big cargo bike. I can see the practical advantages of the Ca-go when you want that big cargo capacity, but what about (the majority of the time) when you don't? With the Ca-go, you're haling around that big box whether you want it or not. With a trailer, if you don't need the cargo space you unhook the thing and you're back to your regular ride.
And then, of course, the price differential could easily be the difference between a pipe dream and something real and useful in your garage...
@@brownpcsuncedu But coud you ferry kids in a trailer?
@@frankwhelan1715 If the trailer were made with that in mind, why not? Given that there are (at least in the USA) commercially-made bike trailers for hauling kids, it would surely be possible to create a child/cargo trailer with a little ingenuity.
@@frankwhelan1715 100%. Many trailer made exactly just to carry the kids, or dog...
Family of 4 here, living and working in Brussels. We don't own a car since 2016, we have a cargo bike for the kids daily trips and 2 e.bikes. We do EVERYTHING with the bikes, all seasons. And trust me, it rains A LOT here in Brussels, and the city is slowly adapting to bikes. We do exercise, we don't stress with traffic, kids are biking literally since they were born. Cheers!
I have been riding bikes for 5 years now as a car replacement, frequently sparring with neighbors about the finer points of its practicality. You know, all the standard excuses: "Not if you have kids!" "I'm too old/not fit enough/disabled" "What if it rains!?" "What if you have to carry stuff!?" Et cetera. But for all of my logical arguments and inductive examples of practical urban biking, your son offers the most precise, and concise, reasoning in favor of urban cycling I've ever heard: "Bikes are for the world, and it's fun." Perfect.
@14:10 I would love to see the faces of Brits when you look at the schools around where I live, there are like at least 20 of those cargo bikes with kids in them, even in the winter.
Don't forget we dutchie out our babies in front of our bikes to get them around the town. My son was less than 10 months old sitting on the child seat in front of me in snowing winter to get to day care... It helps that like 95% of all bike paths are separated from the cars here :).
I once saw 8 kids in alike cargo bike, operated by a woman.Hurrah for Dutch people!!!( I'm from Russia btw)😀👏
cargo bikes and bakfietsen are amazing tools for everyday use. I hope more people adopt them for daily short run tasks instead of cars.
Cleaner, safer, cheaper, healthier, and more enjoyable transportation for nearby trips! ❤🚲
As long as you have infrastructure to make riding bikes more safe and accessible, then anything is possible
Yep we could certainly use one for most local journeys. We would need one with electric assist as we have a 14% hill and a 10% hill to the house and only about 1.5 miles to the closest shop. I think the thing that would stop my wife is the lack of segregation on the main road
Sadly your last sentence sums up why cycling will never be an alternative to cars
@@8807smoore look at the dutch they managed a good solution
@@8807smoore That is such a defeatist attitude
@@Friek555 ...big problem is in the UK there is no cycling incentive from national or local governments to make cycling a viable main form of transport. It's patchy at best, and I think many here saw some of the "hair-brain" popup cycle lanes that were introduced during lock-down..that really said it all!!! It could be done...but unfortunately the UK is a bit behind the times.🚴 👍🇬🇧🙂
@@tonytheantony But there is an incentive from national government. It's all in Gear Change, but essentially councils will not get _any_ money for transport if they don't start building decent quality (LTN1/20) active travel facilities. And 'Active Travel England' will be checking up on them. We are indeed a long way behind the Dutch, but that just means we need to get a serious move on. Decabonisation is now _really_ urgent. And despite the moaning in some quarters, this stuff is very popular with the public.
my father (69yrs) dumped his car. Got a cargo e-bike and uses rental/share e-car if he really needs it. Three months in, only used the e-car 3 times. Cycles every day. Pure joy!
I think your kids said it best, "it's better for the world, and its really fun" :)
It’s always so weird to me as a Dutchman that people in other countries don’t just have a frame mounted rear wheel lock (on bikes where weight isn’t a huge consideration like city bikes and e bikes).
To be fair, a typical Dutch rear wheel lock only prevents the most occasional of thefts... I think it works well in the Netherlands where most 'road going' bikes are not particularly valuable and there are tons of them (and thefts still occur!)
Then you'd end up a sad Dutchman if you were to bring your bike to the UK.
There's no guarantee someone would nick it, but there's a high chance they would.
Because within 10 mins someone would have thrown it in the back of a van, never to be seen again. 😕 I know plenty of people had locks cut when it’s attached to something and their bikes nicked. Just stopping someone riding off on it easily doesn’t sound like much of a security feature. People here chain their motorbikes to ground anchors if staying anywhere for a decent amount of time to stop them being put in the back of a van, and they’re a lot harder to steal than a pedal bike you can lift relatively easily by yourself.
My ebike came with a frame lock as standard. I'd be an idiot to use it for anything more than stopping my back wheel from being stolen here in the UK.
After reading all the comments I assume frame lock effectiveness here is purely due to the absolute multitude of bikes here. Essentially the bike thief here is looking for the path of least resistance: bikes that people forgot to lock. Even a wimpy framelock isn’t worth bothering with if you know somewhere on the same street you can find an unlocked bike.
So, I watched this, and then started researching ebikes! Great video.
What did you find? The most affordable one seems to be $1k, the Ariel Rider Rideal. But the bike in this video is $2.7k. I'm not sure if I want to drop 2.7x the price, but I do want quality.
@@123userthatsme I didn't come to any conclusions as I want to stick with my normal bike for the time being (and I currently live in the country). I am just thinking about the future and moving back to an urban environment. The electric bike seems to be a way I might be able to continue cycling when my fitness really starts to decline with age and I would also like to give-up my car. I was blown away by the potential of the cargo bike and I could see how I could live without my car if I lived in a city like Bristol :)
Bikes like this are everywhere in Japan. Mums and dads ride a "family" bike that can carry a (Japanese sized) 10 year old and a 5 year old. They use them for grocery shopping and everyday running about. Kids older/taller ride their own 24" bike. Adults don't wear helmets but kids do. Cars wait patiently for bikes, and bikes ride slowly and safely around and in between pedestrians. It all just works so smoothly and politely. If only more countries had that attitude.
I live in Tokyo now and ride bike everyday and sorry I can't agree with the part "it all works so smoothly". Cars are not very patient or careful of the bikes. I've been hit 3 times in one year. It was always a minor accident, but it's because I'm good with my bike. One of my co-worker had a severe accident on the bike in the city, losing half of the skin on his face, went through an operation to restore his face and left with scars. Many mothers do carry their children on electric bikes but sometimes it really looks dangerous. Once I saw a bus not giving enough space for the bike and a woman fell on her "family bike", luckily the child seat was empty at that time. There were however reports of serious accident where both child and mother were injured. When it rains the situation is obviously more dangerous, but they still ride the bikes because they don't have any other ways to go. So, I think riding bikes in the city is not safe until there are proper bike lanes or less cars on the roads.
@@helenab9973 thanks for the info, I based my comments on a visit to Japan, watching the way cars and bikes interacted, how safe I felt going on a guided bike tour around the city, and how much better it is than where I live (Australia).
Stay safe!
Cargo bikes are absolutely not everywhere in Japan. E-bikes are somewhat popular though. Most of the bikes are 'mamachari' bikes that are of the lowest quality and heavy. They then put child carriers on the back, which at best looks precarious.
And in the countryside, the car is still king.
As for it being polite and safe. Yes, it is more so than the UK. But there are still a lot of drivers who pay little heed to cyclists. That cyclists have to cycle on the pavement (where they can be absolute terrors to pedestrians) says a lot. Cycling on the road, as is required in the UK if you aren't a child, is not fun at all in Japan. Most drivers are not used to cyclists anywhere but at crossings.
Sorry, but this romanticism of Japan really gets to me. It really isn't this fantasy land that people like you paint it as.
When I lived in Chicago I did not own a car at all! I commuted everywhere on my bike, to work, gym, groceries, recreation etc. I used public transport, (in which I tried to avoid) rented or Uber/Lyft/Taxi’d if I needed transport for longer destinations. It was a wonderful lifestyle and I was in shape! Living in dense urban centers having a car is senseless! During depths of winter 🥶 ❄️ or rain 🌧 ☔️ just go shorter distances, or Uber/Lyft.
Sold the car in 2020 for an Ebike. Moved from Toronto to Vancouver and commute 6.5 kms each way. I have saddle bags big enough for most groceries. As long as I dress for the weather here I am good to go anywhere and do anything!
I bought my e-bike last May, about a week after I last filled my car's gas tank. I have since been playing a game to see how long I can go between fill ups. So far, at the end of July, I expect to go a good way into August before finishing this first tank. The fuel savings alone justify the cost of the bike.
Soon you'll be selling the car off.
I'm with those concerned about security. I can handle a folding e-bike in most scenarios but leaving outside a shop is a definite no-no.
unlike an ordenary bike one person cant meaningfully lift one of thease, even if its only locked to its self it would take two people and a van to take it
it is a great video. we have 2 kids and have been using a cargo bike to live without a car since my eldest was born. I highly recommend this approach. the savings are significant which allow you to spend your money doing meaningful things not paying for a metal box to sit unused 90% of the time.
We find that renting the best car for the job, even vans from time to time is much better than using the wrong car. Certainly much better than the standard approach of buying the biggest car you can afford cos you might go camping at some point.
Si... upstaged by a 7-year old's succinct review. "Massively good... it's better for the world, and it's really fun". Love the huge grins from those two, and their Dad! I want one. The bike that is...
I have never driven a car, always relied on my road bike to get to places or the TFL/Overground or various other forms of transport. The only time I'm inside a car is either my brother who is driving or my mother or my brother in law or my older sister (I'm 27 years old by the way) I find cars to be super expensive in cities like London).
Hi Conor
Having lived in London, that's totally understandable. Hell even in Brisbane Aus there are suburbs you could get away with it.
We need better support for this type of thing for more people though.
The thing is London’s density and absolutely world class infrastructure makes that possible and in some cases (like ours) cycling is both the quickest, most convenient and cheapest way to get around. However, as people get older and start families, they tend to move out of the M25 and then a car becomes indispensable.
Love it. However, a serious question: inclement weather? Rain, snow, just plain cold. How would it go? You could get a full rain suit, I suppose. Can you get a cover for the compartment/kids? Traction on snow? Lower battery output in the cold? Some practical questions.
If the city deals with snow properly there shouldn't be a problem, plowing bike lanes and using salt is possible. ua-cam.com/video/Uhx-26GfCBU/v-deo.html
I would agree in Canada this really wouldn't work for winter but is still a cool concept and has a lot of potential.
my kids have a rain tent on the front of the bike. In winter on really cold dayse we do them a hot water bottle and give them blanket. I have 2 rain ponchos. the peoples poncho and bar mits that stay on the bike and keep my hands warm. you can also get an electric heated Gillette.
Honestly, dressing fro the weather saves you get soaked if the school are slow letting the kids out etc.
Great and informative as always! Bonus: seeing Si with his kids. It warms my heart when family members are in these videos, like when Jesse is with Conor on a ride, or when Hank’s Dad beats Hank in a race.
I live in the San Francisco Bay, and I sold my car in 2019 for a e-bike. Between it and our rail system I can often equal or sometimes beat car travel times. While it's not a cargo bike, I've transported many things including a toaster oven, a sewing machine, lumber, and plenty of groceries on it. When my girlfriend moved in last year she also ditched her car, and I even fashioned an extra seat that attaches to the rack. The biggest challenge here is by far the lack of safe places to ride, though it's improving slowly.
In Copenhagen we have much more affordable versions of this. You're still looking at a few thousand, but they have a good resell value, plus you'll easily find second hand ones. People have 2 kids in them, their elderly parents, they move houses. I love it! Amazing city
I'm moving to Bristol next month to start a new job...looking forward to leaving my car at home as much as possible and hopping on the e-bike for work. Loved this video!
Si has massively caught up in terms of decent looking shorts and sunglasses in this video but is it enough to fix what has been broken?
I'd recommend hi-vis clothing if riding in traffic
@@rogerroger6049 Why? Cars do not see bikes. Don't even think that they do. Ride like you are invisible. You are.
Yeah! I want to see that smile when it starts rainning
Watching stuff like this has convinced me ive probably never needed a car. I travel alone, rarely have much cargo, and usually travel between nearby towns. I could probably get by with just a bike, moped or motorcycle easily.
Got rid of my car in 2008 and have never looked back. I know it's not for everyone but it works for me.When I first got rid of my car I did an experiment of parking my car for a month to see if it was doable. After two weeks I never really thought of it.Now...here are my disclaimers: My two daughters are grown and gone so it's just my needs. I live in the heart of Portland OR which is a very bike friendly town and most things I need/want are within a 20 minute bike ride.
At first when I had a bike I had a very standard bike. But around 2012 I got a job that was a 16 mile one way commute. I gave it some thought and realized it was very possible to bike commute. (Since the pandemic I work remotely from home.) I bought an e-bike and it is wonderful. I didn't arrive sweaty to work because the e-bike gives me just enough assist for the journey. I timed the commute by car and by bike. Oddly they are roughly the same amount of time (40 minutes by car vs 50 minutes by bike) since on my bike I'm not stuck in long lines of traffic at various lights.When the weather was truly horrendously bad (only about a total of two weeks out of the year in Portland), I just took public transit. I didn't bother with wet weather gear because I simply packed dry clothes for work in a waterproof bag in my back pack and changed when I got to work.
I don't have a cargo bike but do have a rear bike basket and a bike backpack that holds all my grocery runs. I've hauled lumber, a pitcher of frozen punch and a fully decorated birthday cake on my bike at various times. I even take my cat to the vet in a cat backpack. He's not happy but then he wasn't happy in a traditional cat carrier car ride either. When I absolutely need a car I either rent one or take a Lyft. I'm not saying this is for everyone. It's not. But I am saying that it's worth considering and trying. Not having a car all these years allowed me to become debt free. It's also great in other unexpected ways like never having to search for a parking place or worry about the price of gas and the health benefits are wonderful. I'm a 65 year old woman and think it's helped me immeasurably. Give it it try. Even if it only knocks out a few car trips from your life, it's completely worth it.
Looks great on a dry summer's day...
He says here in UK, but the background is sunny, I caught you lying, Si
😂
In my city there is a painter and a carpenter who switched to cargo bikes completely. Works a lot better for them they told me. Faster, cheaper, cleaner.
I LOVE my ebike. I still have my car for long trips but 99% of my trips are doable on a bike. For carrying food I have a big cooler and use it for Uber Eats deliveries as well as personal groceries. Then for smaller items I have a bag on the back rack with panniers that fold up in to the bag when not in use. Its really neat. Even though I still pay insurance on my car Ive saved $100's in gas alone. Driving less also means less maintenance cost on the car, another huge savings. Its just too bad the bike infrastructure is horrible, but I get by.
Been carless for over a year now, commuting 11km basically every day to work. Its a pretty easy switch really. The main thing you have to think about is the days when it's not so great. I've done several rides at night, in thunderstorms, in heavy fog etc. You've got to find some alternate transport those days, or just take them as part of the whole carless bike riding experience.
Great episode. I most certainly think one could easily replace a car with an e-bike. Moreover, an additional adaptation to only having an ebike is, in times of need, renting a car - or signing up for car share.
Watching this as a dutchy, this is childsplay. Doing my daily groceries by bike, big shopping in the city.
Exactly. And buy some decent panniers for your normal (e) bike - you can go to the grocery store and do you shopping for a whole week. No need for a cargo bike.
@@Sarandib22 That's a matter of urban city planning. American cities are built for cars. Check out the Not Just Bikes channel!
We've been thinking about replacing our car with a very small electric city car, and renting something bigger for holidays if needed.
But when you then start to think about it... Why do you need a small city car. Here in nl, for doing shopping it's not needed (bike is quicker, or you deliver them to your home). For commuting it's not needed (cars are not an option in the big western cities here.). The kids all start riding at young age and are expected to ride a bike around the neighborhood when they are 5 or 6. We have no hills :).
The moment you start to think about needing a car only on certain trips a few times a year... You realize you don't need one all the time at all.
Only things I think about are 'what if my 10year old has a flat somewhere' or you have ab emergency and need to go to the hospital or something.
If you really want to get rid of cars, allow for derestricted ebikes. Untill then it is pro-car messaging all the way.
@@difflocktwo of course not. Everything that can be done on an bike can be done on an ebike, why would you need to go faster? Most people bike at around 15kph to 20kph so the ebike is already considered to be 'fast'. If ebikes go unrestricted they would have to go back to the road with the cars again, creating the whole safety cycle again we solved here around 50 years ago. Or ban all the cars and then put ebikes unrestricted on the road, that would work :).
This is coming from me who uses a 45kph ebike with all the extra rules that brings, to commute to work. It's basically an electric moped but without the boredom.
This. I have never driven, but I miss being able to go somewhere and rent a car.
@@jorismak we have speed limits. why do we need speed governors and fairytale power limits?
if you want to carry passengers and cargo to need many kW of power. velomobiles don't have speed governors.
@@difflocktwo No, because de-restricted ebikes are motor vehicles and have all issues motor vehicles have that made them be restricted.
Hitting someone on a bike, let alone an unrestricted ebike can cause a lot of damage.
I got rid of the car 10 years ago and don’t miss it. So commuting and shopping and leisure all by bike or train or train+bike. Bought a trailer for carrying bigger loads behind the (non electric) bike. I’m in car club so can use one when necessary, though went 3 years without using it at all. You find ways round things, you change your lifestyle to match. It works for some people, not all.
Growing up, my parents had to get rid of the car when I was about 11, so maybe it wasn’t as much of a shock to the system as an adult for me to do it.
I need a car for work, it's the only reason I own one (I much prefer motorcycles). My wife also has her car. However we have just bought a trike, which I am converting to an eTrike for my wife.
The aim is to become a one-car couple.
We are biassing the eTrike slightly towards the cargo end of the spectrum.
Realistically we will not be getting rid of the second car until I retire (or at least get a job that doesn't require hundreds of km of travel carrying heavy tools).
I also accidentally bought an ebike conversion kit for one of my bicycles, which hopefully means I will ride more often.
Great video! Very encouraging.
Beautifully made. Does the purchase of compost herald the return of Simon's much missed gardening section?
Yes but did Si buy peat free compost....??????
@@chrisjolley7961 I'm sure he did!
The weirdest thing is to see articles in papers with the price of an e cargo bike in the title as if it's extremely expensive, but if you're replacing a 40k car with a 4k cargo bike that sounds like a STEAL to me!
Except this one costs 7k euro for the cheapest option. Not a steal, I'd say highway robbery.
You can buy a small electric Twizy for 12k euro.
@@wtfiswiththosehandles Similair bikes can be had for 4-5k and the smallest car anyone would really want to own cost more like 16-17k, but more often than not people will even buy a 25k mdeium sized card and not even really need it. Sure, that's not the 10x difference I mentioned, but that wasn't even ment as an accurate comparison and yet even 4k compared to 16k is still a steal.
The point was that if someone drives a 40k bmw it wouldn't be in a paper, but for some reason a 4, 5 or even 7k cargo bike is an extravagant purchase even though most people won't actually need that car over the cargo bike.
@@woutervanr What you get for 40k is a miracle of engineering. What you get for 7k is a bike. That's the difference and the shock and awe. It's like dude, a $50 bike gets you 90% of the way there and you go and spend 7k. Meanwhile a 40k car is practically a rocket ship with a few hundred horsepower.
Why replace a 40K(!) car? - I 'd calculate against something way more bread & butter level, maybe even a motorcycle. Or are cargo bikes that(!) prestigious?
decent quality ebikes costs a lot in where I live (south east asia). Say an ebike will cost u around 2000 USD while a brand new japanese moped here will only cost USD 1100. So I think its still gonna be a long way before they're using ebikes here.
Same prices here for cheap asian made mopeds.
But those require insurance and fuel. Fuel here is nearly 2 USD/L
Electricity at home is 0.3USD/KWh You only need half KWh to charge an E-Bike for 80km of range
Also there are bikepaths where it's not allowed to use ICE engines here.
Especially in parks or through national parcs.
I don't drive, I'm a bicycle rider, but after watching this great vid, I need one in my life! Cutest kids too. x
I got the Riese and muller transporter 65. I can do a whole week shopping for 5 people, and I can quickly move withing the town or from town to town without worrying about traffic with kids in the front. It is worth it.
The two new members of the team are going to be the stars😃
I believe in a future where e-bikes will dominate personal daily transport. Automakers will have to reorient their business and use their accumulated knowledge to build robots for the general public instead of cars.
Well you still need a car to travel. I like riding but not doing 5000km on a bike as a vacation.
For day to day, though I love mine. Only gassed up the truck a handful of times this summer.
I was just thinking about self-riding bikes. I have seen a video that a motorbike was made self-riding (slow speeds but it balanced itself, which is incredible). A light e-bike could get selfridin easier legally (less danger though of course not 0). Would be nice to just call in a bike, get on and ride away and when you arrive just let it go its way.
The question is: Would you load your bicycle into the e-bike to go to a cycle race?
you definetly can. i brought my race bike to the repair with my cargo bike
My kids grew up in a burly tailer behind our tandem pre e-bike era. I think e-bike cargo bikes are the new future they keep getting better and better as time goes on.
I am a fan of biking. I bike (+use train) for my daily commute to the office (which is actually in a neighboring country) - and I live in a city where we have a lot of rain, steep hills, while I am riding a traditional bike (not an electric one). Now I am setting up myself a project to figure out solution for all the nitty-gritty details why people wouldn't want to switch to biking: humid/rainy/uncomfortable weather, steep hills, parking (theft of the bikes is a huge problem when it comes to an 8K EUR bike that 2 people could pick up and shove into a mini van), etc...
I strongly believe that coming up with a proper initiative plan for public policy (incl. infrastructure upgrades, and propping up public education on bikes and overall traffic knowledge) and private practices could really enable more people to switch to e-bikes.
Is that bike really called "cago"? Well, good luck in Spanish language markets!
Tesla is still using old battery technology.
BYD's blade battery technology has revolutionized car battery sector.
ua-cam.com/video/qw11YEnToHE/v-deo.html
That actually makes me want to buy one. So I can accurately say, "Yo, dude, my bike's the shit!"
Did Mitsubishi sell the Pajero in Spanish language areas?
@@Harmonyww Yes, as Montero
@@cosmoray9750 I worked for a forklift company that first imported these 5/6 years ago and were helping them over the years with its design for years before they came to the market. They are a very hard sell because of the outlay cost, in the end the company went to another dealer whom are far far bigger and they too have problems selling BYD forklifts its not the technology just the high cost of purchase.
The biggest change for the UK market would be to raise the assisted limit to 20mph - let ebikes and ecargo bikes be assisted at the urban speed limit!
Sounds dangerous because of old people and kids. Ebikes have currently more deaths /year than motorbikes because everyone can ride it even without a decent reactiontime or basic rules for traffic. And dont forgrt many people are straight up suicidal on the street.
with bike theft massively on the increase and zero police action, it will be a long time before i put a 4k bike outside a supermarket in the bristol area. GCN can you do a police interview about what they do and maybe a ride along as they arrest bike thieves. that cargo bike is pretty cool though
Yes, I only use my e-bike to go to work , where i take into my office, or short errands where it is left locked up for very short periods. Theft is a real issue and deterrent for bike usage.
Yes, more secure bike parking seems to be forgotten in the current push to build more cycling infrastructure. A few bike racks don't cut it any more.
San Francisco is a huge cycling city, and has been for a long time. The hills don't put the people off riding at all.
Here in San Jose we have a Dutch cargo bike with electric assist from the Amsterdam Bicycle Company. We use it just about every day for daycare dropoff, commuting, and grocery shopping. The kids love it and so do we. We only use the car when we absolutely have to, which is once or twice a week.
I have no need for an e cargo bike but after watching Si I think I want one now. It was great seeing Si being dad instead of only the aero guru destroying his fellow presenters.
I suppose it's appropriate to carry compost on a bike called CAGO!
No you don't need a car. I have been using a bike forever and hate cars for too many reasons
the united states' road infrastructure is built to sell you a car or three
To get your favorite cycling location you need a car and perhaps a plane.
@@nicklame2647 maybe a plane, I love planes
@@nicklame2647 you don't _need_ a plane, you can always swim 😁
@@Mr-DNA_ no, cars are worse for everyone including the people using them
"a treeeeeeeeeee~" - all the ice is melting
Gave up my car 5 years ago. Cycle 10 km to work all year round. Wife takes public transport and we have trailers for shopping and/or the kids. None of us have ebikes yet but likely will as the kids get bigger. Works well and we use a car sharing service for when we require a car. We use it less then 4 times a year.
It's not hard but take probably more planning to do things. When we go on longer journeys we get to hang out as a family on the train rather then huddled together in a car.
I retired in 2016 and decided that my L300 4x4 and 7x4 trailer was simply overkill for my lifestyle, I sold both van and trailer and bought two electric bikes with the proceeds from the sale, a Bafang M250 mountain bike and a Bafang 500 watt road bike. It's now 2022 and I still have not missed car ownership, no registration, insurance or maintainance bills, these costs tally well over $3,000.00 per/year for a 4 cylinder. The battery on my mountain bike is still working fine after five years of (not real heavy) use. I'll probably never own another motor car, happily!
I miss living in the netherlands with bakfiets as a daily....
Si:s children are perfect for a new GCN child Chanel as presenters!
We need a GCN race with your kids on the bike. Conner vs Si
Am I the only one who notice that GCN Presenters always bought plants for challenges? xD
Didn't everyone start gardening or get houseplants in lockdown?
@@gcn well for me I started fixing my dead bikes because of your channel 🤣
Advantage of hybrid ebike is that you’re not completely screwed if you run out of battery, you can easily pedal to the nearest charger even if you’ll be reminded how out of shape you are. Or you can just turn on accessory mode only and skip the helmet if you’re going around the block
We have two ebikes at home, for me and my wife. Whilst not replacing our car, they do replace the need for a second car. And in NL we can rent an e-cargo bike for hours, helping even more to kill the need for a second car
2:10 aaaaand there's Russia, where in some regions they call a 1000 km trip a "ride to the neighborhood"
Also, 8000 euros bike - that's a mid-range road bike nowadays... but yeah, that's an expensive bike to leave outside. I'm nervous every time I leave my "cheap" 300 euros commuter outside alone, even with the best lock I could find.
Could buy thousands of cars for cheaper too which makes the ebikes pointless
I thought I'd never see Si presenting again... :)
For many of my generation (boomer) I think it needs proving as a possible life style change. The potential benefits are undeniable but many are going to question the practicality, particularly when having moved to the countryside and the nearests large supermarket is 9 miles away.
By the way does the cargo bike have a drainage hole/rain cover or does it double as a paddling pool?
To your question: yes, both.
An 18 mile round trip on an ebike is no biggie.
@@matthill263 Definitely so. The route I had in mind though is a tough 9+ miles involving 3 climbs your going to notice in the legs on a non E road bike . one unavoidable 14%+ followed by another !4%+ one or the shorter but steeper gold hill a claimed average cobbled gradient of 21% with max pich 25%. So for this shopping trip yes E bike is desired
Just put a rain cover over it like a pram.
Kids would love that idea for a swimming pool but no, they have drainage holes. Best opt for a cargo line motor of the current or last gen and you will be fine. Even with the European restricted motors they will provide plenty of torque for those hills.
I live in Hawaii (Big Island) and have indeed traded a car for an eBike. My wife and I dropped down to one car and I run all my errands and town trips on my bike, (she takes the car to work). We live at 1200ft and town is at sea level, 5 miles away. Flying down that hill still puts a smile on my face every single time. :-) The desire for a second car becomes less attractive as time passes by. I'm 57 and overweight so there are benefits as well ;-)
Been using a Tern GSD s10 e-cargo bike for 2 years taking twins on school run, 10 miles a day using bridleways & backroads, much quicker than using car. Can carry up to 170kg, so easily able to shopping with panniers & crates front & rear, or get lift home from the pub...