Environment

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Environmental and ecological discussion, particularly of things like weather and other natural phenomena (especially if they're not breaking news).

See also our Nature and Gardening community for discussion centered around things like hiking, animals in their natural habitat, and gardening (urban or rural).

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Can We Make Bicycles Sustainable Again? (solar.lowtechmagazine.com)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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A great read+great magazine.

TL;DR: Old bikes last way longer than new bikes. From a production standpoint, steel bikes have a smaller carbon footprint than aluminum or carbon frame bikes. Conventional bikes use fewer consumables over their usable life than electric bikes. Among electric bikes, cargo bikes use the most resources to run and maintain.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

This was a good read!

+1, love steel bikes. My touring bike from 15 years ago is still in good shape, and it's made of steel. Certainly not from the 80s but a good steel bike will last.

One comment on the shared bikes... I live downtown in a major city. Bike theft is pretty common. A private bike probably is better than a shared bike, but I wonder if that still holds true if the private bike has to be replaced far too soon because it got up and walked away on you 🫠