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micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility

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Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!

"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.

micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"

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Cycling has a weight problem: a call for the industry to be more transparent about its weight limits (www.cyclingweekly.com)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Weight limits for bicycles need to be higher and more transparent, especially if the majority of people want to use them.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (8 children)

I honestly applaud anyone who wants to get on a bike, especially if it's to improve their fitness.

Bike frame weight limits are only one thing to consider. Wheels and tires have weight limits too. And some bikes have a higher center of gravity than others, so weight up top would be very unstable.

I would think (hope) that anyone who is over 220lbs would consider a custom, steel frame bike that is built specifically to handle the extra weight, and not rely on what the weight limit on a website says.

Also, people have to realize that the "weight limit" of a bike can often include other things that the rider might be carrying on their bike. Cargo bikes often have several weight limits depending on what you're looking for, but even those have their limits.

Side note: this was a problem in the e-scooter world, where you'd get people who would be at the upper limit of the scooter's weight limit asking if it would be safe for them to ride. Well, the frame might support the weight if it's not in motion, but the motor likely can't push that weight for very long, and certainly not up hill.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (4 children)

how well do Dutch omafiets and Japanese mamachari fare in this regard? so much of what’s available in the US seems aimed at sport (racing or mountain biking) rather than the utility and daily commuting focus of Europe and Japan …

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Well only 15% and 4.5% of adults are obese in the Netherlands and Japan, respectively. Nearly 50% in the US are. I don't see any reason why the few design differences between a classic American hybrid or road bike and either of the types you mention would drastically affect their weight capacity, but it's also just much less of an issue in those countries.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

Those bikes are often steel, and likely could support more weight, but not by much. Wheels and tires have their limits too. I wouldn't consider anything but a custom bike or higher-end steel touring bike if I weighed more than 250lbs.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Generally 120 or 150 kg judging from Sparta and Gazelle materials. That’s about the same as in the article.

Now, our weight distribution is a bit less extreme than in the US, But there are definitely commuters using their bike outside the manufacturer specifications out there right now.

To say nothing of toddler moms.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (5 children)

With 74% of adults in the United States classified as being bigger-bodied individuals by the CDC

I’m sure that’s the CDCs preferred term.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (15 children)

"Fatphobic" (because that's what we call social health consciousness these days) rant incoming:

It's been an issue for a while across all facets of life now and no one is brave enough to be the first voice to say "hey, these things literally were not made to support people as heavy as you." In the past year, a horseback riding trail in my hometown had to close because there were not enough customers whose weight didn't pose a serious risk of injuring the horses. A few years ago I had to install a steel support beam in the crawlspace under the master bedroom of a morbidly obese couple. Together, they probably pushed a half a ton and spent easily 16 hours a day on that bed. The framing had become so sunken that you could see the subflooring through the gaps that appeared between the flooring.

Just the other week my roommate invited an old school friend over, the guy probably weighed about 300lbs at 5'8" and broke a stool (Lyra by Magis, very nice, one of my favorites) in my kitchen. How anyone can be that big and so unaware of the strain their weight is putting on the things underneath them is beyond me.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

I got put on Concerta as a kid and I ended up gaining quite a bit of weight very quickly. You don’t really notice these things when you’re living in that body 24/7. All of a sudden I was not able to fit in my favourite hide and seek places. Just another perspective since you said you couldn’t wrap your head around people who don’t know their own weight.

Sorry about your stool though that really blows.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

Yeah I mean even if you're someone who feels that being fat is not their fault or something to be ashamed of, nor are the laws of physics and limitations of structural integrity someone else's.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago (17 children)

But bigger people deserve to be able to bike too! It’s just the reality of the world we live in, plus many people have genetic issues that make it fairly difficult to lose weight. They shouldn’t be locked out of basic things like being able to survive without a car. I admit horses are a different story because they’re live animals, but bicycles are human-made and can and should be designed to handle more weight, especially with how many people are bigger.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 months ago

Cycling is extremely low impact, and getting exercise on a bike can be a lot easier on the joints than walking or running.