I live in a third story apartment. There are numerous bikes stripped of wheels, seats, etc in my neighborhood, so I’m too chicken to lock my bike up outside overnight. How many stairs do you carry your bike up? For me it’s:
Thirteen up from the basement unloaded; load panniers (still inside) than down 4, a walkway, and then down 4 more to street. Once at work it’s about 8 up. Last year had 20 more up at work. Could have taken the elevator, but at that point, why?
A steel frame with two loaded panniers is a little hard to handle, but the fully loaded ride is so smooth, it makes it all worth it.
In Holland, the answer is almost universally ZERO stairs. Building codes are so stringent that nearly everyone has ground floor storage rooms 6’x9′ or larger. Everyone thinks the Dutch bike so much because they have the cycle paths, etc, but there’s much more to it than that.
Also, nearly all Dutch bikes weigh 50 pounds. This is one of the reasons that ground level bike parking is ubiquitous. Without ground level bike storage I doubt you’d see all the small children and elderly biking in Holland.
They have also outlawed hills in Holland as well.:rolleyes:
You have a point. However, I know Amsterdam in particular is known for some vicious winds. Here in the DC metro region where it’s a bit more hilly I see E-Bikes making a presence over time to help deal with hills.
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