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Comment by zdragnar | Hacker News Reader

I would love to get some e-bikes for my family. However, they're not terribly useful aside from recreation for us. We don't live in an urban or even suburban area.

Bikes are a local thing. If the weather is too hot, or cold, or wet, or snowy, you're out of luck.

Cars appeal nationwide. They'll get you hundreds of miles, comfortably, between remote destinations that aren't served by public transport or airports.

Or, they'll help you get groceries for the whole family.

If you think your area would be better off if tax breaks went to e-bikes, write your city and state governments. Depending on where you live, they're already taking upwards of 10% or more of your income, plus taxing the goods you buy and the land you live on.

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They're of course not the solution for every transportation need, especially if you live out in the middle of nowhere, but two things:

> If the weather is too hot, or cold, or wet, or snowy, you're out of luck.

I really don't think the weather is as much of a barrier as it's often made out to be. The Netherlands is famously windy and rainy and Oulu, Finland has snow 5 months out of the year, but nevertheless lots of people cycle in both places.

But yes, if your bike lanes and paths are unmaintained (or worse, have all the street's snow plowed into them) it won't be attractive to cycle in the winter. That's a question of infrastructure and priorities though, it's not the weather alone.

> Or, they'll help you get groceries for the whole family.

I ride an Urban Arrow Family, and it works fine for bringing home lots of groceries.

I live in Seattle, and it's really pretty easy to get a shell for rain and cold. Or shorts for heat.

Seattle has a very temperate climate (relatively speaking) so the last paragraph of my post applies quite well there.

More than 10cm of snow is a show stopper and that only happens a few times a year, most work from home anyway on those days. Studded tires, poggies for your handle bars. Cheap heated 5volt USB vest and pants wired into your battery pack is an option if inclined.

> I really don't think the weather is as much of a barrier as it's often made out to be.

I'm not making some wild guess, I'm going based on observations of riders in the nearby metro where I once lived. Bike usage plummets twice a year- very few people want to deal with -40 wind chills or have a shower at work after biking in 90F/33c sun.

Hence, my argument that e-bikes tax breaks make more sense at local levels than they do broadly applied.

What metro is it and does the dedicated bike infrastructure get plowed and otherwise well maintained in the winter? Oulu's record low is < -40C and they don't observe much of a decrease in cycling until around -20C.

Hot days aren't an issue for ebikes until you get to extreme temperatures. I've found it to be much better than walking; I'd sweat more waiting for my car to cool down. This is in Sydney, up to 40C and fairly humid.

> I really don't think the weather is as much of a barrier as it's often made out to be.

Extremely variable based on local climate. I'll take cycling in a 68F rainstorm or the snow compared to 98F at 76% relative humidity.

For most of the of the country, I don't think heat is that much of a problem. You're not pedaling hard and you have a steady breeze at 15+ mph. I ride electric Citibikes in NYC all summer where it's often in the 90s with high humidity.

I moved rural a decade ago and it's the only reason I miss the city. I turned my ebike into a rope tow for the kids: https://youtu.be/KSyzwj-Faxw

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