Bike Lane Sweepers (2021)

Yeah, probably true. But the concern often isn't the snow itself, it's when it later freezes. Then it's too late to plow it, and the rugged and uneven slippery surface is impossible to bike on.

Yeah, that looks like it would work. That's the kind of thing that I meant by a drastic change to the steering as that's now got two wheels at the front.

Marathon Plus are great, but they're not the most supple of tyres.

Tubeless is a great solution for preventing punctures (especially sharp thorns left on roads after trimming of hedges and bushes), but it can be a faff to set up until you know what you're doing and the tyres are more expensive. You also "need" compatible rims to run tubeless unless you fancy a ghetto setup.

I bike in Mexico. I usually get a flat patched with the bike mechanic for $1 USD and they do it in less than 5 minutes. They check the tire throughly to find the source of the puncture. More often than not they pull out a piece of metal debris from the tire (like small pieces of wire or nails). If the roads are cleaned, it will be a person with a broom doing it, which is why metal debris stays on the shoulder of the road instead of being suctioned by a mechanical cleaner.

Would good tires still save me from these punctures?

I used to have those tires (before the bike they were on was stolen). A few years running daily in a busy city and I never had a puncture. You can go on broken glass and not have a puncture. I did exactly that a few times.

Current ones are some Continental with 5mm reinforcement IIRC. I came home one time with a piece of broken glass stuck in the tire. It was just stuck, pointy end in the tire but did not puncture it, so I just removed it and laughed.

I think you're approaching the issue from the wrong direction.

Broken glass is not a desirable feature of any part of the road, bike lanes or pavements (sidewalks). Puncture proof tyres won't help if someone loses their balance and gets a face full of broken glass.

The answer is to remove broken glass and other detritus. This is surely just a basic function of society.

> There is a definitive solution to debris on bike lanes though: puncture-resistant tires.

Fantastic - no need to sweep anywhere at all now. We just wear thick boots and make sure cars have thick tyres

Puncture-resistant tires have awful ride quality; this is not a general solution to the problem of debris.

One way to address these complaints is by providing proper infrastructure. Quite frankly, when on the road you have to behave like a motorist. Sometimes your observations are a matter of perception. Consider a light turning amber, a cyclists still has to go even though the light is timed for motor vehicles and will be red by the time they exit the intersection, because the car behind you will will go because the light is timed for motorists and will not turn red by the time they exit the intersection. Sometimes it is a matter of safety, because there is a good chance the car behind you will enter the intersection as the light is turning red. As for people entering the intersection after the light turns red, I see this far more often with motor vehicles. By far more often, I mean I have seen cyclists do it as many times in a decade as I have seen motorists do it in a day.

While signalling would likely be helped by education, it is also worth noting that it can be difficult for cyclists to do it at speed on a busy road. Remember, they are on the road because the infrastructure does not exist and they are at speed because they have to keep pace with motor vehicles (within reason). Again, proper infrastructure would help. That includes bike lanes that are free of debris and where the surface is properly maintained. Ironically, hand signals are only systematically taught in driver education (some cyclists don't have a drivers license), few motorists seem to know what they are, and not using the vehicle's turn signal is common among motorists.

As for not stopping for pedestrians, that is common with both motorists and cyclists yet it creates more problems for cyclists. Simply put, when there is less than a one in ten chance that the car behind you will stop for a pedestrian it is very risky for cyclists to stop for pedestrians. Again, this is because a lack of proper infrastructure means that cars and cyclists are mixing.

Where I live, half of drivers are looking down at their cell phones. Barely anyone comes to a complete stop for stop signs or even right turns on red at intersections. No one stops for pedestrians at unmarked crosswalks (legally a requirement here). The majority of drivers exceed posted speed limits some of the time.

What I'm saying is: tons of people commit varying severity traffic infractions all the time. If you think this is something exclusive to cyclists, that is more likely your own confirmation bias. There are a lot more drivers, and a 2-ton vehicle does a lot more damage to other road users than a cyclist, so the ultimate risk/damage to society is virtually entirely from drivers.

It would really help if drivers and cyclists were held to remotely the same standards. Drivers commit all sorts of traffic infractions that could easily kill a cyclist, and then have the nerve to scream at cyclists and “buzz” them just because.

What would really, really help is for drivers to not assault cyclists. Don't throw drinks. Don't run over cyclists. Simple as.

Where I live, drivers routinely exceed the speed limits by 10-20 km. This is so routine that if you don’t drive faster than the speed limit, you will invariably get honked at.

These drivers then have the audacity to suggest that cyclists are the problematic rule breakers on the road.

I do try and think it's important to be a good representative of bicyclists when I am on my bike. Most drivers seem to respect that and pay me back in kind.

Or volunteers

> He stresses the large size of the potential market since the price is low enough for bike clubs and individuals to purchase. And, perhaps obviously, municipalities will find the economical nature – and perhaps the ability to leverage the pool of operators to include volunteer or paid bicycle enthusiasts with a vested interest in keeping bike paths cleaned.