Why You Want a Light Bike: It's Not What You Think
/
MAMILs (Middle Aged Men in Lycra) the world over spend $1000s shaving mere grams from the weight of their bikes. Carbon cranks, handlebars, and forks allow highly tuned road bike-ists to climb and sprint fractions of a second faster.
But the North American Transportation Biker is a totally different species! I don't know about you, but the best way for me to shave seconds off my commute is to push the snooze button less.
5 ways transportation bikers benefit from riding a light bicycle:
- It's easier to carry a light bike up stairs. Live on the 2nd or 3rd floor? When you park your bike indoors carrying your bike up stairs becomes a core use case. You'll do it twice every day!
- It's easier to maneuver indoors. If you lose control while maneuvering your bike in your apartment you can break stuff or hurt yourself. A light bike is much easier to control.
- It's easier to park. A light bike tends to be less touchy when it comes to leaning the bike against a wall, participating in a bike pyramid, or using a kickstand on grass.
- Light bikes do less damage when they fall over. I've seen falling bikes put holes in walls (or humans) on many occasions.
- Public transit becomes way easier. If you're a multimodal Millennial a light bike is a must. Subways have tons of stairs and those bus racks can be tricky with a heavy bike.
