The real reason people don’t bike

This is part of a series of videos we filmed with Benno Baenziger, the founder of Benno Bikes and an industry icon who founded Electra bikes and designed the Townie which ended up becoming the most popular bike in the US.

He's helping to define the ebike market and we're excited to share some of his ideas with you. Let us know if you'd like to see more videos like this.

Musicbed ID: MB01LNW96V8SKUE

[nastythomashobbs]

So true I live at the top of a steep hill. Why I did not cycle. Bought an Ebike and now I ride it all the time to go shopping or just for fun.

[tonycrabtree]

An e-bike for daily commuting makes all the sense in the world.

[mikeowen]

I could listen to this guy all evening. A real thinker and doer. I remember anticipating keynotes by Steve Jobs. Benno is a similar guy. Now looking forward to the rest of the series. Fab new addition to your film catalogue. Beautifully shot and put together too... it’s a 10! I love the variety and constant fresh content on the channel. Thanks Team Propel. Excellent lockdown distraction.

[ronhoek]

Number one is bike friendly infrastructure. He forgot that one.

[tomherron]

Interesting video. I wonder if the bike manufacturers could work creatively together to address the theft concern. Could some features be incorporated into the bike design to make them easier to securely park/lock up? Almost like some universal mount points that you could easily put a special lock through that would secure as many of the high value components as possible.

[christill]

I don’t think the manufacturers can do much about theft. It really comes down to building secure bike parking facilities like the Dutch.

I also recently heard about these bike lockers at some train stations that you can access with the same smartcard you use to pay for the train itself.

I’ve commuted by electric car for 4 years and am now going car free and it’s great that these innovations are finally coming along to solve these issues. I don’t want to be messing around with busy ticket machines and printing paper tickets. Or leaving bikes locked to a loop on the platform in 2020. And also it reduces things you have to touch so less infection risk. So when I do start to travel again whenever that may be, I have some good options.

[robertaviles]

0:54

Theft problem could be solved by having a locking front fork

The 1949-1959 Schwinn Phantom had the front forks that locked, and you had to use the key to unlock it. Without the key, a crook is not going to be able to turn the handlebars... or go straight for that matter! 🤣

I wish modern day bikes still had locking forks, to prevent theft. This would help take a worry from the list!

[Damorann]

There really needs to be a Canadian/US based manufacturer who decides to make a fully covered year-round commuting trike. The moment you need another vehicle because of rain, snow, or because you need to carry another person, you just lose a huge chunk of people because it then becomes inconvenient and pricey. Why spend a few thousand dollars on a bike that will do 40-50% of the job of a car if you still need to own a car ? The cost of ownership of a car is mostly fixed costs (financing, insurance, periodic maintenance) and fuel has only a small part in it unless you travel a lot (think 25 000 miles per year or higher).

In the end, as long as there will not be a velomobile that's good enough to handle all types of weather and allow people to reach fairly far (think 12-18 miles) on a charge without having to sweat and be able to carry a reasonable amount of cargo, things will not change. Europe has many start-ups that are doing it but few are in North America. Someone needs to tackle that challenge and you'll start seeing a shift of mentality. I would gladly switch my car over for something like this if it existed.

[tmquay]

Love getting a look at what Benno is up to -- is there going to be an extended cut of this?

[dickthomson]

You forgot...I don’t look good in spandex!!!