That seems weird. Bad Apple is up there with doom in terms of "make it run", and a few high profile-ish hackers seem to enjoy touhou stuff (drew devault off the top of my head)
The article touched on it, and I agree, the biggest benefits for me are the portability and storability.
I can easily fit my folding bike into my car trunk, and very easily fit another one in the back seat. This enables you to drive to the start of a distant cycling route without having to deal with bike racks behind or on top of your car. So much less friction to you just going somewhere and cycling around.
And the small size means I can skip the common bike storage in my complex and store it in my apartment and it doesn't take up as much space as a full-sized bike. In my city, like most major cities, bike thievery is rampant. And if they can't steal your bike, they strip it of parts.
There are some drawbacks though. You can't really use them for hauling heavy loads, so forget bicycle touring or pulling a little trailer for kids or other things. They are also quite slow. And maybe some models have lots of gears, but the ones I checked out (in my admittedly limited search) did not, so they are not suited for very hilly routes.
I got mine used for $200 off FB Marketplace, it was in great condition and ready to ride. It is some generic brand that was sold in Walmarts a few years ago and I could not find any other information on it. I don't really care though. It got me out and cycling again!
Load meaning bags and rucksacks weighing down on the tyres, not trailers being pulled.
That’s another reason I like the G-line and am suspicious of the “just buy a cheaper folding bike from Ali express with a Brompton style tri-fold”. Idk how much I would trust a bike to take a 100kg person if it didn’t explicitly say a carrying capacity.
I love my Brompton, have taken it for short tours, and use it for a weekly grocery run (big front bag and a back pack). You can carry quite a lot, actually, though probably not a Costco run for a family of four. (That's what my cargo bike is for.)
The Brompton bike is also quite bombproof. It's heavier than other options, but solid as hell.
Wow, Legalnomads! Happy to see her pop up here. Way back in the day when I used to backpack and freelance she had a very big online presence in the internet hustler community. I just read through her recent history and I'm sad for her recent health issues, but glad she's still pushing through.
What a though-provoking story to read with my coffee.
I've often had the thought that I will probably just miss the singularity due to my age, but people like my nephews will have a greater chance at experiencing it.
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