[Bordercollie]

Are they doing testing at half speed? Because if that's the actual speed then it would be faster to ride a bike.

 

[evandyk]

It's often faster to ride a bike than to take transit or drive. Not typically on a street like suburban Eglinton, but certainly anywhere downtown or along Yonge up to Eglinton (barring maybe the big hill, which is solved with an e-bike).

 

[Amare]

I do think that Crosstown may be more reliable on headways than surface streetcars, because the traffic signalling will kick in if a car is behind schedule, and because there will be few potential obstructions to create bunching.

The potential problem will mostly be padding either en route or at the ends of the route.

I wonder if operators will be scheduled on a staggered basis similar to the subway so that they have rest breaks without holding tramsets at the end of the line.

- Paul

I'd imagine there will be step-back crewing on the line, but not sure if that would be a single-step back or double-step back. We'll have to see what happens on that end.

The potential scheduling padding issue is also one that I wouldnt be surprised to see.

 

[turbanplanner]

Why do you think this? Buses often operate at 50 in 40 zones.

I pulled out waze on my phone once, he was going 85 in a 40 This is before vision though

It's often faster to ride a bike than to take transit or drive. Not typically on a street like suburban Eglinton, but certainly anywhere downtown or along Yonge up to Eglinton (barring maybe the big hill, which is solved with an e-bike).

E bikes are great but besides the fact police don't care at all about property crime, the fact you're basically not allowed to use them on transit when the sun is up really turned me off getting one.

 

[MisterF]

police don't care at all about property crime

This is why I have a Bike Share membership. I pretty much limit my own bike to recreational rides. If I'm actually going somewhere where the bike will be left for more than a few minutes then I'll use a Bike Share bike. No need to worry about theft. The only problem is the scarcity of available bikes at certain times.

 

[turbanplanner]

This is why I have a Bike Share membership. I pretty much limit my own bike to recreational rides. If I'm actually going somewhere where the bike will be left for more than a few minutes then I'll use a Bike Share bike. No need to worry about theft. The only problem is the scarcity of available bikes at certain times.

This! Always park for 10 mins at most with my bike

 

[evandyk]

In busy downtown areas it's pretty safe. I leave my bike parked in front of the office towers during the day without worrying.

 

[Dr. Snoot]

They're very expensive, but you can buy basically unbreakable locks now -- even power tools will wear out before they are cut. Removing an e-bike battery is also a deterrent, although a pain to carry around. I also confirmed in writing with my insurance company that my e-bike is covered under my home insurance policy if it is stolen on the street.

Overall, I don't worry too much about my e-bike being stolen, though I am lucky to be able to afford counter measures.

 

[evandyk]

And a good strategy is to make sure your bike is slightly worse and your lock is slightly better than the other bikes around. My city bike is pretty bland looking (though it's tuned up well) and I have a good, but not necessarily top of the line lock. I have those unique keys for all the major removable components too (over the years I've had everything from bells to derailleurs stolen). Sadly, making your bike just a little harder to steal than the rest works.

 

[allengeorge]

They're very expensive, but you can buy basically unbreakable locks now -- even power tools will wear out before they are cut.

Litelok X1 and X3, as well as the Hiplock D1000. I have the X1; it’s a chonker and significantly heavier than my Abus Granit. I cant imagine how heavy the X3 and D1000 are.

 

[imerk]

Litelok X1 and X3, as well as the Hiplock D1000. I have the X1; it’s a chonker and significantly heavier than my Abus Granit. I cant imagine how heavy the X3 and D1000 are.

$252 though? I imagine that's as expensive as the average rider's bike.

 

[allengeorge]

$252 though? I imagine that's as expensive as the average rider's bike.

Any locking technique has to be a balance between what you’re willing to spend and the cost of what you’re securing.

Often the best strategy - as @evandyk pointed out - is to make your bike harder to steal than the surrounding ones. Or, just use Bikeshare.

Also, I think it’s a little sad that the vast majority of people have never experienced (or will never experience) anything better than a department store bike. They are awful. One would be better off buying a used bike from a coop. That said, I don’t judge people for buying what they can to get some wheels.

 

[smallspy]

$252 though? I imagine that's as expensive as the average rider's bike.

Two things....First, you get what you pay for.

And second, $252 wasn't even half of average price of a rider's bike when I was last in the bike industry almost 20 years ago.

To reiterate @evandyk 's point.....I recall many, many years ago interacting with bike courier downtown who had a very high-end carbon fibre bike frame well before they were commonplace. He wrapped his frame in electrical tape so as to disguise what it actually was. He had it for many years. But if you knew, you knew.....

Dan

 

[generalcanada]

as someone that owns a high end bike worth over $3000 I think the whole "someone cut my lock" is a bit exaggerated.

In the way that you cant buy a $15 wallmart lock expecting it to keep the bike safe, you have to invest in a good lock.

This isnt an ad, but I use a "kryptonite new york lock" which comes with insurance because they are so confident its that hard to cut. They will give you the full cost of the bike if your bike gets stolen while locked up
Its just over $100.

 

[Bojaxs]

Rail is way easier to control with a signalling system.

And so why would that mean slower trains? Help me understand please. Aren't the C-trains in Calgary also governed by a signalling system? They seem to go fairly fast.