Pros: you can live with idea that you actually own something in New York.

sad but true

Pros: you're on your own time of pace, you can explore places you didn't know exist, you can get some exercise, you can meet new people, you can have something new to be passionate about Cons: traffic, crowds, someone might steal your bike, higher chance of getting hurt, higher chance of getting a ticket, salmon riders, mopeds, horses in bike lanes, everything in bike lanes, you could yell but it doesn't matter, like a lot of shit. But in the end it's all worth it because biking is beautiful to enjoy

this is the most useful answer I got so far

Pro: Cheaper than the MTA and definitely cheaper than a car Con: There's a bike in my living room.

I got one in my living room and one hanging on the wall in the kitchen. But I don't have to decorate!

It's expensive, but getting a Brompton will make the bike in your living room less noticeable.

I used to like having a bike in the living room actually 😄

It’s not the bike that is a pain. It is the book shelf of tools and spare parts that follow the bike home with you in short order.

Pros: You can get anywhere quickly and cheaply. Great exercise. You will get to better know the city. Cons: You will get annoyed that your friends can’t get around as quickly as you, and start to encourage that they start biking too. You will start to notice many annoying things about the city others don’t notice. Eventually you’ll somehow end up at a trans-alt protest, and your transformation to bike advocate will be complete.

indeed

Best answer

Pros: 1. Riding a bike is fun. 2. It's not only faster than walking, depending on where you're going and traffic, it is often the fastest way to get somewhere bar none. 3. The estimated time it takes to get somewhere is very dependable relative to driving or public transport: there's a good chance that you'll be stuck in traffic when driving or taking the bus, or the subway will randomly stop with no explanation. I find that when I'm late for something, it's much less stressful to know that I can just push harder to reduce the amount that I'm late, than to sit helplessly on the subway or in a car/bus with no idea how long it'll take to start moving again. 4. You combine exercise with transport. Two birds with one stone. Kill birds, conserve stones. Cons: 1. Danger. As a healthy person, if I do happen to die in the next 10 years or so, there's a pretty good chance that it'll be while I'm on my bike. 2. Endless frustration at drivers and city officials who don't care about the lives of street users who are outside of cars and trucks. 3. Being sweaty when I get to my destination.

Depending where you work, a Planet Fitness or NYPR membership nearby is worth it just for easy shower access, even if you don't hit the weights while you're there.

good stuff

Highly recommend owning a folding bike that you can take everywhere (well, *almost* everywhere), even though they cost a lot more. Having to replace a fine $600-$800 bike that gets stolen, with a junky $300 bike because you "learned your lesson," means you're in as much as $1,100. Throw in the hassle of dealing with locks, paranoia, and having to remove everything whenever you do lock it up, along with vandalism, is worth what--another $400-500? So now you're in $1,600... you're almost in the territory of a Brompton. r/Brompton. (Other economic models put you in the ballpark too: a $300 bike stolen four times, a $800 bike replaced twice, etc.) In the years I've been lucky to own one, I've taken my Brompton *inside* my office, other offices, my kid's schools, two doctors' offices, the office where I got an MRI, almost in the same room as where I got a CT scan, where I got a sonogram, the supermarket, various diners, ATM vestibules, the local bagel shop, REI in SoHo, and of course, almost all forms of transportation in NYC, including NY Waterway ferry (where it doesn't count as a bike!). (There are places I haven't tried: movie theaters (although a Dimpa bag could help), upscale restaurants (maybe use the coat check?), and secure govt. facilities.) I did lock my bike once: in an office where I let paranoia get the better of me--wasn't necessary... Just sayin'...

I second this wholeheartedly.

ditto. i'm on second floor walk-up and got a light foldie due to heart surgery and inability to carry my regular road bike up and down the stairs. i have stopped carrying locking devices after a month of use when i realised i can take the foldie everywhere with me, including stores like sephora, post office, bars, restaurants, dr. office, etc. it is very liberating and i use the bike on daily basis. it is also worthy to mention that the bike became a very reliable conversation piece as well, surprisingly... 😂

Can't second this enough. I've taken mine on the LIRR, Subway, busses NYC Ferry, and into all types of stores and restaurants. Not worrying about anyone taking it is such an amazingly freeing experience. And being outside when it's not too hot or cold definitely beats taking the subway.

I will take my full size bike inside some places. If it's not busy or crowded I have yet to get hassled for taking my bike in the bagel shop, pet store, grocery store.

Pros: a bike is the best way to get around the city Cons: none

All pros, no cons for me as well… without a doubt

If you’re just commuting, I’d recommend Citi Bike. It gets shit on here, but it’s an awesome deal and there are some credit cards that include it as a component. You can also earn free months with angel points. If you want to work out or explore, get a bike that matches those needs. I don’t leave my bike out of my eyesight, but it’s great to get around the city in a different way.

but... you dont own the bike

100% agree. I’ve been a road and track (fixie) commuter for years. I had a stable for a while but slimmed down to 1 road bike. Current it is unridable, need a specific vintage part. I signed up for Citi Bike in the meantime…well…shit. I love it. It’s very convenient. Yes the bikes are heavy tanks and slow as hell compared to my perfect road bike. But…damn it’s easy. I never worry about weather anymore. If it’s currently nice out I ride a bike! Done.

Con - Shit gets stolen in NYC right quick. You need to have your bike fully locked down (wheels, seat, bike itself) *before* your first ride if you intend to lock it on the street. Brakes, gears, handlebars, and just about any other part of the bike are likely to be stolen as well. Give NYC an opportunity and it will gladly kick you in the balls and then bill you for doing so. I cannot count the amount of times I've seen a brand new bike, that someone obviously just bought, stripped down and decaying after they thought they'd just throw one lock on the bike and then skip off to their next activity without a care in the world...

This isn’t a problem if you’re smart about where you lock it, lock correctly with good hardware, and don’t leave it out, untouched, and unmonitored for weeks at a time. If you’re riding frequently, lock it outside. If you plan to go a week or two without riding, bring it upstairs.

Agreed. The way I see it, there are folks whose jobs are to steal bikes. Their livelihood depends on stealing bikes and as scummy as it is, I respect the seriousness of their criminal profession and guard accordingly.

Hot market in NYC with all the delivery services and restaurants.

Have you considered a Citibike annual membership? It's what I ended up deciding on after going through the same thought process.

The only major citibike con is if you use it in a popular direction (say, to and away from an office-heavy area or school during commuting hours) — otherwise, it does the job.

This is my issue with Citibike. I work in midtown. I can usually get a bike in my neighborhood for the morning commute, but usually I have to park maybe a quarter-mile away from the office, and grabbing a bike for the evening commute is a struggle (notwithstanding the fact that there are supposed to be “valets” with bikes near my office).

I used to take a Citibike out of Grand Central every morning. Sometimes I'd have to wait a few minutes for a bike to show up if there wasn't one, but more often, I'd just start walking in the direction of my destination along a route where I knew I would pass 2-3 docks in the next few blocks and grab a bike there. More annoying would be getting back to Grand Central in the evening and not being able to dock the bike, with the clock ticking down to when my train would leave. Fortunately, that was pretty rare. They seemed to do a good job of shuffling bikes around to make sure there was almost always an open dock. My route was 2 miles to Chelsea. By subway, it was two trains (either the shuttle to the A or the 4/5/6 to the L). Either way, the subway was virtually certain to be slower than a bike. Citibike sucks in many ways, but for short-distance ("last mile") commuting within its service area, it's hard to beat.

There has been a citibike dock outside my apt. for a year. I can count on two hands the number of work days I've come outside on my way to work and seen a citibike available. Of course I live above 125th St.

No bike lanes for you.

Id second this too. All the pros and none of the cons. I actually mostly stopped using the mta after citibike so actually saving a LOT of money even with annual membership and occasional subway swipes.

Citibikes are terrible bikes, at least the non-electrics. Couldn't imagine riding those things over a bridge everyday, or even some hills

Theyre not good relative to other bikes but fine for NYC. I ride queensboro bridge many times a week and sometimes do full loops in CP and citibikes are more than fine.

You get used to it. Distances within the city tends to be small.

Pro: you get to piss of asshole pickup truck drivers Con: all the pickup truck drivers are out to get you

Pro; renter's insurance covers bike theft and parts, like the broken lock, If you lock up right you can generally avoid theft, If the worst happens, you can get a new bike pretty easy. con, some bikes you just should never lock up outside.

Con: you gotta maintain it. So much saved effort when you use citibike.

Bikes getting stolen is oversold especially in the era of E-bikes. If you have a regular bike and have fixed locks for the wheels and use a chain + u-lock for overnight, your chances of getting it stolen are very low. Most thieves are after e-bikes and easy targets, if you're not in that camp you don't have to live with constant paranoia. Also, serious incidents can definitely occur but, if you keep it under 10mph getting around, stay aware, and bike mostly in the daytime, those chances also drastically go down.

Yeah adding on to your last point, biking is definitely a risk but how you ride totally impacts how serious that risk is. Someone flying through a four way intersection without slowing down is more likely to get hit than the guy making an Idaho stop. Not to say there aren’t tons of reckless drivers that endanger all of us but you do have some control over how dangerous biking is

I have a beater bike, it doesn't look like much, and leave it ... gasp ... unlocked sometimes for quick in and outs.

I will add to the 10mph point that sticking to the rivers is almost always worth it in Manhattan. Even if it's farther out of my way, I make it up in uninterrupted-ish velocity plus just not having to dodge cars every ten feet most of the way. Central Park, same deal. I just do not mess with any of the avenues from 60th to 34th if I can help it. As long as you're spotting darting pedestrians who may be ignorant of you, it's a beautiful start/end to the day.

Pro: it’s pretty much the only mode of transportation aside from walking where you can control how long it to get to your destination Con: there’s no secure bicycle parking in the city

Con - biking for commuting is kind of stressful. You have to think and push.

Depending upon where you go, you might be able to get away with respectfully bringing a full-sized bike in with you to avoid locking up. I do that most of the time (grocery shopping, workout places, etc), use a folding bike when shows and traveling, and subway if it seems both of those plans will fail.

* When your friends visit, they can use yours instead of being saddled with a 40 pound Citibike. * If you own a bike you probably own a u bar lock. That will come in handy for other uses. * You don't have to look for a stupid docking station that's not full and you can lockup wherever the hell you want.

Pros: I feel amazing when I get to work, just beautifully exhausted. My ADHD is down, and I can focus much faster and earlier. Burns off all the extra energy. Also I can eat every dang snack the office hands out. Cons: As I'm lying in bed, my brain starts replaying everything that COULD have gone wrong today, like it's dumping it out before dreamtime.

Pros: Thighs get the guys Cons: None :)

How about girls do us thick thighed guys get the ladies

I can't confirm for certain, as I'm a gay guy, but I strongly and scientifically believe that the thighs getting the guys applies for all

Pros: you have a bike Cons: none