Most status symbols are.

Oh, and you’re playing games on these machines?

What does your current machine look like? Can you just reuse some of the components, and maybe upgrade them later?

they are pretty good at unloading tabs when unused

LOL the vast majority of people don’t even know what RAM is, or why its important…

The people just get used to having to wait for a page to reload when they switch tabs. That’s just the “Chromebook” experience.

Yeah, that’s what you call a bad experience. Which is fine when you’re buying a $200 laptop, not $600 or $1k for an iPad. People just don’t know they’re having a bad experience or don’t understand why.

I have used them. That’s how I know. Despite what Apple will tell you, they’re not magic. 8GB is 8GB, regardless of what processor it runs on.

A bike is not intended to be a redundant vehicle. It’s intended to replace a much larger, heavier, and less efficient vehicle for shorter trips.

But…why?

Regardless of its intent, that’s what it is. Redundant. Because once again, it can’t do anything my car can’t. And once again, if it could replace my car, I’d be all in. But it can’t.

Gets me up and moving, saves gas, and doesn’t take that much longer

I ride bikes ~4 hours/week, recreationally so I already get my movement that way. But at present I’m very limited on where I can safely go. Most destinations don’t have a safe path, or are too far away, or require long detours. When I ride my bike I load it up on my car because there’s no way to get anywhere other than a literal highway without so much as a shoulder to ride on.

I shouldn’t have to use my car all the time. That’s the point. If you’re in a city, you shouldn’t have to use your car, either. Nobody should.

I agree. I shouldn’t. It would be my preference to ditch the car. But it would add several hours to my daily commute, I would arrive at work wet as a fucking mop and stinking from the 100F+ weather (not to mention rain). And there’s a strong possibility I would literally die along the way. Or I guess I could get another job and take a pay or QoL cut. I literally cannot afford to move.

I don’t live in a decently-designed city.

I don’t have kids. And kids can walk. Or take the bus, ideally.

The fuck it isn’t! You can’t just go around pretending it doesn’t matter; that’s dishonest.

…but it isn’t? And it doesn’t?

the cost per mile is just the cost per time period divided by the miles driven per time period.

…huh?

I don’t believe you

Okay, well, you can just choose not to believe me, that’s your prerogative.

Fucking thank you LOL. It’s an otherwise very powerful and high quality laptop that’s absolutely kneecapped with 8GB of unupgradeable RAM. Its insufficient for even the most basic of tasks, and has been for years. Give it 16GB and the Air is a dead product.

The next generation is supposed to have 12GB which will be a significant improvement, but most likely at a higher price, given the overwhelming demand.

The obvious answer is “yes”, its both.

The similarly obvious and more controversial answer is that if you ride all the same places as your “analog” bike with an ebike you’ll get less exercise.

The less obvious and more nuanced answer is that people who ride ebikes generally ride further, and more often, and generally still requires energy to operate, so yes, absolutely.

I don’t have an office door. Regardless, walking a short distance to an arbitrary store front door from a parking lot is far less stressful than riding a bike there from my front door in the 100+F Texas heat and hoping I don’t literally die somewhere along the way.

Listen, I can form an argument either way, but I’m also not the one making such wildly unilateral statements as the OP.

I don’t understand.

Though insurance and maintenance/repairs are other per-mile costs you are forgetting.

I’m not forgetting them. Insurance is not a per-mile cost. And as I explained in the comment you just replied to, I have no maintenance or repairs, other than tires.

The bikes I have cost far more to maintain and repair. My main bike I bought 4 years ago and have replaced virtually every component on it in that time. Both wheels, several sets of tires, 2 derailleurs, suspension rebuilt multiple times, multiple chains, cassette, brake pads, shifter cable/housing, grips, pedals, shoes, saddle, etc. etc. And its not even an ebike.

A cheap e-bike

Is the most expensive bike you’ll ever own.

God forbid, a non electric bike

Moving the goalposts.

I never said you had to use a bike to commute.

No, but the OP said I should. That’s what I was replying to.

quit bitching at those of us that choose to live close to society

…no one is “bitching at you”. No one suggested you shouldn’t do that. I don’t know where you got any of that from.

The idea isn’t to get rid of your car

It is for me. I’m not spending thousands of dollars on a redundant vehicle.

you’re obviously angry that you had to spend a whole bunch of money on and are forced to sit in traffic every day with

I’m not and I don’t.

You’re arguing with a strawman here. All of the points you think I’m making are imaginary, made up in your head somehow.

No, please, go on.

Its not cheaper if it can’t replace my car, it’s much much more expensive.

I already have a fleet of bikes for exercise and recreation. I don’t actually use them for transportation because its unsafe and takes 10x longer to do things and I don’t want them to get stolen.

I already have a very efficient electric sedan so my transport emissions are very minimal.

Why should I have to spend thousands of dollars on a whole other vehicle to do something my car already does but worse?

I don’t use any gas and I charge my car at work so it doesn’t even cost a single penny.

I have an electric sedan. I charge it at work. The only per-mile cost is tires, which are $1k every ~50k miles ($0.02/mi). And it definitely would not cover 25%.

Is it?

The CEOs are getting paid. In America, that’s the only thing that matters.