[dairylee]

Other countries also have weather and they seem to cope ok with it. Obviously there are some extremes which can make it unpleasant but for the most part the weather isn't as big a deal as it's made out to be when it comes to cycling.

E-bikes mostly solve the effort and sweat aspect. But that introduces a larger entry cost.

I'd say distance is the biggest factor preventing it taking off in the US (Outside of Cities). A mixture of cycling + transit could solve the longer distances.

[leoedin]

Honestly, as someone who's commuted 10s of thousands of miles by bike, I disagree. Weather (well, rain and snow) is absolutely a big deal when cycling. Cycling in cold is OK, cycling in freezing rain is absolutely horrible. You can get around this somewhat with waterproof gear, but then you have to spend 20 minutes getting changed at either end.

Even in "rainy" London, it's only a small fraction of days that are like that. But you need a solution for those days, too.

Cycling is an excellent mode of transport in cities, but it's not perfect. Some sort of covered bike or micro-car would solve some of those problems.

[prmoustache]

Every time someone mention this, I look at which days in a year I really had to use protective gear and I can count with the fingers of my hand. Most rainy days it doesn't even rain all day and you often end up lucky during your transit time with a few small drops.

And the solution is easy: a bike with full length fenders, a poncho, some gloves, possibly some change in an hermetic bag.

Also rain in summer is not an issue, sometimes it is even pleasant and refreshing.

And you probably also forget that in most motorists case, they don't all have the change to have an indoor parking both at home and at the office / place they do errands. Most need to walk from home to parking space then from parking space to office/shop...and get soaked in the process.