The new web site Find The Right Bike helps you navigate the path to a car-lite or car-free way of life

While Find The Right Bike paid the freelancer’s payment for this text, I used to be assured this was a subject that may curiosity Streetsblog Chicago readers. I admire the assist, in addition to FTRB’s new weekly advert on this web site. We’ve nonetheless acquired about $17K to lift to fulfill our 2026 finances objective. If you haven’t already, please take into account making a tax-deductible donation right here. Thanks! – John Greenfield, editor

In 2024, Viktor Köves started a undertaking of interviewing and photographing Chicagoans of all walks of life with their bicycles. His objective: demystify metropolis driving for on a regular basis wants and get extra individuals on bikes. The Instagram and YouTube channel for Chicagoans Who Bike is crammed with private tales of households, youngsters and elders from all corners of town about why they experience and what they get pleasure from about it.

Now Köves has a brand new web site to additional nudge Chicagoans onto two wheels. Findtheright.bike makes use of a really brief survey to suggest a method of motorbike in line with the consumer’s wants, from e-cargo bikes to good quaint commuter bikes. The web site contains transient guides on primary gear and upkeep, and hyperlinks to product evaluations. Find the Right Bike additionally makes a compelling case for the price financial savings of motorbike versus automobile, all in Köves’ affable, encouraging tone. We spoke with Köves concerning the new device and the way issues are going up to now.

Sharon Hoyer: What gave you the concept for Find the Right Bike?

Viktor Köves: I’d been engaged on Chicagoans Who Bike for some time and I’m about to shut out that undertaking. I wish to cease after I hit 100 interviews and I’m at about 92. I needed to do extra instructional content material about how you can bike within the metropolis. I preserve listening to individuals say, “There’s no bike for me because I have kids or I need to haul things.” Lots of people don’t know what choices they’ve. I needed to distill the data I’ve and the data of the bike neighborhood into one thing actually easy.

The different factor was integrating some monetary information. One of the values of the location is exhibiting individuals simply how costly automobiles are. I’ve two e-bikes – one which was about $4,000 and one which was about $6,000. When I inform folks that they are saying, “That’s so expensive!” But I don’t personal a automobile. One is my minivan; I haven’t wanted to take a car-share for cargo since I purchased that bike. If you’re occupied with driving however know nothing, you’ll be able to soar in my web site and discover one thing fairly affordable. And earlier than I present you fashions of bikes, I present value breakdown. 

I stored sharing the location with the bike neighborhood for suggestions. I added the gear information: Okay, you’re getting a motorcycle however you don’t learn about locks and helmets so I share hyperlinks to one of the best sources for these. I added the fundamentals on upkeep. The different factor was storage. Every time I speak about cargo bikes, individuals say it’s going to get stolen instantly. That’s not true, there are methods to stop that. I labored rather a lot with Bunch Bikes [electric cargo cycles], which has many articles about theft prevention.

The central concept is giving individuals a manner of seeing {that a} bike can match into their life and that it’s not a giant expense, however a giant cash saver.

Loads of websites get into body sizes. I don’t care. What are your life wants? And go from there.

SH: The tone of the location is that this isn’t for gear heads, that biking is basically approachable. You don’t need to measure or analysis something earlier than you are taking a quiz about what bike is greatest for you and how you can get began. How did you construction the quiz?

VK: I’ve plenty of bikes, so I’ve a decision-making course of for which bike I take outdoors. It’s a privileged place; I’ve plenty of expertise with it. And I’ve had plenty of conversations with different individuals the place they stroll me by means of their wants. What downside are you making an attempt to unravel? If it’s simply you driving into the wind, that’s a really completely different downside than transferring you plus one other grownup. It’s a completely completely different class of motorbike. It’s my expertise proudly owning these completely different bikes and figuring out what they’re good for, and consulting with different individuals. 

The different facet was storage – some individuals would possibly want a cargo bike however have to hold it upstairs. We supply a light-weight various however supply a storage information for maintaining it outdoors.

SH: You keep away from endorsing any explicit model. Was that tough in any manner?

VK: Commuter e-bikes are straightforward, there’s so many at completely different value factors. The one I struggled with was e-trikes as a result of there are a bunch of low-cost options with combined evaluations. My objective is to construct belief however not saying a selected bike to purchase, however to say, “go try these, here’s some third-party reviews.” Leaning on present sources and evaluations. I offer you a category of motorbike, but it surely’s not meant to be definitive. I don’t present a purchase order hyperlink. 

SH: How a lot visitors has the location acquired and what has the response been up to now?

VK: The suggestions has been unbelievable. The most reassuring factor I’ve heard is individuals who have already got e-bikes pulling it up and saying I really helpful the kind of bike they’ve, so it’s working properly. We’ve had about 850 customers during the last month and a half. I’m engaged on some cross-promotion with bike outlets to be listed on the location. One of the cool issues is that its unaffiliated so I can do partnerships like this. My objective is to play good with everybody so everybody can promote this device.

SH: What do you’re feeling is vital for convincing extra Chicagoans to check out driving a motorcycle or changing extra of their automobile journeys with biking?

VK: Honestly, I feel fingers on stuff is probably the most highly effective. Last 12 months within the fortieth Ward [on the Far North Side, represented by Ald. Andre Vasquez] we hosted an e-bikepalooza that was actually profitable. It was in partnership with my undertaking Chicagoans Who Bike. We had J.C. Lind [Bike Co.] doing Urban Arrows. When individuals check out a pleasant e-bike and see what it could actually do, it opens their thoughts a bit. 

I feel storytelling is vital too. Other individuals identical to you might be doing simply superb with their bike. And perhaps they nonetheless have a automobile for weekend getaways, however they’re saying, “It’s way easier to drop off my kids at school in this Bunch Bike or Urban Arrow than sit in the car line.” If you might be dropping your children off in school in an SUV, and also you see 4 or 5 of the cool mother and father roll by on an Urban Arrow and drop their children off and depart earlier than you’ll be able to drop your children off, you’re going to consider it. There’s adoption, there’s infrastructure, and there’s instruments like this, that make it straightforward and approachable. 

I don’t suppose my web site will get individuals to purchase a motorcycle, however my objective is to get them within the funnel of making an attempt out a motorcycle and seeing how releasing it may be.

SH: Is there anything you’d like to say?

VK: One factor is I speak about car-free residing FAQs. The most typical factor I hear is, “What if I need to move a couch?” Yeah. You can hire automobiles. I feel it’s so necessary to make use of the monetary lens. Look, when you use a automobile to haul a sofa as soon as every week, then a motorcycle might be not going to be enough in your wants. But yearly? Price that out. How a lot does a rental value you? The different factor is after I speak about automobile possession, individuals simply take a look at the sticker costs, however that’s not the complete value of a automobile. On my web site, I take advantage of $25,000 because the preliminary buy value for a used automobile. The five-year value of automobile possession is twice that. The bikes are dearer upfront after which virtually free to run. We neglect about insurance coverage and gas. I speak about retirement financial savings rather a lot for my work, so I’m fairly financially literate. It was key to me to say the funding – is your retirement funded? If you may have the cash for a brand new automobile that’s nice for you, however put it in a 401k for ten years, my sense is you’ll have about $1.1M. I feel that’s the query we ought to be asking individuals.

Visit Find the Right Bike here.

Read Streetsblog’s earlier story on Chicagoans Who Bike right here.

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– John Greenfield, editor