by
How do we process your data?
We use cookies to improve your browsing experience and personalize our content. They are mainly used for statistical purposes.
Train + bike: on paper, it's one of the most obvious combinations for getting around without a car. But in reality? It's still far from the norm.
Between the "last mile", overcrowded trains and the fear of theft, there are plenty of disincentives. As a result, thousands of everyday journeys continue to be made by car, for want of a really simple alternative. What if the problem wasn't the train, or even the bike, but the way we combine them?
In our latest episode of Can I buy you a rail? (the podcast that'll get you hooked on trains), we explore an underestimated avenue: the folding bike. With the founder of Bastille Cycle We take a look at why bicycles are still under-utilized in cities, and what could finally change our habits. A former engineer with a background in telecoms and urban planning, Gilles Henry is no novice. He is also behind the famous YOYO folding stroller, which has become a worldwide benchmark. His experience has led him to explore the same challenge, this time applied to bicycles: how to make an everyday object compact, simple and desirable. A fascinating episode to be found on your listening platforms favorites.
Cycling is often presented as a matter of course in the city. However, in reality, it is still largely under-used in everyday mobility.
You'd think that cycling would be a natural choice for city dwellers. Yet a large proportion of city dwellers still don't take the plunge.
The main obstacle? According to Gilles Henry, it's well identified: "The number one problem with cycling in the city is bike theft and clutter, people don't know where to store their bikes."
In other words, it's not so much the bike that's the problem, but everything around it: where to store it? How to avoid theft? How to integrate it into everyday life?
As a result, many give up or turn to less restrictive (but also less sustainable) solutions.
Faced with these obstacles, certain solutions have emerged: sophisticated anti-theft devices, GPS tracking, shared bikes... But they don't solve everything:
"These electronic systems are not satisfactory, they are not real solutions against bike theft. A lot of people want to cycle, but either take shared bikes, or buy an old bike because they've had three stolen." - Gilles Henry
So the problem remains: how to make cycling truly practical for everyday use?
Long heralded as a miracle solution, the folding bike has never fully convinced the general public.
The folding bike has been around for a long time. But it still suffers from a mixed image. The reason? Too many compromises on the user experience: "Why aren't they real bikes? They're always a bit strange." emphasizes Gilles Henry.
Small wheels, reduced comfort, uninviting design... The folding bike has long been thought of as a compact object before being a good bike, and many users just don't get it.
There's no shortage of technical solutions. We just lack simple solutions. The challenge, according to Gilles Henry, is to reverse the logic: "make a folding bike with big wheels so that it's as compact as possible."
It's not an insignificant approach. Before launching into bicycles, Gilles Henry had already revolutionized another everyday object with the YOYO stroller, applying the same logic of simple, intuitive folding.
In other words: start with a "real bike", then make it foldable (and not the other way around). And with a clear ambition: to make folding simple, fast and almost playful ("to make folding a pleasurable part of the product".).
Axel Reynier
This is where the folding bike comes into its own, especially for everyday use.
This is where the folding bike comes into its own. In theory, it makes it easy to get to a station, hop on the train and get off again immediately on arrival.
And, in fact, practices follow, as the founder of Bastille Cycle testifies: "there are employees who take the RER every morning with it, even at rush hour." A successful gamble for the folding bike, then: the bicycle becomes a natural extension of the train.
What's interesting is that this combo doesn't just optimize what already exists: it creates new behaviors.
And for good reason: telling yourself that you've got 5 to 10 minutes on the bike rather than a half-hour walk after arriving at the fare can be enough to make all the difference.
Nowadays, transporting a classic bicycle by train remains complicated, especially during busy periods: "Whenever we have a busy weekend, the trains are full. The folding bike gets around this problem by eliminating the need for space.
The Bastille Cycle bike: tested and approved by Rosalie!
The folding bike + train combo appears to be a credible alternative to the car, but with certain limitations.
Of course, the folding bike, even when combined with the train, won't make the car disappear overnight. The objective lies elsewhere: "The goal, initially, was to get more people on bikes." - Gilles Henry, founder of Bastille Cycle
In other words, broaden the user base and make it easier to take action.
The question of price also often comes up in debate. But it also raises an interesting point: "people with high purchasing power [...] still often have the highest carbon footprint." But if these people switch to cycling, the impact can be truly significant.
When it comes down to it, the folding bike is just one piece of the puzzle. The real lever is collective: "Every time infrastructure is created, more and more people use bicycles, stresses Bastille Cycle's founder.
Because without appropriate facilities and ambitious public policies, even the best innovations struggle to scale up.
The folding bike isn't going to revolutionize mobility on its own. But combined with the train, it could well remove one of the biggest obstacles to the transition: the complexity of everyday life. What if the real innovation wasn't a new mode of transport, but a better way of making them work together?
Issue du monde de la communication et des médias, Sophie est Responsable éditoriale chez HOURRAIL ! depuis août 2024. Elle est notamment derrière le contenu éditorial du site ainsi que La Locomissive (de l'inspiration voyage bas carbone et des bons plans, un jeudi sur deux, gratuitement dans ta boîte mail !).
Convaincue que les changements d’habitude passent par la transformation de nos imaginaires, elle s’attache à montrer qu’il est possible de voyager autrement, de manière plus consciente, plus lente et plus joyeuse. Son objectif : rendre le slow travel accessible à toutes et tous, à travers des astuces, des décryptages et surtout, de nouveaux récits.
