Can you take your bike with you into shops?

[Dwn]

At least she is competent at what she is doing even if you disagree with her politics. Unlike the clowns you have in charge who could not run a tap even if they knew what a tap was for.

I disagree with her politics, but would argue that she's an excellent politician but runs a mediocre government.

 

[Tom B]

I've been thrown out of a few shops for having my bike with me. Notably from an absolutely minging newsagents over the road from my house. He complained it was dirty (just cleaned) I agreed with him that it was dirty now it has been on his carpet.

Got kicked out of lidl not for the bike, but for the bike light.

But generally I ask and wouldn't do a big shop with it, but if picking up a parcel or getting a bottle of drink I go in with it. My view is it is not different to a pram.

When I ran a shop I always allowed it or would mind it in the doorway.

 

[oldwheels]

I disagree with her politics, but would argue that she's an excellent politician but runs a mediocre government.

I do not agree on mediocre. If you listen to the broadcast anti Scottish TV channel then you may have that impression but in practice we are far better off in many respects than England despite being fiddled out of a lot our taxes. This is well off topic so I am not going to pursue any further.

 

[Dwn]

As you say, off topic, but to be clear - I don't form my opinions from STV or BBC Scotland, and haven't watched terrestrial TV in years. I'm simply going by my reading of various metrics. Happy to move back on topic.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

What harm is actually being done by a bicycle in a shop, other than being a bit unusual?

They're a damn nuisance to other customers & shop staff trying to move around for a start and they are also a potential safety hazard - bike falling over whilst owner reaches for something off shelf, pedals sticking out and cracking someone's shins etc. There's no sound reason whatsoever why a cyclist needs to be able to take a bike inside a shop. Many shops have some sort of rack outside, and even if there isn't one there is always a nearby lamp post or road sign a bike can be chained to. It comes down to the "I'm a cyclist, I'm a special case" sense of entitlement. You're not a special case, you're just another customer, and you should leave your bike outside, along with the entitled attitude, and not inconvenience other people inside the shop.

 

[Drago]

I tend to agree but then I wonder why? As pointed out up-thread, nobody bats an eyelid at a pram, buggy or shopping trolley which arguably take up the same footprint and are often piloted with little care. What harm is actually being done by a bicycle in a shop, other than being a bit unusual? Perhaps with pro-cycling measures underway there will come a time that there will be too many bicycles at a shop to allow it, but then presumably the measures that put more people on bikes will include appropriate security at your destination that make the perceived need to keep your bike with you redundant.

Prams and wheelchairs aren't unstable. They do not fall over. They do not have dangerous cogs, sprockets, frayed cable ends, etc, that can cause injury.

Add to that most cyclists do not know how to safely and correctly push a bicycle, simply because they've never been trained to do so and have never bothered to research it for themselves - it is not possible to safely push a cycle and have a hand free to lift items from the shelf, put them in a basket, etc. Indeed, the safe method of pushing a bicycle involves having the geartrain facing away from the rider for safety reasons - that exposes the geartrain insteadmto other shoppers in close proximity, which is nasty is something adverse happens.

The only viable alternative presented so far in this thread is a folded Brompton - other folding bicycles are available - either on a leash being pulled, carried in it's own bag, or in a trolley. Bikes are for roads, cyclepaths, bike sheds...not for shops.