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Bike or very small car?

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  1. #1

    Question Bike or very small car?

    3 reasons why I'm thinking of private transport:

    1) Avoid public transport and cov-19
    2) I like to visit the countryside more than once a week but getting there is always very slow, especially the trip to Sai Kung Country Park. Private transport can reduce that trip from 2 hours to 35mins. It would be really nice to just take off and have the freedom like that.
    3) It can help me get to clients and schools quicker. Although parking will be expensive I'm only there for 80mins at a time.
    4) I've been price gouged by taxis a few times during unusual events and as such that the only way to get home was waiting 2 hours or paying $1000. It would be nice to avoid that.

    Even though I'm licensed to ride a 125cc in the UK that license won't convert to HK.

    Is a Smartcar realistically any easier to park? I've been noting plenty of half legal spots for bikes but I think a Smart Car would still be a pain to park and attract more tickets than a bike? I've never seen one parked taking advantage of the sideways method either. I think with a bike you're less likely to get so many tickets and can probably tuck it into all sorts of spots.

    I'm getting conflicting reports on driving safety here. My wife says a bike'll get me killed, plus it's uncomfortable in the heat. Plus, I'll have to take the bike test, which is a pain.

    (It really irritates me that neither my boat nor bike license are valid here but I digress...)

    The whole thing seems like a total PITA but taxis and public transport on average let me down 1-3x a month.

    What do you think?


  2. #2

    Join Date
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    Bike licence is a 1 year affair multiple tests in Shatin and $10k from what I've heard.

    jago25_98 likes this.

  3. #3

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    Right now parking law and order has totally broken down which does make driving especially convenient (and cheap on a marginal basis if you ignore the high fixed overheads). But at some point (particularly post nCov and if/when the protests subside) we'll be back to HK's finest having little to do beyond ticketing. As such I'd only get a car if you've got proper parking at home.

    A smart car would occasionally squeeze in somewhere but I don't think it is sufficient to be worthwhile especially if you are doing longer journeys. They are pretty uncomfortable due to hard suspension to minimise body roll and stop them tipping over as they are quite high relative to their size. Plus you won't save anything meaningful on running costs as compared to any small car under 1400cc.

    I don't know much about biking here, other than I wouldn't fancy it 7-8 months of the year. In summer i think there would probably be too much temptation to jump on the bike without proper protective gear etc which could end nastily.

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  4. #4

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    I found having a car very useful when I was doing private lessons as I could significantly reduce the travel time and the summer sweating. I agree with you about the convenience for the country parks, or if you get somewhere and change your mind, etc.

    Here's my take: A car is much more convenient but it's expensive... nobody can make that choice for you... I have an SUV and I budget $5000 per month for petrol and parking... that doesn't include MOT/tax/insurance/repairs/sinking/etc... I have free parking at home... if your car is in daily use, even if it's 1.2 Polo, I don't see how you can do it for under, say, $3500ish per month.

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  5. #5

    Cornmeal,
    having to get to Shatin so many times, $10k and a year is a bit of a pain in the butt Good to know, thanks! Definitely a factor against the bike.

    Peaky,
    I can park a bike cheap or free on or near my estate. In terms of just being able to park anywhere and get few tickets: do you think that resuming will come back to bikes just the same as it will to cars? Do bikes get cheaper tickets? To be honest, if I have to park in proper spots with a bike that totally sucks and that's a vote against having a bike. Do you think I'd get a lot less tickets in the countryside? Good to know about the Smart Car suspension. Not too worried about that to be honest as a long journey for me is 2 hours. But I'll have to make better note of what parking spots I see. If that was anything towards as good as a bike I'd go straight for it. It's all parking. What's the point in having a car if you have to turn around and go home because you can't get parked anywhere?

    Chips,
    that works out a little bit more than 2 big return taxi trips a week, which is roughly my present bill that public transport can't meet. Maybe I just need to up my taxi budget and be done with it... but I'd much prefer to avoid public transport with these bugs going around right now :/deleteduser, I'm sorry to hear that That's exactly what I'm afraid of. I've only been in 2 car crashes in 20 years, both I couldn't have foreseen and would have been much worse on a bike.

    Last edited by jago25_98; 16-02-2020 at 09:07 PM. Reason: formatting

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by jago25_98:
    Do you think I'd get a lot less tickets in the countryside?
    General answer is yes, for sure - but it still depends where. If making a hiking trip in Sai Kung and you dump your car at Pam Tam Chung, for example, there are plenty of free spaces but on a weekend arrive early (< 9am) or you'll struggle to find one. Cars do spill over to the roadside - these usually don't get ticketed. Villages around Sai Kung: OK too... but you'll encounter another problem, that is pockets of private land or rogue villagers all too eager to scratch your car for taking their space.

    Most malls offer free parking of course, but surely you can't shop till you drop every day...
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  7. #7

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    Bike license cost me about 7k and took a year. I failed the road test once. That's less than 2 months car parking rental where I live.

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  8. #8

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    I really don't know how much ticketing of bikes occurs in practice. Someone told me that a traffic warden can only ticket a vehicle on the road, and it has to be a police officer to ticket a car or bike that is off road/on a footpath. Might be totally untrue though!

    Even before they protests I never got a parking ticket when dumping the car somewhere near the start of a hike. Even dragons back was ok several times.

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  9. #9

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    If you're inclined to go places on days that are likely to be busy, a bike is way easier for parking's sake. Same goes for commuting. That said, factor in the increased danger associated with it (busier roads, people in a hurry or not paying attention, etc) and the chances of an accident are also higher... unfortunately I speak from experience. But that chance is lowered if you ride defensively and always wear your gear.

    The time to get the license isn't short, but not such a bad thing. It'll give you a chance to climatise to the roads, driving behaviour and different weather through the year while you're on your L's. Think positively this way. Worryingly it's way too easy to pass, which explains a lot of the skill for other motorists (of all kinds, not just bikes).

    The only downside with bikes is storing your gear when you're on a hike, but some places like Big Wave Bay cafe have storage lockers. You'll soon learn where they are all are. I've never considered locking my gear to my bike, it's too tempting for some to resist.

    Re: commuting, a bike is actually worse for 9 months of the year because you're disgustingly sweaty when you reach your destination. It's only good for winter or if you wear casual wear at work. Unless you're in the magical 1% who seem not to sweat, unlike the rest of us.

    I think, if you can afford it, get both. A small car (like a VW Polo) and a bike fit in a single car space, so unless you're in a Wilson's or something you can squeeze both in and it's not a problem.

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  10. #10

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    I got 2 tickets both for parking on the sidewalk/pavement. At least one was from a traffic warden.

    jago25_98 likes this.

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