A scoping review of bicycling interventions’ impacts on well-being

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2026.1807791/full

by gnabgib • 2 months ago

100 121 2 months ago

geophph• 2 months ago

Certainly has a huge impact on my own mental health. My commute options are bike (2hr total pretty much without fail) or drive (on average 1:15 total) and even though the 45 min cost is not nothing, I know I’m happier, more pleasant and have less migraines when I commute more steadily by bike than drive. Doesn’t even matter about weather. I really appreciate my time on the bike to get some exercise, be outside, and just generally not be in a car.

recursivecaveat• 2 months ago

If it saves time that you would otherwise spend deliberately exercising the comparison can be quite favorable really. +45m of commute but 120m of exercise 'saved'.

tim333• 2 months ago

I've kind of gone from regular biking to an ebike and it's still fun and gives exercise but gets me there often quicker than by car.

scottious2• 2 months ago

Cycling is great for many reasons, but I feel that the biggest boost to my well-being was giving up driving.

thewebguyd6• 2 months ago

I'm a firm believer in cars ruin cities.

Cycling is great. I ride both for sport/fitness and for errands, has a ton of benefits, but I agree with you that the biggest boost is not driving.

Car culture/motonormativity in the US is a huge problem and transit here is severely lacking, cycling infrastructure or other wise (trains, busses, safe pedestrian paths and areas, trams, etc.).

People point to traffic and stress, but there are overlooked harms of car culture we tend to ignore. It's responsible for a significant portion of emissions, and drivers and those near cars inhale a staggering amount of microplastics.

Those who use public transit are less likely to be overweight, less likely to devlop type 2 diabetes, and less likely to have high blood pressure.

Driving needs to stop being an unavoidable default. EVs and self driving aren't the answer either, all the same problems, except exhaust, are present with EVs.

jbmchuck• 2 months ago

Absolutely. The US' urban density problems, housing cost crisis - they all go back to car-based society.

scottious2• 2 months ago

I agree. This is one reason why I want gas prices to go to $10/gallon. It will hurt, but maybe we'll start having some serious conversations about our awful transportation system and city design

thot_experiment2• 2 months ago

Just sharing what I know to be an extreme minority opinion but for my money, cutting up SF traffic on a bike is the greatest feeling in the world. On some level I have a deep respect for the cars because they provide me with a matched partner for the dance. That being said, yeah, ban cars, fuck cars.

scott_w2• 2 months ago

While I haven't given up driving, the fact that I don't rely on it to commute (granted I work from home rather than cycling) means that when I do drive, my relative frustration is really low. About the only thing that annoys me is dangerous driving... for obvious reasons!

nickserv3• 2 months ago

Same situation, working from home, although my city has decent public transport so even going downtown is easier without driving. But now when I need to drive for whatever reason, I get frustrated at having to drive. I'll complain about having to take the car, that why can't they put a bus route here, why is it the train doesn't stop at the station I need etc etc.

Which actually surprised me, when my SO said to me: but I thought you liked driving? When we first met you were always working on your car...

Oh yeah. I did, didn't I? It just kinda happened without me realizing it.

ervine5• 2 months ago

My love of cycling in every form is one of the greatest gifts my dad gave to me. I wish everyone was so lucky to find an activity they were obsessed with that has only upsides.

So much North American rhetoric is focused on hatred of the cyclist - while that bums me out, what bums me out even more is that all the haters are missing out on the wonderful world of cycling. Commuter, road, gravel, mountain, track, indoor, fixed, single speed, folding, electric, uni, cargo, whatever.

I'm gonna go ride now.

__mharrison__2• 2 months ago

Recumbent...

ervine5• 2 months ago

Nah, they’re freaks.

matsemann• 2 months ago

Yeah, so weird how biking has become an identity politics thingy. (Not sure if it translates well into English).

I enjoy how it's fast and easy to commute, and I keep healthy. Works even in hilly and snowy Norway. I love how fun it is to use my road bike to go fast and get a good workout. I love my gravel into the woods and the serenity.

This weekend I'm bikepacking 6 hours into the woods,sleeping a night in a hammock, and bike back. Can't wait!

mmooss11• 2 months ago

So much North American rhetoric is focused on hatred of the cyclist

My impression is that only people in the bicycling social world believe that. It seems like a victim mentality that they reinforce by repeating it to each other. It's always possible I just haven't seen it, but localities around the country are building bicycling infrastructure, which doesn't correspond to hatred. Where do you see it?

I hardly ever hear someone expressing hatred of cyclists. People who ride obviously like it. The great majority don't care about it - it has little impact on their lives. In cities, on streets I see people honk at, yell at, and flip off cyclists just like they honk, flip off, and yell at other drivers. IME the cyclists generally 'drive' as well/poorly as the automobile drivers.

I do notice that people in spandex racing outfits on road bikes tend to behave with attitude problems toward everyone - pedestrians, non-racing cyclists, cars, etc. They are aggressive and fly by people, often with little margin, at dangerous speeds without warning. It's as if they think they own the road. I was just talking to a bike mechanic I know who brought it up. If people don't like them, it's obvious why.

DangitBobby4• 2 months ago

You clearly haven't spent much time on YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, FaceBook, or really anywhere there is a huge community. Americans fucking HATE cyclists.

The great majority don't care about it

My own dad will take any opportunity to actively bitch about perceived annoyances perpetrated by cyclists and opine about how useless bike lanes are expensive and not actually productive because people only use them for exercise. Why don't you try actually bringing up cyclists and bike lanes somewhere, especially in the south, and then you tell me what people think.

impendia• 2 months ago

Some drivers seem to resent the idea that they should have to share the road, or slow down for anyone. Even if cyclists do everything right, they're still slower than cars, and so will present at least a minor inconvenience for drivers.

In Canada the fight has gotten nasty, with governments in Alberta and Ontario putting forward legislation that could remove existing bike lanes.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-ford-bike-lan...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-government-b...

Maybe "hatred" is too strong of a word, but if I were a cyclist in Toronto or Edmonton I'd feel rather victimized.

hoherd• 2 months ago

I'm sure lots of cyclists have anecdata about that hatred. My personal favorite was somebody in a Santa Clara neighborhood a block from the DMV shouting at me to "get off the f***ing road!" Clearly they didn't read the part of the DMV manual that mentions that bicycles must "not ride on the sidewalk"[1], and missed that cyclists are allowed full use of the lane.

I now live in rural suburban Michigan, and even on these rural backroads I have jerks in trucks yelling at me on my e-bike going 20+ mph to "get out of the f***ing way".

Maybe those people do not represent the majority, but it feels like they do, and those actions feel threatening when coming from a multi-ton vehicle directed at a 75 pound vehicle. (Fat-bike ebikes are heavy.) It's also odd to experience this on a rural road on a lake shoreline because isn't the countryside supposed to be slow paced?

1. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handbook/california-driver-han...

ervine5• 2 months ago

None of this has been my experience.

sl_convertible• 2 months ago

We just had a death on the road, from a driver hitting a cyclist in a group. I'm a life-long cyclists, and I now am somewhat fearful about cycling on the road. I see so many groups that take an entire lane and not even care about the cars behind them - it's easy to understand the frustration of the drivers. It's a knotty problem, I wish we had more bicycle lanes.

rcxdude• 2 months ago

As a general rule, with this kind of thing, if you're not in a group that's targeted by such comments, you are probably not going to see those comments. Even if the majority don't care, it only takes a small hateful minority to create a lot of hate aimed at a given group.

7e3• 2 months ago

Yes, many bicyclists are straight up obnoxious and unsafe, and without any license plates on the bikes, it’s hard to hold them to the proper lawful behavior.

antonvs3• 2 months ago

I love the way you start out claiming there's a victim mentality and then end up expressing your hatred of cyclists. The truth will out...

mrgoldenbrown3• 2 months ago

Look at the recent Boston mayoral election. Kraft used bike lanes as a wedge issue to try to unseat our incumbent mayor. It worked well enough that she tore out flexposts from a bunch of lanes.

PorterBHall• 2 months ago

What saddens me about this topic is the large amount of hatred coming at cyclists from drivers in the opinion page of the local newspaper (Seattle Times). Why not have some gratitude they are not contributing to traffic, not taking up parking, not polluting, etc. It comes across as pure madness.

whateveracct2• 2 months ago

seattle cyclists are gigantic PITAs. they pick and choose when to be cars and when to be pedestrians. and they are always bad at being both LOL

antonvs3• 2 months ago

… has only upsides.

The three most avid cyclists I know have all had life-changing accidents on their bicycles - my best friend who introduced me to cycling, my brother in law, and an ex-business partner who I introduced to cycling. All broke their hips and various other bones, and all had to have surgery and extensive rehab. So “only upsides” is perhaps a little too rosy.

whateveracct2• 2 months ago

no, you see / those downsides are due to cars

those shouldn't exist. therefore, they are free.

thefz• 2 months ago

American rhetoric is anti exercise, anti sport, pro GLP, pro car, anti human being, at least in this forum.

sourcecodeplz• 2 months ago

From what I've read from this study it seems that constant cycling it what helps most, not just from time to time.

pjs_• 2 months ago

Being able to cycle to and from work across a nice university campus, through fields and trees and in good weather, makes me feel as rich as any human who has ever lived

elevation• 2 months ago

Being able to cycle to and from work across a nice university campus, through fields and trees and in good weather, makes me feel as rich as any human who has ever lived

Just wait til you try it with a 7 year old who adores you and just can't wait to go biking again. Or with a 12 year old, just chatting about life's paths. What a blessing.

testing22321• 2 months ago

I currently ride my 2.5 year old 5km to and from daycare every day. Mountain town, glacier in the distance, lake in foreground, tons of leaves and flowers now.

Paradise.

soramimo4• 2 months ago

I've been biking to work in Los Angeles for ten years and it's surely been one of my best life hacks ever (to the point where access to biking infrastructure has been a primary consideration when buying my house).

mmooss11• 2 months ago

I know a bike mechanic who commutes by bicycle (of course) in a city. I brought up bike infrastructure and they said they don't need much: side streets that are too slow for cars going any distance are perfect 'bike lanes' - either there are no cars or it's one lane of slow cars and the bike fits in fine. All they need to do is figure out a route, but usually they can find their way the first time without a map.

LA is notoriously car-oriented, but is it different in that respect?

weinzierl• 2 months ago

I've been cycling to work for more than a decade in a more bike friendly city than LA (presumably), but still a city. What worries me a bit is the impact on my lungs. A doctor friend once told me they could easily tell the country person from the city dweller from looking at their lungs.

Apart from that it is a net positive for me and I wouldn't stop. You have to die one death they say and if it is lung cancer or COPD for me, so be it.

__mharrison__2• 2 months ago

Biking is great. Find an excuse to do it. Two that have worked for me: Commuting and coaching the HS mountain bike team.

mattlondon2• 2 months ago

Is this impact above and beyond just the same amount of physical exercise? E.g. jogging?

I think at this stage it is well understood that physical exercise has all these positives, so it would be interesting to know if anyone knows if bicycling is even better, or if it's just more of the same?

Is cycling special I guess .... Like, I dunno using a pogo stick might have the same benefit as cycling, since it's all just physical activity at the end of the day?

thewebguyd6• 2 months ago

There's a few things unique/special to cycling. Injury prevention is a big one, especially vs. running. Cycling is non-weight bearing and avoids repetitive loading and joint impact. (runners average 11 injuries per 1,000 hours vs. cycling's 6 injuries per 1,000 hours).

Because of that though you can ride for much longer durations comfortably than any other high-impact activity so cycling lets you have a much higher total volume of work and greater calorie expenditure without overtraining.

cschep• 2 months ago

this also means that more cafes are easily within reach of a cycle, where a jog can't quite get you there. plus cycling after a huge sandwich and a coffee is a lot easier than running :)

mmooss11• 2 months ago

runners average 11 injuries per 1,000 hours vs. cycling's 6 injuries per 1,000 hours

Do you remember the source(s)? I'm hoping to read more about those and other activities.

Cycling is non-weight bearing and avoids repetitive loading and joint impact.

Sure. I've also seen at least one study [0] that says the lack of weight-bearing means cyclists don't build bone strength and are more prone to fractures. I wonder if just riding in higher gears addresses that.

Because of that though you can ride for much longer durations comfortably than any other high-impact activity so cycling lets you have a much higher total volume of work and greater calorie expenditure without overtraining.

Doesn't that also make it less efficient? Running seems to provide more exercise/hour. Again, maybe higher gears would solve that problem.

[0] Sorry, I don't remember the source but I discovered it while looking for something else on, I think, PubMed.

ervine5• 2 months ago

Not scientific but I enjoy actually going somewhere. Jogging you can get to places in your neighborhood, but cycling I can get to places in my region.

That’s why I get on the bike, you’re moving through areas slowly enough to enjoy them but quickly enough to really take in a lot.

scott_w2• 2 months ago

Not scientific but I enjoy actually going somewhere. Jogging you can get to places in your neighborhood, but cycling I can get to places in my region.

You just reminded me of my holiday to Biarritz in April where my wife received a text: "Should be back in about an hour or so, I'm just riding back from Spain."

t_mahmood2• 2 months ago

Addition to what others have said, it's also therapeutic. Like exploring new places, the feeling/sounds. It's not detached from the environment, like it is in the car, nor it is too loud like it is on the motorbikes. It's not too fast, nor to slow to enjoy the surroundings. And, the sound of the hubs, wheels can feel peaceful even.

In my case, my city is disgustingly depressing. But after I started riding, I realized the city had so much greenery around it. And no car or motorbike could access it. Riding down the village roads, between the trees, that you can not access by a motor vehicle, or walking, is an amazing experience. And, it does not damage the environment, nor ruins the peace with loud noise.

mattlondon2• 2 months ago

FWIW I have found cyclists to often ruin the experience if you are walking or running through said greenery.

They go fast down the lanes, are often shouting and roaring at walkers to "stand back" or "get out of the way" (...at the polite end of the spectrum...) as they approach from behind at 20-30mph etc (assuming they warn you at all and don't whizz by with just a few cm/inches gap), if it is a soil track they will often leave tramlines in the mud that gets baked in and so on. And let's not even start on what they are like in urban environments (tl;Dr - habitually ignore all the rules including red lights etc)

IME cyclists are entitled, arrogant, and selfish. Maybe you are nice and respectful, but in my lived experience in and around London as a pedestrian and runner 90% of cyclists are total arseholes.

And it's not just me - arrogant selfish cyclists who don't give a crap about anyone else are causing issues across London, e.g. two random articles of many: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c150n02d10po https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62lp6xzzd0o

chickensong• 2 months ago

Cycling is special IMHO. It can be strenuous exercise like running, or a casual cruise that's even easier than walking. The speed is highly adjustable and easy to get in the sweet spot for that moment. It's not too slow to get bored, and not too fast to miss out on your environment.

Bikes are also a wonderful expression of physics, and the effect of centrifugal force is a key reason why cycling is special. The property of increasing stability with speed is amazing. Leaning not steering is also wonderful. The flow state you can achieve on a bicycle is unreal. Mind, body, and your physical environment in unison.

There's a mechanical beauty as well, that's easy to understand, but with plenty of depth to dig into and enjoy. Wheels and gear ratios are some of humanity's greatest achievements, and you get to pair that with interesting geometry and materials that have a direct impact on your experience. The difference between riding a junker that's not right for your body and a nice/fitted bike, is like the difference between wearing a burlap sack and a tailored suit.

Physical exercise is good, but bikes are much more than just a means to stay fit and produce endorphins. I wish everyone would bike more. Truly one of life's great joys.

thewebguyd6• 2 months ago

Bikes are also a wonderful expression of physics

And efficiency! A human on a bicycle is more efficient than any other vehicle or animal. If we ran on gasoline, a cyclist would get the equivalent of roughly 1,000 miles per gallon. A well maintained bike drivetrain can reach 98% efficiency. Compare that to an ICE car which loses up to 70% of its energy to heat and friction.

everdrive• 2 months ago

Is the increased risk of testicular cancer simply built in, or can it be avoided?

phoronixrly• 2 months ago

Are you riding 8 hours a day every day? No? Get a well-fitting seat that doesn't make your balls go numb and you'll be fine.

(AFAIK link between cycling and TC is inconclusive, link papers if you know otherwise)

ervine5• 2 months ago

I think it’s just a Lance joke - cycling has no correlation with TC.

tokai• 2 months ago

There is no consensus that cycling increases the risk of testicular cancer.

see page 6: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12885-018-409...

robotswantdata• 2 months ago

Don’t do PEDs

g8oz• 2 months ago

I like to see a study of impacts on well-being comparing cycling versus walking.

rramadass• 2 months ago

Google brings up plenty;

Cycling vs. Walking: Which Is the Better Workout for You? - https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/cycling-vs-walking

The above article has lots of links to actual studies.

Also see - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48263645

davidw• 2 months ago

I'll add to the love for bicycles. I wrote this a while back about how bicycles are, for me, a "thinking machine": https://journal.dedasys.com/2015/04/20/the-bicycle-a-thinkin...

hrjrnfjfjrj• 2 months ago

I gave up cycling for being too stressful. Every dog thinks cyclists are some sort of toy, to chase and bite. And using pepper spray 3 times a day gets old very fast.

shipman05• 2 months ago

Such an interesting comment. I've commuted 1+ hours per day via bicycle for years and never once had a dog encounter. 3 per day is wild.

Fricken2• 2 months ago

The first summer after COVID I was bitten by 3 different dogs in 3 separate incidents. I went 48 years without ever getting bitten by a dog until that one season.

nickserv3• 2 months ago

Wow you live surrounded by idiots. The dog owners, not the dogs, of course.

dhjfififfiirjf• 2 months ago

Right, except most dog owners are miles away, or dog has no owner.

And any animal this eats its own poop is idiot.

idontwantthis• 2 months ago

Do you live in rural India?

UtopiaPunk• 2 months ago

You should report that to animal control. In most cities, dogs are not allowed to be running loose off leash and "at large." If they are bothering people, it's clearly an infraction.

A scoping review of bicycling interventions’ impacts on well-being

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