Does anyone have good stats for them?

I have some ideas but I'd need to look up speeds and figure costs.

What skill would riding a bike be under?

What kinds of bikes would the sixth world have?

I'm thinking something with memory metals that can fold up and is light weight enough to fit into a purse, or jumpsuit pocket. Add a powercell and the things fold on their own quick, have their own link into grid guide(bike guide?).

High end bikes featuring ultra low friction bearings and efficient gearing systems allowing for high speed.

riding a bike would be somewhere under the Athletics SG. Memory Metal would be an overly expensive cost for a bicycle; there are folding bicycles today that would work just as well in 2070. More efficient gearing systems WOULD be nice, though.

I wouldn't go too overboard on the magic pocket bike angle. The only other thing I know like that is a nice simple *knife*, which is a far cry from a powered mechanical vehicle.

Anyway, Pilot Exotic Vehicle: Bicycle, and pretty cheap. (Athletics for the endurance and speed, perhaps, but you need a Vehicle skill to make Vehicle tests.) Traditionally, the near-future books include recumbents, trikes, etc., and we currently have things made from graphite, laminates, all kinds of things.

I donno, having bicycles as an exotic vehicle skill seems...wrong, to me. I would put it under athletics... Is there any precedent for human powered items under vehicles? it always seemed to be all powered from some source other than the person controlling it.

I guess, but I don't see Athletics as particularly giving you the ability to do bike tricks. Human-powered just doesn't seem like a relevant criterion. There are human-powered airplanes.

Either way, Athletics is indeed a group, not a skill. So you could add a new Physical skill (instead of Vehicle), but the player cost is the same either way. Unless you're saying make the group even bigger for free?

Honestly, I take it back. Just use Pilot Ground. It's simpler, and who cares about some guy on a bicycle?

Looking over it, I think a new skill would work.. specializations would basically be align to frame types, i guess, BMX, trick riding, and street racing, for example. Exotic vehicle doesnt feel right to me... it's used for a vehicle where there arent going to be any sub-sets that you can make specs out of, imo.

Um.. guys.. Pilot Ground Craft covers it already. Listed specializations are Wheeled and Bike. Note it doesn't specify Motorbikes specifically, just the more broad general term Bike. Description of the skill also says "control ground vehicles without legs, whether remotely or in person".

It depends if you consider it a vehicle, Miri, or something closer to skates. It totally means motorbikes, because bicycles are dumb. Luckily, that also means it's not going to hurt the game either way.

Well, riding a bike is about maintaining balance first of all; and that works pretty much the same whether the bike has a motor or not; so I'd say Pilot Ground (Bike) applies.
I also imagine smart tires on a bike may let you do some neat tricks like going sideways or something to the effect.

Whilst I'm not one for bicycles myself I wouldnt say they are dumb topgear had a city race of a car against a couple of bmx bikes a couple of years back that was worth watching.

Given that this would be a person powered vehicle someone with high stats and some running skills might be able to make one go at a pretty high speed, add offroad suspension it might end up being a viable mode of transport in the shittier parts of town if you cant afford something bigger.

Hell bike couriers can and do a good job in the city now, cant see that changing much to be honest, the gear gets better and the people will get faster.

Well, ATM I'm watching Le Tour de France on TV. Pro-riders can reach up to 50, 60 km/h on flat ground, 70-90 km/h downhill (on a road) and about 20-30 km/h uphill depending on the incline. I myself am a trained hobby cyclist riding a modded ATB (highest transmission 48:11 / lowest transmission 28:32, 26x2 inch semi-slicks with 4 bar pressure and a tri-bar) and I can reach up to 30-40 km/h on flat ground for a while, about 50-60 km/h downhill and about 5-18 km/h uphill.

The costs vary, but I can give you some ideas:

Low-end MTB: 100-200 Euros
High-End MTB: 1000-2000 Euros

Low-end racing bike: 400-800 Euros
High-end racing bike: 2000-3000 Euros

Good day-to-day commuter or traveling bike: About 600-1000 Euros up to about 2.500 Euros (with components from B&M, Magura, SON and Rohloff)



Probably a lot of E-Bikes (no motor support beyond 25 km/h and you still have to crank) and Pedelecs (go up to 50+ km/h and you don't have to crank).



Modern high-end carbon bikes are pretty lightweight. About 5 to 6 kg for racing bikes and about 10 to 12 kg for MTBs.



That's already SOTA 2011. Just seach for e.g. "Shimano Dura-Ace" or e.g. "Fulcrum wheels" at Google.



There's no official rule but I've proposed a house rule some time ago (though I never actually used it):

Nah, just used a fixed gear and you're fine.

If you can spend 800 to 1.000€ just get a Rohloff Speedhub and be done.

Snow Fox came back from a Seattle vacation a couple of years ago saying there is no way runners could bicycle on the hills around there.

Just spend some time with Google Street View. Seattle looks great for a lot of fun with a racing bike, but it's hard to judge an incline on a picture. I'm used to something like this.

That's far too expensive. First quality of a good commuter bike: you don't cry too much when it gets stolen.

That depends on where you live, how often you use the bike, how far you have to ride, if you ride in rain (possibly even snow) and darkness or only in the summer months and where you park your bike (e.g. at a train staion or some safer place within an office block). The more expensive the bike is (what should mean higher quality) the less money you'll have to spend on maintenance. I'm using for example a cheap low-end cassette sprocket, crank and chain from the Shimano Alivio group. The cassette sprocket and chain will last no more than one season (2.000 to 3.000km) and the chainwheels are reaching the end of their lifespan after 2,5 years. Deore XT parts would last much longer but are significantly more expensive.

Also, if it is getting stolen, you need to invest in better locks, and better strategies for locking up the bike. I personally have a thick double-braided chain that would take time to get through, and wind the cord through the frame and tires, and around an implacement when possible. Then take the seat off for good measure.

I am suddenly reminded of that spray-on fake rust in one of Gibson's novels. The protagonist would apply it to her top of the line bicycle to make it look so shabby nobody would want to steal it.




-k

Chevette, from Virtual Light.

Near future, almost-cyberpunk (The net is pervasive, hackers can screw you up, the corps are a law unto themselves, but nobody seems to be sticking metal bodyparts in anybody) and pretty cool.

As well as the fake rust, Chevette's cycle had an anti-theft system that acts *exactly* the same as the one in arsenal - a verbal warning to anyone getting too close, followed by a powerful electric shock.

***

I'd say there is still plenty of room for bicycle couriers in Shadowrun UNLESS electrical motors of negligable size and weight mean that something as lightweight and low-profile as a bicycle can be powered.

Isn't a Dodge Scoot just a electric moped?

Like, let's say, a motor in the bottom bracket with the electronics and battery hidden in the seat tube...

(Sorry, couldn't find a video in English, it was hard to find even this one.)

€dit: Better vid.

€dit 2: Found an English vid.