Did you actually watch the video? It went into most of your complaints but here we go.
> I have a hard time seeing there being much cycling in winter.
And yet we got schools with 1000 out of the 1200 students cycling to school in -17c weather in Oulu. Out of the rest 100 to 150 walked and a couple took kicksleds.
Me (and a few million other Finns and Swedes and Norwegians and ...) would disagree.
> All it takes is for snow to cover some ice and the bicycle can simply slip out from under you.
This is why we maintain the roads. Also studded tires exist for bikes too but are rarely used here (Finland)
> It's also possible for temperature to be above 0 during the day, but drop to below freezing in the evening/at night.
Does happen. But again maintain your roads. Not really a problem on its own. Only if you let cars drive on the hard packed snow that has now melted which creates huge grooves that then freeze. Solved by not allowing cars on the bike paths.
> Another problem with cycling in the snow is that it's way harder. You need much wider and softer tires, but this also means that you need to put in more energy.
I rode the exact same bike summer and winter with the same quite narrow tires meant for asphalt (never had studded tires on my bicycle) for the last 25+ years and still do. Well not the same bike over all the years but only ever owned 1 bike at the same time.
Actually now that I think about it is a bit harder when really cold (think -25c) but not for the reason you said. The grease/oil in your chains, ball bearings, etc starts to gel up making it harder. Could probably fix it by changing the oils but nobody bothers with that. Just cycle harder (or slower and accept the commute taking 5 minutes longer)
> Going uphill is a pain.
Just cycle harder. You will get in shape quite fast. If you have proper gears it is not a big problem (outside of some extreme hills that are pain in the ass to even walk up)
> You'll also sweat in the coat.
Don't wear too thick of a coat or just open it up a bit.
> Batteries for ebikes don't work as well in the cold either.
Based on comments from my friends they work just fine. We have electric cars here and they work too.
> I think you pretty much need an alternative transportation system for winter.
Again watch the video I linked about winter biking.
Basically riding in the rain is much more of pain in the ass.
> I have a hard time seeing there being much cycling in winter.
And yet we got schools with 1000 out of the 1200 students cycling to school in -17c weather in Oulu. Out of the rest 100 to 150 walked and a couple took kicksleds.
https://twitter.com/pekkatahkola/status/1093297261604265985
> Icy conditions are scary on a bicycle.
Me (and a few million other Finns and Swedes and Norwegians and ...) would disagree.
> All it takes is for snow to cover some ice and the bicycle can simply slip out from under you.
This is why we maintain the roads. Also studded tires exist for bikes too but are rarely used here (Finland)
> It's also possible for temperature to be above 0 during the day, but drop to below freezing in the evening/at night.
Does happen. But again maintain your roads. Not really a problem on its own. Only if you let cars drive on the hard packed snow that has now melted which creates huge grooves that then freeze. Solved by not allowing cars on the bike paths.
> Another problem with cycling in the snow is that it's way harder. You need much wider and softer tires, but this also means that you need to put in more energy.
I rode the exact same bike summer and winter with the same quite narrow tires meant for asphalt (never had studded tires on my bicycle) for the last 25+ years and still do. Well not the same bike over all the years but only ever owned 1 bike at the same time.
Actually now that I think about it is a bit harder when really cold (think -25c) but not for the reason you said. The grease/oil in your chains, ball bearings, etc starts to gel up making it harder. Could probably fix it by changing the oils but nobody bothers with that. Just cycle harder (or slower and accept the commute taking 5 minutes longer)
> Going uphill is a pain.
Just cycle harder. You will get in shape quite fast. If you have proper gears it is not a big problem (outside of some extreme hills that are pain in the ass to even walk up)
> You'll also sweat in the coat.
Don't wear too thick of a coat or just open it up a bit.
> Batteries for ebikes don't work as well in the cold either.
Based on comments from my friends they work just fine. We have electric cars here and they work too.
> I think you pretty much need an alternative transportation system for winter.
Again watch the video I linked about winter biking.
Basically riding in the rain is much more of pain in the ass.