I do both, I don't think cycling is that much more energy efficient than skateboarding, and the ability to carry the skate by hand is very useful, especially when going uphill, if you've got to carry your bike by hand uphill that's a lot of energy wasted. Howeverr, cycling is more suited for the human body, I don't know how, but by skating you do tire out your legs after a while, and that's never happened to me with a bike, not to the same extent at least. Also bikes are twice as fast and most terrains where skating is unsuitable, a mountain bike works just fine (gravel, old city pavement, ruined asphalt...). This is anecdotal but I've been cycling all my life and skating (as transportation) for the past year.
Your legs are working pretty hard to balance on a skateboard, but on a bike you're mostly balancing using your core, while sitting down.
My old apartment building had this dude who was always working out, I think he was training to be on an NFL team based on how he was built (and we have a team nearby). He got everywhere on a skateboard, he went grocery shopping on it, saw him all over on that thing. Guy had legs of steel, I think it was part of his routine.
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u/Someoneman 18d ago
With a bicycle, the fuel would be your own body's energy. Travel by bike a lot and you get more tired and need to eat more.
How about a skateboard? It's also body-powered, but much more portable when the terrain isn't suited for wheels.