Not Just Bikes
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 8 of 48 YouTube channels by recommenders
Well-researched educational videos on cycling, urban planning and self-driving cars that people recommend. Critics say videos are repetitive, one-sided, and sometimes have flawed logic.
Well-researched educational videos on cycling, urban planning and self-driving cars that people recommend. Critics say videos are repetitive, one-sided, and sometimes have flawed logic.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 14
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 70%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 14 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Compelling case against self-driving cars
“I find the arguments of Strong Towns and Not Just Bikes quite compelling”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “The United States needs fewer bus stops” “Not Just Bikes has a good video on the problem with self driving cars”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “We Demand Perfect Machines yet Tolerate Human Carnage” “makes a compelling argument that self driving cars are not the answer”
Comment from 25 Feb 2026 in “The United States needs fewer bus stops” Pairs well with similar urbanist channels
“The best videos on this (in my opinion) which compliment urbankchoze's post”
Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “America could have $4 lunch bowls like Japan–but our zoning laws [prevent that]” “I find the arguments of Strong Towns and Not Just Bikes quite compelling”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “The United States needs fewer bus stops” “I've also enjoyed Not Just Bikes and Tom Scott's England series”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Nebula Sans” Well-researched educational urbanism videos
“NJB is a well-respected educational youtuber and all their videos are built on a lot of research”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “Waymo – Dallas Open to All” “great content on urban planning”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “Every Reason to Hate Cars” Recommended as a go-to channel
“I personally like the “not just bikes” channel though.”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “The Future of Everything Is Lies, I Guess: Where Do We Go from Here?” “Check out Not Just Bikes on YouTube for why and how.”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “Reddit User Uncovers Who Is Behind Meta's $2B Lobbying for Age Verification Tech”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Presents one-sided or unrealistic views
“I'm not sure I'd take him as some neutral authority on the history of cars and driving in Europe.”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “Claude Fable is relentlessly proactive” “I just don't think Strong Towns/Not Just Bikes presents a realistic mental model of the world”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “Why isn't LA repaving streets?” “Not Just Bikes makes reddit posts for redditors in YouTube form, basically.”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “Louis Rossmann tells 3D printer maker Bambu Lab to 'Go (Bleep) yourself'” - Comment from 27 Feb 2026 in “The United States needs fewer bus stops”
Repetitive videos focused on complaints
“A lot of his videos have become repetitive and focused on complaints rather than specific ways of making things better.”
Comment from 13 Feb 2026 in “Beginning autonomous operations with the 6th-generation Waymo Driver” “Now it's just endless videos about how cars suck, cities suck”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “Louis Rossmann tells 3D printer maker Bambu Lab to 'Go (Bleep) yourself'” Poorly reasoned arguments and conclusions
“he is making huge logic errors. There is good stuff there, but some conclusions don't follow”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “Reddit User Uncovers Who Is Behind Meta's $2B Lobbying for Age Verification Tech” “I used to be frustrated at their poorly thought-out arguments”
Comment from 5 Aug 2026 in “Waymo – Dallas Open to All”
Other YouTube channels people recommend
The four most recommended other YouTube channels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3Blue1Brown | 96 | 4 | 96% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Veritasium | 44 | 12 | 79% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Technology Connections YouTube channel | 40 | 3 | 93% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Asianometry | 24 | 1 | 96% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Not Just BikesThis page | 14 | 6 | 70% | 8 | — | Approved |
What people said
20 of the 21 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I've also enjoyed Not Just Bikes and Tom Scott's England series”
“I used to be frustrated at their poorly thought-out arguments”
“NJB is a well-respected educational youtuber and all their videos are built on a lot of research”
“Not Just Bikes has a good video on the problem with self driving cars”
“Not what I'd think of as a "biking maximalist".”
“I'm not sure I'd take him as some neutral authority on the history of cars and driving in Europe.”
“Not Just Bikes makes reddit posts for redditors in YouTube form, basically.”
“Now it's just endless videos about how cars suck, cities suck”
“seeing a lot of ignorance about cycling here in the comments”
“I personally like the “not just bikes” channel though.”
“great content on urban planning”
“he is making huge logic errors. There is good stuff there, but some conclusions don't follow”
“Check out Not Just Bikes on YouTube for why and how.”
“Stronk Towns and NJB are just propaganda outlets.”
“I find the arguments of Strong Towns and Not Just Bikes quite compelling”
“I just don't think Strong Towns/Not Just Bikes presents a realistic mental model of the world”
“makes a compelling argument that self driving cars are not the answer”
“A lot of his videos have become repetitive and focused on complaints rather than specific ways of making things better.”
“The best videos on this (in my opinion) which compliment urbankchoze's post”
“NotJustBikes just put out a video about this issue”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.