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Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

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Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#211

Post by sharpercoder »

mercer wrote: post #164
ramy_d wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I heard 2 horrible things about O-locks. 1 - Every bike has them in europe, 2 - you can open them by jamming a flathead screw driver through the keyhole and twisting. Any truth to that?

O-locks are pretty much just a nice place to keep your keys while you're biking. Everyone I know goes for separate chains, usually on the pricier end. From what I hear the ones that look like round padlocks are ridiculously easy to break, and the ones with the square lock part with two pins is considered among the best (but sadly also annoying to use). But that's what multiple bike shop owners told me and they all wa…

The thing with an O lock is that is locks the rear wheel. A chain lock then can lock both the frame and front wheel to a pole. Although not 100% safe, most thieves will look for easier targets.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#212

Post by wila »

eugeniub wrote: post #83
wila wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dunno, I used to ride the bycicle to the school in the city which is 25km away from where I lived. So 50km (31 miles) a day at least. In the village where I grew up that was pretty common.

The difference then is probably widespread access to cars. With suburbs being so spread out, most people would rather drive rather than bike more than 5 miles per trip, despite the big environmental and personal health consequences.

I think the main difference is due to a number of reasons, an important one of them being cultural. Every kid can ride a bicycle and has a bicycle.

Another reason is our infrastructure, it is pretty safe with all those bicycle lanes, so parents do not worry too much.

Also if you live in the city then for shorter distances (under ~3km) it is just the fastest way to get anywhere and no parking problems.

Add things like that the Netherlands does not have a hot and moist climate, so normally not sweaty. Pretty low crime rates especially in regards to violence. Car drivers being used to have lots of bicycles around.

There's just a lot of factors down here that make riding a bicycle more attractive as in most other countries that I have seen.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#213

Post by wila »

ramy_d wrote: post #156
Nanite wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not competition with unguarded/unlocked bikes. In order to minimize chance of theft you're competing for least desirability and most effort to steal. Most if not all Dutch bikes are by default fitted with an O-lock, which is a good first line of defense, combined with attaching your bike to a railing/bikestand/tree with a decent hardened steel chain lock.

I heard 2 horrible things about O-locks. 1 - Every bike has them in europe, 2 - you can open them by jamming a flathead screw driver through the keyhole and twisting. Any truth to that?

That's the very old style one, you could also just open it with a piece of wire.

You can't easily open the lock, but as people can still walk away with the bike it isn't a real deterrent either.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#214

Post by Goronmon »

accountyaccount wrote: post #79
pbh101 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it needs to be mild, flat, and dense . And then AFAIK the government made a concerted effort to exploit those traits by building good cycling infrastructure.

We have mild, flat, and dense. Boston and NYC, for example. I think the only missing piece in many cities is funding and prioritization.

Boston can have some pretty rough winters snowfall wise. I was under the impression this was much less of a problem in places like Amsterdam.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#215

Post by zephyrfalcon »

dankohn1 wrote: post #210
avar wrote: post #47

> If anything, having a tatty, battered old > bike affords more status as it attests to > a long and lasting love. As an Amsterdam resident: What a romantic characterization of our high crime rates! Yes, the reason I still ride a shitty old beater of a bike is definitely my long lasting love for that piece of shit, it's not because I know that if I buy anything fancy I'm going to have to never take my eyes off of it,…

Can anyone explain why police don't do a huge crackdown on bike theft in Amsterdam? I heard repeatedly when I was there about how bad the theft is. Is there something stopping cops from putting out a dozen fancy bikes without locks every day and arresting everyone who grabs one and rides off? Is the legality of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrapment different in the Netherlands? Because it seems like a relatively s…

I left the Netherlands 15 years ago, but if I recall correctly, entrapment is mostly illegal, and cops usually don't care very much about bike theft, which is very low on their priority list. From what I understand, rampant bike theft is less of a problem outside of Amsterdam (and maybe a few other "big" cities).

(I never had my bike stolen, living in an urban area in the south of the Netherlands. That doesn't mean that it didn't happen there... if you leave your bike standing in odd places, it may well be gone when you come back. One way employed by thieves was to drive around with a van and just pick up any bikes that were standing around, locked or not, in broad daylight or not.)

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#216

Post by omnimus »

kough wrote: post #38
jmcphers wrote: post #8

One thing the article doesn't mention is how long the bicycle trips are. Surely the relative compactness of their cities are a major contributing factor! I live in America and commute on my bicycle almost every day. For me the biggest obstacle isn't the hills (which there are plenty of) or even sharing the road with cars (which is admittedly extremely unpleasant) but the fact that in the quasi-suburban area in which…

> The famously flat Dutch terrain, combined with densely-populated areas, mean that most journeys are of short duration and not too difficult to complete. > Few Dutch people don lycra to get out on their bike, preferring to ride to work, the shops or the pub in whatever clothes they think appropriate for their final destination. > Of course, the cycle paths lend themselves to sauntering along in summer dresses in a w…

I lived some time in Amsterdam. I was not fit and almost couldnt ride a bike. I was sweating like hell first two months. After half a year you will learn to ride pretty fast without sweating.

You wouldnt believe how fast some if the dutch natives are - in suits and without hands of course. They can even turn without holding a bike.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#217

Post by Symbiote »

Vinnl wrote: post #145
giobox wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of these costs have anything to do with location. It was the same when I lived in Copenhagen - arguably doesn't get bike friendlier than that!

One thing I (a Dutchman) noticed while in Copenhagen is that all the bicycles I saw were quite fancy! I spend less on bikes than I do on my shoes, and I don't spend a lot on shoes. Of course, you can splurge, but it's very doable to do what I do: buy a second-hand bike for about €50 every two years, and now and then spend a few Euro's on a repair kit to fix a flat tyre. (Or a few more to have someone do it.)

My bike was about €60 in Copenhagen, and other than some ~€4 supermarket lights (after I accidentally smashed the built-in one into a bike rack) I haven't spent anything on it.

It looks roughly the same as most of the bikes in the racks at home, at work and around the city.

If you visited people in the suburbs, it's more likely they own nicer bikes. Or, you might see people riding nice bikes at the weekend.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#219

Post by Symbiote »

djhworld wrote: post #184

The Netherlands had the opportunity to hit the reset switch in the 1970s with public support, that pushed through the changes in infrastructure and culture to foster a cycling centric society. I'm wondering if that could ever happen today, I think the motoring/oil and road lobbyists are so well entrenched and organised in governments across the world, I highly doubt it. I live in London and would never dream of cycli…

I cycled in London for several years, before I left.

Don't consider the route you drive, or that the bus takes. That's the awful main road.

Look on opencyclemap.com or similar, and see where there are quieter routes. Many areas of London block off residential roads with bollards, which let bikes through. Over half my commute to work was along the Thames Path, and most of the remainder along a road so narrow most cars avoided it, with these bollards in the middle.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#220

Post by cjcole »

accountyaccount wrote: post #79
pbh101 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it needs to be mild, flat, and dense . And then AFAIK the government made a concerted effort to exploit those traits by building good cycling infrastructure.

We have mild, flat, and dense. Boston and NYC, for example. I think the only missing piece in many cities is funding and prioritization.

"Flat" may be a matter of perspective:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=728621

(A discussion of how "hilly" Boston is with respect to the Boston Marathon.)

"If you live in Kansas Boston is hilly. If you live in Colorado Boston is flat."

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