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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?

#221

Post by hk__2 »

ack wrote: post #68
hk__2 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> its way easier to park than a car On the other hand it’s also easier to get a bike stolen than a car.

Anecdotal: I've had more cars than bikes stolen (6 cars, two bikes if you include my daughter's).

I found some data for the UK: each year, ~2.7M cars are sold [1], and ~70k stolen [2]. In the same time, 3.5M bikes are sold [3], and 400k stolen [4]. In France, there are ~1.8M cars sold [7] vs ~110k cars stolen each year [5]; 2.8M bikes sold [7] vs. 400k bikes stolen [6]. Meanwhile, in Montreal, half of all active cyclists have their bike stolen [8].

    [1]: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38516247
    [2]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/11558743/Number-of-cars-stolen-in-the-UK-falls-to-48-year-low.html
    [3]: http://www.cyclinguk.org/resources/cycling-uk-cycling-statistics#How many people cycle and how often?
    [4]: http://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/412/bicycle-crime-statistics
    [5]: http://www.lefigaro.fr/automobile/2015/10/29/30002-20151029ARTFIG00145-en-france-300-voitures-sont-volees-chaque-jour.php
    [6]: http://www.veloperdu.fr/statistiques
    [7]: http://transports.blog.lemonde.fr/2014/04/07/10-chiffres-meconnus-sur-leconomie-florissante-du-velo/
    [8]: https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2014/04/these-8-depressing-bike-theft-statistics-show-just-how-bad-problem/8890/

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#222

Post by Symbiote »

chrisper wrote: post #201
InitialLastName wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's raining or snowing too hard to be able to ride a bicycle (with appropriate clothing, i.e. the appropriate clothing to be outside in that weather anyway), it's probably also worth reconsidering operating the 3000lb wheelchair.

Roads are cleared of snow way before sidewalks / bicycle lanes are.

Not in Copenhagen, the bike lanes are cleared first :-)

(I mean, we need people to get to work...)

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#223

Post by s0rce »

giobox wrote: post #65
victornomad wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bougth a second hand bike for 40eur 5 years ago, and I only had to fix the wheel once (5 eur). Never had to buy clothes, special locks or anything fancy... I use it daily...

I think for most cities, locks and lights are unavoidable costs, if you want to stay safe and still have your bike be where you left it... Some would argue a helmet should be too, but experienced cyclists know better than to open that debate up! Unless you live somewhere with a great climate, foul weather clothing inevitably ends up needing bought if you intend to commute all year round by bike.

I live in the SF bay area now which has amazing climate and I still need rain shell and pants to bike all year. Better than the snow where I grew up but you still need gear to arrive comfortably and ready to work. When I went through all the costs, bike maintenance, lights, locks, pannier, rack, it was about $300 to get setup for comfortable bike commuting.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#224

Post by mschuster91 »

bamboozled wrote: post #190
rollingpebbles wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There should be vinyl wrap for bikes that provides a paintable, duct-tapeable substrain for camo tape and radioactive fuchsia and orange also camo ejaculation. Flat (no shine) paint makes a bike even less attractive. PS: I had a old/ugly bike that I had for 16 years in Davis, CA that I still locked and it was stolen from an apt complex the one and only time I forgot to lock it. There are thieves whom ride around in c…

The idea for Amsterdam is to make the bike look unique, not always unnatractive, the more homogenous looking and mechanically sound, the more attractive to thieves. Amsterdam is a smalll place so having a fluro green bike with a number plate of your name welded to the frame is a good deterrent.

Take care with welding - not every material likes welding, and especially not home-made welding without proper stress relief.

Drilling for rivets is also dangerous when done incorrectly. You do not want to be riding at full steam when the frame cracks, it's nasty.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#225

Post by ocschwar »

raidoxim wrote: post #92

I'm Dutch, but think we tend to underestimate the impact of the flatness of our country, and the size of other countries especially the States. I've cycled on my normal 7-gear bicycle (and that might be considered fancy) from Newcastle to Carlisle. Which is quite flat. I had to walk so much up hill as it was utterly impossible to climb 40 meters. In the Netherlands quite a lot of people do live in a 50 km radius of t…

I live in Boston, which is one of the most bikefriendly cities in the US, along with Portland, OR and Davis, CA.

All three are pretty darn hilly, and that's not considered a problem.

When I visited Amsterdam, I was at times challenged by sudden headwinds, and found them more of a problem than the hills I climb in Boston (which, after all, are never a surprise.)

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#226

Post by mschuster91 »

gozur88 wrote: post #136
mercer wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Locking just a wheel is a rookie mistake, of course! Always wrap it around the frame and something that is solidly rooted in the ground. It's just that even all that isn't always good enough if the homeless guy or professional bike thief has a power-cutter thingy.

My sister locked her bike to a pole through the frame in San Diego. When she came back literally every other part was gone, and the frame remained locked to the pole. They even took the cranks, the forks, and the brake cables. Who steals brake cables?

Yeah I left my bike at work and someone decided he had more use for my rear lights than me. Who steals 5€ lights?!

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#228

Post by lucaspiller »

collyw wrote: post #178
eecc wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure beats paying for a car, insurance, road tax, gasoline, parking... did I forget anything? Yeah, having your bike stolen sucks, particularly if on your way back home from a night at De School but whatever... still cheaper (and healthier and fun) Get it over, or you can go live a couple years in Rome and learn what it means to live in a hideous car-infested city.

I was in Rome 6 months ago. I was surprised at how little traffic there was in the centre (I assume they have some laws in place to limit it only to taxis). I guess that only happens in the centre proper?

In the center there is ZTL, which is restricted to residents and enforced by number plate recognition cameras at all entry/exit points.

Take a trip anywhere outside the center during rush hour and it's a completely different story.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#229

Post by agumonkey »

dtech wrote: post #73
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,…

As a fellow dutchman, duct-tape the shit out of everything on your new bike. If you're really brave even partially paint it in a hideous color (purple or something). You'll still have a bad looking bike, but at least it will be mechanically much nicer than your fifth-hand rusting omafiets. Since I started doing that I never had a bike stolen in 15 years, despite living in Rotterdam and Utrecht (big cities) and buying…

I used to believe my ugly old cheap bike would never be stolen. I was wrong.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#230

Post by chadgeidel »

shmerl wrote: post #78
eeZah7Ux wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The (unconscious) ideology is so strong that publishing "Why aren't all cities optimized for public transport plus cycling?" would be considered too edgy.

Not anymore though. Today cities are trying to push back.

I wish that were true here in the Denver area. Unfortunately we have to deal with stuff like this: http://denver.streetsblog.org/2017/06/08/greenwood-village-v...

And this: http://denver.streetsblog.org/2017/06/05/broadway-redo-sidew...

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