Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

351–360 of 380 posts

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#351

Post by city41 »

vacri wrote: post #309
city41 wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

U locks don't deter thieves at all. If they want a bike, they will get it no matter what. Almost everyone commutes on beaters for good reason. https://www.citylab.com/navigator/2014/10/your-u-lock-is-bas...

> If they want a bike, they will get it no matter what. There's a god-botherer in my city who gets old bikes, attaches a placard with how you're all going to hell if you don't let jesus into your life, and then leaves them around the city... locked with homemade steel u-bolt locks filled with concrete, so that authorities have more trouble getting rid of them. Admittedly they're not valuable bikes, but I've never hea…

I'd be willing to bet those bikes don't meet the "want" part of the equation. They sound interesting though, any links on them?

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#352

Post by davidw »

icebraining wrote: post #193
davidw wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does mention that: > The famously flat Dutch terrain, combined with densely-populated areas, mean that most journeys are of short duration and not too difficult to complete. The problem in the US is, in no small part, due to zoning. I've been making my way through this: http://amzn.to/2tkSbsH - "Zoned in the USA" And the detailed look at how other countries do things is interesting - they're certainly no "libertop…

I like this lecture by Andres Duany: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL01072BB79369B705 The most relevant part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1X5uVR5NxY&list=PL01072BB79...

Looks cool, but I don't really do videos... not enough time.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#353

Post by Buetol »

kalleboo wrote: post #301
Buetol wrote: post #245

I just want to add that the Netherlands can afford those nice infrastructures in part because it's a tax heaven since the 70s [1] Also, please make the bay bridge have a bike path...personally I would just ban all the cars during the day but to each his solution. [1]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_tax_in_the_Netherl...

How does not charging tax give the country public money to build infrastructure with?

When you're a tax heaven your attract all the companies and they pay their taxes in your country instead of where they really operate. See Ireland also (most big tech companies have their headquarters there).

see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_competition

leading to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_to_the_bottom

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#354

Post by s73ver »

dredmorbius wrote: post #292
s73ver wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

E-Bikes are a good idea, but they're pretty expensive. Like, you could buy a car for the cost of one.

Cars have exceptionally high ownership costs: parking, licensing, maintenance, fuel, insurance. Even an expensive bicycle pencils out very quickly relatively.

Perhaps, but both still have pretty high, prohibitive to some, up front costs.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#355

Post by seanmcdirmid »

DanielleMolloy wrote: post #266
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny. In Japan, there are many places where people don't even bother locking their bikes.

My pretty average (yet new and beloved) $75 city bike was stolen on an Osaka University campus when I left it unattended for a few days (it was locked)..

Osaka is definitely not one of those places :)

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#356

Post by belorn »

gutnor wrote: post #345
belorn wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This fear of cyclist seems very odd from my point of view since I often see strollers on bike lanes with parents that have no problem that bikes has to stop and go around them. I occasionally also see people in wheel chairs using the bike lane. The fear would make sense if all that caused yearly deaths by cycling crashing into toddlers and people, but its is surprisingly rare. I have yet to hear about a single case h…

Is lethality the only criteria that can justify fear ? My cyclist colleagues are constantly afraid of pedestrians ( reverse problem than Amsterdam, in London, where infrastructure is inconsistent and pedestrian quite oblivious of cyclists ), they drive on the open road and regularly reach 20 mph speeds. The assumption that because they are cyclist they can brake instantly is the main cause they bump into pedestrians.…

20mph is an interesting speed since a electric bike here in Sweden would be illegal if it reached those speeds. And as a owner of a legal electric bike I can say that regular bikes do not pass by at 20mph in the city. Even 15mph, which happens to be the legal max speed for a electric bike, would be unusual to see for a regular bike. Of course an open road would be different but pedestrian that walk against traffic there has a much bigger problem than the few cyclists that can reach 20mph unassisted.

Lethality is not the only criteria but accidents between pedestrians and cyclist is exceptional rare in relation to all the fear people feel towards cyclists. The opposite is true for cars. Ironically the fear towards cyclists seems to go down during winter (since bike lanes tend to be more free from snow and ice than the side walks) so during the time when the bike lane is the most dangerous it is also the time when most people are walking on them. There is thus a strong correlation between fear of bikes and lack of conveniences.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#357

Post by vacri »

city41 wrote: post #351
vacri wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If they want a bike, they will get it no matter what. There's a god-botherer in my city who gets old bikes, attaches a placard with how you're all going to hell if you don't let jesus into your life, and then leaves them around the city... locked with homemade steel u-bolt locks filled with concrete, so that authorities have more trouble getting rid of them. Admittedly they're not valuable bikes, but I've never hea…

I'd be willing to bet those bikes don't meet the "want" part of the equation. They sound interesting though, any links on them?

Here you go:

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/a-bloke-called-barry-and-t...

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#358

Post by censoredforlife »

cr1895 wrote: post #337
censoredforlife wrote: post #315

To celebrate Bicycle day since Amsterdam is all about getting high.

>Amsterdam is all about getting high. A tired, unclever and ignorant stereotype.

It was a joke - jeez! I have lived there, and I know it's a stereotype.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#359

Post by mcv »

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…

Anything goes, as long as your bike doesn't look like it's the most expensive bike in the rack.

Some people, particularly teenagers and students, can be quite creative in dirtying up their bike. A friend in school had glued sand to her bike, and then painted it. Quite a unique look. But it got stolen anyway, and when she found it, the thief had scraped all the sand off.

But there are many reasons why a bike might look ratty. The owner really could have had that bike for a long time, it could be second-hand (or more likely fifth-hand or something), it could have been stolen, it could have been found in the trash and refurbished, it could have been ratty'd up to prevent it from getting stolen, or it might be someone's artistic expression.

But in big cities it's certainly not unusual that the lock is the most expensive part of a bike.

Re: Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?

#360

Post by mcv »

teekert wrote: post #326
dtech wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 think it still is most important to make sure you can't carry the locked bike away. It's mostly tool-less homeless people roaming the streets at night looking for an opportunity imo. Only bikes I got stole were not locked to a pole because I forgot or assumed I would be back in a minute and wasn't. I agree about the shitty-ness, it is less likely to attract attention and you feel less bad leaving it out on the stre…

There are also professional thieves with good tools and a van they quickly load up with everything that's not sufficiently nailed down.
Post reply on HN