Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes

#41

Post by sampo » Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 6:41 PM UTC

wnevets wrote: post #27

everdev wrote: post #10

Culture helps a lot. In the US bikes are seen as an annoyance by many drivers. I was in Amsterdam this summer and without much knowledge of the city, found it easy, safe and fun to get around by bike. Went to Paris and Barcelona as well and didn't feel as comfortable on a bike in either of those cities.

>Culture helps a lot. In the US bikes are seen as an annoyance by many drivers. Which is a silly opinion for drivers to have IMO. The more people are biking the less cars that are in my way.

Maybe drivers are like herd animals and are happiest when surrounded by other cars.

Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes

#42

Post by iak8god » Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 6:42 PM UTC

PascLeRasc wrote: post #29

ballenf wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cold is much easier to handle on a bike than heat/humidity. You can wear warmer clothes and take them off at work, but you usually can't shower and change into a new set of clothes.

I have to somewhat disagree. I feel so uncomfortable biking in thick clothes and layers, and you absolutely have to cuff up your pant leg to pedal anyway, so cold wind feels awful. Not to mention pedaling through snow/slush if you're on the side of the road is very hard.

> you absolutely have to cuff up your pant leg to pedal anyway

You absolutely do not need to cuff up your pant leg. You just need an ankle band to keep your pant leg away from the chain: https://www.amazon.com/High-Visibility-Reflective-Ankle-Stra...

Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes

#43

Post by khedoros1 » Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 6:43 PM UTC

sampo wrote: post #33

ballenf wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cold is much easier to handle on a bike than heat/humidity. You can wear warmer clothes and take them off at work, but you usually can't shower and change into a new set of clothes.

Is it common that American workplaces don't have showers?

Many offices don't. Mine does, but it's always struck me as a little unusual. A few people use it, but most don't. I used to use it as a changing room to change shirts when I went walking on my break.

Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes

#44

Post by sampo » Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 6:43 PM UTC

vvanders wrote: post #34

the_gastropod wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is victim blaming. If it was a stalled car that you nearly ran into, whose fault would it be? Clearly, yours. If you are traveling so fast that you cannot stop at the limits of your vision, you are diving dangerously. Full stop.

> If you are traveling so fast that you cannot stop at the limits of your vision ... I could stop just fine, I'm worried about the idiots behind me. Taking the moral highground doesn't help if you end up dead in the end. There's a ton of motorhomes, boats and equipment trailers on these roads. Even at 35mph they may not be able to stop in time when they are towing ~15-20k GVW. There's a large difference between being…

So those roads would require lower speed limits?

Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes

#45

Post by AstralStorm » Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 6:44 PM UTC

watwut wrote: post #31

mfoy_ wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Call me cynical, but: Anything that threatens the current way of life, the current status quo, or is representative of a school of thought that clashes with the aforementioned can cause cognitive dissonance. Simple as that. Many people don't really believe that driving is wrong, or harmful. But supporting radical infrastructure changes to accommodate an alternative means admitting to that to a further extent that mos…

Driving is neither wrong nor harmful. And if you want that bike acceptance, maybe talk about advantages without framing everyone else as "bad". If you do, you are guaranteed to create yet another pointless culture war instead of damm bike lane.

Driving in anything but mass transport or bikes is vastly energy inefficient. Even if you're driving a fully electric vehicle.

If you wish to explore how much, check out the good site: withouthotair.com chapter 3.

Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes

#46

Post by jimjimjim » Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 6:44 PM UTC

flat. compact. population not indoctrinated to believe that cars are avatars for their penis.

Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes

#47

Post by sambe » Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 6:45 PM UTC

Brakenshire wrote: post #40

oconnore wrote: post #9

I'm totally confident that we could replicate Amsterdam in any US city if we wanted to. But before we get there, I need an article about what to do about the fact that so many of my fellow Denver Coloradans hate : bike lanes, buses, trains, places to live, sidewalks, wind turbines, solar panels (but also normal road maintenance and traffic). It's like there is a conscious effort to create more smog and traffic jams.…

I think this is going to be very difficult in much of the US, to be honest, simply because of the density of settlement. European towns and cities have been constrained by their historic footprint, and the car has been clumsily imposed on that, but most of the US has been built from scratch around the car. You cannot serve low-density suburbs, built for cars, using bikes or public transport, the people need to move o…

What kind of parts of the US are you talking about? Amsterdam is reasonably dense (not compared to say, NYC, but that isn't "much of the US"). People often commute 30-60 minutes by bike there.

Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes

#48

Post by legitster » Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 6:46 PM UTC

How come none of these are about how absolutely flat Amsterdam is? I have never been to a more flat place in my life than the Netherlands. That definitely played into the decision for us to bike around everywhere while we were there, but continued to be uninterested at home.

Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes

#49

Post by Nanite » Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 6:46 PM UTC

chrisdbaldwin wrote: post #12

pmoriarty wrote: post #8

The trams and tram tracks in Amsterdam is still a problem for bicycles. Cross the tracks wrong and your bike tire gets stuck in the tracks and you go head first in to the street. Trams themselves can be as deadly as cars are to bicyclists. Fortunately they are more predictable and confined to their tracks. Ideally, both trams and cars would be completely underground or above-ground, and have no possibility of collisi…

Can confirm. My mother face planted in this exact way while biking in Amsterdam.

For crossing tram tracks it's best to approach with an "angle of attack" greater than 30 deg. to avoid your wheels getting guided by the track slots.

Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes

#50

Post by Broken_Hippo » Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 6:46 PM UTC

sampo wrote: post #33

ballenf wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cold is much easier to handle on a bike than heat/humidity. You can wear warmer clothes and take them off at work, but you usually can't shower and change into a new set of clothes.

Is it common that American workplaces don't have showers?

Yes. American workplaces rarely have showers to use. That's one of those things you are expected to do at home.

I'm still a bit shocked that my temporary factory job here in Norway provides safety shoes and launders the uniforms, let alone having showers on-site to use.