With Robert taking on Pyrenees I thought it might be time to show you some of the bicycles we saw in Amsterdam last year. Nothing could quite prepare you for the way the bicycle seems embedded in their way of life. There were bicycles on tied to railings everywhere:
On the bridges:
In all sorts of odd places:
There were special bicycle parks:
And that was only half of it:
Although it was hard to find a street scene without a bicycle, my brother managed it:
But this wider shot has the same time stamp:
And then in another square, this:
Not all the bicycles were the standard two wheel variety:
I suppose that thing has a battery in it somewhere. My sister-in-law saw a similar version in Germany:
But I thought the spirit of cycling in Amsterdam was captured with this:
And this:
No helmets, free as the breeze. The cycle tracks were often just lines on the footpath and woe betide the pedestrian who didn’t know where to walk.
On our way to the airport the taxi driver told us that he would have no compunction in taking and using a bicycle that was not locked. If you left your bike unlocked it meant you didn’t want it anymore. But if you were just slack or had left the lock at home, what you did was pop down the the flea market on Saturday and just buy it back again.
Finally I must show you that bicycles were not the only alternative form of transport around:
In case you missed it here’s a close up of that fertiliser catcher:
And finally, finally, if you have so many bikes already, as they do in Europe, you have to do something unusual as a form of protest. And in case of rain, as my mother always said, you should take a raincoat or umbrella!
Yes it rained on our stopover in Vancouver too.
But did you see the pedal-pub? The bicycle bar? It’s craaaaaaaaazy!
I lived in rural Japan for 2 years, where bicycles are also a part of the lifestyle. I have to say, it’s vastly superior and I really miss it.
No, sg, we were only there a couple of days. Amsterdam had a great feel about it though and we were lucky with the weather. I have a nephew who lived in a smaller provincial city in Japan for a few years. He certainly spoke about having cycled a lot.
Brian, are you aware there are more than 300 000 bicycles in Amsterdam? And there are more than 1 000 000 reported bicycle thefts ever year. I must admit the vast majority of bicycles I saw were not worth stealing but our tour guide said no-one ever takes their ‘good’ bike to the city.
Great photos BTW.
wpd, I don’t remember getting any stats, but those do not surprise given what we saw. The photos were sourced from four cameras. Between us we didn’t miss a lot that was interesting, I found, and I had the additional pleasure of combining them all and editing them. I’ve got enough for another post just on the canals. Maybe some time.
It’s interesting how utilitarian all the bicycles seem.
Such a different perspective from Australia where half the cyclists seem to take themselves and their bikes far too seriously.
I have found it very hard to get an ordinary round-town, pop down to the supermarket for a litre of milk, ride to school with the children, bike. The bike shops seems to have lots and lots of fancied up racing and mountain-biking and sports bikes, all with masses of gears. But try to find a bike with just a few gears, and mudguards and a carrier and a basket? It’s almost impossible. I don’t want to have to find my way through 21 gears, nor do I want the hassle of cogs and levers and things that must be maintained by a specialist. I just want a bike.
These are beautiful (The Classic Bicycle Shop – commercial site), but it’s not so much the style as the sheer simplicity of the bikes that appeals to me.
Brian don’t take any notice of my stats, they were provided by the tour guide to illustrate the theft problem. BTW you didn’t provide any photos of bikes in canals which was also a feature of that city.
adrian, yes all the bikes I saw were essentially utilitarian and that’s also true of China even though most (all?) of the multi-geared bikes we have here come from there. I never saw a multi-geared bike in Beijing, Shanghai and certainly not in the rural areas.
I have to say, the constant sight of cutely dressed girls on bikes made my heart skip a number of times on my trip to Amsterdam.
Touring bikes are very utilitarian and they have lots of gears – lots of gears does not mean the bike is only for racing. You need them if you are carrying a heavy load and going up hills and want to do anything beyond a walk or alternatively grind your knees into dust. I rode fixed gear bikes when I was a kid, I wouldn’t want to be doing one of my regular commutes with the same bike.
You definitely notice the difference in people’s attitude to cycling when you visit north west Europe.
Deborah, if you want it mess- and maintenance-free pay a bit more and get a bike with an internal gear hub, disc brakes and the works – chain cover, baskets, etc. They are available, though I agree they should be more coomon.
But dj is right – if you carry any load at all, or have even gentle hills, you need some gears or you will over time wreck your knees. It’s not about speed but safety.
One thing I did wonder too was whether the geometry of the bikes that most people ride in Holland North West Germany (the areas i am most familiar with) would place you at greater risk riding in Australia, where you are quite likely to have to break suddenly and make quick hard turns to avoid traffic because of the different cycling environment. I honestly think a couple of my accidents might have been worse on a bike that was harder to maneuvere.
“greater risk riding in Australia, where you are quite likely to have to break suddenly…”
Geez, the roads aren’t that bad are they?
Adrian – yes and no. It is certainly a very different environment to North West Europe for several reasons. The relatively low numbers of cyclists makes things more dangerous for starters.
wpd @ 7, I didn’t see bikes in canals. Must have been looking up. But there were plenty of house boats.
dd @ 10, my youngest son works in a bike shop and got one like that for his mum. I think it was about $650. If you pay too much less than that quality is a problem and they aren’t worth fixing. That’s as I understand it.
You can definitely buy bikes without gears, but I think they are a novelty item and not all that cheap. You certainly need gears for most places in Brisbane.
You definitely need gears in Sydney too. I went to a family-run bike shop in Concord to get my first bike as an adult (after about 15 years of not riding) and they were great. Asked me loads of questions about what sort of riding I planned to do, what sort of surfaces, where the bike would be kept (i.e. if I live in an apartment, be wary of weight if you have to carry it up stairs), all that sort of thing. They let me test-ride a few. Spent $650 on the bike plus an odo, got lights for night-riding, haven’t looked back, love it.
I wish, wish, wish Sydney was more bike-friendly. I commute at different times of day, wear bright clothes, be visible etc, and I’m often treated like I’m not even there. As a female cyclist I also cop some fairly vile comments from time to time from male drivers. I was riding on an off-road bike path in the inner west with a couple of friends once on a Sunday and someone yelled at us to get a job. I find the hostility not just intimidating but sometimes plain bizarre!
Maybe I should move to Amsterdam… Good post, Brian. Thanks.
Not many hills in Holland.
Deborah, if you want it mess- and maintenance-free pay a bit more and get a bike with an internal gear hub, disc brakes and the works – chain cover, baskets, etc.
Yes indeed. I have my eye on this one. Three gears, basket (though I would go for wire rather than wicker, chain cover. No carrier, and the shop says they can’t fit one (yet). So I am saving up, and waiting until they can make a 3 speed model that they can fit a carrier to.
The bicycle pub is like a bar on wheels, and all the drunk British guys sit around it pedalling while they drink, and there’s a (hopefully sober!) dutch guy at the front directing it, and it weaves its way through the dutch streets with its drunkpedalling cargo. Quite a sight.
Couldn’t disagree more about the town bike vs. touring bike thing. In Japan you can get gearless step-throughs for about $100, and they will get you through almost all normal urban situations without fuss or risk. The lack of bike theft over there also makes them viable for short journeys, because the time taken to lock/unlock the bike is negligible, and you don’t have to wear special clothes because you’re riding on the pavement, non-aggressively.
Completely changed my view of cycling as a form of commuting, and now I’m in London I can’t go back to the old combat-roadster style at all…
Great photos especially 3 & 4, those
carbikeparks are awesome.A couple of my friends who are bike nuts came back from a trip to Amsterdam and the way they put it was that the biggest problem with riding a bike was finding a place to leave them locked up. All the poles and other designated places to lock up bikes were taken.
Further to wpd @ 7, my wife says she saw pedal boats on the canals. She doesn’t miss much.
A recent BRW I hadn’t yet thrown out has a short article on bicycles in Australia.
Last year 1.2 bicycles were bought in Australia, up down from 1.4 million in 2007 but the 9th year in a row that bike sales have exceeded car sales. The bikes were worth about $1 billion, employing 6000 people in 1500 retail outlets. Melbourne has the most spectacular growth – commuters up by 48% to 18,047, which seems small enough but you’ve got to start somewhere. Adelaide was up 39% and Hobart 30%.
thewetmale, they were exactly right about places to secure bikes, which I guess is why someone said upthread that the don’t take their good bikes to town.
On retailing, I gather that some bigger chains are moving into the industry. My son works for a 2-store outfit with an online shop called For the riders owned by a couple of young blokes who try to give the kind of service described by CFQ @ 15.
I’m told that bigger retail chains opening about 30 stores in one year are moving in, but are cutting corners and costs and not giving the kind of after sales service that makes for happy riding. It is quite possible, unfortunately, to buy a bike that isn’t put together properly.
It seems their range starts at about $475. Below that I gather it’s too competitive with the likes of K-mart and they don’t want their customers to be back next week saying somethings busted.
That’s about the limit of my knowledge of the industry.
Thanks for posting these photos Brian – I can confirm that many bikes are pulled from the canals each year, though I don’t really believe the 300,000 bikes/ 1,000,000 thefts thing – if anything it’s the other way around. I’d also just mention that some kinds of ‘town’ bikes are also known as ‘oma fietsen’ (grandma bikes) and they are far preferable to 10 speed road bikes, any time.
Brian – just out of interest did you happen to notice how fast the cyclists were travelling generally?
Chris, hard to put a figure on it, but not very fast, maybe 15-20kph(?) with that upright position you see in the few shots with actual riders, not as fast as people do here.
We were there on a warm, fine weekend for the end of September and everyone was out on the street. We found it incredible how the bicycles, the pedestrians, the trams and cars all mixed up and sorted themselves out especially around the city squares.
The answer is ‘not very quickly’. About the speed I pedal on my mountain bike along the bikeways of Brisbane. 20kmph absolute maximum, with a tail wind. No gears remember on the bikes I saw and no crash helmets either.
As I understand their ‘common sense’ it’s cars that must giveway to bikes although I understand that is now changing. More’s the pity.
I’ve just consulted with my wife on the ‘give way’ situation. With cars we think it was as per traffic signals. On footpaths there was a very clear cycle zone, usually marked by a different colour pavement. When bikes and pedestrians came into conflict, bikes had right of way. They also used their bells a lot more than people do here.
deborah – depending where you are – Adelaide? – and how hilly it is you’ll need some gears in Oz. Amsterdam is as flat as a shitcarter’s hat, so is Beijing, so gears aren’t a big deal – but even then the basic dutch ones have 3 internal gears. Beijing bikes none (or strictly one I suppose).
The Dutch Gazelle bikes are freely available in Melb but they are a bit overpriced for most people. A Fuente – very nice bike – normally $1700 here. A basic Dutch 3 speed is $1300 or so here.
http://www.gazellebicycles.com.au/products/2009-gazelle-bikes-/classic/basic.html?task=view
I clicked to early. While those dutch bikes are good and even have a smidgeon or two of street cred for around $500 – $600 you’ll buy a brand new very good 18 – 21 gears Giant or Fuji hybrid with suspension for a soft ride, that is solid, good quality suitable for shops, pootling, riding on trails or roads, commuting and doing the odd 30+ ks ride on weekends without any trouble. No hip /cool factor involved.
If you are in the flat inner suburbs that white people like in melbourne (Fitzroy, Northcote and the emerging Thornbury)then you will need to give some serious thought to what is your statement ride. (One has a “ride” not a bike. It is even less cool to refer to your “pushbike”)
Coming up Smith St (epicentre of what white people like)today I counted around 10 fixies all with ultra short straight handlebars.
Interesting – I think I read that in the shared car/pedestrian/bike areas the speed limit is walking speed for everyone. And under those circumstances and if bikes elsewhere generally keep their speed < 20kmh its understandable that there is less need for helmets. Though personally I’ve never found wearing a helmet to be much of a burden.
Davey
some kinds of ‘town’ bikes are also known as ‘oma fietsen’ (grandma bikes)
This is what I would have expected, and the photos bear that out.
There are so many positives, to mass cycling from a family, buydget, and health point of view. I came across some images somewhere else of a dutch town (Giethoorn) where there are no cars at all. People get around by canal, cycle or foot. All goods are delivered by canal boat.
We really have built a noose for our necks with our lives domineered by powerful (albeit very comfortable) cars.
The elephant in the room is – NO helmets! You will never get a substantial part of the Australian population riding bikes while they are forced to wear those ugly things.
Single speeds, or three speed hubs, work fine around inner Melbourne, but I’ve noticed that they disappear once you cross the Yarra (heading east-ish). Could be something to do with the hills – you’re either going to explode your knees, or you’ll be pedaling furiously while not going anywhere on the flat. Could also be the demographic
I did notice a nice set of leggings city-bound on a hot pink fixe this morning, toiling her way up Johnston St to Smith St with the characteristic wobble of the fixe rider fighting the grade. I like having a few ratios on hand, helps keep the revs up.
That said, while commuting on my mtb the two smaller chainrings get no love, so I think I could get away with 7-8 real ratios, but I can also maintain and enjoy a higher level of exertion than many.
That photo of the women balancing their young girls on the handlebars, speak of a world of cultural difference. I’ve been to Amsterdam a few times and one of the pleasures of the city centre is the slow pace due to the dominance of bikes. It’s so normal to ride a bike you don’t need special clothes or a helmet – it’s just what you do.
I’ve recently re-read ‘Monkey Grip’ set in Fitzroy/Carlton in 1975 and it’s full of people riding rickety old bikes around with their kids balancing on the handlebars or clinging on behind. So, at least some people did that in Melbourne not so long ago. Now you’d be condemned as being a very bad mother.
Joe Blow: Personally I don’t get the objection to helmets, but then most of my hobbies require wearing a helmet to help avoid entering a vegetative state, so *shrug*. It’s a bit of a vicious circle in that I wouldn’t ride in Melbourne without a helmet as there’s too great a chance of needing it, but apparently it’s an impediment to people cycling, but you want some sort of traffic separation to enable people to ride at a speed where they feel they don’t need a helmet (a lot slower than they think, and I still think it’s dumb but each to their own), but you need enough people riding and voting to get the facilities built, but people won’t ride until they’re built…
Out of interest, does anyone know of any studies done on cycling helmets and public health costs associated with cycling related head injuries? I would be curious to know if it’s just nanny state-ism or whether there is a benefit to the public in requiring helmets.
deborah – I meant to say that the basic Gazelle bike, like all dutch bikes come fully equiped with stuff that here on a Taiwanese bike (most bikes are made in Taiwan) would be extra. The in hub dynamo/ lights set up that is standard on a dutch bike would cost around $300 here to get put in a Giant. Similarly racks are standard on a dutch bike say $40 min here (heavy like the dutch racks AND straps $100+ if it can be fitted), mudguards (or as the people from USA quaintly refer to them “fenders”) are another $50 or so. The dutch bike comes with a basic built in lock, say $30. Proper chain enclosure (impossible on a deraillier set up) and dress guard ??$.
So even tho they initially look expensive the dutch bikes aren’t all that bad value
I have driven cars and ridden bikes in France. The contrast was amazing. Driving a car meant having some impatient, horn blowing Frenchman up your tail on roads where you couldn’t get out of the way. By contrast, I remember riding my bike across a causeway with this string of cars driving patiently behind me.
My wife recently bought a good 21 gear mountain bike second hand for $75. The courier Mails weekend shopper always has a long list of low cost bikes available so the cost of bikes is no real issue unless you are bobsessed with being cool or having the latest toy.
One of the things that amazes me is that the green brigade doesn’t push electric push bikes harder. Good for old ladies with stuffed knees or commuters who want to arrive at work from a hilly trip without being a sweaty wreck.
“That photo of the women balancing their young girls on the handlebars, speak of a world of cultural difference.”
I was in Amsterdam during new years 94-5 and was seriously freaked out when I was standing next to parent who came out of a shop and gave their 4 year old girl a big bag of explosives! On new years eve my friend and I started off in The Dam but retreated about 300m down a side road over the course of the night as we were worried about being hit by a firework.
“It’s so normal to ride a bike you don’t need special clothes or a helmet”
So in Australia, since it’s so normal to drive a car, we don’t need special gear like seat belts?
d
I was just talking with a friend who went out on a lunch time ride before a round of afternoon meetings….and collided with a person blasting out of a driveway. with helmet on head he flew over the bonnet of this car. He is now a partial c5 qudraplegic,…and doing very well. He went through a portion of his recovery treatment with a guy who, in his travels, was convinced by a representative at an airport to take out American Express travel insurance. He continued on to (as it was described) deepest darkest Africa where he fell off a bar stool backwards (at a venue) and became a quadraplegic. It cost 4 million dollars to extract that guy (including several legs of specially chartered hercules air craft) from Africa and return him to Aus.
I personally detest those useless dome foam pads, and wear a construction helmet instead. The thing in Holland is that people grow up with bicycles and learn to ride them, and fall off them, as children just as we learn to stand on and fall off our legs. It is just great. I grew up in New Guinea where riding bikes was what young people did. We learned to mix confidently and safely with traffic. And that included having mirrors on bicycles which in my experience makes riding much safer. Would you drive a car or ride a motor cycle without rear vision mirrors? Then why would the slowest vehicle on the road for which all of the danger comes from behind venture out without rear vision. Try telling that to a competitive cyclist and see what they say. “Oh…we can hear what is coming from behind”. Yeah,,right. Can you hear how close it is? No answer. I argued this point with a competive cycling colleague at length. Some time later he was hit from behind by a car. Did he put mirrors on his bike? Not from what I hear.
There is not a single mirror on the bikes in the photos. Perhaps there is strength in numbers.
There ar two accident types that I have personally witness a number of times.
1. cyclists being hit from behind
1 unknown injuries, 1 internal minor injuries, 1 (15 year old girl who became impailed on the handle bars) death
2. motor cyclists who become impatient with slowing vehicles and overtake at speed only to discover that the vehicle was slowing for a car in front turning right. Slam.
1 unknown injuries, 1 internal (loss of kidney) injuries, 1 death
Lots of info on Bike helmets at Wikipedia. The advantages are not as obvious as it would seem, and the downsides – basically looking so gay that most people think twice about riding anywhere – are great. My son and most of his friends gave up within a year or so of it being compulsory. I would have occasionally used his bike but his helmet wouldn’t fit and I wasn’t about to buy one for the once a month I’d use it.
It’s a great example of the unintended consequences of much legislation that should give some here pause to think, before proposing. Won’t of course.
The mention of Bike Helmets on any internet thread invokes a sub-section of Godwin’s Law that indicates this thread should be closed to further comments.
“So in Australia, since it’s so normal to drive a car, we don’t need special gear like seat belts?”
Darryl, I wasn’t arguing against bike helmets. I would always use them anywhere. I was commenting on the cultural difference in which bike riding is obviously seen as so safe you don’t need to wear protective gear. Whether it is so safe in Amsterdam, I have no idea. I did go on a bike riding holiday in China 20 years ago which was sensational. But no bike helmets there, which I found really scary.
BTW, if you really want to be safe, wear a helmet designed for horse-riding. I believe they have a much higher safety rating than bike helmets.
I’ll take that chance, FXH.
Upside: can prevent head, neck and spinal injury.
Downside: wearer may be mistaken for homosexual.*
(*Downside may not be applicable to homosexuals)
Liam obviously didn’t bother to read the wiki ref. In fact he didn’t even bother to do *any* research on the subject. It’s not a question of looking stupid vs ending up dead, its looking stupid vs riding a bike at all.
He also didn’t read my last sentence.
No, I read it, I just discounted it entirely, because as all the comments here ought to demonstrate to you, helmet laws aren’t the exclusive or even the principal disincentive to people riding bicycles in our cities.
You know what? If someone’s not willing to ride a bike because they think a protective helmet makes them look like someone who’s attracted to people of the same sex, maybe they really aren’t that interested in riding bicycles.
Liam – I did warn you.
he he he.
On both the subject of European cycling and helmets, check out Copehangenize. Spend a few minutes reading there and you’ll start to realise why exactly Australia has so little cycling as an everyday activity in comparison.
It’s cultural. But it is due to decisions which politicians and members of the community deliberately have and haven’t made, and thus are in our power to change.
Although wearing bicycle helmets is compulsory has anyone here been fined for not wearing one or know someone who has? Its pretty common to see people riding without helmets and I’ve yet to see anyone stopped for not wearing one (or not having bike lights after dark for that matter) or met anyone who has been fined.
Hehe FXH. Well it’s Friday arvo so I’ll bite: I read the wiki article, and feel as though it could be summed up as: research is currently regarded as flawed and inconclusive, so everyone can keep believing what they believe for their own reasons, etc. >:D Based on personal experience, and that of people I know I’m going to keep wearing a helmet.
BilB: A mirror won’t help stop you from being run into from behind. It might help you avoid changing lanes foolishly (a different problem to me), and lets you know what’s behind you much easier than head checking, but if someone doesn’t see you, or misjudges the distance you’re screwed either way. Not that I think they’re a bad idea.
Interesting also that you regard the danger as coming from behind (which I seem to recall is statistically not the case, though can’t find the source for it) whereas my experience says it comes from the sides, i.e. left and right turners.
Have a good weekend all, we’ve got snow yippee!
P.S. Do you wear a helmet when alpine/XCD skiing? I’ve noticed many locals don’t whereas they’re standard issue in e.g. Canada.
Completely wrong there, LJS. Mirrors help keep track of the size and placement of rear approaching vehicles. They give a rider time to take protective action. In ChCh NZ (a cycling city) there was a girl killed by a quarry truck that passed close and at speed causing the girl to loose control, possible due to the air mass movement, and she fell under the trailer wheels. This was a seperate accident to the girl who was impailed with her handle bars (following vehicle accident but of a different category). For any cyclist using roadways every car that overtakes is a possible accident. Far fewer vehicles approach from the sides. Simple maths.
On the use of statistics. I have had some close contact with the manner in which council staff use statistics. It is like giving control of your money to con men.
On skiing, if slopes are very icey there is a good case for non compulsory helmet use. I know one major corporation marketing executive (ex) who fell on an icey slope picking up speed until she slammed head first into a lift tower base. Not common, but it can happen.
Hi BilB,
Yes, living in Amsterdam certainly has a fair bit of Life Be In It (TM) about it – but I also think the level of cycling here is due to the impossibility of driving in many of the narrow streets. I like the fact that cyclists have (presumed) right of way too … but this can often be dangerous for the unwary (read visitor) pedestrian trying to navigate areas where there’s a virtual freeway/ring road for cyclists. As for cyclists’ use of the bell, I now feel integrated enough to let it rip whenever I can. It’s like herding sheep, and very effective.
Daryl wrote:
I was in Amsterdam during new years 94-5 and was seriously freaked out when I was standing next to parent who came out of a shop and gave their 4 year old girl a big bag of explosives!
Weird, isn’t it? Last year I was living above a printing shop in Den Haag that had a fireworks licence for the new year’s period – sounds kind of fun in the abstract, until you realise the first thing people want to do when they leave the shop is … test one out. It was a seriously surreal experience to be living in a (fake) war zone – some of the ‘illegal’ depth charge fireworks from Belgium belong in the Dam Busters – while bombs were raining down on Gaza.
One cultural difference I could live without. But the cycling more than makes up for it.
George Darroch@47: Thanks for the ‘Copenhagenize’ link, which, I think, really does nail an important cultural difference: the US-led (helmet-manufacturer led?) push to market cycling as a fast, sweaty sport rather than a leisurely trundle. If you are hurtling along at 60 kmh on a sleek but delicate machine that has no exterior shell then yes, you should be wearing a helmet, since your own velocity is an important contributor to the seriousness of any accident that ensures. And, by the way, you should not be sharing space with pedestrians if you are travelling at that speed. Conversely, if you are pootling along on a sit-up-and-beg at 20 kmh or less, then any accident serious enough that a helmet would have made a big difference is likely to be the result of someone else’s excessive speed or other risky behaviour. If the idiocy of others justifies compulsory helmets for cyclists, then it should for pedestrians and motorists too. That fact that it doesn’t suggests that, in Oz, either (i) Australians have swallowed the US-style ‘cycling is supposed to be fast and sporty’ paradigm, and/or (ii) Cyclists are discriminated against.
I suspect a fair amount of both apply. Compared to my youth in the UK, there is massive mutual intolerance between cyclists and other road/path users here. This combines with compulsory helmets, a competitive cycling culture and relative lack of affordable basic bikes with chain guards, 3-speed hub gears, etc, to keep a lot of potential low-speed, casual cyclists in their cars.
All rather unfortunate. I’d love to see bikes banned from footpaths but more, slower, helmet-free cyclists feeling safer on the roads, because they had more of a clue about the road rules and so did the bigger vehicles beside them. But I won’t hold my breath.
A good bunch of comments there AndyC. I agree with them all except for the footpaths item. I do not have a problem with casual cyclists using footpaths where they are wide enough. Of course proper cycle ways are for more prefferable.
That is a very good point, though, the racing culture overwrites all. The same idiocy applies in motor bike design. It is very distressing to see manufacurers design everyday transport hardware for use at speeds that are illegal every where in the world except the Sahara Desert and Germany. I am an upright rider who enjoys seeing the view, not sniffing the crouch of the cyclist ahead.
Northcote has one of the only decent hills on the north side of the city. That’s one of the reasons why this whitey likes it
Bilb@53: cycling on footpaths would be OK if done slowly, carefully and considerately. Unfortunately, whenever I am in pedestrian mode, I all too often get buzzed by cyclists going fast enough to inflict serious injury on anyone they hit, and who do not seem to believe in slowing down for blind corners, intersetions, etc.
I note that cycling on the footpaths is illegal in the UK (roads or designated cycle paths only), although it would be very rare for anyone to get hit with the hefty spot fine for doing it. However, most drivers there are much more aware of and considerate of bicycles than they are here, where open aggression is disturbingly common. So I agree that forcing bikes off the footpaths here would be perilously close to committing genocide against cyclists, as things stand.
Via the Copehagenize link back @ 47 the was a lovely YouTube video extolling the Power of a bicycle bell showing how things work in more bike-friendly cultures.
“… Although wearing bicycle helmets is compulsory has anyone here been fined for not wearing one or know someone who has? Its pretty common to see people riding without helmets and I’ve yet to see anyone stopped for not wearing one (or not having bike lights after dark for that matter) or met anyone who has been fined. … ” Chris @ 48
*
I used to work with other police officers who loved issuing infringement notices, (cops like that are often referred to as tyre-biters by their peers), and I can assure you that it is fairly common for bicycle riders to be booked for not wearing helmets, or not having lights after dark. Personally, I always thought that a warning was sufficient, and I do not believe that pushbike helmets should be compulsory, because a person riding at little more than walking pace, away from traffic, is in no more danger on a pushbike than if he or she was on foot. In city traffic, a helmet is certainly necessary, but not out on a quiet country lane or suburban back street.
By the way, my mount is an Apollo 6-speed commuter that I bought in 1984, and it is still going strong. With a modicum of care, a pushbike will last a lot longer than most people seem to think. Riding a pushbike is not only a mode of transport, but it is also fun.
@ FXH
deborah – depending where you are – Adelaide? – and how hilly it is you’ll need some gears in Oz.
Down the hill in Adelaide. A bit of an uphill slope heading home from town, but nothing too onerous. So 3 gears should be fine.
But…
A Fuente – very nice bike – normally $1700 here. A basic Dutch 3 speed is $1300 or so here.
Ouch! My price resistance starts kicking in way before that. So those classic bikes are starting to look even better.
#34:
“Out of interest, does anyone know of any studies done on cycling helmets and public health costs associated with cycling related head injuries? I would be curious to know if it’s just nanny state-ism or whether there is a benefit to the public in requiring helmets.”
A recent study (don’t have a cite unfortunately) found that mandatory helmet laws in Australia have significantly increased health care costs due to the way the law has reduced cyclist numbers. This increase in cost has not been ameliorated by a reduction in serious head injuries to cyclists – that figure stayed constant pre- and post-law.
Unintended consequences reared their ugly head, and it is now difficult for governments to repeal the legislation without facing simple-minded tabloid screams about “safety”.
Colin, do you believe that government would modify the laws if they could be modified without outcry? Modified to an option useage with guidelines?
Conversely, if you are pootling along on a sit-up-and-beg at 20 kmh or less, then any accident serious enough that a helmet would have made a big difference is likely to be the result of someone else’s excessive speed or other risky behaviour.
When you’re sitting in the nursing home drooling and being fed custard by some attendant, I’ll come and ask you how much of a comfort it is to you that your brain injury was caused by someone else.
I was pootling along at approximately 5 KPH on a shared path – safest scenario possible – when I was knocked flat by a speeding whippet. Not Fine’s, I hope. the impact was enough to crack the helmet and give me a mild concussion. I’m quite happy not to be on the cutting edge of fashion, thanks.
Regarding another commenter upthread, why should public policy be determined by the kind of people who are too adolescent to comtemplate wearing a helmet, think something that costs $30 is too excessive if worn only once a month (next time I go horse riding I’ll tell the establishment I don’t need a helmet as I only ride every year or so!), and/or uses the word “gay” as a putdown.
Never mine, Helen. She has recall!
But you can still have your brain injured falling off bike or horse at a very slow speed. I don’t believe helmets put people off bike riding. I think it’s concerns about safety, which are at least partly ameliorated by helmet wearing.
BilB: I agree with your point about the worth of being able to see approaching traffic, though I feel your example is more a case for better traffic separation than mirrors as in Melbourne there is probably nowhere you can take evasive/protective action to! I guess I’ll have to disagree with you about the chances of being struck from behind though, as it’s a statistically less likely accident compared to a situation where a motorist fails to give way when e.g. turning, though struck-from-behind accidents are more likely to result in serious injury or death, from what I’ve read.
Again, I don’t buy this, Colin. I am yet to see any argument that helmet laws are more of a disincentive to cycling than—say—perceived traffic danger, seasonal heat and cold, or personal laziness.
This is wrong terminology.
Preventing non-helmet wearers from cycling is not an unintended consequence from helmet law, even if as a direct result they get unhealthy from lack of exercise. Cycling is not the only available exercise. You’re quite free to go for a walk or a jog, to kick a football, swim, or chase a whippet around a park.
Helmet laws were not designed to do anything to overall health costs: they were designed to reduce the specific costs of catastrophic head and spinal injury. The prevention of non-helmet wearers from cycling due to helmet laws is a direct, intended, desirable consequence.
THE JOY OF BICYCLING IS NOT FOR YOU.
Liam,
That is real life action, BilB @38. Wearing a helmet did absolutely nothing to prevent my friend from breaking his neck when he went over the bonnet of a car. His other injuries were several grazes. That is not to say that helmets do nothing at all. I think that their use should be promoted but optional.
The best accident prevention is plenty of experience, and every one looking out for the other’s safety. Primary schools are doing much more, these days, in my area to promote bicycle use. If this is done nationally, 20 years from now Australia will have a solid cycling culture, rather than a “get in the car” to go anywhere at all. And we may become healthier in the process.
There are now dozens of folding bikes of various sizes. If our bike shops ever discover this and start selling them then we may see more people using bikes…and…trains to get around.
LJS 63, evasive action can be simple holding a straight course and not meandering as a heavy vehicle goes past. Or in my experience it is most commonly concentrating to avoid slipping off the bitumen edge to avoid the possibility of falling to the right into near passing traffic. Or knowing what is comming behind when cycling near tram tracks, badly cracked road surfaces, etc. The idea that it would be safer to turn around to see what is coming behind while riding a bicycle is astonishing.
BilB, I think you’re overestimating the value of mirrors. I’ve got two big wide ones on my motorcycle, but as directed by my instructor and every other motorcyclist I’ve ever spoken to I look over my shoulder constantly while riding. The blind spot is huge.
I’m also not sure how your friend’s experience of injury while wearing a helmet supports your view that helmets should be optional. How would s/he have gone without the lid?
Liam,
I ride a motor bike too, and like you I look when I am changing lanes. This is not something that cyclists do so much (change lanes that is). The mirrors for cyclists are for keeping an eye on the steady stream of overtaking traffic. This does not require a broad field of vision. I take it that you will be removing the mirrors from your motor bike as they are fairly useless in your experience.
Regarding my friend’s accident, he does not remember a thing about his flight. There was a link above which talked about the various aspects, positives and negatives, for helmet use. There was a suggestion that helmets may in fact accentuate neck damage. And I can see how this can happen. Most helmets are a foam core covered with a polycarbonate skin. As an industrial designer I use polystyrene foam occasionally for quick visualisations of shape. I form the foam on a linishing belt for quick sculpting. But one thing that you have to be careful of with polystyrene foam is that in bites in if the cutting speed is too low, and literally explodes out of my hands. So if the skin of a helmet is scraped through in a sliding fall the foam can bite into a cement or bitumen surface causing a rapid snapping action, just as it does ripping a foam block out of my hands on the linisher.
My conclusion is that bicycle helmets may be helpful in a blunt impact collision, but in other accident types they may have a very negative effect. I will ask my friend what the condition of his helmet was after the accident. For the record he was doing about 40 kph at the point of impact.
Great story and comments!
If anyone is interested here is a link to a trip we did to Holland in 2008. A cyclist’s paradise!
Cycling trip to Holland 2008
helen, I hope the whippet was OK! (I have a big soft spot for those oversize rats).
Regarding helmets, it’s really a philosophical debate, that can’t really be won by one side or the other, because the competing arguments don’t really address the other side’s points. But for me and mine, we’ll be wearing helmets all the time, thank you very much. Despite riding 20 km a day, I haven’t had a bike accident as an adult. Though my wife broke her jaw and lost several teeth due to a drunken pedestrian a few years ago.
A horse riding helmet would be too hot and heavy to ride a bike in – though one has saved my life falling off a horse as a boy.
As for suitable bikes, Ted’s Cycles in Footscray just sold me a Giant commuter with Nexus-7 in-hub gears, a proper chain guard and full mudguards for $750, less a $150 trade-in on my 4 year old MTB. Bargain! The perfect commuter bike!
Hey cyclists, some advice please – I’m considering for the first time getting clip-ons. There’s a single-sided Shimano SPD pedal for $100 I want – but is it really worthwhile getting cleats, does it make riding that much better, more efficient? Wont I just fall off at the lights every time and have to carry another pair of shoes?
Oh, one more thing – that last cycling photo before the carriage – how dangerous does that look for the little girl in the pink stockings??
Wilful, you can get quite good shoes that do not look like racing cycling shoes if that is what you are after – although they are stiffer than normal shoes, you can manage to walk in some of them reasonably well.
I wear cleats on both bikes that I ride – one lot of metal cleats that are fairly low profile and another big chunky plastic pair. I really hate the feeling of lost energy that you get when not wearing them. I had a few light falls when I started because I did the bindings up a little tight and got caught out through inexperience.
On my commuter bike I have double sided pedals so that I can still ride the bike comfortably without wearing cleats.
wiful @ 70, my immediate reaction was to squirm with discomfort. I’m surprised that it has taken 70 comments for someone to mention it.
Yeah, I don’t think Mum has thought about the potential for decapitation evident there.
wilful: the SPD touring pedals – one side with cleats, the other without – aren’t a bad compromise, and the Shimano SPD touring shoes are good. You will be more efficient and comfortable, and you can walk around in them almost as well as a normal shoe (though I’d still have a pair of real shoes at work if I were you).
If I were only commuting less than 5km on the flat and that was the only riding I ever did, I wouldn’t bother, but any longer than that and it’s worth it.
Don’t get road bike pedals (the ones where the cleats stick out beneath the shoe) just for commuting. it’s like trying to navigate a Ferrari through traffic; you can do it, but it makes life harder and wears them out prematurely.
ta for that dj, Robert. Reckon I’ll make the leap. I’m hoping to do the round the bay this year, or at least part of it. Though I just discovered right now that the early entry bonus closed yesterday.
Paul @ 68, the link doesn’t work. Just cut and paste the url in a comment and I’ll put it in for you.
Don’t get cleats or clip ons -called clipless. Get Power Grips – all the grip you need without dorky expensive shoes or falling arse over tit at the lights.
(People will argue that helmets are too much trouble and put people off riding – then argue for clips (clipless) – sigh!
http://powergrips.mrpbike.com/
http://www.mtbr.com/cat/accessories/Extras/power-grips/pedal-strap/PRD_360092_117crx.aspx
http://bicycledesign.blogspot.com/2007/03/in-praise-of-powergrips.html
http://kentsbike.blogspot.com/2005/11/power-grips.html
Have to disagree with FXH ever so slightly here. If all you want to do is commute, those powergrip things are probably very good, but MTB cleats and touring shoes are pretty good too.
If you want to do round the bay, I’d get road bike shoes and cleats (and, for that matter, a road bike and fit the best saddle you can find regardless of the price). Over 210 or even 100 km, every last bit of efficiency makes a big difference.
If you’re serious about round the bay, drop me a line. I’ll probably be doing it this year.
Thanks FXH, I’m looking for solutions not expense, if they’re right for me I’ll look closely – not available on ebay though.
Robert, for only 100 km, I reckon I can ride my daggy treadly at my not very fast speed. Thanks for the offer, but I rather strongly suspect you’d be going at least twice as fast as me.
wilful @ 79 – I got something pretty much like those when I started regularly commuting by bike to work and they made a noticeable difference to me and I’m not a fast rider (average around 25km/h on a reasonably flat trip).
I think the statistics on bicycle usage around the time the laws were introduced make it clear that there was a short-term effect in reduction of cycling. What the size of the long-term effect is is another question, and even the existence of the effect isn’t necessarily a strong argument against such laws.
wilful – the power grips are good in that you will use them – you can still go down (up) to clipless later. Power grips mean one set of shoes to walk and ride. If you do get the power grips it’s better to get the whole pedal set instead of just the straps and attachs. Its not much dearer than getting the straps only and they are already set up.
The company is great to deal with online. The odd shop did have a few here in Melb – maybe Abbotsford Bicycles?
Anyway – if you don’t like them I know a bunch of people who will buy them second hand for a small discount.
I rode with older style toe straps (err, powergrips?) for quite some time before moving on to cleats, and they work really well if you want a good combination of convenience and efficiency. Before cleats came on to the market my dad used to ride with toe straps and cycling shoes that somehow slotted into the pedals, I’ll have to see if he still has them. To make straps as efficient as cleats you have to do them up so tight that getting your foot out in a hurry can be problematic…
As Robert and others have said you can get MTB shoes that look like runners and have a nicely recessed cleat. Teva or Keen also had a cleated sandal at last year’s ride to work brekky at Vic Gardens which looked neato.
The best advice I’ve heard re: cleats is that early on you will forget to unclip at least once and will slowly topple gracelessly onto the tarmac beneath you. Of course when this happens you will be out in front of four lanes stopped at a red light at a major intersection so get up, take a bow, dust yourself off and get back on the bike
+1 for clips. I’ve got Shimano SPD’s with a flat pedal one side for quick trips and a clip on the other to suit a walkable pair of MTB shoes. I think it’s the best of both worlds for the riding I do. i.e. two or three decent fitness rides per week and with the kids on the weekends.
I want the bike Deborah wants. I belong to some cycling organisation (for the insurance) which sends me a magazine. I turn the pages very quickly and only stop if there’s a picture of a bike with mudguards and a carrier. Beware Giant bikes with suspension – you can’t really get a good front mudguard on that front wheel.
I hate my Giant bike, it’s the one I bought first, without riding it. Before I took it out of the shop I spent another $500 on puncture-proof tubes and tyres, the mudguard and carrier, a more comfortable seat, helmet etc only to find the bike makes you sit in a strange upright posture – I feel like a clown on a unicycle on it. So I then bought a $150 second-hand old wreck of a thing, which I feel comfortable on and use all the time. Now I’m looking for the bike Deborah wants.
I researched the topic of helmets and safety and health economics last year, here are some of the references you can find on the internet – from the reading I think it’s clear: wear the helmet.
Non-legislative interventions for the promotion of cycle helmet wearing by children (review), by S T Royal et al. (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 2, April 2005)
The effectiveness of cycle helmets (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, May 2003)
Bicycle helmet use and effectiveness, by M. O’Hare et al. (Monash University Accident Research Centre, December 2002)
Bicycle helmets: a review of effectiveness, by Elizabeth Towner et al. (Department for Transport (U.K.), November 2002)
Bicycle helmets and injury prevention: a formal review, by Robyn Attewell et al. (Australian Transport Safety Bureau, June 2000)
An economic evaluation of the mandatory bicycle helmet legislation in Western Australia, by Delia Hendrie et al. (Insurance Commission of Western Australia Conference on Road Safety, 1999)
Helmets for preventing head and facial injuries in bicyclists (review), by D C Thompson et al. (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 4, October, 1999)
Bicycle injury hospitalisations and deaths in Western Australia 1981-1995, by Peter Somerford et al. (Health Department of Western Australia, July 1998)
Evaluation of the bicycle helmet wearing law in Victoria during its first four years, by David Carr et al. (Monash University Accident Research Centre, August 1995)
The effectiveness of bicycle helmets: a review, by Michael Henderson (Revised edition prepared for the Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales, Australia, 1995)
Teenagers’ attitudes towards bicycle helmets, by C. Finch et al. (Monash University Accident Research Centre, November 1994)
The protective performance of bicycle helmets introduced at the same time as the bicycle helmet wearing law in Victoria, by Max Cameron et al. (Monash University Accident Research Centre, July 1994)
Report on compulsory helmet wearing for bicyclists, and other bicycling issues (Parliament of Western Australia Legislative Assembly Select Committee on Road Safety, May 1994)
Bicyclist helmet wearing in Western Australia: a 1993 review, by Bruce Heathcote (Traffic Board of Western Australia, June 1993)
The impact of helmet wearing legislation and promotion on bicyclists in Western Australia, by Mark Healy and Gavin Maisey (Traffic Board of Western Australia, August 1992)
Bicycle use in British Columbia: effects of the helmet use law, by Robert D. Foss and Douglas J. Beirness (University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Centre, April, 2000)
Head first: bicycle-helmet use and our children’s safety, by Mark Robert Keezer (Canadian Family Physician, vol 53, July 2007)
Systematic reviews of bicycle helmet research, by Rebecca Ivers (Injury Prevention, vol 13 no 3, June 2007)
Promoting bicycle helmet wearing by children using non-legislative interventions: systematic review and meta-analysis, by S Royal et al. (Injury Prevention, vol 13 no 3, June 2007)
Bicycle helmet prevalence two years after the introduction of mandatory use legislation for under 18 year olds in Alberta, Canada, by B E Hagel et al. (Injury Prevention, vol 12 no 6, December 2006)
Economic disparity in bicycle helmet use by children six years after the introduction of legislation, by A K Macpherson et al. (Injury Prevention, vol 12 no 4, August 2006)
Helmet use and bicycle-related trauma in patients presenting to an acute hospital in Singapore, by K W J Heng et al. (Singapore Medical Journal, vol 47 no 5, May 2006)
Effectiveness of bicycle helmet legislation to increase helmet use: a systematic review, by M Karkhaneh et al. (Injury Prevention, vol 12 no 2, April 2006)
Arguments against helmet legislation are flawed, by Brent Hagel et al. (BMJ, vol 332, March 2006)
No clear evidence from countries that have enforced the wearing of helmets, by D L Robinson (BMJ, vol 332 issue 7543, March 2006)
Do enforced bicycle helmet laws improve public health?, by Riley Geary (BMJ, vol 332, April 2006)
Factors associated with bicycle helmet use among young adolescents in a multinational sample, by K S Klein (Injury Prevention, vol 11 no 5, October 2005)
Bicycle helmet use in Sweden during the 1990s and in the future, by S Nolen et al. (Health Promotion International, vol 20 no 1, March 2005)
Making cycle helmets compulsory: ethical arguments for legislation, by Aziz Sheikh et al. (Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, vol 97 no 6, June 2004)
Helmet laws and cycle use, by D L Robinson (Injury Prevention, vol 9 no 4, December 2003)
Influence of socioeconomic status on the effectiveness of bicycle helmet legislation for children: a prospective observational study, by Patricia C Parkin (Pediatrics, vol 112 no 3, September 2003)
Children’s bicycle helmet use and injuries in Hillsborough County, Florida before and after helmet legislation, by K D Liller et al. (Injury Prevention, vol 9 no 2, June 2003)
Bicycle injuries and safety helmets in children, by Sherrilyn Coffman (Orthopaedic Nursing, vol 22 no 1, January/February 2003)
Impact of mandatory helmet legislation on bicycle-related head injuries in children: a population-based study, by A K Macpherson et al. (Pediatrics, vol 110 no 5, November 2002)
Effect of legislation on the use of bicycle helmets, by John C LeBlanc et al. (CMAJ, vol 166 no 5, March 2002)
Effects of state helmet laws on bicycle helmet use by children and adolescents, by G B Rodgers (Injury Prevention, vol 8 no 1, March 2002)
Police enforcement as part of a comprehensive bicycle helmet program, by Julie Gilchrist et al. (Pediatrics, vol 106 no 1, July 2000)
A comparison of the effect of different bicycle helmet laws in 3 New York city suburbs, by Douglas R Puder (American Journal of Public Health, vol 89 no 11, November 1999)
Is there any reliable evidence that Australian helmet legislation works? by Bruce Robinson (Proceedings of Velo Australia conference, Fremantle, October 1996)
Thanks Brian…. hopefully this works now!
Dutch Bicycle trip 2008
Thanks, Paul. Great photos. I am saving them to my bicycle folder for close study. Some very lovely scenery there.