Originally Posted by
Dave Horne
I started to respond to another thread but thought it would be better to start here from scratch.
I guess I'm spoiled by living in the Netherlands when it comes to shopping for bikes. I looked at the US web sites for Trek, Giant, and Jensen USA, and the overwhelming majority of bikes aimed at the commuter\urban market had dropped handle bars. Even when they offered a more upright handlebar they were woefully incomplete - no fenders, no lights, certainly no bell, all standard fare over here.
If you walk into a store over here or even shop online, the bikes almost always come complete. (Mine came without pedals but that wasn't an issue for me as the dealer simply gave me a set from another known brand.)
I haven't been in a bike store in the US for four years and all the bikes I saw reflected what I've already described.
There's no question here, just an observation.
I don't agree that the "overwhelming majority" of bicycles sold in the US are dropped bar race bikes. The majority are mountain bikes (25% of market) as BlazingPedals says. These are followed by hybrids (24%) and finally road bikes (20%). I'd put Dutch bikes in the category of comfort bikes (13% of US market).
That said, I don't what someone else making choices for me based on their biases. Having just been in Amsterdam (flew out Wednesday), I've got to say that I wasn't all that impressed with their bikes. I agree with Machka in that I set up my bicycles to
my specifications. Living where I do, I have no need for fenders most of the year and, unlike Machka, I only have a hate relationship with the damned things.
Over the years I have worked my way through the weak generator lights that were available in the 80s to high power halogen battery lights to todays LEDs. I say many bikes in Amsterdam equipped with the same bottle generator lights of 30 years ago. I'd rather have my own lights that I can keep up with the technology rather than rely on 30 year old light systems that were inadequate 30 years ago.
I also notice a lack of rear lights. All the bikes had rear reflectors but no active lights.
I feel the same about racks, saddles and shifting systems.
All Dutch bikes might be equipped with bells but it seems to be the least used item on the bike. Maybe they are just rusted shut. For the 3 days I spent in Amsterdam, I seldom heard a bell used to warn a pedestrian. Most of the time, the bicycles just whizzed around the pedestrians without any kind of warning. At least you could hear the damned scooters.
Finally, there is nothing wrong with using a road bike for commuting. Most of my commutes are done on a road bike with drop bars. I don't have to sit bolt upright to see where I'm going.