Originally Posted by
canklecat
Yup, I've followed the street photography of Ruud Albers for years. Naturally many of his photos include folks on bicycles, all wearing ordinary clothing -- whatever suits the person, rather than the bicycle.
My favorite examples are the younger folks in love, sharing a bike with the girl (usually, but not always) on the rear rack. That's how rear racks should be made! Sturdy enough to hold a girl/boy friend.
With a couple on one bike, it's more often the girl that does the riding. I don't know if that's Dutch males contribution to women's liberation or that it's because rear racks aren't really comfortable seating. It might also have to do with who's bike it is and the habit of young men to abuse bikes. What I also like is a couple on one bike riding to the train station, with one suitcase on the front rack, and the one on the rear rack trailing the suitcase on it's little wheels. As soon as suitcases got wheels and a long handle, the wheels were put to work along the bike, riding with one hand or pulled by the passenger on the rear rack.
The trend now is that bikes and their rear racks are build more sturdy again, after build quality dropped considerably in the 90's and the early 00's, so the habit of taking a passenger is saved. But I'm afraid the Achielle from Giant Doofus is more nostalgic in looks than in sturdiness. I like them, they look very good, but Belgium has a very different cycling culture where it's style over sturdiness.
I didn't know this photographer, most of his photo's are from the city I live in, which is the city with the most bicycle use and a lot less cars than in Amsterdam. I like
Thomas Schlijper a lot, he works in Amsterdam a lot, and I can be chauvinistic about it, but Amsterdam is just a bit more interesting than Groningen, there are just more cyclists, and people are bit less casual about their clothes and it has more eccentric individuals. Amsterdam has more spectacular architecture, and he captures the typical autumn and winter light at this latitude very well imo.
There's also a
LBS here which photographs the cumstomers when they come to colllect their quite expensive bikes (Achielle, Schindelhauer, Azor, Van Moof), and those give a good impression of normal cycling clothes in a city that's known for casual dressing.
Originally Posted by
Gresp15C
The bike is not the problem. I watched both of the videos. The women in those videos would have no problem riding American style bikes in the typical terrain, climate, and commuting distances, of Amsterdam. And they would't look out of place commuting by bike in my locale, though they might put on an extra layer during our winter. In both locations, it looks like women have done what makes the most sense, which is to work out an effective compromise in terms of both clothing and equipment.
It probably works both ways, the way women dress influences their choice of bikes, but the fact that they have to ride in it will influence their choice of clothes. In general I guess they compromise a bit on the winter coat, but they can go berserk on the choice of hats, caps, scarfs and gloves with winter cycling as an excuse. And they will of course need an extra pair of boots and shoes for cycling.
On an American style bike, raising the handlebars would solve most problems. Most clothes are designed to fit well with an upright posture.