I use a fixed gear bike, messenger bag, and wear a cycling jersey or cycling specific tech shirt along with a chamois liner and sometimes a pair of black cycling shorts over them. I am far from a TDF wanna be.

Some observations: 1) Following the nadir of the 50s and 60s, the growth of cycling in the US was led by recreational cycling. It should come as no surprise that the few Americans who ventured to commute by bike chose what was available: Bikes styled after on- and off-road competition bikes, borrowing additional components such as fenders and racks from the touring community. 2) Americans enjoy "sport" style, not just in cycling. Folks wear athletic styled clothing to work, the store, and restaurants. They buy "sport utility" cars, that will never be driven off road.

And at least among the affluent, we don't completely separate work and play. Other cultures have noticed that about us.

I suspect that as bike commuting grows in the US, our bikes will evolve, but will never completely replicate European styles and traditions. I see plenty of IGH's, fenders, racks, and upright bikes, in my locale. But there's no clear engineering reason for a commuting bike to weigh 50 pounds. We Americans have proven that lighter weight bikes can hold up for years or decades of commuting. There's no clear justification for a bolt upright riding posture -- that's purely a cultural thing.

We face different urban design challenges. For many Europeans, cycling just has to be marginally faster or easier than walking. For many of us, bike commuting is a major lifestyle challenge. If anything gets more Americans to commute by bike, it will be the e-bike.

Just like the Europeans, I own a "proper" commuting bike and a sport bike. The only difference is that I don't reserve the sport bike for weekends.

Okay, I confess, I am a middle age male and I wear Lycra. I even have drop bar bikes and never ride upright. I even set my Nottingham bike up so that I lean over and further, God forbid, the ultimate sacrilege, I call it an English Racer, put SPD pedals on it and stand out of the saddle so ungentlemanly straining the little IGH gears whilst set about doing a personal best on my way in. Is there any hope for me?

And, I am certain, in central Europe, had I worn bright Lycra team kit, rode my bright blue Pinarello up to a cafe and then asked them all to quit smoking because it was lowering my O2 uptake, I would have been considered a bit odd. But I was there for business purposes and my shoes cost more than a small car, I would have hardly wanted to scuff them, maybe I could have just ridden naked, because I tell you this tomorrow, what I said yesterday, that today, I would have been thought less odd had I been nude atop my English Racer than dressed in Lycra mounted atop my Pinarello with an aero helmet.

I also wager a bet, none of the Euros carry a .357 in a fast deploy fanny pack either or considered the 2 oz. less heft of the aluminum framed .38 Special vs the steel framed .357 LCR because it might detract from the carbon fiber Campy rear mech. I should just finally admit it, I am an Amurikan, woe upon me. I swear, you guys, if I was to visit Mars and find them riding mono-wheels in green woolen stretch leotards y'all would get your panties cinched up cuz I must be making it all up because there be no way you could ride a mono-wheel in New York city in green stretch woolen leotards 75 miles uphill and against the wind without arriving all sweaty and stinky at the collective cube assembly, uh, office. None of you would bother to wonder how I even got to Mars, just that what I saw could not be real because it does not fit a preconceived notion or is compatible with your concepts. With some exception of course ;).

J

I guess it is obvious that by spending a few days/weeks in a country, you only get a small glimpse of things. The points are valid, but just a small slice of daily life in the country.

In Germany, Non race bikes (determined by weight) have to have all of the standard gear stated above. That is why they all have them. You probably know how Germany is about rules and regulations. Your typical drop bar bike doesn’t need all commuter stuff though.


I have bike commuted in Germany and the US. I rode the standard heavy German commuter bike a few miles in regular clothes every day. No problem. The ride was quicker than taking the train (requiring changes) or driving. No one is riding 20+ miles round trip on a city bike in street clothes.


In the US, it have commuted from 20-40 miles round trip. Even in Michigan, the heat and humidity and distance is bad enough to require wicking clothes to commute in, and a change of clothes once I got to work.

There are as many lycra racers in Germany as in the US, you just don’t see them racing to work. The weekends are reserved for outdoor activities in the country side.

Obesity: I don’t know how much time you spent there, or where, but 30 year ago, an overweight German was incredibly rare. Today, I see as many overweight Germans as I see Americans. The change is incredible.

P.S. Sometimes I do a club ride on my way home from work in the US. It raises a few eyebrows when I’m on a bike with fenders, mirrors and not wearing any lycra pants/jerseys, yet pulling with a group doing 25-30mph. LOL

I also have bike commuted in Germany and the US.
My guess is that the percentage of people who bike commute daily 20-40 miles round trip in Germany (or just about anywhere else) is similar to the US - an almost infinitesimal slice of all commuters, and perhaps a tiny slice of bike commuters.

My estimate is arrived at by broadening the population of commuters beyond committed bicycling enthusiasts who post/boast about their mileage totals on Internet blogs.

true.

But in Germany, the mass transportation options are so good, people that have more than 5 miles to go, just jump on a train.

Again, Germany is a big country. The comments here tend to reflect the large cities. Germany has a lot of small towns and villages where people don't speak much English or ride as many bikes to work (well more than in a small US town though). Most North American's wouldn't be too familiar with that part of Germany.

Most Americans would not be familiar with any​ part of Germany.

Do you use a crystal ball for that? Or does ILTB speculation suffice?

You must be joking! Germany is organized around the idea of decentralization, in that life in a small village can run its course just as well as in a large urban area. Germany is infested with bicycles, see data. In every small village everybody moves around on a bicycle. My impression, when visiting locals, was not of one, but of 2-3 bicycles per person, some of course not maintained for years or decades.

I lived in Schweinfurt Germany from 82 to 86 and at that time I saw plenty of large folks, and almost no cyclists wearing bike specific clothes other than for racing. There were more cyclists than I see here in the Seattle area, but not in huge numbers either, and there were hostile drivers too.

The words "guess" and "estimate" not clear enough for you?

In the U.S. commuting distances of 20+ miles round trip are typically driven or by public transit (or car-park-ride combinations) which is usually adequate in the metropolitan areas where parking and traffic are problematic or expensive. Bicycling 10 miles each way as a substitute for unavailable alternives is a rare case and I seriously doubtb that one in a hundred cyclists who do commute such distances is doing it for any reason other than their joy of biking and would likely do the same no matter what alternatives existed.
BTW, speaking English is not a prerequisite for commuter cycling in any size city in Germany or the U.S. and I would guess that a large percentage of bike commuters in the U.S.speak another language than English as their primary language when at home, if not on the job.
I think a lot of BF posters are not familiar with the existence of people who ride bikes daily in the U.S., if those cyclists do not share their own social/economic profile.

IMO, the "perhaps" is too suggestive.

US is ranked #18 in terms of obesity in the world, with thr only large country ahead of the US being Egypt. Germany is ranked #59 .

Oh.. we are out there. No worries. You might not see us, because we try to take as many back roads as possible to stay out of harms way. Cagers are not as bad as they are in the US, but there are still some bad apples that we want to avoid.

Yesterday Fathers Day ride. close to 50 people in the peloton:
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=520055

Bikes by law have to be outfitted with a dynamo, being a bottle or hub dynamo and a working front and tail light. No exceptions. Only race bikes below 12kg, are allowed to have battery powered lighting. That has changed in recent years.
Also, you are by law, restricted to bike path usage only, if one is available and marked as such, unless you are in a group of 12 riders and larger, only then are you allowed to ride on the streets and you ride as a 'Verband', which can as one cross an intersections and cars need to stop for you until the last rider has crossed the intersection.

Ebikes with a powered speed of 50km/h (Pedelecs) need to have a license plate and you need a license to operate such a vehicle and you are not allowed to ride on the bike path. e-bikes (limited to 25km/h) are allowed on bike path.

Also, in big cities, you will mostly find utility biking, only when you go out of the big towns and ride the small streets that connect the smaller villages (quiet roads) you will find the CF bikes and kitted riders.

Heh! That picture looks familiar, as I have lived in HD from 1992 till 1998, when I and my american wifey (easy green card access :D ) decided to try our luck in Chicago. Until we decided it was time to move back to Germany 3 years ago.

Which of course is why a tourists, with limited time, only sees one small slice of the country and come out with a skewed view...

I'm simply going by what I observed while living there for 4 years.

I guess things have changed since the 80's, which is no surprise. Being on a road bike wearing full kit I stuck out like a sore thumb, and most folks knew I was a GI, or assumed I was a tourist because of it.

I heard on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me that the #1 leading country for obesity is now Mexico.

hey! it's a european thread ... i'd like to participate having lived all around Europe and North America.