Was in Europe/Germany--Commuting Observations
 

Spent the last two weeks in Germany and thereabout. Visited several cities and made some observations.

Bicycles are everywhere. Bicycle racks everywhere. Lots of dedicated bike paths and bike lanes. Everybody it seems walks or rides a bike to get to work at least in part or to shop or just simply to move from place A to place B to place C. But that is where the similarity to cycling in North America ends.

There were absolutely no sport bikes, that being racing bikes, hybrids or MTB/ATB. Every bicycle had lights powered by either a generator or a battery pack. Every bike had fenders. Every bike had a rack or racks and a basket.

Nobody wore a helmet. Nobody wore cycling specific clothing. Instead they cycled in their working cloths be that a suit and tie or coveralls or business casual or casual. There was no lycra. I saw no MAMILS and in fact saw no sporting cyclist or anybody in team "kit" type clothing. They wore no special shoes and I saw no clip-in shoes or cages on the pedals. All bikes were 30mm tires or larger on 700c wheels.

Bikes, well, they were either heavy aluminum double down tube step through frames or a variety of mixte like designs. Most were ridden hard and while it appeared some were taken care of it was clear that cycling there was strictly transportation and not a sport or a hobby/love. I did see some older English "racer" types, IGH diamond frame bikes, not common but not unusual.

So, since I saw no sport cycling, well, in the bike "shops" what was in there? Well, commuter type bikes already rigged out with lights and racks just as I had seen all over the streets. I saw no sporting bicycles at all in any of the three shops I visited. The entire inventory was commuter/transportation cycling oriented.

Okay, so the people. I saw all ages, all types from kids to old women. I saw very, very few helmets. Hardly any at all. I did see a lot of people smoking while cycling. I saw a lot of people walk/push the bikes up hill and coast down, especially the older women when the bikes were laden with shopping items.

Clothing, again, no cycling clothing. I did see some women wearing leggings and skirts. I did see guys wearing some sort of trouser like legging as well but they were NOT, WERE NOT, cycling cloths and there were people wearing those with or without a bicycle. European men in particular, of all ages, contrary to their North American brethren, wear much tighter fitting clothing. The clothing is tailored if it is a suit and the jeans, when there are jeans, are skinny or very slim cut. Shirts are slim cut and ties are everywhere as are suits which are also cut slim to hug the body. And they are riding bicycles in that attire. No spandex.

Okay, so did I see any messenger bags? Nope. Either the things being carried like a brief case go on the rear rack or basket or the items purchased in basket. I saw few real panniers and I saw no messenger bags. But I did see a lot of men, mostly younger men and women too, using a back pack.

There is no pretense that the cycling I saw was for fitness or fun or recreation. These people use the bicycle as a transportation tool.

And I am serious, every bicycle I saw was fitted with fenders and lights and a sounding device and racks and baskets.

I saw no CF bikes at all.

This is what I saw in four German states in five major German cities and several smaller cities and two Dutch cities.

And, while on the subject, I saw much fewer obese people than in North America. However, I would not say the fitness level was any better, just not as fat. Just because one is skinny does not mean they are physically fit as they cycled by smoking a cigarette. It is not about fitness, it is about getting from here to there.

J

I an not surprised you did not see any of the so-called 'roadie' type commuters in the city. When I'm in the core of the city there are very few of these types either. City commuters here mostly have the same utilitarian attitude as well.

If our infrastructure and overall attitude toward bike commuting ever improves to the same level as these European cities, it might be the start of a revolution. I'm not trading in my spandex just yet though.

I wear cycling jerseys for commuting because my route is kinda long (15km) and so far I can't do it in less than an hour without sweating so commuting in working clothes is just not practical for me. But I participate in a local urban cycling group, who organizes after-work group rides, and I see a lot of downtown city commuters who don't use cycling, or sports specific, clothing.

But we do favor MTBs and Hybrids here (I have a trek Skye with skinny tires myself), maybe because there are cheaper models available in that style and are more widely known. Fixies and SS are a new appearance in my city.

The average cyclist around here, once you get away from the bike path, is a guy on a BMX, or cheap or old MTB, wearing a baseball cap.

Minneapolis which apparently is ranked on a international level, whatever that is supposed to mean has a mix of either your roadie spandex person or the average Joe clothes going to work. I mostly see backpacks and messenger bags on my commute and I am in the very central part of the city, as I move along to more "ritz" area's of the city I notice more panniers and bikes built for purpose. I do not live in this fancy areas but I do use a pannier and ride a Surly Ogre 99.9% of the time all year with fenders etc. I also do not ride in spandex to work I usually have specific clothes I do wear but most of it is wools with no real logos or big flashy stuff.

On Minneapolis it is true we do have a big cycling movement and I am sure a lot of the people who are from here can tell you that but really anywhere outside of the city it is about as good as the worst cities in the US there is just not really any infrastructure even within the same county(Hennepin), it is all within the city limits where you see it.

On the world scale I have a lot of friends from South America and the infrastructure and thought of cycling is even worse than it is here. Sometimes I get a friend from the Netherlands who visits me and it is nice to talk with him about cycling or hear him talk to one of our South American friends about it, they are so polar.

Probably saw nobody that had to commute 15 miles one way to work either. If I lived within 3 miles of work I would never have bought a road bike to commute on either.

My first bike, and I still have one, is a wide tire upright with IGH, a folding basket, rack and fenders. I still ride it when I have something heavy or big to carry or the weather is miserable. But it adds about 8 minutes to my 50 minute commute and I can feel it in my legs all day.

I second this. Riding 25 miles round trip every day in work clothes and on one of these very upright and heavy bikes at even 10 mph would just be miserable for me. But three miles at a leisurely pace in my work clothes is totally doable, and maybe even pleasant, especially this time of year.

It's not just in Europe that cyclists dress normal...It's the same here in my area. Majority of transportational commuter cyclists wear normal clothes and use hybrids or mountain bikes, I also regularly see bikes with fenders and racks...Only weekend warriors wear spandex costumes and ride race bikes....I've been a cyclists for 9 years now, riding all year round from the hottest to the coldest, I've ridded many thousands of miles in the last couple of years and I don't even own any cycling specific costumes and none of my bikes have clipless pedals.

I was not inferring they were right and we were wrong or such. I am only reporting what I saw and after all they are the experts in comparison. It is hard to explain how many people were using a bicycle and that leaving aside the number walking (and smoking). Now, sure, there were tons of cars as well of course and the autobahn was fun. But the cycling infrastructure and the amount of cyclists is astounding to somebody from North America.

I was not just in the cities, I drove between them and explored about. There I saw nothing different from as described, I saw no sporting use of cycles or lycra kit. And I looked hard. I am sure they are there, of course they are but nobody is commuting on racing bikes wearing cycling specific clothing. If one were to do so I expect that they would be thought odd and out of place and inappropriate. By this I mean, again, a perception I had been told that, and nothing I observed indicated differently, Europeans tend to dress more formally on average than Amurikans. A dude in Lycra team kit, cleated shoes and an aero helmet pushing his carbon fiber wonder-bike along the sidewalk cafes would stick out like a sore thumb among these serious cyclists in suit and ties or company overalls. It is just not what they would wear it would seem. But I am sure what I saw was a small slice of the overall cycling scene.

Oh, absolutely no fixies, none.

If you are not making an inference then I suggest you completely re-write your o.p. to make that clear. I speak, read and write American English with some fluency, and I came away from the o.p. with a very strong feeling that you were making value judgements of American cycling practices. I do not think I am the only one.

And I think that’s great for you. To each his own right?

I’m not sure if your use of the word ‘costume’ is intentional or not, but I don’t consider what I wear when I’m cycling to be a costume. To me a costume is something you wear to go trick-or-treating, or something that a clown would wear. Calling it such denigrates what we do daily, and is, frankly, quite insulting. You’ve made known many times on here your disdain for such frivolities, subtly an d sometimes not so subtly. I get it. You’re no better (or no worse) just because you choose to commute in regular clothes and don’t own a race bike or clipless pedals. No need to put down those who who don’t share you view.

Equipment on Bicycles sold as new, each bicycle must provide the following equipment (Germany):

Brakes: Two independently acting braking devices.
Bell / horn: For dispensing acoustic warning.
Lighting: Non-blinking front headlamp to illuminate the road of white or pale yellow color. A red rear taillight that stays lit when stationary.
Reflectors: front with a white with a red rear reflectors that may be connected to the lights and/or connected to the pedals. At least two yellow reflectors on each wheel.
In daylight and good visibility bicycles may be used without lights.
Racing bike exceptions: Racing bikes are not required to meet the above rules. However, if riding at night, all bikes, including racing bikes are required to have lights and reflectors.
A Racing bike is defined as less than 12 kg, with drop handlebars, a rim diameter at least 630 mm diameter, and a rim width not more than 23 mm. Mountain bikes are not road bikes so are exempted from certain requirements (unless ridden at night on the roads). [NOTE: I do not know if they are exempt from the equipment list if they are ridden on the roads during the daytime.]

I’m not so sure if he was making any kind of value judgment. I think because we live in North America we also have biases that we bring to our interpretation. I read that he expected to see such things as panniers, cycling-specific clothing, etc., but did not, and perhaps a bit surprised by it. That’s all.

Anyway, I re-read the OP and still didn’t sense the judgment you perceived.

I started myself riding in Germany. Following the stay I was hooked and could not stop. As to the sport type riders, they come out Sunday morning, so if you are not out there yourself you may miss them. There are obviously many race type shops but they their merchandise has nearly no overlap with the commuter shops and they are fewer, maybe one in four.

Regarding obesity, when I am at an airport looking for the gate where my flight takes off for the US, the unfortunate sure sign that I found the right one is the sudden abundance of people who cannot fit into a chair.

I lived in Germany 40 years ago. I wouldn't have expected things to have changed much. They are set in their ways. Although Germany is wealthy by old European standards... they live pretty small... in comparison to American lifestyles.

So am I. I am not going to re-write it to suit you. I reported exactly what I saw. You should read it as a contrast to what I see here.

That is funny, regarding the airport gate. Same here. I got turned around but had a sigh of relief when I found the right gate, it was easy. Ball caps, sneakers, preponderance of dad jeans and some extra heft and I knew I was at the right gate and on my way home. America is vast in comparison to Europe and to categorize everybody here as obese is incorrect or everybody there as sleek and fit because neither is the case. But, uh, if the sneaker fits, well, at least I was assured I was at the correct gate ;).

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...pszjcuwtr7.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psbjeg0ex6.jpg

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Given the number of German cyclists participating in pro cycling relative to the US I suspect there are just as many if not more lycra clad competitive sport cyclists in Germany. The biggest difference is there are vastly more regular commuter cyclists than in North America so you tend not to notice the ones in lycra. I was in Munich last year and was also amazed at the number of bikes parked everywhere. They must not have as many drug addicts stealing bikes as we do over here.

One of my Facebook contacts is a 70something year young street photographer in the Netherlands and, naturally, he posts lots of photos of folks on bicycles. And every photo matches exactly what the OP describes. Well, with one exception: you omitted the ubiquitous sweetheart rear rack. They put serious racks on their bikes. If there's anything cuter than young couples in Holland riding the same bike, I'd need an insulin injection.

And almost everyone looks fit, young to old. I've viewed hundreds, possibly thousands, of this photographer's street snaps over the past 10 or so years, and I just don't see the rampant obesity that has become the norm even among young folks in the U.S.

And, yup, the young Dutch folks do appear to wear mostly form fitting (or nearly so) clothing, and look damned good in 'em. Skinny jeans, but not the hipster cliche, and gals in tall boots and heels. There's no sign of cycling apparel or accessories. And the bikes are uniformly functional and sensible for the relatively flat terrain.

When I was in Munich a few years ago my impression was that for the most part cycling was a substitute for walking more so than a substitute for driving. I rented a big, heavy cruiser while I was there. It wasn't a lot of fun to ride, but it was a great way to explore the city.

Also, I agree with gregf83 about the competitive cycles. You don't grow Jens Voigt in a vacuum.

That is great and all for Germany/Europe, but guess what? I live in the United States, and if I want to wear cycling specific clothes and ride a full carbon race bike to work, so be it. If I lived there, you know what? I would be doing the same thing, only riding a fixed gear track bike with clipless shoes, cycling clothes and a messenger bag. That is who I am, that is what I ride, and how I ride.

Here is Washington DC area those who live in the city commute in their work clothes on whichever bikes their like and those commute from outside of the city (long distance) generally ride in cycling clothing specifics. I've been to the Netherlands, know people who live there and believe me, the Dutch do own road bikes and lycra but they only use that for long ride on the weekend. Those who commute there, they don't ride that far. If they work far away from home, they just ride to the train station, which is something isn't readily available in most places in the States.

I lived in Germany for 10 years (1986-91 near Zweibrucken, 1997-2002 near Heidelberg) and vacationed in The Netherlands at least once every year while living in Europe. I never saw anybody commuting on a workday while wearing lycra or cycling specific clothes. I did see groups of lycra clad cyclists on the weekends riding together outside of urban areas in both Germany and NL. The only cyclists I ever saw wearing helmets in NL were riding pannier loaded touring bikes and were speaking in English. Occasionally I would see cyclists commuting on a workday wearing a helmet in Germany but they were the exceptions.

My bike in foreground at the Heidelberg Main Train Station Front Entrance. I still use the same bike daily.
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Thanks for the interesting report

Do you recall what you saw in the way of bare chains vs partial or full chaincases (I guess vs belt drive)? In your pics I see 3 or 4 chaincases.

I think that's consistent with North America. The number of people commuting by bike in most NA cities is in the 1 to 5% range which is significantly lower than many European cities. Of the NA commuters only a small fraction would be seen wearing lycra.

Because Europe is older and the population density higher, commuting distances in general are shorter. Short distances make it practical to commute in work clothing. In NA, longer (20+km) commutes are more common and proper cycling attire is more practical.

I suspect that the percentage of the (already small) number of people commuting by bike in most NA cities that ride longer (20+km) commutes ranges between tiny to insignificant. The percentage may seem higher if your reference for typical bicycle commute distances is culled from the posts of sport bicycling enthusiasts who post/boast regularly on BF.