Holy Crapoli!

So, I arrived in Amsterdam 2 days ago and I have seen about 200,000 single speed bikes here. Its totally amazing to be around all of this. So many bikes, everyone seems to ride, -- cars... not a problem, cars get ZERO respect here, if there is a bike in the road, the car better slowdown and stop. People ride like crazy here, you have to be aware of everything around you at all times. I just bought a stolen singlespeed Gazelle for 10 Euros from one of the many junkies in town. I followed that up with a heavy chain and lock for 9 Euros. This will be a lot cheaper than renting a bike for 10 Euros a day. It will probably be stolen in a few days, but if its not I will leave it for my friend here in A'dam (whos bike was just stolen 2 days ago). Anyway, I just wanted to report that this place is awesome and its mostly because of the respect for bikes, singlespeed bikes and the people who ride them. I would love to bring my fixie here someday to ride, but it would be stolen in about 2 seconds.

p.s. Its been 2 days and no, I have not done any drugs (except lots of alcohol...hooray!)

..so it's awesome....except for the rampant bike stealing?

does everyone ride beaters then?

I have had heard how amazing the place is though...my friend spent a summer studying in Utrect.

Awsome! thats all good to know as i am planning on going to Amsterdam in feb. hopefully for a month... i take it there are not many fixies there as you said youd like to bring your own
i wonder if it would be easier to bring my back wheel with me or get use to coasting...

I wish I could remember the numbers because the rate of bike thievery in Amsterdam is absolutely astounding. As a result, most people focus on a strictly utilitarian bike because there's little point in owning anything nicer. And something like 40% of Amsterdanians are bicycle commuters, if I remember my numbers right. Local law says you can have a single dog on a lead while riding but no more.

I would not bother bringing a back wheel, just buy a beater while you are here. No fixies yet, I brought i up to my friend who has been living here for about 3 years, but he said its not worth having ANYTHING nice because it will disapear. You should see the crap people ride around here, rusty, loud, heavy, lights falling off. I am amazed at he amount of generators people use on their bikes to power the lights in the front and back (my friend said its law that you have to have a light or you could get a fine). Anyway, when you get out here just buy a cheap beater (dont worry, the junkies will find you to sell you a bike if they see you walking without one) and have fun.

Thanks for the check in from happy happy SS land.

Speaking of Northern European bike meccas, what ever happened to our friend in Copenhagen, Denmark?...You know the guy studying abroad over there.

stinkyonions...paging stinkyonions.

aargh.. dont fecking come to my city ,if you support the thieving bastards. bike theft is big in copenhagen too. the only way of countering that is to have a bike that looks like nothing else - so you can find it again. my beater has been stolen twice, but has been found again every time. i know a guy who had his ride stolen 4 times , and he is still riding that bike.
just dont give the junkies a reason to steal my bike... thank you
fecking tourists

You Danes barely lock your rides up though! When I was there for messenger worlds a couple years ago I was blown away by your lockup habits. People would just freelock their bikes, lean them against their building, and leave it that way overnight! Not just the big cruiser citybikes, but nice stuff as well. The only people with chains was my crew from NY...

But I must admit, after the initial shock I was pretty envious, great place for bikes.

Yes, same way in Sweden, or at least Uppsala, Sweden. Stockholm, I'm not sure so sure about.

It's sort of crazy, if you ask me.

Nevertheless, it's far less paranoid than Chicago.

funny thats how i would desribe new york.. wanna trade?

oh boy, here we go.

So, here is the tradeoff. The junkies here are going to get their money somehow. I would much rather have to repurchase a bike (even MY bike) every few weeks for 10 euros than have to worry about being pick pocketed, or mugged on the street. Its just a bike, and the bikes here are ******. This is the theory that was come up with by all my friends who have been living here most of their lives. they consider it part of the culture, you dont get attached to your bike because it will be gone, the tradeoff is that the junkies get their fix without endangering your family. I am sorry you are having trouble keeping your bike, bike theft is harsh in Philadelphia as well, thats why i use a good lock and i dont leave it out overnight, you should try it.

i am sure this will turn into another "is it ok to take a locked (abandoned) bike" kinda debate. Feel free to flame on!

On a travel board I frequent, a local poster from Amsterdam once posted.

Rather than rent a bike, stop at the first intersection you come to, and yell out "Hey thief. That's my bike".
He claimed that you would have many to choose from as all the riders dropped their bikes and ran.

uhhh... call me silly... but why not just ride away?

Feel free to flame on!
rasguh..
no flames - your tribe is weird. my bikes are indoors as well.
idunno its just bad mojo to ride on a bike if it was cared for already, but i mean scrap is scrap and cared for instruments are two different..

ah **** im stoned and this is going nowhere.

shiznaz
I know absolutely nothing about culture in the Netherlands. Maybe being caught with stolen property brings the death sentence. I do not know. I just thought it was amusing and worth repeating here.
When I mentioned it to a bikeshop owner in Cambridge his response was that every bike stolen in Cambridge is sold in Oxford and vice versa.

They are about an hours drive apart.

As some1 who lived in the Netherlands for a few months last year (as an international student), I have to agree that it is common knowledge that your bike will be stolen. It is mostly a question of "when?" and not "if?".
Though i have a few opinions as to why people there seem to exclusively ride junker bikes.
a) The country is flat!!! You almost never have to ride uphill. And if you do, it is for only a few yards, in order to get over a canal bridge. Thus the desire to have a more efficient (and more expensive) bike is unnecessary.
b) There is not enough bike parking!!! As crazy as it may sound, but despite the bike parking garages (for real!!! hundreds, if not thousands right outside the central Amsterdam train station), there are not enough places to lock your bike too. There aren't many options in such a situation, and thus one relegates to leaving their bike parked outside, though locked (to itself, with a quick circular lock that locks the frame to the rear wheel). However, since this is the case for the overwhelming majority of situations, there exists a certain level of security of being as vulnerable as everyone else (a thief/junkie can only ride off with so many bikes, hopefully not yours)
c) the riding surfaces are not ideal. many of the roads and bike paths there are brick and/or cobblestone, though more the former. And i would hypothetically (i never brought over my fixie, i wish i had though once i got to class there would be no place to park it!!!) find it much more comfortable to ride a big steel tank with fat slicks.
d) lastly, since bicycling is considered a major mode of transportation (i'm so jealous!), people often hitch rides on their friends ride. More specifically, a friend will sit sideways on the rear rack while their friend pedals away. This is much more feasible on the aforementioned steel tank. An extreme example i witnessed was a mother with a baby seat (and baby) on both the front handlebars and on the rear rack, with a pair of saddlebags, one with groceries, the other with a small dog!
~ellis

OK. I will not argue with that.

you can say what you want. but that mother with 2 kids is going to wish you to hell, when she comes down in the morn and you needed a clunker to get home.. nuff said.

So here's the question. If you're serious about it and lock your decent bike up properly will it still get stolen? Will the "undesireable element" have the tools to crack a good lock, or will they bother?

I'm riding through Holland in a few months and I would be pretty upset if my nice touring rig was stolen.

well, if your bike is not screaming "bling bling", but "heavily beaten tourer", iŽd say "it is safe".
but i can give you a few stories of cut-down-trees-to steal-bike, gone-in 60-sec..if you like, but i can also tell you the one about the girl that lost her nice track bike while boozing, and found it 3 days later downtown locked only with a silk ribbon.
so have a nice ride .. dont sweat it

Basically from talking to everyone here, like a lot of the other posters said, its just a matter of time until your bike is stolen. I think you CAN prevent it by a) using 2 or 3 GOOD locks... everyone here uses 2 or more locks, but they are cheap locks and chains you buy for 9 Euros at the center market. b) dont use the "lock your bike to itself" system that so many dutch people do. Yes, there is NO place to lock your bike in most areas because there are literally THOUSANDS of bikes around you at all times. In a lot of places you can see a bike that has probably sat locked in the same place for months (flat tires and rusting away with no seat and bent rims from being hit by cars). But walk a few extra feet to FIND an area to lock your bike up. My friends bikes have all been stolen when he was in a rush and didnt lock his bike TO anything, just used 2 locks and locked the bike to itself.

I would say, if you are touring through the country on your own bike, bring lots of locks and dont leave your bike out overnight, if you are just flying in and visiting, buy or rent a cheapo beater, the cobblestone roads will be a lot to handle on a rigid fixie and it was a really nice comfortable ride sitting on a tank with big fat slicks. oh yeah, HAVE FUN and report back on how it was!

I'm Dutch and have lived in Amsterdam for two years, currently in Arnhem. Previous posters are right on. As long as you use two different locks and lock the bike to a bridge or something it won't get stolen. Most junks specialize in one type of lock so if there's two they usually won't even try. Also, don't buy those 25,- bikes from junks, when a coppa catches you it's 300,- or something (plus you support the endless circle of biketheft).

Also, Baz. There are plenty of guarded bikeparkings, just a few bucks and your bike is safe.