Gotte

Don't know if you remenber, but my friend and I are doing a charity ride (for which you can sponsor me, if you want, using the link below) in the Black Forest, and I was suddenly struck by the thought I didn't know what the rules were for bikes in Germany. Is there anything specific like needing reflectors, bells, lights etc (though shouldn't be riding at night, and have bell). If reflectors are neccessary, do I need them front and back, on wheels?

Any other regulations I should bw aware of?

markf

Quite a few years ago I recall being told by a German cyclist that all bicycles were required to have front lights and rear reflectors at all times, although racing bicycles weighing less than 10 kg (22 lbs) did not have to have lights fitted during daylight hours. This website:https://www.adfc.de seems to verify what I was told, although they say 11 kg (23 lbs) instead of 10 kg for the racing bike exemption. The website also provides a fairly exhaustive list of lighting and reflector requirements. I would suggest that you contact the ADFC (Allgemeine Deutsche Fahrrad Club) at the link above and ask them. I've decided that lights are a good thing to have on touring bikes, whether you plan on riding at night or not.

becnal

All bikes must have a bell (and it should be used). You only need lights if you are riding in the dark.

Blue Jays

Had a friend who lived in Munich for about five years and he advised me the Germans are deadly serious about obeying traffic signals. If I was traveling there by bicycle I would stop for every red light I encountered, regardless of whether traffic was coming or not!

becnal

Of course. We bikes are part of traffic, so traffic rules apply to us as well.

skookum

Yes indeed, but the ones who obey are a minority. Maybe not in Germany but everywhere else.

becnal

No arguement here. I hear you. Biking in Europe is a totally different world from the US.

centexwoody 

thank goodness & part of the reason we Americans go on bike vacations in Germany & other parts of Europe...

Gotte

Thanks for that. And thanks for the link, I'll check out the reflector requirements. As a matter of course, I've always taken reflectors off. Call me stupid, but it's a hangup from when I was a teenager and such things seemed a little girly. Better check out that draw full of bike bits (I also never throw anything away - you can call me cheap as well, if you want ).

As for Germans and junction etiquette, there is that thing I've observed on many occassions when pedestrians won;t cross at a junction when the lights are on green, but the street is clear. It took a lot of getting used to; the slovenly, rule disregarding Englishman in me feeling the burning desire to cross and be damned, and the polite, guest in another country part of me urging restraint. What an internal conflict. I'm proud to say I always erred on the side of being the guest, maninly becasue I always imagined the sharp intake of breath from my hosts if I stepped out into the road. I couldn;t imagine going through a red light on a bike. But then again, I always wait patiently here in the uk, even when most other cyclists seem to shoot through. Like Becnal says, I always figure I'm a road user and the rules apply to me jsut as much as a car, plus, if I was in an accident, I wouldn;t like to be the one in the wrong.

royalflash

if you want to your bike be totally legal in Germany it has to have
(i) govt approved dynamo powered lights front and rear apart from racing bikes that weigh less than 11 kg which can have govt approved battery powered lights instead-lights have to be present day or night
(ii) front and rear reflectors
(iii) spoke reflectors apart from if you have a tyre with special white "reflex" strips
(iv) a bell or bulb type horn (air horns are not allowed)
(v) pedal reflectors (in theory clipless pedals are therefore illegal)
(vi) front and rear brakes

You are not likely to be checked however. I never have been and have only seen a couple of random checks in Munich city centre in the space of about 5 years. I am rarely totally legal according to the above criteria.