6 ms·

I lived in Münster, Germany for a few years. Münster is THE bike town in germany. Statistically every citizen has 1.8 bikes. And i begann to love biking there.

I lived in Münster, Germany for a few years. Münster is THE bike town in germany. Statistically every citizen has 1.8 bikes. And i begann to love biking there. A lot is done in that city to make biking the #1 way of transportation. Now I am living in Cologne, Germany and see the difference. I miss the good bike lanes but I kept biking in cologne. Nothing is better for your head than biking a few miles home after a hard day of work.

train_robber 16y ago
Yes absolutely. I used to live in a suburb of Stuttgart, and that was around the first time I really tried biking. It was definitely worth it, the well maintained bike lanes, the free burning of the fat, lovely relaxing scenery and off course a few extra bucks saved per day. Biking lanes, is in my book a top investment a city can make, wonder why not many keep it high on their priorities.
- organicgrant 16y ago
  Boulder, CO in USA has done a LOT for putting in bike lanes. Very bike-friendly city. Up there with Portland, OR and Austin, TX
  - toumhi 16y ago
    I've lived for two years in Austin, now in Amsterdam (the one in Europe). Amsterdam (and actually, most of Europe) is infinitely better for biking than Austin. Actually I almost never rode my bike in Austin. Always cars passing at high speed right next to you. I think USA cities have still a lot more to do to be real bike-friendly.
    - organicgrant 16y ago
      Hipsters in Austin ride their fixies off car bumpers. Having a death wish is trendy these days. Greenbelt is also BA. (badass) I admire them for staying fit on their bikes. Helps to counteract their main foods of Lone Star beer and clove cigs
      - jacquesm 16y ago
        Fixies (fixed gear bicycles) are illegal in traffic in almost all places and are intended for track use only.
        tiki12revolt 16y ago
        I'm not exactly sure that is true. If they have a brake mount and at least one brake, they are street legal. Do you have a source for your assertion?
        jacquesm 16y ago
        http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090630-20291.html http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090630-20291.html http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/28/judge-finds-fault-with-fixies/ http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/28/judge-finds-fault-with-fi... Indeed, mounting at least one brake seems to satisfy that particular judge. http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/10251/Riding_Cool_fixedgear_bikes_without_brakes http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/10251/Riding_Cool_fi... So, yes, again, you can mount 'a brake' and be legal in some places but not everywhere, the whole thrill here seems to come from not having all that 'stuff' on the bike. If you've ever done any serious bicycling then you realise that the fixed wheel bike has no other place than the track. In traffic you'd have to be an artist to safely ride one and the problem with them being in traffic is not just that you'd have to be an artist but also that circumstances can determine what is safe and what is not. Brakes are used for normal reduction in speed, in such cases a fixed gear will do, after all, all you're doing is removing energy from the 'system' (bike + rider) in the same way you put it in, through your leg muscles. But brakes have a second function as well, which is to react to traffic conditions, things outside of your control. And you may find that you need to remove energy from the 'system' a lot quicker than you originally put it in. For a bike with a fixed gear (one without a freewheel) this will mandate you to continue to make pedalling motions while you are using that other brake. If the reason why you need to brake stops you from doing that you are now in deep trouble because you will find two nice sized hammers roughly where your pedals used to be that are pounding the crap out of your legs, which can easily cause you to completely lose control of your bike. If you happen to be unbalanced a pedal can strike the road with incredible force and if your foot happens to be between the pedal and the road that's really bad. So, where-ever the legislation hasn't caught up yet with fixed gear bikes being outlawed because of the 'trend' will sooner or later do so because they're simply not as safe as bikes that have freewheels. It's a pity for the few people that started this trend and that know their stuff and are only endangering themselves, but now that the masses are flooding in and are copying the couriers legislation seems to be the answer taken by the authorities. In the Netherlands, bicycle country #2 after China I believe they've been illegal since 1950 or so.
    - edash 16y ago
      I'm sure US cities have a relatively long way to go, but biking in Austin is feasible and safe. I don't own a car (and neither do many of my friends) and it's great. Just live in Austin (the actual city) and not Round Rock, Pflugerville et al. Leave a few minutes early and take roads meant to accommodate bikers. It can be challenging when it's 100+ degrees, but you learn to adjust. And with the new car sharing program (Car2Go) you can always drive if the need arises.
      - toumhi 16y ago
        I lived in Austin itself, and I would consider many of the roads seriously dangerous. There are no really roads meant to accommodate bikers, only roads for cars (Anderson Mill Road and Parmer Lane come to mind). The stupid thing, from a biker point of view, is that even if you try to bike on smaller roads, at some point you are forced to join a big road. Also, since urban planning didn't take into account alternative modes of transportation, the distance to bike is ironically much longer than if you take your car(in Europe it's usually the contrary since you can bike on all roads, so it reduces the distance). So, I really see biking as transportation strongly discouraged there. Big up to Austinites who ride their bike though!
        natrius 16y ago
        Both Parmer and Anderson Mill have bike lanes on some stretches now, but when most people talk about Austin being bikeable, we're talking about central Austin. Anderson Mill is barely Austin. You're definitely right about many of the safe routes being a little convoluted.
      - natrius 16y ago
        Car2Go and and biking (and an office with a shower) are an awesome combination. The only things we really need are better, more frequent transit and a bike sharing program so you can get to and from bus stops from a further distance without needing to take your bike on the bus, which often have full bike racks.
- rb2k_ 16y ago
  Which Suburb?
  - train_robber 16y ago
    Plochingen, last stop on S1.
    - rb2k_ 16y ago
      Thanks, was just wondering (Stgt-Vaihingen here)
- zwieback 16y ago
  I grew up in a suburb of Stuttgart and rode my bike everywhere - the hills are execellent to speed down and burn fat on the way up. Now I live in Corvallis and it's a great bike town as well.
  - rb2k_ 16y ago
    Which Suburb?
    - zwieback 16y ago
      Dachswald
noonespecial 16y ago
I lived in Frankfurt for many years when I was young and just took for granted the fact that I could bike just about anywhere without tangling with cars. Paths through the forest, farm roads, bike paths through towns, one could just ride forever. When I returned to the USA where I was born, I noticed that every American had a gaggle of dusty, low quality bikes in their garages that never got used. There were no bike paths anywhere and riding on the roads looked like suicide. I once asked someone why they even had the bikes; where do you ride them? He answered without hesitation that you could load the bikes in the car and drive across town to where there was a park with a bike trail. I though it was a quick witted joke (load the bikes in the car and drive to ride them). It was not.
- fatguy 16y ago
  I shifted to Atlanta for college, and even the campus is not that bike friendly. I am terrified of cars, and for some reason most people in cars in atlanta are mean.
Kliment 16y ago
Nice to see another Köln-resident here. Meet up at some point?
- stevoski 16y ago
  Ditto...
- bitboxer 16y ago
  Yeah...a HN Cologne Meetup would be great!
  - paines 16y ago
    wäre dabei
- bitboxer 16y ago
  Everyone: write me at bodo (a) bitboxer . de . I will setup a google group and stuff for a cologne hn meetup.
  - bitboxer 16y ago
    Group opened: http://groups.google.com/group/hackernews-cologne http://groups.google.com/group/hackernews-cologne
coffeejunk 16y ago
I now live in Munich, which also calls itself a bike town. Although there are a lot of people riding their bikes, the streets are not at all as bike friendly as the ones in Münster. Each trip is somewhere between a suicide mission and a pleasant journey depending on where you want to go.
- moconnor 16y ago
  I'm in Munich too; compared to the UK it feels like a cyclist's paradise, especially with the ubahn as a backup in case the heavens really open.
  - limmeau 16y ago
    What's the U-Bahn's policy on taking along bikes?
    - ugh 16y ago
      Not during rush hour (6-9am, 4-6pm), and your bike needs a ticket (€2.50/day). http://www.muenchen.de/verticals/Mobilitaet/Fahrrad/Rad_U_S_Bahn/266167/432fahrradmitnahme.html http://www.muenchen.de/verticals/Mobilitaet/Fahrrad/Rad_U_S_... That’s not very friendly, I wouldn’t use that except in emergencies. That’s probably why you don’t see bikes on the U-Bahn.
      - lispm 16y ago
        Here in Hamburg you don't need a ticket for the bicycle. Busses also may transport them. Ferries are free, too.
      - limmeau 16y ago
        In Freiburg, you can only take them along in trains, not buses or tramways, and it costs an unreduced adult ticket most of the time on most of the lines. You can't even buy your bike its own monthly pass. So while the city itself is bike-friendly, its public transportation is at most bike-tolerant.
- 16y ago

train_robber 16y ago

Yes absolutely. I used to live in a suburb of Stuttgart, and that was around the first time I really tried biking. It was definitely worth it, the well maintained bike lanes, the free burning of the fat, lovely relaxing scenery and off course a few extra bucks saved per day. Biking lanes, is in my book a top investment a city can make, wonder why not many keep it high on their priorities.

organicgrant 16y ago
Boulder, CO in USA has done a LOT for putting in bike lanes. Very bike-friendly city. Up there with Portland, OR and Austin, TX
- toumhi 16y ago
  I've lived for two years in Austin, now in Amsterdam (the one in Europe). Amsterdam (and actually, most of Europe) is infinitely better for biking than Austin. Actually I almost never rode my bike in Austin. Always cars passing at high speed right next to you. I think USA cities have still a lot more to do to be real bike-friendly.
  - organicgrant 16y ago
    Hipsters in Austin ride their fixies off car bumpers. Having a death wish is trendy these days. Greenbelt is also BA. (badass) I admire them for staying fit on their bikes. Helps to counteract their main foods of Lone Star beer and clove cigs
    - jacquesm 16y ago
      Fixies (fixed gear bicycles) are illegal in traffic in almost all places and are intended for track use only.
      - tiki12revolt 16y ago
        I'm not exactly sure that is true. If they have a brake mount and at least one brake, they are street legal. Do you have a source for your assertion?
        jacquesm 16y ago
        http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090630-20291.html http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090630-20291.html http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/28/judge-finds-fault-with-fixies/ http://bikeportland.org/2006/07/28/judge-finds-fault-with-fi... Indeed, mounting at least one brake seems to satisfy that particular judge. http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/10251/Riding_Cool_fixedgear_bikes_without_brakes http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/10251/Riding_Cool_fi... So, yes, again, you can mount 'a brake' and be legal in some places but not everywhere, the whole thrill here seems to come from not having all that 'stuff' on the bike. If you've ever done any serious bicycling then you realise that the fixed wheel bike has no other place than the track. In traffic you'd have to be an artist to safely ride one and the problem with them being in traffic is not just that you'd have to be an artist but also that circumstances can determine what is safe and what is not. Brakes are used for normal reduction in speed, in such cases a fixed gear will do, after all, all you're doing is removing energy from the 'system' (bike + rider) in the same way you put it in, through your leg muscles. But brakes have a second function as well, which is to react to traffic conditions, things outside of your control. And you may find that you need to remove energy from the 'system' a lot quicker than you originally put it in. For a bike with a fixed gear (one without a freewheel) this will mandate you to continue to make pedalling motions while you are using that other brake. If the reason why you need to brake stops you from doing that you are now in deep trouble because you will find two nice sized hammers roughly where your pedals used to be that are pounding the crap out of your legs, which can easily cause you to completely lose control of your bike. If you happen to be unbalanced a pedal can strike the road with incredible force and if your foot happens to be between the pedal and the road that's really bad. So, where-ever the legislation hasn't caught up yet with fixed gear bikes being outlawed because of the 'trend' will sooner or later do so because they're simply not as safe as bikes that have freewheels. It's a pity for the few people that started this trend and that know their stuff and are only endangering themselves, but now that the masses are flooding in and are copying the couriers legislation seems to be the answer taken by the authorities. In the Netherlands, bicycle country #2 after China I believe they've been illegal since 1950 or so.
  - edash 16y ago
    I'm sure US cities have a relatively long way to go, but biking in Austin is feasible and safe. I don't own a car (and neither do many of my friends) and it's great. Just live in Austin (the actual city) and not Round Rock, Pflugerville et al. Leave a few minutes early and take roads meant to accommodate bikers. It can be challenging when it's 100+ degrees, but you learn to adjust. And with the new car sharing program (Car2Go) you can always drive if the need arises.
    - toumhi 16y ago
      I lived in Austin itself, and I would consider many of the roads seriously dangerous. There are no really roads meant to accommodate bikers, only roads for cars (Anderson Mill Road and Parmer Lane come to mind). The stupid thing, from a biker point of view, is that even if you try to bike on smaller roads, at some point you are forced to join a big road. Also, since urban planning didn't take into account alternative modes of transportation, the distance to bike is ironically much longer than if you take your car(in Europe it's usually the contrary since you can bike on all roads, so it reduces the distance). So, I really see biking as transportation strongly discouraged there. Big up to Austinites who ride their bike though!
      - natrius 16y ago
        Both Parmer and Anderson Mill have bike lanes on some stretches now, but when most people talk about Austin being bikeable, we're talking about central Austin. Anderson Mill is barely Austin. You're definitely right about many of the safe routes being a little convoluted.
    - natrius 16y ago
      Car2Go and and biking (and an office with a shower) are an awesome combination. The only things we really need are better, more frequent transit and a bike sharing program so you can get to and from bus stops from a further distance without needing to take your bike on the bus, which often have full bike racks.
rb2k_ 16y ago
Which Suburb?
- train_robber 16y ago
  Plochingen, last stop on S1.
  - rb2k_ 16y ago
    Thanks, was just wondering (Stgt-Vaihingen here)
zwieback 16y ago
I grew up in a suburb of Stuttgart and rode my bike everywhere - the hills are execellent to speed down and burn fat on the way up. Now I live in Corvallis and it's a great bike town as well.
- rb2k_ 16y ago
  Which Suburb?
  - zwieback 16y ago
    Dachswald

noonespecial 16y ago

I lived in Frankfurt for many years when I was young and just took for granted the fact that I could bike just about anywhere without tangling with cars. Paths through the forest, farm roads, bike paths through towns, one could just ride forever. When I returned to the USA where I was born, I noticed that every American had a gaggle of dusty, low quality bikes in their garages that never got used. There were no bike paths anywhere and riding on the roads looked like suicide. I once asked someone why they even had the bikes; where do you ride them? He answered without hesitation that you could load the bikes in the car and drive across town to where there was a park with a bike trail. I though it was a quick witted joke (load the bikes in the car and drive to ride them). It was not.

fatguy 16y ago
I shifted to Atlanta for college, and even the campus is not that bike friendly. I am terrified of cars, and for some reason most people in cars in atlanta are mean.

Kliment 16y ago

Nice to see another Köln-resident here. Meet up at some point?

stevoski 16y ago
Ditto...
bitboxer 16y ago
Yeah...a HN Cologne Meetup would be great!
- paines 16y ago
  wäre dabei
bitboxer 16y ago
Everyone: write me at bodo (a) bitboxer . de . I will setup a google group and stuff for a cologne hn meetup.
- bitboxer 16y ago
  Group opened: http://groups.google.com/group/hackernews-cologne http://groups.google.com/group/hackernews-cologne

coffeejunk 16y ago

I now live in Munich, which also calls itself a bike town. Although there are a lot of people riding their bikes, the streets are not at all as bike friendly as the ones in Münster. Each trip is somewhere between a suicide mission and a pleasant journey depending on where you want to go.

moconnor 16y ago
I'm in Munich too; compared to the UK it feels like a cyclist's paradise, especially with the ubahn as a backup in case the heavens really open.
- limmeau 16y ago
  What's the U-Bahn's policy on taking along bikes?
  - ugh 16y ago
    Not during rush hour (6-9am, 4-6pm), and your bike needs a ticket (€2.50/day). http://www.muenchen.de/verticals/Mobilitaet/Fahrrad/Rad_U_S_Bahn/266167/432fahrradmitnahme.html http://www.muenchen.de/verticals/Mobilitaet/Fahrrad/Rad_U_S_... That’s not very friendly, I wouldn’t use that except in emergencies. That’s probably why you don’t see bikes on the U-Bahn.
    - lispm 16y ago
      Here in Hamburg you don't need a ticket for the bicycle. Busses also may transport them. Ferries are free, too.
    - limmeau 16y ago
      In Freiburg, you can only take them along in trains, not buses or tramways, and it costs an unreduced adult ticket most of the time on most of the lines. You can't even buy your bike its own monthly pass. So while the city itself is bike-friendly, its public transportation is at most bike-tolerant.
16y ago