San Francisco Spandex Racer Guy - with No Helmet

I end this web page collection of Amsterdam Bicycle Trends with a picture of a bicycle you MIGHT actually see in San Francisco.  Hidden in thousands of other riders, the guy below is riding a 10 speed curved under handlebar style bicycle, and wearing bicycle clothing (not dress clothes), and his shoes clip to the peddles.  He is not riding side saddle, and he does NOT have a dynamo human powered headlight on this bicycle.  No fenders on the bicycle (very San Francisco), and there is no gigantic unbreakable security chain to be seen.  The only thing that gives him away as a true Amsterdam bicyclist -> no bicycle helmet.  Very interesting, there must be a Amsterdam wide ban on bicycle helmets.

Small Wheels, Tall Seat Bicycles

There was one particular type of bicycle I'm not sure I understood why it was so popular, but really stood out as a trend.  These bicycles have smaller wheels than a typical bicycle, and a taller seat to compensate.  Below is a picture of one of them to show you what I mean.

Another one a few minutes later.

And another, you see what I mean?  What are the advantages of this design?  Also notice there only seems to be one bar reaching from the pedals/seat area forward to the handlebar and front wheel (instead of a traditional triangle of at least two bars).  That seems very specific to all these bicycles, I wonder if it helps the bicycle fit somewhere or fold up better?

Another.

And another.

Another bicycle in Amsterdam with small wheels and a tall seat to make up for it.

And another one.

I'm not sure this really counts, but it was interesting so I'll include it.  In the picture below, the wheels aren't any smaller, but the seat sure is taller, and I'm not sure I understand how this guy stops and puts his feet down.  He must have good visibility bicycling through Amsterdam.

Another guy on a bicycle with small wheels and tall seat to make up for the small wheels in Amsterdam.

Cell Phone Use on Bicycles

One Amsterdam Bicycle Trend was that many MANY people liked to chat on their cell phones as they zipped along the cobblestone streets on the bicycles in Amsterdam.  Below are some examples.

Woman in black talking on cell phone riding a bicycle in Amsterdam.

Lady with purse, white pants, on a pink bicycle talking on her cell phone while riding a bicycle through Amsterdam.

This woman has music headphones *AND* a cell phone while riding her bicycle through Amsterdam.

The woman pictured below is dressed well (high heels and all) while riding her bicycle through Amsterdam, and is talking on her cell phone while dodging pedestrians on her bicycle in Amsterdam.

This guy swerved around this van while talking on his cell phone and riding his bicycle in Amsterdam.

Another well dressed woman talking on her cell phone while riding her bicycle through Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Bicycle Decorations

A common Amsterdam Bicycle Theme is coloring the entire bicycle one color, or possibly a couple colors, but NEVER a good paint job, always hacked together.  The bicycle below is a good example as a solid red bicycle.  Notice the spray paint bled over the tires AND EVEN THE BICYCLE CHAIN also, so the person who painted this didn't even take the wheels off, or mask the tires, and the bicycle chain probably doesn't work quite right anymore.

Below is the same sort of thing but the highest quality paint job I saw in Amsterdam.  The wheels are chrome, so are some of the bolts, and there is some fine white detailing, so much care was taken to produce this day glow orange Amsterdam beater bike.

The bicycle below is decorated with flowers and streamers in Amsterdam.

The paint job on the bicycle below was clearly done at the same time, you can see both purple and blue on the rear wheel rim from spray paint bleed over.  And of course a massive Amsterdam bicycle chain securing the bicycle from theft.  Who would steal such a bike?

Industrial Work Buckets on the Front of Bicycles

One Amsterdam Bicycle Trend that would look pretty different in downtown San Francisco is that many Amsterdam bicycles are outfitted with these large, industrial looking work buckets mounted on the front of all shapes.  Below is a picture of one variation - bicycling through Amsterdam.

Below is another type of industrial work bucket front loader thingy on the front of an Amsterdam bicycle.  This one with a child mounted in the suicide position on the bicycle.

The picture below shows another custom work bucket mounted on a bicycle in Amsterdam.  This one has a blue tarp covering it.

Here is another big box freight container on a bicycle.  This one required that the "bicycle" become a "tricycle", the locker on the front of the bicycle is mounted between two bicycle wheels.

This is a good time to bring up a previous photo (this is the only duplicate in this collection).  In the picture below again is a great example of multiple Amsterdam Bicycle Trends, including a large metal work basket welded on the front of a bicycle.

 

Spectacular Gigantic Unbreakable Security Chains

The most beat-up, crappy, worthless bicycles in Amsterdam are secured to bicycle racks with these INSANELY gigantic hardened steel security chains and locks as big as the bicycle seat made of solid metal.  Even if theft is a big problem in Amsterdam, I think these chains are overkill.  I think you could cut the BICYCLE FRAME faster than cutting through one of these heavy duty chains.  For example, look at the two pictures below.  The second picture is a close up from the first picture.

Check out this Amsterdam bicycle security chain and industrial grade Amsterdam bicycle lock below.  That chain looks like it could lift a railroad boxcar full of lead weights without breaking!  I have this image in my mind of a bike thief with an acetylene cutting torch and welder's mask sitting out in the open on the street in Amsterdam for 2 hours trying to cut through one of these chains to steal a bicycle worth $15.  :-)  Amsterdam bicycle thieves have to be starving to death in the face of such industrial grade theft protection.

The guy who owns this bicycle is truly a security nut-case.  Look at the picture below, and tell me how two GIGANTIC REDUNDANT Amsterdam chains and locks are helping security on this $15 bicycle?  And my goodness, could those padlocks be any more gigantic or secure or solid? 

On the bicycle below seen sitting in a public place in Amsterdam, you can see the large security chain locking the back wheel, and then for added protection the circular sliding O-lock lock to *ALSO* lock the rear wheel on this bicycle in Amsterdam.  The O-lock circular sliding wheel locks were also popular.  I had one of these when I was 10 years old, but my friends could easily walk away with my bicycle so I got a different lock.

The picture below is of the same bicycle, just zoomed out to see the whole bicycle.  Now a note about the solid orange color -> I have two theories why Amsterdam bicycles are painted such bright and unique aftermarket colors: either 1) it is so their owners can find them when piled high in other bicycles in Amsterdam bicycle racks, or 2) as a security measure, so that if somebody steals their bicycle the thief would be worried it is too easily recognizable.

The picture below is annotated in red to show some classic Amsterdam Bicycle Trends.  One I haven't pointed out before is marked "A", and is a type of bicycle fender that also has covers on the side of the wheel.  This is VERY common, scroll around and look at most other bicycles which have this same side covered Amsterdam bicycle fender.  Next is "B", a type of bicycle stand that rotates under the back wheel, also very common in Amsterdam and is visible in many other pictures on this page.  Next is the dynamo human powered bicycle head light marked "C" in the picture below.  Finally is "D" the circular bicycle wheel lock or O-lock found on many Amsterdam bicycles.

Below shows a picture of one of the massive steel chains that are standard for Amsterdam bicycle locks.

Intermixed big locks on bicycles in Amsterdam.

Notice the red circles on the picture below.  That's a Kryptonite style U-lock, plus a circular O-lock rear wheel lock, all to lock up this bicycle, which I estimate to be worth less than $10 if you tried to sell it.

A honking big Amsterdam bicycle chain secures this rear wheel.

The picture below shows how Amsterdam bicyclists carry these gigantic chains when underway.  The blonde Amsterdam woman in the picture below wraps the gigantic chain around the handlebars and lugs it along until her next stop.

The picture below shows a big thick special high security cable on the front wheel, and a back wheel circular bicycle lock O-lock rear wheel bicycle lock thing on the rear wheel, on one flower power printed cheap multi-color bicycle in Amsterdam.

A double wrap on this gigantic huge chain securing this bicycle in the picture below.  And nice padlock too, the padlock alone is worth as much as the bicycle it is securing here in Amsterdam.

I like the picture below because it shows both a nice hefty Amsterdam bicycle lock chain, plus the dynamo from a human powered bicycle light.

Human Powered Generator Dynamo Bicycle Headlight

EVERY bicycle in Amsterdam is outfitted with a dynamo powered headlamp, where the rider has to pump the pedals extra super hard and the head lamp shines dimly.  If you are younger than 35 years old, you probably have never seen one of these in the USA, so here are some close ups.  You can also look at any of the OTHER pictures on this page to see more examples.  The first picture shows the system which is the big green painted headlight has a squiggly electric line down to the "dynamo" which pushes up against the front wheel of the bicycle.  This puts a HUGE drag on the rider of the bicycle (maybe doubles the effort of pedaling) so during the daylight hours there is a hinge to tilt the dynamo away from the bicycle wheel (which turns off the headlight).  There are several important implications of this horrible system, the most dangerous drawback is that when you stop at a stop sign your head light goes off.  The most annoying part of the system is that it tires out the poor slob peddling the bicycle.  See the picture below.

Below were three parked bicycles in Amsterdam showing three dynamos.

A close-up of the dynamo on one particular Amsterdam bicycle.  The dynamo powers the head light on the bicycle through human pedal power.