Ride Lugged

The culture of cycling in Europe is very strong, and nowhere more so than in Sweden, where I had the pleasure to be all of last week. The availability of well marked cycling lanes, many separate cycling paths, and driver’s awareness of and courtesy for cyclists, lends a kind of legitimacy to “cycling as transport” that doesn’t exist in this here U.S. of A.

The thing which I found most interesting was that since most peoples’ bikes serve a transport function (rather than an activity or hobby function) what I saw everywhere were non-racing bikes. Furthermore, these bikes came in every possible different design, many with fenders, some with baskets, others with racks, single speeds, internally geared hubs, etc. Basically, what happens when market forces demand a practical “bike vehicle” is that bikes become more personal, and functional. The idea that everyone should have a Trek Hybrid or ridiculously over-designed mountain bike for their weekend neighborhood pedal-around, is laughable in a culture where people really use their bikes and need them to do certain things.

The photo at the top for instance, I find to be a classic example of a European style bike: exuding that heavily ridden charm, yet fully functional, and unattractive to thieves. Note the detail on the chain cover.

Here is Nanna’s bike: a variation on the previous: it has front and rear hand brakes, a coaster brake, a 5-speed internally geared hub, front light, fenders, and large rear rack with spring “hold-em down” thing. She’s had it for 10 years.

This bike caught my eye immediately: a fully-suspended-externally-geared-folding-commuter-bike, with fenders!

Lastly, this all plastic bike which I saw at a “Cykel” shop in the Stockholm suburb of Saltsjö-baden.