A view from the cycle path: Bikes for fathers

Monday, 24 August 2009

Bikes for fathers

Judy asked these two if they would mind posing for a photo a few days ago in the centre of the city.

The bike is what is known as a "vaderfiets" - "Dad's Bike". The concept is quite simple - it's a practical bike, with an extra seat fitted for riding with your children and pegs for their feet to rest on. How wonderful is that ?

The cover on the front wheel is of hard plastic and intended to stop small feet getting into trouble with the spokes. These are not after-market adaptions, but come as standard with a vaderfiets. As the advertising slogan has it, with one of these bikes "every day is father's day"

And what's so special about this ? Well, it says a lot about what cycling is about over here. It's not only an activity for young sporty people on their own, but also something you do in the centre of the city with your children.

Cycling has to be extremely attractive in order that people will want to ride like this with their children. A very high degree of subjective safety is required to make it normal.

5 comments:

Mark W. said...: What a great picture to start a Monday morning with!
When I looked again I saw the child has no back support but that doesn't seem necessary from the age of 3 and up.
To have the seat this way the weight of the child doesn't interfere with steering. And your child is far enough to the back to be out of the way of the handlebars while you turn.
Perfect for a little father-son bonding!; 24 August 2009 at 12:57
DrMekon said...: Didn't sparta make the first long-carrier motherbike too?; 27 August 2009 at 12:55
Nipper said...: Great Bike.I have two little ones and have been taking them out one at a time on a trailer bike. This week I got a two seater buggy trailer so I can take them both out. I have to say I am only really happy to pull them on separated paths and very, very quiet roads, indeed to get safely around Taunton I have to ride on a couple of pavements... As you say this is subjective safety, but I really want to feel some separation from the cars when I'm pulling a trailer carrying my children.

In Taunton most car drivers seem to think it is safe to pass very close to a cyclist and many are just not paying attention to bicycles. I am worried that they will not see the trailer and pull out or across too soon.

I am getting increasingly fed up with the lack of joined up cycle path... On Sustrans route 3 which passes through Taunton, I am directed to ride through a car park to get from the separated path in a park to the separated path along the river. Riding though a car park is not a good experience when I am on my own, but when towing children, it really feels very dangerous. It seems mad to direct people to cycle through a car park!

I have to say my children love the trailer and think it the best way to travel. We have been on a couple of longer rides down the canal path and had a great time.

Best
Nipper; 30 August 2009 at 03:23
xxxxxxx said...: I will have to forward this to my brother who has been looking for a seat for his son. The foot rests are cute.; 30 August 2009 at 17:03
David Hembrow said...: David: The child seat isn't an aftermarket part that you can buy and fit to another bike, it's an integral part of the design of this bike. That's what is so special about it.; 30 August 2009 at 18:24

Posts sorted by subject

The positive stuff
Three types of safety - As well as preventing injuries and death, high quality cycling infrastructure addresses both subjective safety and social safety which are of vital importance in encouraging people to cycle.
A second revolution took place on Dutch streets in the late 20th century, transforming streets which were just as clogged by cars as those of other nations.
Pedestrians are well catered for in the Netherlands and pedestrianized shopping streets are common. Usually they allow cycling for access.
Dutch Safety Figures - Cyclists in the Netherlands are the safest in the world, but it has little if anything to do with "safety in numbers".
Sustainable safety - the principles which have lead to Dutch roads, streets and cycle-paths being safe.
A million per hour - The scale of cycling in the Netherlands is enormous. Dutch people make more cycle journeys each day than the entire English speaking world put together.
Campaigning - a collection of posts about how to campaign for more cycling. Primarily campaigning should be for children to be able to cycle. These links include reference to "Stop the child murder", a successful campaign from the 1970s.
What Works - examples of policy, infrastructure and campaigning which have made a different in the Netherlands.
Superhighways - "Cycling superhighways" are not a new idea in the Netherlands
Cycle Paths - Well designed cycle paths benefit all cyclists, regardless of experience or speed
Segregation without cycle paths - you don't always need a cycle path to keep cyclists safe from motorists
Unravelling of routes is vitally important
History - how the Netherlands got to where it is now. See especially "Stop the child murder"
Before and After - views of places before and after they have been transformed for cycling
Directness - examples of prioritising cycling
Traffic Lights - examples of how cyclists can be prioritised and kept safe at traffic light junctions. Note that it's almost always possible to turn right on a red light when cycling in the Netherlands.
Roundabouts - roundabouts in the Netherlands have one very important feature to learn from: They keep cyclists away from motor vehicles. This is far more important than the differences in geometry vs. roundabouts in other countries.
Exceptional infrastructure is always nice to see, but remember that a dense network of mundane routes is far more important to boost cycling modal share
Gritting of cycle paths - dealing with snow and ice.
Children - It may seem hackneyed, but children really are the future. If they can't cycle safely then where will future adult cyclists come from ? This is why children should be the primary focus of campaigners. Note also that according to UNICEF, Dutch children are the happiest in the world.
School travel - Everyone knows that Dutch children cycle to school, but it's a surprise to many people that school trips are also usually by bike.
Cycle Parking - including our favourite design of stand.
Cycle Parking at railway stations, see in particular Groningen and Assen as each have multiple posts showing how the cycle parking has grown over time.
Health effects of cycling
Road Works - It's important that cyclists are thought of when there are road works. If the environment becomes hostile for cyclists then they may stop cycling and never start again.
Commuting - Commuting cyclists are interesting, but they're not the only people who should ride bikes.
Anatomy of a reliable everyday bicycle - the common features of bikes used by nearly every person every day in the Netherlands.
Speed - Some people have the idea that Dutch cyclists are slow. This isn't true. It is just that in the Netherlands, everyone cycles, including the slow people. Fast cyclists are as fast as anywhere. These posts show people who ride faster than average, using the same infrastructure as those who ride slower.

The less positive stuff
What not to do if you want a cycling "revolution" - Long list of interventions and policies which are not helpful.
Copy the best examples from the Netherlands - a short list summarising the above. Important to copy the best examples, not just anything "Dutch". Bear in mind that the Netherlands is not perfect.
Shared Space - this much hyped idea simply does not work well. It disenfranchises the vulnerable and claims of safety are exaggerated. Don't confuse the concept with far more successful nearly car free streets.
Shared Use Paths designed to be used by pedestrians and cyclists together. These rarely work well because the two user groups are too different and it leads to conflicts. They are not built in the Netherlands (but cycle access to pedestrianized zones is good).
Strict (or presumed) liability - If you think this is an important part of why people cycle in the Netherlands then it is probably not what you think it is.
Helmets - one of several ways of scaremongering about the supposed dangers of what is actually a very safe means of transport

Myths about cycling

Long list of myths and Excuses - Various reasons that many people, even existing cyclists, give for why the cycling rate is low in their country, including:
  "our streets are too narrow"
  "it's too expensive"
  "our population is too spread out"
  "we have hills
  "our distances are too great"
  "it took decades in the Netherlands"
  "it's because of the price of gas"
  "it's the weather"
  "Cycle-paths cause indirect journeys"
  "Cycle-paths make people slow"
Cycling is "booming" in Britain - a claim we hear remarkably frequently, but it'll take a lot more than the action taken now before it will be true.
The Truth about Copenhagen - Pretty pictures and nice branding are all very well, but facts are important too. Denmark has no explanation of why the cycling modal share is falling in Copenhagen. The Netherlands has avoided this problem and sets a much better example of how to achieve a high cycling rate.
The Truth about Cambridge - Cambridge in the UK has made claims of being a true cycling city. The city does have the highest cycling rate in the English speaking world, but there are special reasons for its high cycling rate which cannot be copied elsewhere. Most people don't talk about this. I do.
London Superhighways - Unfortunately, London seems to be having trouble coming to grips with the idea of prioritizing cyclists.
Boris Bikes - London's bike share scheme, just like others worldwide, lacks the capacity to make any real change, and makes up for it with hype.