This Aspect of European Cities Amazes Me..
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
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There is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.
dus dat!
Genau!
I also say that often!
That saying rhymes in Swedish.
@@Steffe you win! 🏆 😃🍾
As a dutch woman its funny cause when its snowing its usually the cars that are in trouble. The bikes are fine. Worst case, you fall and get back up. Worst case for a car would be way different.
And when you have cycled all your life you know fresh snow isn't hard to ride on. Its the ice patches you need to watch out for if it rained and got cold at night. But even an ice patch, just don't stress and glide it out. You'll be fine.
I love the snow cause it makes everything look idyllic and romantic. Especially if they put up the lights and everything. And there as less cars on the road so that makes cycling even better.
german living switzerland, that white thin line of snow is the point where in germany and switzerland car drivers starts to either panic or crawl around every corner in walking speed...
and you always have the one who still have sommer slick tires on its car and blocking everyone else...
i ride my bike 365 days a year, snow, rain, heat, there is no reason to walk...
@@SirHeinzbondIf you have long snowy/icy winters, especially if there is ice underneath the snow, tyres with spikes are quite good. But you can't have spikes quite in the middle of the tires, because then you can't cycle on pure asphalt/tarmac.
Long ago we used chains on our bicycles in Finland in the countryside. I think Nokian made winter tyres for bicycles, too.
I have Nokian rubber boots and you can fit them with spikes, too. Boots that are "common" among orienteerers.
Snow is also nicer than rain, as you can just shake it off and you don't get as wet from it. Sadly my local area gets lots of rain so I don't get to enjoy the dream of riding in snow much.
One thing that does help is "Pogies//Bar Mitts". Its like an over sized glove that you put on your handlebars and you can wear what ever glove or no glove you want by sliding your hands inside of it. Keeps your grips and shift/brakes clean during the winter months.
@@leiflillandt1488schwalbe marathon plus winter mtb
funny thing the dutch bike i rented had no problems and all the other mountenbike style bikes i see all the time slided like crazy
How to ride a bike in the snow: put bum on saddle and feet on pedals. Rotate the crank by pushing the pedals down in an alternating fashion. Take turns slowly if there is (or might be) ice.
If there is indeed snow, you are now biking in it.
Quite accurate!
Dont touch front brakes.
@@lindgruen3118 unless you have studded tyres.
@@lindgruen3118 Yeah, I learnt that the hard way 😅
Also if it's deep snow, slow down.
I'm a Finn. I ride bicycle year around. I change studded tyres (just like car owners change studded or non-studded winter tyres) when the weather demands for it because my summer tyres are almost slicks. Oulu, a Finnish city close to the Arctic Circle is considered to be the world capital of winter cycling. Not Just Bikes made a funny video about it. ;)
German here, we learn to ride our bicycles in snow from early on, because many of our children ride their bicycles to school every day.
I think if you are not used to ride your bicycle all year round from early on, it won’t cross your mind so easily as an adult.
In Southern Europe you won’t see many people (if any!) riding bicycles in the winter though, so it’s definitely not "all of Europe”, and of course you are right: The Netherlands are on a different level 😄 But it’s 100% normal to see bicycles in the snow in Germany too - at least in Northern Germany where the land is flat. It’s probably a different thing to ride up and down hills when it’s slippery.
That's not a blizzard, that's what we'd call a lovely summer day in Finland.
😅
Hot 🥵 summer day!
Summer, the most beautiful day of the year!
The mercedes is most definitely on summer tires, for the weather I think you can go anywhere but USA and find people living life no matter the weather, but absolutely everywhere in europe
The Golf had its front right come off the bead and fold over. You can see it flop around.
@@Yvolve Probably spun out and hit the curb.
@@JC130676 Most likely. I never had it happen fortunately, but I've come close.
Aren't summer tires illegal in winter?
@@Savadais Not in the Netherlands. It doesn't snow often enough to make it mandatory. The amount of snow seen in the video is quite extreme.
I've been cycling since I was a small child and never thought of cycling in snow as anything special. You have to be more careful when taking corners and can't brake as aggressive, but other than that, it's just how you get from A to B.
When I went to school and university I always went by bike all year round. At school there was no (useable) public transport in that small city and at university it was faster and easier by bike (and I didn't have a car). I continued for the first years of working because the parking was bad at my office. Nowadays I cycle in cold weather but not in snow anymore.
Swede here, I agree with you 100% I´m retired now and I still use my bike every day all year.
For snow scenarios I would check out northern Europe. None of the cars are any problems to drive with winter tires. The ones stuck were on summer.
Everyone here almost any age took their bike almost as usual during winter time. At least when I was a kid. Never even thought about it being strange :)
I learned to drive in thick snow using a car that only had nearly bald summer tires. It's not the tires that make the difference, it's the driver in most cases. And for the last ten to fifteen years, traction control is making things harder than they should be too. Whenever it snows, I make sure to turn ESP and all the other so-called helpful acronyms off, because they mostly interfere with my ability to respond to how my car deals with loss of grip...
@@indus3270 If you try to drive A-N-Y car, even a 4WD, on NEW summer tires in thick snow..... you are going a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y N-O-W-H-E-R-E. You will be stuck on the first stop.
So stop making $hit up :)
@@martinsv9183 I think it would depend on exactly how thick the snow is. We don't get much more than 30cm here, if any at all (which is the same sort of winter weather as in Amsterdam btw), so those are the circumstances I'm used to dealing with when it comes to snow. That said, I was taught to drive in those exact conditions by an instructor who happened to be an amateur rally driver, who taught me some techniques that you can only perform with a manual gearbox on a FWD or AWD. I can even do a hill start in those conditions, without any electronic aides whatsoever, granted that the car doesn't slide down the hill when the parking brake is on. So no, I'm not making $hit up, I'm merely admitting I got lucky to have had a driving instructor that actually taught me to drive in worse conditions instead of teaching me to pass an exam...
@@indus3270 It doesnt matter what instructor you have because no person on earth is going to alter physics :)
If you try and drive in even 10 cm of snow with summer tires you are going to get stuck even with a 4WD. On flat ground. Unless its some super powder snow you can blow away with your mouth.
@@martinsv9183 I think you are severely overestimating the difference between summer and winter tires, because the difference in braking distance is 15% at best. I know from experience that it's possible to drive without accidents in up to 30cm snow on summer tires, even when the bottom layer of snow has thawed and re-frozen into ice, because I've done it multiple times.
That said, you do have less grip, so for everyone's safety I wouldn't advise it, just to be clear, but to say it's impossible is simply not true.
Dude, when the snow is fresh, cycling isn't scary at all, it's when it's icing over that things get tricky. Rain or shine we do our thing here
Even icing isn't really a problem. It's easy and pretty cheap to change studded tyres to bike. The real problems are if there has been really heavy snow fall before it is cleared. I would say anything exceeding 10cm, will make it pretty hard to pedal through. The worst one tho is if you get snow and temperatures go to positives and it melts a bit, just for it to freeze again at night. That makes horrible grooves that can suddenly swerve you. Even better is when you get some fresh snow to hide those grooves, so that they are complete surprise.
Fresh snow is scary because it cover all the ice. If you know that there are no ice then it's not a problem. Walking on snow covered ice is scary.
@@juhokaartoaho
Heavy snow isn't really that bad if you have deep enough groves and a electric bike.
The front wheel can function like a rudder, and with the electric engine helping out if the groves are deep enough it's able to dig your way through the snow.
You're pretty exhausted and wet when you get there, but it works.
Also depends on the steepness of the road, where I live it’s really dangerous even in fresh snow just because it’s almost impossible to stop while going downhill on some slopes, unless you have special tires. (And also going uphill later is 10 times harder)
@@juhokaartoahoStudded tires? Literally no-one has them on their bike here. Ever. 😂
5:32 It's not a blizzard like in the US. Usually it's just a few degrees below freezing point and just a little windy, not necessarily really stormy (though it might be sometimes)
I had the same thought. As a German I'd never call the weather shown in the video "a blizzard" - it is simply snowing that day, just as it may snow at many winter days depending on where you are located. Absolutely normal winter weather.
@@HerzschreiberAmericans tend to call any significant rainfall a (rain)storm. There is a tendency to use more exaggerated language, for example when praising something, stronger words like great and excellent are more often used compared to German at least, but probably most of Europe.
@@aphextwin5712 Quite, and it always confuses me (German) if storm is used for something other than strong winds...
Besides, the regions with more snow probably know many expressions for different kinds of snowfall, like we do for rainfall (Es nieselt/regnet/gießt...)?
In Europe we have summer tires and winter tires, that Mercedes has just ignored to change tires as the law says in most countries where the winter gives snow and ice.
Here in Scandinavia is it a matter on life or death.
Sweden here. I used to always cycle to school regardless of the weather. In rain as well as snow, and I've cycled to work every day some winters. Cycling on snow and ice is mainly about being careful. Keep your speed down, don't lean into turns or you'll hit the deck, and the same will happen if you use your front brake. You may also want to consider studded tires, they have pretty poor grip on tarmac, but the grip on ice is almost as good as the grip on tarmac
.
Oh, and accept that you'll occasionally hit the deck.
I'm Dutch and love walking/cycling in the rain or snow. Feels very freeing.
When I was little I cycled through a blizzard. When I made it to school in time I looked like a yeti. Funny thing was, the students were at school but the teachers weren't cause their cars got stuck in traffic on the motorway. 😂 The bikes, not a problem.
Sweden/Gothenburg here. I ride my bike the year around, there's usually no problem, but if there have been snowfall during the night and it's more than say 5 cm of snow and they have not had time to clear it, you will have to work your legs a bit extra. :)
At my work, I would say somewhere around a third of the bikers ride all year long while 2 thirds retire their bikes for the winter months. And if there's that heavy snow fall during the night, my bike is pretty much the only one standing there outside my office. :)
The big thing for driving safely in the snow is to have good winter tires. Up here in Norway it's mandatory to have 2 sets of wheels & tires for your car. One set for summer and one set for winter.( winter tires may be studded or unstudded) Summer tires in winter conditions are really bad, and winter tires in summer isn't alot better. Some countries in Europe approve of all season tires, but they aren't very good in any of the seasons !😉 Also, how do you ride a bicycle in winter? With care !! 😆
It snows rarely nowadays in Amsterdam, so many of the cars will be on summer tires, which is no good in snow and ice. And I would not call that weather a blizzard. It is only a bit more than average heavy snowfall.
Summer tires is indeed no good in snow and ice, but considering how rare it snows in the Netherlands, it's almost no point making winter tires mandatory.
A few years ago, when there was a lot of snow in the capital city, a website informing about public transportation informed about buses, trams and/or trolleybuses being canceled in one part of the city and they said "to go to the center, you can use winter sports" 😄 When it snows, nothing stops here, but the public transportation sometimes has delays.
When the world was still normal, we used to have snow since the end of November until the first half of March here in Slovakia. Less in the south, huge amounts in the north. Now we are lucky if there is one or two weeks of snow, especially in my city. Snowy weather is actually the only one that makes me happy about going outside, I love snow and I miss it very much, especially in summer, which I hate.
Dutchmen cycling or walking in the rain, or in the snow often say: I’m not made of sugar.
ahahah sure try cycling with temp over 30 or even 40°C
@@icoborg 40 is very exceptional in the Netherlands. I experienced it only once. I had to go to the supermarket by bike, it’s only 2 minutes, but indeed it was hot. 30 is comfortable. On a bike you make your own wind.💨
@@icoborg Even then you see people cycling
@@jurriendevries3522 i believe you, but i cant shower at work :D
@@icoborg I have cycled extensively in South and Southeast Asia.
50c in central India. 45c+ everywhere....
What's your point?
I know many people who ride a engineless motorcycle to work every day in winter, in Stockholm. They have studded tyres. I have ridden a regular motorcycle in snow and on ice, in freezing temperatures quite a lot.
When I went to school (Austria), I used my bicycle all year long. Especially in bad weather public transportation was crowded and delayed. So either one hour by bus or 10 to 15 minutes by bicycle...
A few years the tram even stopped working for half a day due to snow when I wanted to drive into the city.
This winter at some point the roads were frozen and there was some snow (not a lot). My municipality did a great job clearing the seperate bike paths. I rode my bike from the train station back to my house and it was just smooth sailing. But then when I was almost at home, cycling in a residential area on a cobblestone street in the dark, I suddenly realized that I was cycling on solid ice. And as soon as I realized it, I fell. The bike and I slid for another 3m or so, it was so slippery. And I got up, walked to a dryer patch and got back on. All I had was a bit of a bruise, bike was still fine. No problem, just winter things.
Snow in Western Europe is actually quite a rare occassion, its more common in nothern and in Central Europe. Based on my experience, people in France or UK for example are not really used to drive in snow, maybe because of absence of snow (we call it winter) tyres... On the other hand, there is lot of bike enthusiasts (including me) with nopb to bike/walk when snowing or raining. We say - we are not made of sugar.
My one experience going to England in winter back in 2004 was a great example of this, the friends I visited there said it was "the worst snowfall in 20 years" and it was just some mild snow, the guy who picked me up at the airport had parked while it was dry, and it had snowed while they were waiting, so first roundabout out of the parking lot he spun around, and seemed so shocked "wow, it's slippery!"
Along the motorway there were cars in the ditch like every 200 meters, I've never seen so much chaos over some slight snow before. XD
To be fair, this is all footage from Amsterdam, winter is generally very mild here. The snow you see in the video is about the most we get once every so many years and usually doesn't last more than a day or two. It doesn't get extremely cold here either, right around freezing temperatures. (That's why the snow usually doesn't stick very long).
Live in Sweden ride bisycle almost all year round. In the winter i use studed tires. No problem
Cycling in snow is ways better than in rain - you don't get soaked and just brush it off afterwards. Might be a bit slippery, so you have to go slower and be more carefull (especially in traffic), but that just adds to the fun as you can do epic akira drifts, lol
Jup, and crashing when you overestimated yourself is part of the fun
@@jurriendevries3522 indeed, always a good laugh for anybody watching. Fortunately the snow breaks the fall a little and is very effective in preventing bruises. Trying that on gravel... yeah it works too, but I've got marks on my forearms that will last a lifetime.
I try to use my bicycles year round. I am in Stockholm. November to April are the tough time of the year when it is both cold,dark and snowy, but thousands of people commute to work during the Winter here. Better today though, warm and sunny. 27C today.
And a month ago there was half a meter of snow. At least here a bit outside of stoxkholm
That's because currently summer in the Northern hemisphere, well summer technically June 1st which is this Saturday
@@automation7295 where I live winter ens in 29 of april and summer start 3 of may... the days between is spring.
@@matsv201 That's because meteorological reckoning of seasons isn't used in your country.
I had a chat with SMHI and they informed me that Summer arrived to Stockholm in late April this year. And it sure feels like it. Winter feels a long way away.
1:36
Doesn't look like a storm, just snow, no?
5:10
His issue isn't the model but his tires.
Here in Norway we have at least two sets of tires, often three.
Summer, winter and studded.
This condition would be a winter tire condition, softer rubber, and deep groves designed for grip in the snow, perhaps even suction cups too.
A few years ago we had some very cold winter days in germany and i was cycling to visit a friend. It was -17 °C that morning and all the sidewalks were filled with pedestrians enjoying the beautiful frozen over landscape.
The people you see riding their bikes aren't going on a leisurely bike ride, they are going where they need to be. They're out to get groceries, on their way to work or trying to get home after a long day. A bicycle for most people, and especially in cities, is the main mode of transportation. Going through the snow is not optional for us. And we're actually kind of smug about it too, don't ask me why. "We're not made of sugar" is our motto and that encapsulates it perfectly.
1:41 snowstorm 😂
A light dusting at best. A Canadian might put on long pants.
I can guarantee it's not like this in Ireland the rare times it snows here. We're just not ready for it so if it's really bad we all take the day off😂
Here in Sweden some people have studded tires on their bikes in the winter!
It's exactly the same in Copenhagen, Denmark. People ride bikes all year round. BTW, when it snows in Copenhagen, bike paths are cleared of snow first, then sidewalks and roads. I also used to cycle in winter here in Poland- it gives you some portion of adrenaline.
A similar video from Copenhagen with even more biking.
Winter Cycling in Copenhagen - Viking Biking: ua-cam.com/video/HMbS2kRIbTg/v-deo.html
Dutchies during a blizzard:
- Car drivers: "we're fiiine’’
- Bus drivers: "we're fiiine’’
- Truck drivers: "we're fiiine’’
- Bikers: "we're fiiine’’
- Cyclists: "we're fiiine’’
- Pedestrians: "we're fiiine’’
- Railroad company: ‘‘THIS IS THE END OF THE WORLD!! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!’’
In Sweden you have to have winter tires on your car, by law, from Dec 1st to March 31st, unless there's winter conditions earlier, or later, then the tires have to be on already.
Great and interesting topic 👍. I´m from Sweden and since I was little kid I have used my bike all year. Now I´m retired and I still use my bike every day all year.
This is similar to Denmark, here there is only a strong gale or a full storm that prevents people from cycling
In the mid-80s one day we had a bit more snow as usual. My school was about 4 miles away. Guess who was there in time for the first lesson? Everyone who used to go by bike! Missing were the ones who took the school bus, got driven by parents or walked to school! But as more than 80% of the kids didn't show up, they sent us back home. It's no big deal to bike on snowy roads.
Thats it don't let the weather stop you, get out enjoy life, it's nearly winter in Western Australia and i can't wait to get out set up the big daddy swag and go fishing .
Snow is not the problem, ice is.
I use my bike in snow. Im in Munich, Bavaria. There are still so many that use their bike to either go to the train station, or work or shopping. Its quite common.
Here in Sweden I have been cycling to work for many years, the only difference in winter is the clothing and the spike tires on the bike! Works fine as long as the snow plowing is good, which it usually is. The bike tracks are priority, same as the main roads.
Snow is not a problem. It is very grippy and fun when it crunches. Ice, hail and strong winds spoil the game, everything else is fine.
Greetings from Ausria 😊
Key to riding in snow:
Don't trust the tracks of others if they're single tyre width.
Fresh snow gives grip, icy patches make you slip.
Ian, you've plainly seen bicycles over here, but aren't understanding clearly yet. Bicycles are a mode of transport, not purely a recreational activity and an excuse to wear Lycra. They're used throughout the year in all conditions to get around. 🙂
Norskie here, one mid-late October:
I've experienced having over a foot of snow come down in matter of hours late at night, and I had to drive home on regular/summer tyres on a modified (wider wheels being one modification, skirts another...) FIAT Uno. That was... interesting. The typical 15 minute drive took well over an hour, and there was basically no traffic. At least parts of the road had been plowed.
Obviously, in hindsight, I should have left the car and taken the bus, and had someone drive me and the winter tyres back up there the next day or something. But hey, young and stupid.
Yes, in the Netherlands we just wipe the snow off our bikes saddle 😙 I clean my handles and bounce my bike up and down so some of the snow falls off, and I'm on my way! You do have to be careful sometimes, when the streets are icy it can be better to walk that part, but the bike roads are usually sprayed with salt so the snow melts ✨ love winter and snow!
If you were amazed at traffic flow in Holland , you should go to the ancient Medina of Marrakech, in Morocco, where pedestrians, scooters, donkeys and carts all weave through the maze of narrow passages in a never ending dance.
A few years back I spent a couple of months travelling around northern and western Europe (including UK/Ireland) over winter. I loved it although sadly only got two or three proper snow days. The biggest snowstorm I saw was in Amsterdam. The next morning was beautiful and sunny but the snow on the ground had iced over. I remember walking around having to try really hard not to fall over. I was wondering what techniques the locals had for dealing with this only to look around and see that everyone else was having the same problem.
That Mercedes is a W212 E model. I own one too and I'm pretty dissapointed when having it in mushy conditions (mud, snow, sludge,...) Driving backwards is the best option. Or go by bicycle ;)
We learned how to bike all year long in all conditions because we had to from our parents. It's just what you have around. We'd be biking to all activities and school for instance. Heavy rain? here, have a raincoat or an alternative piece of plastic. Snowing? Have plastic pants too. You'd be stopping every 500 meters to get rid of the snow and move on. If it got too bad, you'd go on foot. And snow is supposed to be fun. At least as a kid. Nothing beats putting a snowball down somebodies neck.
Worst case of (im)mobilty is doing 35 kms in 7,5 hours time and 0,5 hours for the drive back when the roads were cleared.
I used to ride my bicycle to the school bus way back when I was a teen 35+ years ago (Before you were born, I guess), on half-an-inch of snow on a farm road. Biking in the snow wasn't much of a problem, actually, not even going down and up a pair of rather steep hills. The paved part of the distance to the bus stop was the worst. Even doing walking speed next to the other kids, I still took a 180 if I pulsed the rear brake. I never understood why the other kids around didn't ride their bikes in the winter.
My reason for doing it was that it was simply too far to walk, and unless the ice on the lake was safe, I couldn't cross the lake either. Not that I liked ending up getting on the bus at the next stop either.
There's no bad weather, only bad clothing!
Tell me ur german without telling u are German
It's really easy to bike in the snow with the Dutch grandma bikes. You probably imagine those light weight bicycles with tiny tires, but our are thick and heavy. They're much easier to handle in snow. Some people let out some air of the tires to increase their grip on the bikes. And - of course - you can put on winter tires for bikes!
As a dutch person, its funny to see how unusual it is for you to see people cycling in unwelcoming weather conditions. It is normal for me to see people cycling in any type of weather. I haven't really considered how much of an abnormal thing it is until now :) Here we say "you're not made of sugar", it means the rain won't hurt you (you wont melt in the rain). More broadly, it means you shouldnt make a drama about it. Your reaction makes me appreciate that part of my culture more :) Great video! :)
If there is enough snow you will definitly see parents pulling children on sleighs and sometimes even people on ski in the middle of big cities even (at least is germany). Its a funny thing. People try to enjoy the snow when its new and it is not often enough snow during the winter for such fun activities.
It only snows like that once every couple of years and its usually only just for one day.
Riding your bike in the snow is kinda cozy, much better then heavy rain because that's miserable. When it snows like that you can always see people crashing with their bike.
we would even ride them across a frozen lake in denmark
snow is not that big a deal, the fun starts when ice comes into the picture
then you electrical bike behaves like a car with rear wheel drive on slippery surface
Yes, this is how we grow up, just walking and biking in the snow. To school or work. There's not a lot that will stop us, although since I have a car too, if it gets really crazy ( especially rain and wind) and the distance is long, I will take my car. But the problem is getting stuck in traffic with your car, while on a bike you won't. So that's why I will choose my bike more often. I hate just sitting in my car, not driving, stick for a long time. While on my bike I can just get on and go home again.
My mom use to say when as a child I didn't want to go play outside on the rain or snow or didn't want to go on my bike to school: you are not made of sugar. :)
LJ
In Finland we (usually) plough roads so well that you do not need winter tyres even in winter on bicycles 99% of the time. Then there is THAT snowstorm at least once a year. Less than 10 cm fresh snow is typically totally fine.
With the right bicycle and right amount of training snow biking is super ok. I've been in all kinds of weather with my bicycle and consistently, the worst (for biking as a whole, and that includes all powered two wheel bicycles) is when it's frozen. That's when you have the highest chance of falling. When it's fresh snow or even a thick layer, it's aok. Actually quite fun. I love the sound the tires make on about 10 cm of snow freshly dropped. Really funny sound.
I remember back when I lived in Kyiv for a couple years, they had over 1m of snow in 1 day twice while I was there (a couple years apart).
The day it snowed, many places closed and people off work but they were already clearing it and the next day was like normal but with huge snow banks everywhere.
Normally it didn't stop at all for snow.
That's just how we were raised, rain, snow or shine, sometimes cycling many kilometers to school or work,there's not much stopping us.
You should see bicycle routes in Finland in winter... I think city of Oulu has promo video about cycling in winter, adults kids whatever cycling in deep snow during winter time..
I've slipped a couple of times riding my bike in the snow, but it's no big deal. You don't really get hurt from that height and at the speeds you're doing when it's slippery out. I lived and biked for 12 years in Malmö, which is just as bike friendly as Copenhagen.
The snow is usually not the problem, unless it's somewhat deep. The thing that may cause the most problem is ice, especially hidden ice.
Worst accident I had on my mountain bike in the winter was due to black ice with a sprinkle of snow on top hiding it even more. I had just made a slow'ish 90 degree turn, and was speeding up by doing the whole deeply leaning the mountain bike back and forth, as you step down hard on the opposite pedal. And then suddenly it felt like someone ripped the bike out from under me to the left, and the bike flew off to the left side as it slid forward, as I pretty much got dumped straight down on the ground, thankfully not landing on my bike. If felt like someone had tired rope to the bottom of my tires and pulled so hard that the bike flew out from under me. XD
I've driven once in the Netherlands, and got stuck in traffic for a long time, while friends were waiting for me. >.<
I was going from Amsterdam to Delft, and just my luck there was a traffic accident, so traffic got real slow.
Though... as a Norwegian, that's very mild snow...
But the Netherlands is basically entirely flat and partially below sea level :P
I did try to get on my bike in knee deep snow when I was a kid, didn't really work well. XD
But, they actually do sell studded snow tires for bicycles.
Edit:
Mercedes is not known for working well on anything but dry roads, newer ones do better with a lot of electronic doodads, but generally even wet roads is a challenge for a Mercedes, so driving one in snow on summer tires is... a bit of a challenge? XD
He was indeed using summer tires and summer tires aren't made for snow. Also that particular E-Class appears to be RWD, given that the rear wheels at spinning a lot.
Snow in Amsterdam is quite rare but the more east you go in the country the greater the chances for snow.
Biking on snow is easy. Just take the corners a bit slower.
I love you video man. I got hooked after your football reviews. Keep up the great work
Cycling on snow is ready, ice is harder, but then if I am having trouble riding a bike on a surface, you'd have trouble driving on it.
In Iceland we are getting more people on bikes and in winter, when it gets slippery, they use spiked tyres 😉
You should do a reaction to Not Just Bikes video about Oulu in Finland. One or two degrees south of the Arctic circle and people still cycle during winter.
So much fun to see you so surprised about things that are so common here. But to be honest, don't even know how to not go on with your day as usual. After all, you still need to go to your job, get groceries, pick up your child from school ect. The first day is not fun, the second a little better and after that your used to it and it feels like normal....only the rain....we never get used to that and Dutch people just love to complain about the rain...me included...especially this year
Mountain bike out, spiked snow tires on, take the cable car to a peak in ski ressort and ride down the black piste:) I grew up doing that and riding to school at any weather in any season.
Not yet encountered a single person who avoided riding their bicycle, simply because it was winter or because of the weather. Don't avoid it myself, as it tends to be the fastest mode of transport.
in sweden we now snow is coming every year.. but we do have laws regulating us to use snow/winter tires for a period of the year.. this looks like its not really "normal" and that they are taken for a bit of a surprice.. here we are more used to it and can actually drive in the snow on regular "summertyres" (if we really need too =)..).. but it praobably can also depend on where you live in our long country ( i live in the north of sweden).
I used to commute 7 miles each way on my bike even in weeks of snow and ice. Warm clothing and studded tyres - far more reliable than cars.
Well, in dutch, you say "Ik ben toch niet van suiker" (I'm not made of sugar), meaning that you kind of won't melt away in the rain, so basically, there is no bad weather for cycling.
Also there's bad weather in the Netherlands a lot. If we would stay home, cause the weather isn't ideal, nothing much would happen here. So, no matter the weather, rain or shine, windy or snowy, you go out and live your life.
When cycling, snow is usually not the issue, the slipping cars are 😂
I like this kinda weather, when the snow is "right in your face".
The only time I got in trouble was riding my Puch Skytrack through about 20cm of sticking fresh snow (we call it 'paksneeuw' and it is probably unfamiliar to anyone younger than 20-25 here in NL because we don't get snow like we used to). I was riding my moped slowly alongside a friend on a bike when all of a sudden my front wheel locked up and I went down like a brick. The snow had accumulated between the front wheel and the chrome wheel cover that was about half an inch above the wheel. It just locked up. Luckily I fell into 20cm of soft snow :) You (might not) know what they say: "every disadvantage has its advantage" (Johan Cruijff, Dutch football legend and philosopher)
As a dutch teen a long time ago I once cycled on the frozen water to go home in a straight line for once, but if I remember correctly I did slip that time 😂
Fresh snow is actually not that much of a problem. When it is older, compacted, and turned to ice, then you need to watch yourself, specially spots and parts that are not swept or salted. Constant freezing cold is actually not that bad. However, when it is thawing during the day, and freezing at night, then you got to watch out, as the snow might turn into black ice.
We are so used to cycling here in The Netherlands that it has become a necessity for many, it is the fastest and easiest way to get somewhere. It hardly ever snows in The Netherlands, maybe a few days a year. We are used to cold weather, but it is not often below -5 degrees C. So not much snow. If we have any snow, life goes on and we try to make the best of those few rare days and enjoy the snow.
And from first hand experience: it can be really scary to drive a bicycle on snow, even if you are used to it. Slow speeds is key here, especially in corners or with a heavy load on the bike (groceries, or a passenger on the back).
And the one umbrella is a tourist! 🤣 “I love Amsterdam” 🌨️❄️☃️
There is a vid by "NotJustBikes" from Oulu, Finland, close to the polar circle (in winter with bikes of course)
You should search up biking in Lapland🇫🇮📍Oulu, Finland
I love your enthusiasm! About Snow, about busses, about people, about beer.... about life 🥰
And it's nice to know that biking in faul weather is impressive, because it's certainly not for fun we do it!
After several pratically ice free winters in a row, my sons thought it was piece of cake, when they faced their first ice covered roads on their bikes. Before I'd finished saying "Be careful" the first was down 🙄 At first corner, the other got stuck in a frozen car track and couldn't turn with the rest of us... W A I T for me 🙄
By the end of that day, the were both skilled snow bikers 🤩
So come to think of it 🤔 it IS impressive - until it's just fåking shitty weather 🥶😨😱
I'll think of you next winter 🤣🤣
Here in Sweden, you can even get winter's tire for your bike.
In Sweden we ride bikes all year round. Here in Uppsala we have around 200'000 students at different universities. So in the winter time, just like the cars do. We change over our bikes to winter tyres. The same has cars and mopeds do. The rest is all about common sense when riding.
Snow storms do not stop the Dutch people in the early days or some years ago but today it is different,,Trains do not ride sometimes if fallen some milimeters of snow.
Also people do complaine more when some snow has fallen
The best part of riding a bike in the snow is that by riding the bike you produce a lot of heat.
So much so that personally i sometimes take off my jacket because it's getting too warm to wear a jacket.
As for the snow, it's usually not so bad to ride on, with the biggest issue i have is when a snow plow deposits snow right where the bicycle path crosses the road.
Even Icy conditions are doable, but you gotta be really careful.
What might surprise you is that in most European cities, walking and cycling are very common ways to get somewhere (regardless of the season). These are neither sports nor games. They're just everyday, normal, habitual ways to get from point A to point B. So why wouldn't we use it in winter? It's a little harder but not harder than driving on snow (probably less actually : bike wheels cut IN the snow. Car wheels drive ON the snow.). So…
Riding in snow is actually fun (except dirty wet slush. That's pure pain). Good tires, especially mountain bike tires, gives you more grip than winter boots. Powder snow or soft snow takes a lot of strength to plow through and smooth ice needs studded tires. Everything in between is a normal day in the office.
Way back in the early 1970s at the age of 16 I cycled to work over 20 miles away and thought nothing of it. That was normal in the UK, when only Middle Management drove Vehicles.
During my time in the USA, both in snow and summer, in the Midwest it seemed that NOBODY walked or rode bikes. Anywhere.
If they didn’t drive and have drive-through everything (except bottle shops), they were driving golf carts to the shops. In a small town, where everything was flat. As an Aussie, when walking around town, everyone just stared at me like I was an alien. I couldn’t believe how lazy Americans are, or that the public transport doesn’t exist. Mind blowing.
I ride a bike (commute) all year round here in Finland, up to -20C. Decent mountain bike and good clothing at winter is all it takes.
In colder than -20 celsius my breathing gets hard and painful when gassed up, so I take the car or bus then.