Dutch E-bikes Are Better | Netherlands by Bike, Day 6

this is the cowboy Cruiser which embodies a particular style of ebike that is becoming one of the most popular in the Netherlands it's one of the things I'll be talking about on day six of my bike trip around this beautiful [Music] country this is the final day of my bike trip in the Netherlands which saw me through many beautiful places and offered me an education in how the Dutch utilized the bicycle as a viable Transportation tool while on paper the trip would have been over 220 km by the end of this day I will have ridden a total well over 300 which is nearly a third of the 1,000 km the average Dutch person rides in a year now if you're here for the ebike feel free to skip ahead it's a Monday morning it's probably windy I should put on the uh screen okay it was really windy I should have put on the wind screen it's a Monday morning and I am in southeast Amsterdam anyway it's my sixth and final day in the Netherlands on this particular trip it's a bit sad but I'll be back in Amsterdam in a week or so for 3 days with a few days spent near middleberg but I wanted to show you this area that I'm in and as you can see it's pretty bland but the thing I want to point out I mean look at this parking structure here it's just a parking garage no big deal but the thing is even when you're here in these areas you see people on their Bo Feats people cycling around because even here even in these grab crappy places no offense there's cycling infrastructure and that is amazing this is how you know you're living somewhere that cares about safety not only safety but flow the prevalence of giveaway markings and traffic circles in Le of stop signs and traffic lights allows for some really smooth trips for example a week or so after this particular day I rode with my wife to the Taylor Swift show she was attending now we got lucky at a few intersections but along that 12 km trip from one end of Amsterdam to the other we only stopped once that makes a huge difference in not only how long the trip takes but the reduced exertion from stop and go and the feeling of freedom from that flow just makes for a great way to get around while not as good as the ride to the t- Swift show I would later experience my Monday morning ride into the downtown proved quite Pleasant I even came across what turned out to be one of the busiest intersections in the city for cyclists here at um yeah I'll save your ears and not butcher those names as I continued on through Amsterdam towards the bike shop to return the Beast I realized I never gave my Steed a name I think I'll call her Mona considering all the noise she made I thought it apt but just a few minutes later I said my farewell say goodbye to the old girl Mona she won't be missed don't worry now I still had plenty of time to spend in the city so it may seem odd to ditch the bike however however I had a plan but in the meantime walkability like in many Dutch cities is fantastic in Amsterdam and there is of course a stellar Metro and tram Network which brings me back to something I skipped over on day three when I was in roddam grassy trams the only piece of green track I came across in Amsterdam was during my first day and sadly this is the only shot of it but what is it about grassy trams that makes urbanists and Transit nerds foam at the mouth well aside from the fact that they are very nice to look at at the Green Turf actually serves several practical purposes compared to Asphalt or concrete grass tracks reduce noise mitigate rain water runoff reduce pollution and reduce Urban heat island effect now I did ride the tram in the Metro but it wasn't my plan to get around town on public transit for my final day I still wanted to ride and that's where this guy comes in most people are familiar with the classic Dutch bike typically the Oma feets simple utilitarian machines that are known for their ruggedness they are basically the AK-47 of bikes they have a step through frame fenders a chain guard and most importantly a comfortable upright riding position but as I was riding around during my trip especially in Amsterdam I noticed a lot of these bikes so after some investigating I found a shop that not only sold them but also allowed test rides now maybe my fellow North American viewers can relate but in my experience when you test a bike you ride it in circles on a parking lot for a few minutes and that's about it but here at least at at this shop the guy popped in a new battery said the bike had over 50 km of range and told me to have fun pushed me out the door without so much as looking at my ID the model I was riding is the cruiser from Cowboy which is by no means unique in this space there are other companies making Sleek ebikes like these with Van moof likely being the first this just happened to be the one I could get my hands on but this bike stands out because in my opinion fills the role of the classic Dutch bike in many respects it's simple and utilitarian but with a boost now the thing I love about this bike is that it's so simple it's so simple it's a single Gear Bike belt drive you don't have to change gears you just worry about braking and pedaling and that's it and I don't know if it's a torque sensor or Cadence Sensor but it feels really good it had some bells and whistles so to speak like wireless phone charging a dedicated app and an autol loocking feature but you can forget that and just ride I took this bike all over the city to some of my favorite spots for a few hours and I have to say this is the way to move while this style of bike is becoming very popular it is of course not the only one I am simply using it as an opportunity to gush about what I think is Peak micromobility ebikes which are actually taking the Netherlands by storm as of 2021 one in five people owned an ebike and with the Dutch increasingly choosing ebikes with about 3% of the population buying one annually that number is only going up the elderly have traditionally been the early adopters but they also give a boost to micromobility vehicles that are legitimate car replacements for many trips like this kid carrier I spotted in Amsterdam young people are also picking them up mainly because they kill excuses wind no problem on an ebike don't want to be sweaty ride an ebike kind of far on a regular bicycle ebike hung over and tired ebike Hills okay not a big problem here but still ebike and finally they are so much fun to ride honestly if you've yet to ride one go to your nearest shop right now for a test ride you will be sold but for as much as electricity can improve the bicycle it does come with problems youths riding fat tire ebikes has become a hot button issue with the bikes being associated with antisocial behavior and they are stolen so frequently that some insurance companies refuse to cover them and something more Grim the increasing uptake of ebikes has been a accompanied by a rise in deaths particularly in the elderly population prompting the Dutch Transportation Ministry to encourage helmet use something generally reserved for sports cyclists so while they are amazing some Kinks still need to be worked out but after cruising around for nearly 2 hours on a borrowed bike I returned the two- wheel wonder and went back to exploring on foot which brought me to dep pipe a neighborhood located directly south of the city's Center and chalk full of walkable streets and on this day a market that took over over several blocks in the neighborhood it hosts a feature of many spaces across the country that can easily fly under the radar lack of noise especially from cars it's one of those things that can become an everpresent soundtrack for the people who live near noisy roads which can not only be annoying but detrimental to human health correlated with increased stress anxiety high blood pressure and even heart attacks which not to say there isn't any noise pollution here there are still cars and even noisier motorbikes but overall the emphasis on modes of transportation that don't include a loud Smelly Car helps create environments where you feel at peace but as I head to Amsterdam Central and the trip comes to a close there was still one more thing I wanted to see before taking off which is this and to the uninitiated it may just look like another Canal which it is but underneath is actually a bike garage while not as big as the one I visited in utre the fact that it was built underwater puts it up the list well technically the drained the water excavated 9 M deep and built the garage then filled in the water again but anyway completed it in 2023 this garage can house over 7,000 bicycles and has a direct access tunnel to the metro and Central Station but what I really love about it is the art on the walls and the ceiling giving the sense that you're underwater but after taking it in one last time I headed into Amsterdam Central and I forgot to put the wind screen on again but here we Are Back to Where it All Began just a few days ago but I feel like I've learned so much riding around this country it's been an education it really has it's been really fun too I've known a lot about the bike culture and infrastructure here but to actually see it and pay attention to it in context and see where certain things are used especially things like EDG Lane roads and bike streets has been fascinating so I have a lot to process and I'll see what comes out of it hopefully if you're watching this you have already seen the culmination of this trip so if you're thinking about taking a trip here just do it you will have the time of your life I know I did to be honest I also learned a lot during the production of these videos largely from the contributions in the comments along the way while I have nothing to truly regret if I were to do another trip in the Netherlands I would change just two things one I would take an ebike and two I would stay longer at least two weeks because I know there are so many other wonderful places to visit in this country and I am truly looking forward to my next trip here while I have gained a newfound appreciation for what makes the Netherlands such a great place to get around on two wheels the one thing I want you to take away from this series is that there isn't some magical fairy dust here that makes better cities it was something that the people of the Netherlands fought for and are still working towards every day and that we too in other parts of the world can have quieter healthier and happier cities if we are willing to put in the work and with that my name is Nick thanks for watching [Music] I'd like to say a special thank you to John and active towns if it weren't for the Showcase of Roy Simmons in his book feeds pad this trip may not have happened and I will be posting a bonus video on patreon which you can follow for free or join up to get Early Access