Berlin police ban fixed-gear bikes

[faceless]

Fixed-gear bikes spark police crackdown in Berlin
They’re sleek, fast and illegal in Germany: fixed-gear bicycles. Marc Young reports on how trendy fixie riders have sparked a police crackdown in Berlin.
30 Jun 09
thelocal.de

In a country where cyclists are expected to have a working bell on their bikes, it was probably only a matter of time before fixies fell afoul of the law in Germany. Evolved from indoor track bikes with no gears and brakes, fixies have long been favoured by couriers and other cycling enthusiasts in big cities around the world. But a surge in popularity in Germany has prompted an unprecedented backlash by traffic cops in Berlin in recent months.

“Interest in fixies has exploded in the past two years,” said Dustin Nordhus, owner of the Cicli Berlinetta bike shop in central Berlin. “Everyone sitting in an office all day thinks they’re cool these days.” Nordhus has filled his shop with gorgeous high-end racing bikes that are street legal, but he also makes custom track bikes for a growing market of fixie riders.

Since there’s no freewheel on a fixie, the pedals continue to rotate as long as the bike is moving forward. This means the rider either has to slow the bike by fighting the momentum or brake by locking up the back wheel to skid to a stop. Seeing what they considered a growing danger to traffic safety, Berlin police announced this spring they would begin cracking down on fixie riders. Since only April, they’ve confiscated 18 bicycles.

“Fixies have become a real problem,” Rainer Paetsch, a Berlin police official for traffic issues, told The Local. “It wasn’t a hunt, but we decided to do something to undercut this trend.” To get their bikes back, cyclists have to pay a fine and convince the authorities they won’t ride them on the street anymore – or at least show an inclination to install brakes on them. “For all I care they can ride them in their backyards,” Paetsch joked. “We just want people to realise it’s too risky to ride them around the city. Then we’ll be content that we’ve helped improve traffic safety.”

But one rider who lost his bicycle last month said the police were taking the issue too far. “This criminalisation is completely overdone,” Stefan, a 30-year-old bike courier, said on the edges of European Cycle Messenger Championship in Berlin in early June. “I was stopped by eight or nine cops who looked totally bored. I tried to tell them they were taking away how I make my living, but they didn’t seem to care.” As an experienced track cyclist, he said riding a fixie actually made him more aware while negotiating city traffic. But he admitted many people are now buying fixies just because they’ve become cool. “It’s the trendiness that’s the real problem,” Stefan said, adding that he was slapped with an €80 fine and three points on his driver’s licence for traffic violations.

But Benno Koch, Berlin’s official ombudsman for bicycle issues, said all the hype surrounding fixies had left the police with little choice but to crack down. “I’ve been getting lots of calls from worried fixie riders,” he told The Local, explaining that he had been able to defuse the situation somewhat by hammering out the conditions cyclists can get their confiscated bikes back.

Koch admitted that most of the city’s hundreds of fixie riders were probably excellent cyclists, but warned others from joining the fixed-gear trend. “The people that ride these bikes have to know what they’re doing,” he said. “And in my opinion fixies really ruin your knees. You’re not young forever, how far do you really want to follow the hype?” But anyone still choosing to hop on their fixie in Berlin might want to consider getting a brake installed soon – the police will start their next round of citywide traffic checks in July.

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You'd have to be a maniac to think that a fixed gear (that means no back peddling when slowing, so your feet always move) is safe in a city. And no brakes either?

[Skylace]

All I know is I fucking hate cyclists in this city. They constantly jump onto sidewalks with pedestrians, never obey the traffic lights or signs, split between car lanes and are general idiots. I even had one almost hit into my car (which was stopped at a red light) and then shout at me like it was my fault he wasn't obeying the traffic laws. Most of them in this city seem to think that because they are on a bike they are "better" then all the other vehicles (and peds) on the road.

[faceless]

they should definitely just ban cars from all city centres - that would solve all congestion problems, massively lower the pollution and make people fitter.

I never go on pavements myself and obey most rules, but the vast majority of problems come from people in cars who just aren't paying attention. Middle-class women in massive 4x4s are the very worst drivers on the road though. They seem to think they're allowed to do as they please, which is similar to how a lot of hardocre cyclist behave, with the difference being that a 4x4 will kill you, and that's why many cyclists hurl abuse so easily.

All car drivers should be forced to ride a bike on city streets before they're given a driving licence. That would solve a lot of problems.

[Skylace]

Seeing as how I ride a bike I take notice. But I can honestly say that the drivers here in Pittsburgh, while not perfect are very cautious of bikers. Pittsburgh is a place were a lot of outdoor activity takes place so lots of people are aware of bikers. More then when I was in Chicago, New York or even smaller areas. Bikers on the other hand here are just a pain in the ass.

[faceless]

Does Pittsburgh have many hills? Because we have lots here it tends to be the more determined 'real' cyclists who are on the road.

[Skylace]

We have mountains and hills. We are the San Francisco of the east

A good description: The city has some 712 sets of stairs, comprising 44,645 treads and 24,090 vertical feet (more than San Francisco, Cincinnati, and Portland, Oregon combined) for pedestrians to traverse its many hills.

[luke]

i'm all for banning cars in city centres as well, all cities have public transport so car drivers can just park on the outskirts and do like park and ride. cuts congestion, cuts pollution, cuts gas consumption, cuts accidents

[faceless]

[Skylace]

[Brown Sauce]

I have a loathing for these "green warriors". It comes from living in a town with bike lanes everywhere, and should be therefore a wonder, a blueprint for the future.

no fuckin' way.

they don't even respect the pedestrians. I love bikes too, which sort of makes it worse.

I was riding my bike through Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, and stopped for a father and his youngster .. 'bout three of four years old. He said that it was the first time anyone stopped for him.

And don't ever complain about 'em ...

[Skylace]

That's the thing that shocks me as well Brown, so many cyclists I am seeing now have no respect for pedestrians. It's a shame really and it doesn't make any sense. All to often now I am seeing bikes just cutting off people on sidewalks, running red lights, stop signs, etc. When I get to a red light if I want to cross at the cross walk I get off my bike and walk it, I don't cut through the other people who are walking, which is something I see happen at least three or four times a week.

[Brown Sauce]

It's a cultural thing. Oldenburg has a lot of bikes .. it's flat. But the riders are sooo aggressive, not very far away is Groningen in Holland. Also very flat, with a lot of bikes. but the riders are so much more laid back. No problems there at all.

walk onto a cycle path in Ol, and you'll be taking your life into your hands. It's really stressful, and should be so nice. You'd think you've got tinnitus with all those fuckin' bells.