Cycling In The Netherlands Guide: Bike Tips & Rules For Bicycling In Amsterdam, Holland & More

Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed this weeks video about cycling in The Netherlands and that these bicycling tips for cyclists in my country will help you on your future travels to The Netherlands.

Just a little extra clarification on the 'shark teeth', or haaientanden in Dutch: When you're cycling and these tooth are pointed towards you, you need to stop and wait until the traffic has passed before you can cycle further. If the shark teeth are pointed towards the roads where cars drive, etc. (which often happens on roundabouts, but not always), then you can continue to cycle and cars etc have to stop for you. But always check to make sure they stop, because sometimes drivers are hit by low sun, a blind spot, or are simply dumb, and then it can get a little dangerous.

If there's anything else you want to know or have a question that you'd want answers to, leave them down in the comments below!

See you next week with another The Netherlands travel video and guide!

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[karimmarquette]

Thanks for mentioning to cross a tram track in a perpendicular fashion. 90 degrees, not anything less. I learned that the hard way. The bike tire slips into the oily tram track and stops abruptly. My body flew off the bike about 2-3 meters. Fortunately I landed in a patch of dirt. Otherwise I would have been seriously injured. Uff.

[FJHK]

Very useful for someone that just moved to The Netherlands, dank je wel!

[dr.terrible]

I love biking in the Netherlands. I live in Germany on the border, and have done 2 bike tours to leuwarden and Texel

[juankiglesias]

La música de fondo que impide escuchar lo que dices. Pero me encantado. Especialmente tu blog. Estaba buscando tips como estos, contados por un neerlandes. Muchas gracias.

[jessegee]

Thank you for the helpful guide, I'm visiting here, keen to experience the Great urban cycling. It's even better than I hoped, it's a pleasure to ride along with people who are so skilled, I'm learning fast. It was explained to me that sensors on the ground change traffic lights for me to cross. This is brilliant, and allows people to queue safely. In the UK we have to wobble to press a button, right by the traffic, usually on a steep camber, very dangerous. So this is a great idea for us in the UK. Thanks again for your video 👍

[paulamartinezdelucena]

First of all, thank you for your videos! I'm watching all of them because I'll be moving to the Netherlands soon... I'm not sure if you want this kind of comment, but I think the audio would be better if you spoke a little louder, or the background music wasn't as loud as this.

[TheStumptube]

I'm new to the Netherlands and just about to pick up a new bike. I'm slightly intimidated by the ridiculous number of roundabouts in my town. Not that I'm not used to roundabouts (we have lots in the UK) but I havent done a lot of cycling on roads, other than when I was a kid and just jumped on and off the footpaths and roads to give me the best advantage.

[pavlovzdog]

Just cycled round Belgium, looking forward to a cycling holiday in the Netherlands next year. Sorry I will have a lid, racing bike and bike packing gear. But as you say it’s what works for me, I’ve seen far to many holes in sculls to not wear one👍🏻. I thought Belgium was stunning I expect The Netherlands to be just as great from what I’ve researched 👍👍👍

[brianbaxter]

Enjoyed this video very much as I'm hoping to cycle there soon. You might be surprised to know much of what you said is a universal. We have toured in the USA, Canada and Europe and people stopping in the middle of a bike path, not signaling(including cars!!), ringing bells (or horns) for no reason, riding in crowds while on a smart phone etc. create the same unsafe situations as in the Netherlands. However in most of our travels, rarely do we find ourselves in the kind of congested trails you would find in your country so i do agree these poor behaviors would likely cause a higher chance of accidents. .
As for helmets I disagree to a certain extent. I've ridden a bike constantly since i was a child and twice a helmet has saved my life. Both times I wasn't racing nor were cars involved. Both accidents would likely not have been avoided by even the most accomplished cyclist.
However in the Netherlands cycling is VERY different. Like you said people by large ride upright bikes. Where as in both my crashes I was on a Cyclocross (road bike type with drop bars). The chances of landing on your head significantly increase. If you are using a race style bike (road bike) or even a mountain bike as you are leaning forward. I believe upright bikes are safer and therefore less likely to cause head trauma.

Keep up the good work!

[abdulrehmanakram.]

Your country is very environment friendly. Cyclist are very very environmental healthy exercise. i love ur country from Pakistan

[gowikuscommunityproduction]

cycling exercise makes the body fresh increase immunity in the body, bright mind, body, healthy, looks like the body will restore new stamina, happy thoughts

[ramonparada]

Here in A Coruña, Spain we got a lot of new bike users and I was trying to create a poster for cycling etiquette because it something that is taking shape now. It is very hard to find information about dutch cycling etiquette and this video and your article is the best one I have found. I am sure that many things are obvious to you and new to us. From what I've seen, maybe to overtake another bicycle you use a short bell, pressing the bell halfway so that it makes a single ding instead of pressing the button all the way (which makes two sounds in a traditional bell)? I'm right or is it my imagination? And when a pedestrian is in the middle of the lane, are multiple rings used I think. Is there any other use for the bell?

I understand that cycling on the right side of the path is to facilitate overtaking. Or is it in case someone comes from the front? I notice that unlike here, all your bike lanes seem to be bidirectional, or at least they are used that way. Here half of them are unidirectional and there are complaints and 200 EUR fines for bicycles that circulate in the wrong direction.

I also have doubts about whether it is allowed to carry umbrellas on the bicycle everywhere (shared areas with cars included) or only in some parts such as bike paths or if you have coaster brake.

Is there any rule about intersections? For example one that considers it rude to overtake other bicycles while they are stopped at a traffic light or because of traffic?

[canaldonevesmaluco]

Thanks for the tips :)
Would you give us your thoughts about buying second-hand bikes versus leasing one (e.g. swapfiets, easyfiets)? For someone that is going to live in Amsterdam longer than a year, is it better to buy one or to lease one?
Thanks a lot

[NHSSHINOBI]

I'm planning on studying abroad in Rotterdam. Just learned they mainly bike. I'm a little on the heavier side, but I do know how to ride a bike. I just require a strong bike. I'm planning on renting a bike once I'm there. I wanted to know, do you perhaps know if they offer extended sized bikes?
Thank you for the video, I learned some good stuff!

[TheDutchcountryside]

Hi all! I hope you enjoyed this weeks video about cycling in The Netherlands. If you have any questions or things you want to know about biking in The Netherlands, I'm always happy to answer them. Have a great week!

[benjaminogle]

what is bike theft like in big cities? I am considering bringing my "racing" bike with me and would want to lock it up outside of shops etc. Is that normal in places like Amsterdam?

[stephenkhan]

very pretty female with very useful info on bikes in amsterdam . thank you X X X

[MrJx]

Can't understand and hear you very well because you have that unnecessary background music too loud and poor audio.

[chennaiuser]

Is the cycle lane one way or Two way ? can i ride cycle in opposite direction (extreme right position for safety)

[fritsX]

Een foto zegt meer dan 100 woorden.
en tram/ trein reel ga je over met 45 % .90%
Frits uit A, dam