Bikes in Germany and Austria

German Postal Bike

Just getting around to showing some of the bikes I saw when we went to Germany last year. This Deutsche Post bike is a true workhorse. It's really built to last, even has wire guards for the tail light! This one's got a full load, which I'm sure is typical. A nice little touch is the flap which covers the seat when parked, keeping the saddle dry during the frequent showers here! 

The most common bike I observed in Munich had a mountain bike frame, fenders, and a bottle type generator attached to the left seatstay with a brazed on bracket. I believe there is a law in Germany mandating lights on bicycles, thus even the most common bike has this wonderful feature. 

A real working bike.

There were a lot of utilitarian, work bikes around. The postal bike is a good example. Here is another; very similar to the old Schwinn "Cycle truck" of the 1940s, I believe Workman Bicycles also manufactures a similar bicycle to this day. 26 inch wheel in back and a 20 inch in front. Note the brakes on this one, drum in front and a coaster in back! That front rack looks like it could carry a hundred pounds! This bike even had the advertisement hung in between the twin top-bars. Finally, notice the stout front stand used to keep both the work bike and the postal bike upright. Super stable, and spring loaded, you just have to push forward and the stand pulls up, out of the way. The bikes in the background are utterly typical of the average citizen's bike in town.

I did a little motorcycle spotting while in Salzburg and Munich as well. There were a fair number of V-Stroms around, I was surprised how many 1000cc models were there, here's one:

 Seen in Salzburg

Also in Salzburg I saw the beautiful Honda Transalp. Looking a lot like a V-Strom:

Honda Transalp.

One very nice looking bike, lot's of nice stuff on it, but probably costing 50% more than a V-Strom. Still, it would be nice to see these in the States. Sadly they have not been offered in over 25 years!

Single Speed mania is also rife in Munich! I couldn't tell if this was a fixed gear or freewheel, but with no toe clips, let's hope it had a freewheel!