Amsterdam plans fat-bike ban in busiest areas of the city

Amsterdam’s municipal leaders want to remove fat bikes from the city’s busiest zones and are exploring whether a local regulation could make that possible. The city argues that the national authorities have been too slow in developing measures to curb the problems associated with fat bikes.

“I receive messages every week from Amsterdammers who say they no longer dare to go out on the road and who beg me to ban fat bikes. So I feel it is my duty to try everything within my power to address this problem,” says traffic alderman Melanie van der Horst. “For 3 years, we’ve been asking the national government to introduce measures to deal with fat bikes. And in the meantime, the problems have only gotten worse, with more unsafe fat bikes on the road and more accidents, sometimes involving very young children.”

The first place expected to see a fat-bike ban is the Vondelpark, a park widely used by cyclists, walkers, families, dog owners, and people exercising. Ambulance records indicate a high number of accidents in the area.

Once the Vondelpark is addressed, the city will consider additional crowded locations for similar restrictions, guided by complaints about disturbances and traffic dangers. Amsterdam used the same approach when it removed the beer bike from the city center.

According to the alderman, many fat-bike users ride too fast, lack helmets, and rely on inadequate braking systems. She adds that they are also regularly involved in intimidating conduct and are difficult to identify afterward, since fat bikes are not subject to a license plate requirement.

Last year, a Amsterdam police check found that over half of the inspected fat bikes had been modified to exceed the legal speed limit of 25 km/h. During the inspection of 215 fat bikes, authorities issued citations to 117 riders, and more than 20 bikes were seized.

Figures from VeiligheidNL and emergency departments show a growing number of accidents involving e-bikes, fat bikes included. In a recent year of measurement in the Amsterdam area, about 60 percent of those injured were riding fat bikes, with a significant share of the victims being younger than 18.