[Academic Survey] The Netherlands: How did the e-Bike become so popular?

[T_savez]

Hi All!

I am writing a thesis to understand why the Netherlands is the market leader in electric bike in terms of sales and use.

If you live in the Netherlands, and use an electric bike I need your participation in this 3 min survey. I greatly appreciate each contribution to electric bike literature.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SVWHBGC

Kind regards!

T

(Survey will ask for age, gender, economic status and opinions on e-Bike).

 

[Ann M.]

@T_savez, this sounds interesting. Can't provide you any answers since I don't live in the Netherlands but I'm curious about where you do your studies and how you got interested in this issue.

Also, if you haven't done so already, post your survey at Pedelecs.co.uk is a great ebike community in the UK that may have more members who live in the Netherlands.

 

[ebikemom]

Academic standards at most universities would require that you provide your real name and contact information to participants. Did you go through the IRB at your university for this?

Also, if you want to survey people who live in the Netherlands, your survey should be in Dutch, to get a broader range of people replying to your survey.

 

[Ann M.]

FYI, although the survey is in English, I did a little research and 90 to 93% of the people living in Holland speak English as well as Dutch; it's the primary language of research & business there.

 

[Perusercruiser]

The Netherlands being flat as a pancake would probably play a lot into the national obsession with bikes, if I was to take an educated guess.

 

[Countrygent]

The Netherlands being flat as a pancake would probably play a lot into the national obsession with bikes, if I was to take an educated guess.

Agreed. All around the world flat cities have more "non-sport" cycling? Ebikes should help cycling become a more realistic daily transportation option in a lot more places with greater elevation changes?

 

[ebikemom]

Urbanization and public transportation systems also encourage cycling to get from home to transportation hubs, even if there are lots of hills (like in Japan). When I was in Japan, I walked my bike up a l-o-n-g hill to get home, as did lots of other people. Ebikes have become HUGE in Japan, and I think the combination of well-established public transport, a strong culture of cycling, the hilly environment, consumers with money to spend, and established manufacturers ready to venture into ebiking well explains the ebike boom there.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

The Netherlands being flat as a pancake would probably play a lot into the national obsession with bikes, if I was to take an educated guess.

That's also why nearly all the bikes you see there are 3-speeds with coaster brakes. You don't need a mountain triple crankset and disc brakes in that kind of environment.

One other thing that makes cycling popular for the Dutch is their mild climate. Not too hot in the summer and never grossly cold in the winter. Kind of like Portland, Oregon with windmills. And marijuana. Although Portland is catching up on the latter.

 

[T_savez]

@T_savez, this sounds interesting. Can't provide you any answers since I don't live in the Netherlands but I'm curious about where you do your studies and how you got interested in this issue.

Also, if you haven't done so already, post your survey at Pedelecs.co.uk is a great ebike community in the UK that may have more members who live in the Netherlands.

I do my studies at the University of Manchester. I got interested in 2015 when looking at ways to tackle urban sprawl across the UK and developed nations.

The bike has so far failed to attract motorists to cycle, so the e-Bike kind of faciliates less effort, whilst getting some activity, while coming to work less sweaty. There are other reasons but this just for a gist of things.

 

[T_savez]

Academic standards at most universities would require that you provide your real name and contact information to participants. Did you go through the IRB at your university for this?

Also, if you want to survey people who live in the Netherlands, your survey should be in Dutch, to get a broader range of people replying to your survey.

Thank you for your reply. If you would like my real name and contact information, please PM. I have signed the ethics form and do not ask for sensitive or overly private information (like income, for example).

Most people in Holland speak English, my supervisor is Dutch and I have friends there who speak English. They approved for this to be in English.

 

[T_savez]

I see the terrain is a key factor, but in cities like London, Manchester, there must be some potential to become e-Bike hubs?

Also if the terrain is flat, and not hilly, would you not expect less e-Bike use as you do not need assistance going up?

 

[Deleted member 18083]

The Netherlands is the market leader in electric bike in terms of sales and use.

T ...
I think you need to be wary of confirmation bias backed up by selective evidence.

Also: Is the Netherlands really the market leader in ebike sales and use? What about China? And is there any meaningful way of comparing such dissimilar countries?
... David

 

[ebikemom]

Great points, David!

Selective evidence is a difficult thing to avoid in internet survey research--respondents are already interested in a topic, or they don't respond. In the write-up, this needs to be mentioned, definitely.