Some people put their bikes on a bridge or near the canal without locking the bike to something else. Some other people are drunk. Those people take the bike and throw it in the canal and then eventually it ends up in the claw machine.
I remember watching a video on this. The operator of the machine said that its:
-as already mentioned, drunk people
-Windy. Bikes are normally parked right on the canal edge instead of in front the buildings.
Because bicycles are so cheap in the Netherlands, people dont really have issues replacing it. The claw arm barge guy does this everyday because of the massive numbers of bikes that fall in to the canals.
I wonder if there is a really high initial cost in installing railings or if I am missing something...
Just relaying what was said. I wouldn’t want to wheel my brand new bike to the side of the canal, so I suspect that there is a big secondhand market of cheap bikes.
I rarely see bikes in a non-rusted condition when i cycle past these excavations.
I'm often tempted to grab one, but then I realize i'd have to take apart the whole bike to replace and grease the bearings in the hubs, possibly replace bottom bracket, take apart and grease the front fork, and maybe do other wheel work. at this point i've spent money on replacement parts and hours of my time.
and if you want to sell it for anything more than 100eur, it needs to look in good condition, so it's extra time on cleaning it, and likely a new seat etc.
usually the opportunity cost is too great for it to be worth it, and typically the bikes that end up falling in there are not the kind that were worth much to begin with.
the economics of bikes in the netherlands are weird.
everyone in the replies is forgetting about another source of canal bikes: theft.
bikes get stolen all the time and then thrown into a canal to get rid of the evidence, though sometimes resold for like €10 as well. bike theft happens a lot, happens to a dutch person at least once or twice in their life.
source: im dutch
Things sink in the mud and decompose in an oxygen-poor environment. The bacteria byproducts stink. Pulling anything out of the bottom of a river stinks. Especially slow moving rivers with deep sediment.
Canals tend to be very dirty since they go right through cities, and therefore, drunk people end up pissing in them, or things fall in, like these bikes.
I was talking to a guy in Amsterdam last summer who said they often own three bikes - a regular bike, an e-bike, and a cheap, presumably stolen bike they bought off a junkie for €2 outside a bar one night just to get home.
After a great growing season, this years harvest of freshly grown bikes is in. They’ll be sent for processing and will
soon be gracing our shop shelves
I'm just happy for those kids watching, I get second-hand excitement imagining seeing this as a kid. tickles my neurodivergent brain in a nice way. the kid in yellow flapping his hands gets it.
This, this is my dream job.
Dude plays the claw game for free all day long he’s living a better life than all of us
Dude is getting paid to play claw game.
The prizes suck, but it seems like a good trade off.
But that was a nice huffy
Why are there so many bikes in the canal? Are you supposed to put then in there when you buy a new bike?
If anybody in Amsterdam is reading this, zip tie a pool noodle onto your bike ffs
Some people put their bikes on a bridge or near the canal without locking the bike to something else. Some other people are drunk. Those people take the bike and throw it in the canal and then eventually it ends up in the claw machine.
They also dump their Christmas trees in the canals. Which is extra stupid since the city picks them up for “free” through taxes paid.
Huh. Turns out even if you live in one of the smartest designed countries in the world, there are still idiots there too
But the great thing is, if you regulate and provide services like this, it doesn’t matter for everyone else that there are idiots.
The main post was speculating that it was the result of biking while intoxicated.
I remember watching a video on this. The operator of the machine said that its:
-as already mentioned, drunk people
-Windy. Bikes are normally parked right on the canal edge instead of in front the buildings.
Because bicycles are so cheap in the Netherlands, people dont really have issues replacing it. The claw arm barge guy does this everyday because of the massive numbers of bikes that fall in to the canals.
I wonder if there is a really high initial cost in installing railings or if I am missing something...
I thought bikes were pretty expensive in the Netherlands, unless you are buying from a thief
Just relaying what was said. I wouldn’t want to wheel my brand new bike to the side of the canal, so I suspect that there is a big secondhand market of cheap bikes.
I think it could be quite cheap to fix these bikes.
I rarely see bikes in a non-rusted condition when i cycle past these excavations.
I'm often tempted to grab one, but then I realize i'd have to take apart the whole bike to replace and grease the bearings in the hubs, possibly replace bottom bracket, take apart and grease the front fork, and maybe do other wheel work. at this point i've spent money on replacement parts and hours of my time.
and if you want to sell it for anything more than 100eur, it needs to look in good condition, so it's extra time on cleaning it, and likely a new seat etc.
usually the opportunity cost is too great for it to be worth it, and typically the bikes that end up falling in there are not the kind that were worth much to begin with.
the economics of bikes in the netherlands are weird.
Have you BEEN to Amsterdam? The sheer volume of bikes makes this inevitable just from accidents.
I never have been there, i know it is very very bike focused.
It is, there are dozens of bikes locked to dozens of bridges. Give me a shout if you fancy a weekend there, I'd love another trip to Dam!
That would be a visit for sure.
The bike someone stole on the drunk not that seldom ends up in a canal / river.
At least here in Sweden. Guess it is the same in Netherlands.
I think I need to be drunk to fully comprehend your comment
everyone in the replies is forgetting about another source of canal bikes: theft.
bikes get stolen all the time and then thrown into a canal to get rid of the evidence, though sometimes resold for like €10 as well. bike theft happens a lot, happens to a dutch person at least once or twice in their life.
source: im dutch
if my grandmother had wheels she'd be a bicycle!
But what about my carbonara recipe?
https://i.redd.it/kall5ds4699g1.gif
It’s like burning man, underwater.
Imagine the smell of those bicycles after they've been soaking in Amsterdam piss canal water for weeks, ugh
Why piss canal .. I always tough that river have fishes and get a fun swimming time ...I not from Holland
Things sink in the mud and decompose in an oxygen-poor environment. The bacteria byproducts stink. Pulling anything out of the bottom of a river stinks. Especially slow moving rivers with deep sediment.
Canals tend to be very dirty since they go right through cities, and therefore, drunk people end up pissing in them, or things fall in, like these bikes.
"fall"
The water quality in Amsterdams is pretty good. Technically not suitable for swimming, but close.
That's only when they're stale, but these canals are "flushed" constantly.
Well now that’s a boatload of bikes!
Technically a barge.
How many bikes could a boat bundle if that boat is a big barge.
I have this cartoonish image in my head of him accidently grabbing a big chain and pulling a giant drain plug out of the canal.
That's what I thought too before clicking play.
That's happened. Search "Chesterfield canal 1978".
Ha! That's wild. I often wonder how much forgotten infrastructure is buried around our cities. Just one oops away from being rediscovered.
I was talking to a guy in Amsterdam last summer who said they often own three bikes - a regular bike, an e-bike, and a cheap, presumably stolen bike they bought off a junkie for €2 outside a bar one night just to get home.
I legit though this was fake until I googled it. Over 15,000 bikes a year get fished out of the canals…what the actual fuck.
There are about 881000 bicycles in Amsterdam. So that means that anually, 1 in 60 or so ends up in a canal.
I like how they give it a bit of a rinse before throwing it in the barge
https://i.redd.it/d120g5p0x89g1.gif
I feel like a large magnet would do a better job
After a great growing season, this years harvest of freshly grown bikes is in. They’ll be sent for processing and will soon be gracing our shop shelves
https://i.redd.it/3r33n5cdia9g1.gif
This is what I thought when the bicycle was being pulled out
This is depressing. There's dicks all over the world.
OnlyBikes
There is not enough videos of bike mining. Interesting to see the next refining steps before they are being sold.
The lost Cycles of Atlantis
I always wondered how many bikes end up in the canals! Wow!!!
Damn kids….
Why don't they get rid of the attached sludge as well? For that matter, why not just drain the canal?
Y'all need some guardrails
Man, the little guy in the yellow shirt is having the best day ever.
Get some railing
I'm just happy for those kids watching, I get second-hand excitement imagining seeing this as a kid. tickles my neurodivergent brain in a nice way. the kid in yellow flapping his hands gets it.