Ein verkehrssicheres Fahrrad
The bike you have been lent has a working back brake and a front brake lever that does nothing. What do you do?
Erklärung: Two brakes that work independently are a legal requirement, and the front one does most of the stopping. A bike with one brake is not road-legal and stops far too slowly in the wet.
Your bike has lights, reflectors and two good brakes, but no bell. What is missing for it to be road-legal?
Erklärung: A clear-sounding bell is on the legal list. It is cheap, it takes two minutes to fit, and shouting does not count.
It is five in the afternoon in November and getting dark. Your bike has lights but you have not switched them on. What do you do?
Erklärung: Lights must be on at dusk, in darkness and in poor visibility — and the front light is not only so you can see, it is how oncoming traffic finds you.
You are checking a second-hand bike. It has a headlamp, a rear light, and nothing on the pedals or in the wheels. What is missing?
Erklärung: Reflectors are the half of the lighting rules that works when your batteries are flat: yellow ones on the pedals front and back, and two per wheel — or reflective strips on tyres or rims.
You press the tyre before setting off and it gives way easily under your thumb. What do you do?
Erklärung: That is the A of the check. A soft tyre makes the steering vague, the braking worse, and a puncture much more likely at every kerb.
The bike has no dynamo, only clip-on battery lights front and back. What do you do?
Erklärung: The dynamo requirement is gone. What still matters is that both lights are actually fitted, actually on, and have charge in them.
You may be fined in Germany for riding a bicycle without a helmet.
Erklärung: There is no helmet law here, for adults or children. It is still the cheapest protection you can buy against the one injury that changes a life, so wear one anyway.
A loud air horn on the handlebar satisfies the bell requirement.
Erklärung: The law asks for a bell with a bright, clear tone. A horn is not a bell, and on a shared path it startles people rather than warning them.
How many brakes must a road-legal bicycle have in Germany?
Antwort:
two, working independently
Erklärung: One front, one rear, each able to stop the bike on its own.
What colour is the light at the front of a bicycle?
Antwort:
white
Erklärung: White at the front, red at the back — the same convention as every vehicle.
What colour is the light at the back of a bicycle?
Antwort:
red
Erklärung: Red rear light plus a red reflector; a light alone is not enough.
What colour are the reflectors on the pedals?
Antwort:
yellow
Erklärung: Yellow, facing forward and backward. Moving up and down as you pedal, they are the most recognisable thing about a cyclist at night.
When must the lights be switched on?
Hattest du es gewusst?
Antwort:
at dusk, in the dark, and in poor visibility
Erklärung: Fog, heavy rain and tunnels count as poor visibility, whatever the time of day.
What are the three things in the quick check before you ride?
Antwort:
air, brakes, chain
Erklärung: And the fourth that people forget in summer and need in November: the lights.
Name the six things the law requires on a bicycle.
Hattest du es gewusst?
Antwort:
two brakes, bell, front light and reflector, rear light and reflector, pedal reflectors, wheel reflectors
Erklärung: A synthesis card. Each item also has its own card, so a half-remembered list here is a signal to go back to the single ones.
What does the German word "Klingel" mean?
Antwort:
bell
Erklärung: You will see it on every shop shelf labelled Fahrradklingel.
What does the German word "verkehrssicher" mean, said of a bicycle?
Hattest du es gewusst?
Antwort:
road-legal and safe to ride
Erklärung: Literally "traffic-safe". A bike shop asked to make a bike verkehrssicher will work through exactly the list above.
A bicycle with one strong brake is road-legal in Germany.
Erklärung: The law asks for two brakes that work independently of each other, so one can fail without leaving you with none.
Which pair of lights is right for a bicycle?
Erklärung: White looks ahead, red is seen from behind — the same as on a car. Yellow is for the reflectors on the pedals and wheels.
It is dark. On the cycle path ahead you see a small white light. What does it tell you?
Erklärung: White lights face forwards. A white light you can see is pointing at you, so its rider is coming your way; a bicycle riding away shows you red.
Which colour are the reflectors on a bicycle's pedals?
Erklärung: Yellow on the pedals and in the wheels; red is the rear reflector, white the front one.
What does the law require on the handlebar so that people can hear you coming?
Antwort:
a bell
Erklärung: A bell with a clear sound — a horn or a whistle does not count.
In the quick A-B-C check before a ride, what does the A stand for?
Erklärung: Air, brakes, chain — press each tyre, pull each brake, look at the chain. Two minutes before every ride.
In thick fog at midday you may ride without lights, because it is daytime.
Erklärung: Lights go on at dusk, in the dark and in poor visibility — fog, heavy rain and tunnels count, whatever the clock says.
Your lights must be on in the dark, in poor visibility, and from … ?
Antwort:
dusk
Erklärung: Not from the moment it is fully dark — from dusk.
A bicycle ridden at night has to have a dynamo.
Erklärung: The dynamo requirement went in 2017. Battery lights are allowed, as long as both are fitted, switched on and charged.
Instead of a dynamo, a bicycle's lights may also run on … ?
Antwort:
batteries
Erklärung: Allowed since 2017; clip-on lights count, if they are on and charged.