What is a Fietser?

‘Fietser’ is the Dutch word for ‘cyclist’ – or more specifically, someone who uses a bicycle for transport.

The Dutch seem to have a few words to describe different types of cyclist. The most common ones being:

  • Wielrenner – someone who rides bicycles for sport or fitness (think: road cyclist)
  • Fietser – someone who rides a bicycle for other purposes (think: commuting, shopping, visiting friends, running errands)

It’s interesting that the Dutch make this distinction, because in a lot of other countries in the world these two different uses of bicycles are often blended into one.

Most of the bikes sold in Ireland are sporty – such as road bikes and mountain bikes – or a sports/utility cross – such as hybrid bikes. It’s a lot rarer to see the utility bikes that the Dutch fietsers would ride.

However that’s starting to change slowly, as more and more people outside of places like The Netherlands or Denmark learn about the benefits of upright transport bikes. It’s just a shame we don’t have the language in English to describe this type of bicycle (and type of cycling) in just one word.

Omafiets

Translated as ‘Grandma Bike’ is the most common type of bicycle in The Netherlands, with an upright seated position and a step-through frame. It will come complete with a chain guard and skirt guard on the back wheel so that the rider can dress for the destination, rather than the ride!

Mamafiets

Translated as ‘Mummy Bike’ (or Moederfiets / mother bike) is a variation on the omafiets that has a child seat attached at the back or the front.

Opafiets

Translated as ‘Grandpa Bike’ – it is the same style of bike but with one or two cross-bars, normally to make the bike more robust to carry heavier weights.

Bakfiets

Translated as ‘Cargo Bike’ – this allows people to transport children and/or shopping or goods around. Families sometimes use a bakfiets instead of owning a car.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *