Bicycle culture in Hannover

First of all, let me say hello to everyone and thank you for opening this thread and hopefully contributing your opinion.

My name is Holly and I just wrote about biking and such on my blog (http://hollymaus.blogspot.com/2009/06/biking-culture-in-america-vs-europe.html) and now I'm wondering what your opinion is on this topic. You may either comment here on this thread or my blog but I prefer you comment here on this thread for the benefit of other Toytown Germany members.

Some questions I have:

I am relocating to Hannover permanently in August and would like to know if Fisher is a brand there that is easy to find for bikes? If not, it is worth it to purchase one in the states and have it packed with my furniture and shipping over via boat instead?
I already have an int'l relo company that I'm working with on my move and they can easily include the bike with my current personal belongings. I don't want to arrive in Hannover to find the bike is hundreds of dollars more. Any ideas?

How does bike insurance work in Germany, any suggestions on how to get it?

What is the average cost for bike insurance?

How do you avoid theft? Any bike locks you suggest? I heard theft is very low in Hannover on bikes, which is good news, but I still want to be safe.

When biking in designated bike lanes on the roads, do you need to take a test and get some type of bicycle license or is it just a matter of using hand signals and obeying general road laws?

Anything else you'd like to add about biking in Hannover?

Best,
Holly

Hi Holly!

I just made the move to Hannover myself in April, and while I don't yet have a bike (I have been looking for one at used bike shops) I can answer a few of your questions.

I'm not familiar with the Fisher brand, and so far the only brand (American) that I've recognized here is Specialized, the rest I would imagine are German.

Bike insurance is easy to get through any standard insurance company. I have a friend who works for VHV here in Hannover and he's already helped me get insurance for my dog, personal insurance and car insurance. Not sure about the cost, but I can inquire if you're interested.

Everywhere that I've been so far in Hannover has designated bike lanes, mostly on the sidewalks with some parts having them on the side of the road.

I've asked my German partner, there are no tests or bike licenses that he's aware of, and again from general observation, it seems that most people observe the lights and occasionally use hand signals. But the most disturbing part for me is that they don't tend to announce themselves to pedestrians like people do in California and I've had a few close calls with cyclists.

Not sure about the actual theft rate, but in the downtown area it appears that most everyone locks up their bikes with a wide variety of locks. However my neighbors where I live don't lock up their bikes which they park by the back entrance to the building (I live in Mittelfeld).

Hope this helps, and looking forward to responses from others.

Zachary

Thank you so much Zachary, I greatly appreciate the feedback. Where are you from in CA? That's my favorite US state, so beautiful there and the coastline is gorgeous.
I can't wait to buy a bicycle, here in the states I live in New Hampshire and DRIVE everywhere because there's no way you can bike here without getting killed or badly injured by the traffic. I can't wait to live more "green" and get rid of my car and just walk/cycle everywhere. It will be so wonderful to have a change of lifestyle for the better like this.

How are you adjusting to German life vs. America?

Do you speak German?

What brought you to Hannover?

Nice talking to you!

Holly

Hi Holly,
Drahtesel
Fahrradkontor
Keha-sport
Radgeber Linden

Here's the link to the General German Bicycle Club

No bicycle test is necessary
A helmet is advisable. I also wear a dayglo waistcoat as an extra precaution for the pedestrians and drivers that seem to go through life with their eyes shut!
Be careful especially when trucks and semis (for those Brits who may be reading this response, I apologise for the Americanisms) are turning in your direction - they have a blind spot that a cyclist neatly fills, with usually disasterous consequences for said cyclist!
A good make of lock is ABUS - a little pricey maybe, but relatively secure!
There are a couple of danger spots in the Hannover bicycle network - I think the most notable is around the Steintor traffic island.
In the inner city (downtown?), there aren't too many cycle paths, and the pedestrian area, which does allow bicycle traffic after 19:00 (7:00 p.m.), is usually very crowded.
What area of Hannover are you moving to?

You're welcome Holly! I come from the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. I definitely liked the diversity that California had to offer, both in people and landscape. I think one of the best things I like about Germany is seeing people of all ages riding bikes, and that it's not just a "leisure hobby" like it is in California but daily transportation. I've seen people older than my mother riding a bike home with their basket filled with daily groceries.

I'm ... adjusting. I took 2 years of German but would by no means call myself fluent in the language. I just signed up for a language class which begins in a week, I'm hoping that this will accelerate my learning progress.

I moved here to be with my partner of 3 years, we have our Lebenspartnerschaft (Life Partnership) at the end of July which will give me both the ability to work and live here, something sadly no state in the U.S. offers the same-sex foreign partners of U.S. citizens. I guess we all do crazy things for love, mine was giving up my life in the U.S. and moving here.

We did the English Speakers group in June and met a lot of great people, I highly recommend you give it a try once you're here. It was nice to hear stories from other ex-pats about their observations here in Germany.

this is my favourite bike shop: http://www.radup.de/
I've been buying my bikes at Ricarda's for more than 10 years now.

here are more shops: http://www.fahrrad-hannover.de/fahrradshops_pu.html

there is a bicycle fair in Hanover which is held annually: http://www.fahrradpavillon.de/ (next one to take place in spring 2010)

bike insurance goes usually with a hausratversicherung . as you probably will not have much "Hausrat" you may consider a Fahrradversicherung - I found this test which is from 2005 but gives a good first impression nonetheless. Zusammenfassung hier

This recommendation on how to not get your bike stolen is universal (Tim Dowling,guardian.