While in Amsterdam, Design Within Reach founder Rob Forbes noted the variety of interesting bike accessories he saw on people’s two-wheelers. He took a slew of great photos of bike lamps and bike seats, thinking of them as a source of cultural information. From his blog post, titled “Spotting Bikes and Birds”:
Bike seats… are a window into the design and cultural sensibilities of the place… The majority are classic leather seats (saddles) made by the venerable Brooks Saddle Company – tasteful and preppy, but not particularly functional in the wet Danish climate. The Danes get around this problem by using plastic bags, often elegantly tucked in under their bike seats, as if styled for a J Crew catalog photo shoot. Their choice of bike seats reveals a contrast in the mentalities of the Dutch and Danish. Dutch bike seats are eclectic, practical, casual, unpretentious, and even a little messy… They rarely use expensive brand name seats (fancy leather saddles would get ripped off in Amsterdam).
Link (Thanks, Lawrence Wilkinson!)