Some of you might wonder, why is this bike fully colored in one bright color? Surely they don't sell them like this? That's correct, they don't.
Anyone who visits Amsterdam instantly notices the crazy amount of colored or beat up bikes. In total there are more bicycles than people here in Amsterdam, roughly about 900.000. Official numbers say about 10.000 of those get stolen every year, but everyone here knows that number is far too low. In fact, it's so normal to have your bike stolen here that most people don't even go to the police or bother buying a new one from the store. Most people (mostly students) just buy a stolen bike from a junkie. It's as easy as going to a store. Take 25 bucks with you, go to the city centre at night and you will find junkies walking around asking if anyone wants to buy a bike from them. There are even bicylcle hotlines you can call and someone will personally deliver a freshly stolen bike on order. Personally I don't like this, because this only keeps the negative cycle alive where people only buy stolen bikes which get stolen a week or a month later. Most people just don't care though.
The reason people spraypaint their bike in such an uncommon and hideous way is to reduce the odds of it getting stolen, and it works! This always makes for a lot of colorful canal scenery!
What do you think of this negative cycle of buying stolen bikes from junkies who steal bikes to supply people who just got their own bike stolen?