Thoughts on a Dutch bike?

[MarkF]

I would get a 6 speed hybrid bike from decathlon with rim brakes. No front derailleur. I think they are no more Than £150 (some even come with mudguards and rack).

I have found derailleur type gears to be incredibly reliable. If you don't want to maintain it I would just replace it every 2 years ( and sell the old one).

The Riverside? Most Spanish rental shops stock those, I don't fly out my bike for short trips so just rent them and have done several tours on them with luggage. They are incredible value, really basic but really tough. Ugly too.

 

[overmind]

The Riverside? Most Spanish rental shops stock those, I don't fly out my bike for short trips so just rent them and have done several tours on them with luggage. They are incredible value, really basic but really tough. Ugly too.

Yes. That is the one. I rented one of these from a hotel in Rincon de la Victoria and cycled 20 miles along the coast to Malaga (and back). The thing was bombproof. I thought I might get a puncture but I was fine. It was an absolutely fantastic ride. The funny thing was that it was light rain all day; but it was warm rain and I did not mind a bit.

Riverside 100 (fantastic value)

 

[Notafettler]

An power assist electric bike is an obvious choice as most of the quality ones come with hub gears.
Hub gears are necessity as resetting deraillures is a pain which I never got the hang off.
So hub gears a definite.
Disc brakes last longer than rim brakes and are not that hard to renew yourself. Cable or hydraulic? I think hydraulic no cable....damn cant make my mind up!
And marathon plus tyres with inner tubes that contain green slime just for extra bit of protection.
A better option in terms of gears is Rohloff a bit over the top though.
Not sure I would be looking at a Dutch bike. A town bike is lighter (I assume) and you could always get a more appropriate handle bars. Butterfly handlebars set more upright.
One of the advantages of a more upright position is you can actually see what's around you. I spot more things the more upright I am.

 

[mjr]

Not sure I would be looking at a Dutch bike. A town bike is lighter (I assume)

Assumption is the mother of all...

Town bikes are generally heavier than Dutch ones because the front racks are much beefier, to carry all the goods.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Hillls are about gearing. If you have low enough gearing it’ll be fine. No harder than any other bike. For a 7 mile ride your speed doesn’t matter that much, does it? So see what you can find for Dutch style bikes with hub gears.

 

[Older then dirt]

I had one of the more modern, heavier duty Dutch bikes (a Batavus Entree) for a while in London, it was quite nice in a way (in that it was built like a tank and there weren't any others about). They're certainly good if you don't like maintenance (it had a Nexus Hub gear and roller brakes). On the downside they weigh an absolute ton, I mean not just heavy, they're super-heavyweight and really hard to manhandle, say if you need to cross a railway bridge. If you've ever ridden a Santander hire bike in London they feel and handle roughly similar.
If you mean the more traditional / retro Dutch bike (Batavus do one called the "Old Dutch") they're lighter, a little less bomb-proof, and even simpler, usually 3 speed.

I wouldn't want to regularly ride 20 miles on either one, or at least not unless I lived in Norfolk, and I was in "norfolking" hurry whatsoever.
They're likeable, but not designed for effficient distance covering.

To give a small insight into how most "Dutch" bikes are used I have a mate in Amsterdam who rides the bike below, but only for town use. He will do about 5-6 miles on it, maybe around the city to meet friends, bits of shopping (He says the front box is good for a slab of beer) and then ride back to his flat, but anything outside of the city and he rides a road bike.
View attachment 529165

Looks like I will need to see about a bike similar to a Dutch bike but lighter in weight. Thanks for help

 

[Older then dirt]

It's now got a nicer saddle on it, and matching white wall tyres:

View attachment 529228

Unfortunately it's so hilly where we're living at the moment, and the only flat route (canal towpath) is such a nightmare for punctures, that it hasn't seen much use over the past couple of years.

We're moving to Bristol at some point, and I'm looking forward to riding it along the Bristol-Bath old railway line to visit friends

Very classy, reminds me of the triumph or Hercules

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I been looking for a bike that's low maintenance and easy to repair, a bike that is a workhorse and durable. The nearest I can remember is a sit up an beg type bike, the downside is weight on these bikes but if you come to a steep incline or hill walk it up. A good cyclist mate said how abt Dutch bike! So thought I would ask you guys, has anyone got one these bikes ......how do you find them to ride? Would such a bike be suitable for up to 15/20 mile round trip? A bike that is a dependable and reliable is more important to my needs on day to day basis

A traditional steel framed 3-speed is the ultimate in low-hassle, low-maintenance, low-cost cycling. Weight varies by a large amount according to the style of machine and how fully loaded it is with accessories. the lightweight end is 26" wheels and 35lbs, the heavyweight on 28" wheels, with dyno lights, hub brakes and anything else you could conceivably need can get closer to 50 lbs.

I wouldn't want to regularly ride 20 miles on either one, or at least not unless I lived in Norfolk, and I was in "norfolking" hurry whatsoever.
They're likeable, but not designed for effficient distance covering.

Town/dutch bikes are lovely but I think only for short ideally flat trips that are less than 3 or 4 miles.

I regularly do 20+ mile rides on my 3-speed Raleigh Dawn Tourist, which is as traditional as they come. Distance is not an issue so long as you stick a water bottle in your saddlebag and lose the "speed really matters" mindset and just enjoy the scenery. Gearing is Sturmey AW (Always Works as @mjr correctly points out) and you get gears of 50", 63", and 84". The middle gear is perfect for pootling along the flat.

At 41 lbs in weight, it certainly isn't the fastest or easiest thing to get uphill, but in it's 50" Low gear I can generally get it to the top of whatever I'm climbing without walking it up. You don't ride standing up to climb gradients on these things though, you stay in the saddle grit your teeth and build up your leg muscles!

The notion of "efficiency" depends on how you quantify it. A lightweight road bike might get you further in the same time, or further for the same energy expenditure, but what about the non-riding time? I get the impression on here that a lot of people spend nearly as much time cleaning and tinkering with their road bikes after a ride as they do riding it. On the other hand all a 3-speed needs is air in the tyres and an occasional squirt of oil - and that's it. You jump on, ride, and jump off. No arsing around with toothbrush cleaning and polishing rituals. The time saved on not doing all that nonsense will more than make up for the fact they are a bit slower.

 

[mjr]

Gearing is Sturmey AW (Always Works as @mjr correctly points out) and you get gears of 50", 63", and 84". The middle gear is perfect for pootling along the flat.

I'm with Sheldon Brown on this: top gear is my flat pootler (admittedly a brisk one at 72") but that means bottom gear is 42" which got me up the biggest hill in the Netherlands and I think I would have made it up the 14% from Belgium into Luxembourg if I hadn't stopped to let a tractor past!

 

[DCBassman]

Jeepers...my bottom gear is about 22" on the Scott (23lb) and 19.5" on the Trek (33lb).
I obviously am not trying hard enough!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I wouldn't want to ride with the 3-speed gearing I've got in a hilly place like say, Cornwall. Most of my mileage is on fairly flat terrain give or take a couple of percent. A small proportion does involve real gradients like bridges and natural hills, but these are a small enough percentage of my mileage to be treated as a brief muscle-builder interval in between my normal pootling level of ride intensity. If I was getting sore knees after my 3-speed rides, that would be the warning sign that maybe I was grinding a bit too hard and needed to lower my gears a bit.
On a 20-ish miler, it's manageable and not too much of a leg killer. If I'm going to ride 30 or more miles I will always use a bike with a wider gear range, just so it's available. You never know when the wind might change direction or you develop a painful twinge that dictates a lower effort level to limp home with.

 

[mjr]

Jeepers...my bottom gear is about 22" on the Scott (23lb) and 19.5" on the Trek (33lb).
I obviously am not trying hard enough!

Presumably both derailleured? One really can get by with a bit higher bottom gear on a hub gear / single-speed / fixed with its thicker ⅛" chain under good tension - and when you can't, it's a nice day for a walk...

 

[DCBassman]

Presumably both derailleured? One really can get by with a bit higher bottom gear on a hub gear / single-speed / fixed with its thicker ⅛" chain under good tension - and when you can't, it's a nice day for a walk...

Absolutely deraillured...It's real lumpy around here!

 

[mjr]

Absolutely deraillured...It's real lumpy around here!

I know. I don't remember what bottom gear on my road bike was but it wasn't low enough! I think I migh end up with a seriously warranty-voiding 33-44-59 inches on an AW if I lived there and would still walk some.

 

[Chris S]

Yes. That is the one. I rented one of these from a hotel in Rincon de la Victoria and cycled 20 miles along the coast to Malaga (and back). The thing was bombproof. I thought I might get a puncture but I was fine. It was an absolutely fantastic ride. The funny thing was that it was light rain all day; but it was warm rain and I did not mind a bit.

Riverside 100 (fantastic value)
View attachment 529354

Have you seen the reviews for these?
Bike is not good enough
Good bike, if you use it infrequently

Decathlon's response was the same, "Thank you for posting a review of this bike. Indeed it is not intended for daily use ..."
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/hyc-riverside-100-black-cn-id_8405298.html