You remember/heard of Les & Helen from Ottawa, Canada, right? No? Ok, a short recap of what I posted before is in order then.
Les & Helen decided on spending their 2 weeks vacation cycling the Netherlands. In good spirits, and inspired by yours truly, they opted to leave their helmets, gear and mountain bikes at [...]
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Just an Amsterdam native who won't take his city and its cycling extravaganza for granted anymore, thinking these posts might be clues to others, inspiration perhaps, if you will...
You remember/heard of Les & Helen from Ottawa, Canada, right? No? Ok, a short recap of what I posted before is in order then.
Helen & Les
Les & Helen decided on spending their 2 weeks vacation cycling the Netherlands. In good spirits, and inspired by yours truly, they opted to leave their helmets, gear and mountain bikes at home and rent hybrids here. That changed, too, as it often is the case with epiphanies. They bought their own, genuine Dutch bikes, enabling them to comfortably cruise down a big portion of the 11.000 kilometers of bike lanes in the Netherlands and upon return to Amsterdam, boxed them up and took them home.
Lovely, yes. Well, the story doesn’t end there, it’s just beginning! Les put the bikes back together again and went out for a spin around the neighborhood. Little did he know that Helen was trailing him, knowing very well the footage would be ideal for (an also new, improved, enhanced, aka reborn) Cyclemania TV.
Nice - I’d never have thought of that soundtrack, but it works beautifully!
Les added these cyclelicious words on October 1, 2008 |Permalink
@Karl —- Bob Marley goes well with everything.
Am I near my “15 minutes of fame”? Bueller? Anybody?
Les added these cyclelicious words on October 1, 2008 |Permalink
@ Marc: In retrospect I was “pumping it”. Poor Helen was attempting to keep up with one hand on the handlebar and the other on the camera. Oh, what would life be like with A GorilaPod?
Tiago added these cyclelicious words on October 1, 2008 |Permalink
Amsterdamize the world !
This story is something !
And like you said Marc, it’s just beginning !
Lovely !
Dave added these cyclelicious words on October 1, 2008 |Permalink
Just out of curiosity, about how much do you think the “average” traditional dutch bike that most people buy and use everyday costs in Amsterdam? I know that’s kind of broad, but a kind of broad answer is ok too :)
I just recently got an Electra Amsterdam (the classic model, with the back rack, skirt guard and generator headlight) and I’ve been loving commuting to work on it as well as grocery shopping, going to the library, etc. I think it’s now officially my most enjoyable form of transportation for short trips (4-5 miles and under).
Just in case anyone wants to see a bit of Portland, OR, I’ve posted (and hopefully will continue to post) some pictures and a couple videos on my blog:
Hi Dave! The most average Dutch bike people buy here are still the Opa and Oma fietsen. You can get a solid second hand one for between 100 and 200 euros. New ones start at about 250 euros. Really basic, no gears, coaster braking etc. If you want (3) gears and hand brakes, they start at around 350 Euros.
Congrats on your Electra Amsterdam, that’s a nice bike. It is different, though, from the original models (not strange, since Electra is an American company, doing good business modifying them for the US market. Your gents model for instance has a smaller and angled frame and smaller wheels (26 inch).
The build quality of the Electra Amsterdam is pretty good for the price, but since you asked, if you want to equate, it’s about the same quality as the ones I mentioned above.
You may have heard of the recent call backs for the Electra Amsterdam, but I wouldn’t worry too much, it was more about the sheer amount of bikes that were sold already than the actual problem. What I’m trying to say is, on the US market that bike is good value for money. Until one of the big Dutch bike companies decide it’s time to completely go after the US market, it’s up to companies like Electra to either import high end Dutch bikes or leverage on the uptake of this type of bike by building a version of them.
I’m glad you like it so much and if you read more of my posts, you’ll get a lot of ‘ah ha!’ moments, as it is still, after a 100 years, the most comfortable, easy and healthy riding position you’ll ever experience.
By the way, Søren is a nice name/philosopher, but as an Amsterdammer I almost feel offended! How about Erasmus? :-p
Dave added these cyclelicious words on October 1, 2008 |Permalink
Don’t worry, I have nothing against Dutch folks (in fact, I really like the ones I’ve met) - but none of the names I could find quite seemed to fit :) If it makes you feel better, I considered Andries for a while :) En, Ik ben gek op Amsterdam!! :)
I really do love the riding position on the bike - I get home feeling more comfortable than I do riding the bus most of the time.
I would definitely consider buying an actual Dutch or Danish bike, if they ever did become widely imported and the price came down a bit. At the moment, you can get bikes by companies such as Azor and Retrovelo (a german company) in stores in Portland, and one shop even sells bakfietsen, but they start at $1,800 (1,280 euros) and go up from there, with the bakfiets at $3,000. So, the $500 Electra is a pretty good second option, being just about the only utility style bike made in the US :) Around here it’s mostly racing bikes and mountain bikes, unfortunately. Our bike culture is definitely more sport-focused.
Oh well, doesn’t mean some of us can’t ride in style :)
You got a good sense of humor, Dave, and if I had been of the religious persuasion I would have said ‘Amen to that’! Andries, that would have been awesome…;-p
Yup, it’s a good ride for your money these days. The Azors and such are beautiful, sturdy, quality, high-end bikes (see Les & Helen above), importing them has a price, for sure! I’d know, Henry who ships those to them, told me :-p.
You ride it well, Dave, show those pesky Lances on the road!
Les added these cyclelicious words on October 2, 2008 |Permalink
Gotta weigh in here guys….. I looked at the Electra (Amsterdam). Nice looking. But that is it (no offense Dave). It’s a knockoff of the real thing. 26 inch tires! OMG! Give me my 28s’. My Azor is built like a tank. I believe in longevity. These bikes will outlast Helen & I. I spent more than 500 bucks on the Azors. So what. They are a better bike. Example: Look at the seat on the Amsterdam…. or how the cable for the gears enters the rear hub… Okay I’ll stop (sorry Marc)… And the paint work… and how Azor tests their frames in salt baths… Need I go on? Oh, I am…..
No need to rub it in, Les :-p, Dave knows the difference. He uses his Electra for short trips and is very happy with it. You guys are globetrotters compared to that. And, we aren’t exactly bashing the Azors, more like drooling over them, heh.
Apologies accepted, Les :-p
Groeten terug!
Ps, from now on Dave’s bike should respectfully be referred to as ‘Søren‘, mukay?
Wilma added these cyclelicious words on October 2, 2008 |Permalink
Of course I have an Electra too (but it’s a Townie, not an Amsterdam), and it’s the most comfortable bike I’ve had here. My dream is to someday own a real Dutch bike; Batavus, Azor or something like that. Until the economy settles, I fear it will remain a dream, though!
Even cooler, but totally out of my league price wise, would be one of Portland’s Vanilla Bicycles or a Sweatpea!
Les, I have a gorilla tri-pod, and I am not all that happy with it. It’s hard to get it at the right angle, and staying put. What I have been happy with is a home-made mount, that I found instructions for here: http://photojojo.com/content/diy/attach-a-camera-to-your-bike/
Very simple, very cheap. Just don’t use it on really bumpy roads! I am thinking of a design for a mount that I could wear on the front of my sweater. If I figure out the design and it works well, I will let you know!
–Wilma
at the end of the day you can be happy with Any bike that will not break your back, let’s you be comfortable and takes you where you want to go is quite ok, right? I used beater bikes for most of my life, and it never really mattered. Sure, my new Sparta takes it to another level and I’m very glad I bought it, but in general anything with 2 wheels that gets the job done is fine with me.
I just thought of a fitting name, finally, for my bike: Spartacus. Next goal: saving money for a new paint job, personalized.
Next goal: creating a sticker that says: “My other bike is a Strida”. :-p
Wilma added these cyclelicious words on October 2, 2008 |Permalink
You are exactly right! How comfortable and convenient are your wheels, and do they get you where you want to go!
My bike is very comfortable, and still just light enough, that at the end of an hour’s commute, I can hoist it up onto the bike rack of the bus which brings it (and me) up that last very steep hill to my house. Yes, I can cycle that, but it’s the difference between arriving home feeling good, or feeling exhausted. The only thing that could be better on my bike, is if there were a chainguard. I would gladly pay the extra few ounces of weight for that!
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