From NBC Chicago:
An Oak Park man fell in love with the biking culture in the Netherlands and brought some home with him. For the first time in North America, you can get a De Fietsfabriek and go green with your commute.
My only note: why did they cut the last 20% of the chain guard off?? [...]
From NBC Chicago:
An Oak Park man fell in love with the biking culture in the Netherlands and brought some home with him. For the first time in North America, you can get a De Fietsfabriek and go green with your commute.
My only note: why did they cut the last 20% of the chain guard off?? Why was the original, full enclosed chain guard replaced with that particular one? It doesn’t make sense!
Those cargo bikes are just too heavy with a full chainguard, you have to get rid of some of the weight! :D
You kidder, you. But seriously, though, why do they do that? It’s just not this bike, there are more examples. Do they think the (original) fully enclosed chain guard will be too much of a shocker to US customers? The thing they replace it with doesn’t come close to the real deal and it defeats the purpose! It may be pleasing to their eyes, but the chain will suffer almost as much as without one. I just don’t get it.
I didn’t watch the video with sound yet - was it something the bicycle company did, or did the guy in Chicago do it after getting the bikes?
My only thought is that it would be easier to get the rear wheel off with a partial chain guard, but it would still protect your pants…
I think the Chicago shop owner did. It’s still as easy to get the rear wheel off, not much of a difference. And chain guards are not only there to protect your pants. So again, it’s ridiculous.
Yeah, I dunno, seems weird to me too…
Nah… that’s just how Fietsfabriek makes their chain covers. Its a stamped steel half cover instead of a fully enclosed chain case in plastic or cloth. Its easier to manufacture and work on (think about foreigners unfamiliar with chain cases), and very tough, but has the disadvantage of not protecting the chain from road grime and water. Its just a design decision.
But what I want to know is why there’s a few seconds of ME in that video (I’m the bald headed guy screwing something in the box of a bakfiets in one of my own shops). Huh? I’ve nothing to do with the Fietsfabriek. That footage was taken by Reuters during an interview 3 or 4 years ago.
It is odd, isn’t it. Fear of the unknown, perhaps ?
If you don’t see full chain guards very much, I suppose people have completely the wrong idea about them. They’re essential for a low maintenance bike, though.
David, Yes a fully enclosed chain case is basically essential for a low maintenance bike but we have had occasional problems with impatient and/or uncaring mechanics in the US damaging the chaincases while “servicing” bikes. Haven’t seen it in a while though.
oh, I thought De Fietsfabriek cargo bikes would have the same kind of chain guards as the Bakfiets’ ones.
Damn, you’re right, it is you! I’ve seen the Reuters video. Yup, they took that one from the shelf as filler. Using the footage is permitted (I assume they licensed it), but of course it’s a no-go editorially. Lazy stuff, like they wouldn’t get caught! :)
it’s a damn shame, y’all ;)
I guess being seen randomly on TV is just part of life for the not so rich and famous.
it’s so common, Henry, we all get to have our 15 min/sec of fame :)
But is it fame when its just 5 seconds and your name isn’t even mentioned… or is that the very definition of “fame”… like a cameo by such a famous person it isn’t necessary to state who it is? ;-)
I don’t think I need to answer that, now do I? :-0
No.
I know I hear the argument a lot of times here in the US that having a full chain case makes it too time consuming to remove the rear wheel. Of course, this is coming from the same person who is riding a Tour de France bike for city commuting. I guess we can all feel a sense of contentment with our situation when their quick-release rear wheel gets stolen while sitting next to ours with a bolted on wheel and full chain case :)
There’s a saying here; “What a farmer doesn’t know, he won’t eat.”
I think this applies here. :)
A Serious Cycle Commuter in the US wouldn’t be caught dead riding a bike with a chainguard, much less something as awful as fenders! and god forbid they use a generator hub and headlights with less than 5,000lumens! Try to buy something as simple as a chainguard over here, much less an honest to god full chain case. I had to source a generator/roller brake hub from Workcycles because I couldn’t get one in the US. Shimano USA refused to admit that one even exists.
Aaron
Aaron,
What’s to be “serious” about cycle commuting anyway? Are there serious train commuters (they don’t talk to other passengers) or serious car commuters (can’t even think of an analogy here)?
But then who ever said anything about “commuting” anyway? Fietsfabriek bakfietsen are basically for toting kids, groceries and toys around. I suppose work might sometimes be at one end of the ride but is that “commuting”.
Well, I think the idea is that in the US cycling is still viewed largely as a sport - and so “serious” cyclists applies - that is they ride everywhere as if they’re in the Tour de France, complete with lycra, helmet and pedal clips.
Hopefully we can encourage other people who currently don’t ride bikes at all that this is not the only way to ride a bike, and that it doesn’t have to be “serious”, so to speak. It *can* just be another way to get where you’re going in the clothes you’re wearing and not some great athletic pursuit.
Of course I was being tongue in cheek above and I spent years dealing with the US “serious” cyclist mentality. During my last trip to the US I saw the “commuters” with their custom titanium bikes, high-zoot Gore-Tex clothes and helmet mounted laser beam lights, measuring their (commuting) performance with sophisticated instrumentation and whining about the lack of showers at their place of employment.
Indeed it makes cycling seem unapproachable for anybody less dedicated to “the cause” (whatever that is) unless they also happen to be gear freaks looking for an excuse to buy toys.
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