Dutch Bike Co Weblog

The Suspense is Killing Me

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:31:00 GMT

Good grief, we're so close to opening customers are already trying to get around the construction fence out front! I'd like to thank all of our wonderful Seattle customers for waiting so patiently while we've been putting this beautiful new space together. While you might miss the “underground” ambiance of the old warehouse space, or the hilarious – if sometimes disturbing – antics of the regulars down at the boat launch, you'll have a wonderful time in the new shop. With a near-perfect double short americano in hand, I've already had some wonderfully relaxing mornings watching the increasingly large volume of bicycle traffic up and down Ballard Avenue in front of our gigantic glass front. In a few days, you'll be able to check out the new models from Linus or Civia – and of course Workcycles – out front, or take your coffee and wander towards the other end of the shop to take a look at some of the cool new parts and accessories populating all this new wall space.

So thanks again for waiting for us, Seattle, and in just a few days we'll be back in action; ready to tune your bikes, satisfy your practical bike cravings, and get you all wired on some great coffee.

Moving On Up!

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:12:00 GMT

If you've talked with any of us here at Dutch Bike in the past year, you've probably heard us talk about “the move.” While we're staying in the same area, we're moving the Seattle shop onto historic Ballard Avenue: the main street of one of Seattle's most interesting and vibrant neighborhoods. Ballard Ave perfectly balances the nightlife, boutiques, and restaurants we enjoy with the hardware, sheet metal, machining, and other light industrial businesses that keeps the neighborhood lively and living. Of course, because we could never forget our roots down by the boat launch in “scenic industrial Ballard,” we feel right at home in a building between a machine shop and 58 year old Ballard Hardware and Supply.

The building into which we're moving was for the first part of the century home to Kolstrand Manufacturing Co., a famous name in the Northwest marine industry. The Graham-Baba designed rebuild has maintained the old brick shell with even the remnants of the original “Kolstrand Mfg. Co.” paint intact while creating a polished and eminently usable retail and restaurant space inside.

Our designer and builder – David Lipe of 16D – has similarly reused much of the original wood and materials in the interior construction, including some beautiful and humorous touches that you'll just have to drop by to experience. Inside the shop we've also commissioned a mural by Ed Fotheringham, our friend responsible for our “flower girl” and “keg mover” posters.

In addition to Alex – the newest addition to the bike shop – we've got several great baristas (baristi for the language purists) warming up for the cafe component of the new shop. Your eyes do not deceive: the new Dutch Bike Seattle shop will be Seattle's first fully implemented bicycle cafe! We'll be brewing excellent and powerful coffee from local roaster Lighthouse, starting at six AM so you can start even your earliest morning rides with a bang. David has been updating the Flickr stream with the array of delicious snacks Julie has been designing for the shop, and the pictures will make you hungrier than anything I could write here. You'll also find made-to-order sandwiches, pastries from lauded local bakery Macrina, and some tasty – and surprisingly filling – cookies.

The finishing touches are going on the construction as I write this, and our grand opening is still on schedule for July 24^th. We'll be fully operational- tuning, repairing, upgrading, renting, and of course selling bicycles, and rolling out an expanded array of interesting accessories. With two expert mechanics our turnaround time for tune-ups and other in-depth maintenance will be close to the same you'd expect from your coffee orders. In fact, if you're ordering anything more complicated than an americano while you get your flat fixed, maybe we'll race you!

Meet Alex

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:52:00 GMT

Hey there! This is Alex, the newest addition to Dutch Bike Seattle, coming to you with my inaugural blog post. Born and raised in Seattle, I graduated from the University of Washington in 2008 and have been wasting my anthropology degree working in the bike industry ever since. For blogging purposes, I’m going to start of by focusing on events and other fun things to do on a bike, whether specifically bike related or not. To that end, here’s the post, about how I spent the 4^th of July:

4^th of July! Fun! Family! Beers! Hotdogs! Bicycles? Here at Dutch Bike, we say yes. What better way to celebrate the birth of our country than by celebrating your independence from traffic jams and fossil fuels? To that end, I spent a good chunk of my 4^th of July at the Arboretum riding bikes and just hanging out.

The real impetus for the gathering (other than just having a good time) was the third annual 4^th of July Sprints, held again this year at the bridge to nowhere at the Washington Park Arboretum.

The bridge to nowhere, if you’re not familiar with it, was originally constructed to be an Interstate 5 bypass from I-90 to Route 520, but then abandoned due to environmental concerns. Today it sits unused except for the occasional person brave enough to dive from the high point of the bridge into lake Washington below.

Though the event was ostensibly a competitive one, the atmosphere was decidedly laid back. Not being much of a racer myself, I chose to spend most of my time just watching and talking. Eventually the day proved itself to be a true Seattle 4^th of July, and the rains came, moving us down the bridge under shelter. Which just goes to show, one of the most important characteristics you can have when biking in Seattle (in any season!) is adaptability.

If you’ve never been (or just never ridden) to the Arboretum, it’s something I would heartily recommend checking out. The array of flora present ensures that it’s beautiful in most seasons, and it’s home to one of my favorite places in Seattle, the Japanese gardens. Perhaps most importantly, access is extremely bike friendly, with a number of routes to take depending on where you’re coming from. So the next time you’re in the neighborhood, you should stop by! Have a picnic, drink some wine, and have a great day on your bike.

Dutch Bike Co Interview

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:42:00 GMT

Padraic Swanton of Chicago's Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce sent Stephan these questions in anticipation of publishing a story about the Dutch Bike Co. in The Source summer 2010 edition.

LPCC: How long has Dutch Bike Co. been in business? Personally, how long have you been working for them?

SS [StephanSchier]: Dutch Bike Co was founded in Seattle by David Schmidt in the spring of 2007. I became involved as a partner in October of 2007. We decided during the Summer of 2008 to open a Chicago store and I moved to Chicago in September 2008. We opened for business a few weeks later in the middle of October. I am now back in Seattle.

LPCC: What sets you apart from your competition in Chicago or across the country?

SS: Right from the start we decided we were going to become the Dutch bike experts – so we import ourselves, directly from Holland and focus on classic utility bikes – the bikes most typical to Amsterdam residents. Many of us live an everyday bicycling lifestyle, so we understand the needs of families and individuals who might never consider themselves “cyclists” in the sporting sense of the word, but want to ride a bike. We were the first to set up multiple locations (including warehousing bikes in NY) so that we could serve customers across the nation, and we have customers from coast to coast. We specialized in shipping fully assembled bikes all over the USA – typically getting to our customers in less than a week. We also have an online store at which people can purchase bikes and accessories.

Q: I need a bike. What should I be looking for?

You should look for a bike that is comfortable and meets your goals and needs. Are you training or are you commuting; do you want to shop or carry children; will you ride in inclement weather or at night? Answers to these questions will inform the types of bikes and accessories we would recommend. From there it's a question of how much money would you like to spend. We would always recommend buying the highest quality bike you can afford.. Our best WorkCycles bikes will last you a lifetime.

LPCC: What’s the most common question clients ask you?

SS: Because of our Dutch bikes' size and heft: “Aren't these hard to ride up hills?” In Chicago (unlike Seattle) hills are not much of an issue, but our most popular WorkCycles all have the smoothest shifting, 8-speed internally geared hubs which will get most anyone (if they take their time) up most any hill.

LPCC: Why Chicago?

SS: Mayor Daley and the high level of cycling advocacy going on in Chicago was and continues to be a big attraction. The hundreds of miles existing bike lanes. The flat topography and neighborhood oriented lifestyle create a perfect climate for incorporating cycling into our everyday lives. In example, in Lincoln Park everything is within ten minutes by bike, from Trader Joes, to Whole Foods, to the gym, to the lake, to the post office and bank – there is little need for a car.

LPCC: How has your company changed over the years? Have you seen changes in the LPCC or the Chicago community?

SS: We grew quickly, took some early risks (coming to Chicago) and we've consolidated (closing our NY warehouse during the economic downturn) and now we are more cautiously moving our original shop to a new location in Seattle's historic Ballard Ave district which will include a cafe. Chicago continues to be an anchor. We are happy to have survived a rough period in which it seemed there were far too many empty storefronts in our Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Q: What are today’s trends in your business?

SS: Cycling fashions that look like everyday clothes. More practical everyday bikes for non-”cyclists”, that come equipped with baskets, racks, fenders and chain guards. Cargo bikes (which we love), electric assisted bikes and more specialized (and expensive and trendy) bikes for sports and recreation from cyclocross, to downhill, to bmx, to fixed-gear. Cycling is more hip across a wide range of ages, occupations and lifestyles. Visit progressive Portland Oregon for a day and you will see the signs of the revolution.

LPCC: What do you look forward to most on a day-to-day basis?

SS: In Chicago, a grinning new customer riding away on their new bike. Seeing customers riding through the neighborhood taking their kids to school, shopping or going to work. Knowing that a bike can greatly improve the quality of someones life. In Seattle, I look forward to sunshine.

LPCC: What’s one thing you’d like everyone to know about Dutch Bike Co. or yourself?

SS: More than just being technical experts on Dutch and other bikes used for transportation and cargo, we live with bikes as our primary means of transportation. We love our bikes, but more importantly, we strive to love our city lives. Our beautiful and practical Dutch bikes support our view of an urban American utopia, where public transportation, pedestrians and cycle-friendly neighborhoods are king.

Q: Anything you’d like to add about your experience with the LPCC?

SS: Thank you for being advocates for our business and those of our peers in the Lincoln Park community.

Chaincases and chain lube

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:11:00 GMT

Some of us bought our bikes because we wanted to be mobile. Some because we find them so very pretty. Some because they're so comfortable. For whatever reason you purchased your Dutch- or Dutch-type bike, if you got even a reasonable imitation of one you benefit from how little they demand in terms of maintenance. In previous posts we've walked through repair operations that you (or your trusted mechanic) might have run into in the course of owning the bike (tire and tube repair, shifter troubleshooting, etc). In this post, I'll walk through a large component of simply caring for your bike: lubrication.

In many ways, the chaincase defines the proper city bike. It makes them compatible with any wardrobe, and it's one of the main reasons why these bikes essentially don't have to be treated like a bike. They can be left outside in the rain and snow (and salt, if you're our Chicago shop bakfiets) every night of their lives, and won't punish you for it. That said, since your bike can last your lifetime, you'll want to take care of it to the minor extent it requires. Chain lubrication won't quite be your most frequent maintenance operation, but it's extremely easy and takes very little time. Once every nine months will be enough under even the most adverse conditions.

First you'll want to pick a chain lubricant. The thicker and stickier a lube is, the longer it will protect the chain, but stickiness attracts dirt. This leads to a constant dilemma when maintaining an exposed drivetrain; balancing how much grime covers my drivetrain and legs with how quickly my lube washes off when I ride in the rain or mud. Because the conditions inside a chaincase are so much cleaner and drier than the world outside, we can get away with using an extremely sticky, persistent lube that would attract a large amount of dirt and grime were it exposed. It will take a little longer to soak into the spaces inside the chain links (the only area where it actually does anything), but since we're only doing it once a year or so...that's okay. On a city bike, the tiny, tiny bit of extra drag introduced by a heavier lubricant will be imperceptible to even the most sensitive rider. For the most persistence, I recommend Finish Line Wet; a heavy, sticky synthetic formulated to stick to exposed chains through the nastiest conditions. It's also a beautiful shade of dark green. Dumonde Tech Original (the blue one) can be a fair substitute. Inside a chaincase, you can expect a heavy application of one of these lubes to last most of a year!

Lighter lubricants are just fine, but won't last quite as long or protect as thoroughly. That said, lighter oils and oil suspensions like good old Tri-Flow or Dumonde Tech Lite (the yellow one) can be quite useful for lubricating and providing a water barrier for your cables. Spending a few minutes letting the handy principle of capillary action pull drops of well-shaken Tri-Flow into your cable housing can not only substantially reduce drag and improve performance, but when applied thoroughly enough can also prevent the unfortunate wintertime disorder known as “Chicago cable freeze.”

Isn't physics great?

While they have some handy benefits, wax-based formulas and solvent-suspension “dry” lubes don't have much of an application on the mechanical systems of your city bike. Because they don't protect the chain as effectively, and because their dirt-shedding properties aren't necessary within the protected environment of the chaincase, wax lubes shouldn't be used. Neither type will work at all well within cable housing, so best to save them for your sporty bikes...if you must use wax at all.

Once you've chosen your formula, all that's left is applying it! The vast majority of you won't need any tools for this, except you bakfiets and Secret Service owners. You'll need a one euro coin, large flathead screwdriver, or other prying device to encourage the lower rear section of your plastic chaincase to pop loose.

All you with fabric chaincases need do is simply unsnap the snap.

Now that your chaincase is open, you can inspect your chain's lubrication and tension (refer to the rough guide in the last post for tension). If you cannot see lubricant on the chain – or if you see any corrosion – you should apply some. Nose the dropper tip or extended straw/noodle of your bottle into the chaincase until it's just touching the rollers on the inside of the chain. Carefully spin the pedals backward while gently squeezing the bottle enough to run a bead of lubricant along the chain, letting it soak into the spaces within the chain and coat the moving parts.

Continue this process until your chain is thoroughly soaked in lube. Congratulations, you've lubed your chain! This would also be a good moment to lubricate the shifter cable as it leaves the housing.

Close up your chaincase, and you're finished!

Bike the Drive in Chicago!

Sat, 29 May 2010 02:09:00 GMT

...So once again we spring-less Chicagoans have skipped right through from winter into summer, and as the temperatures jump from frigid to boiling, we find ourselves in season for beautiful weekends and wonderful bike rides. As Memorial Day draws near, I look forward not only to channeling my inner Dade County fashion sense and releasing my vast assortment of white linen clothing onto the bike lanes and pathways of Chicago (not really), but also to the amazing event that is Bike the Drive.

We want to see every Chicagoland Dutch Bike riding down Lake Shore Drive this Sunday. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got an heirloom omafiets or a brand new Workcycles Transport. If you ride like the Dutch, you should ride with us. Is your bike less “Holland” and more “anywhere else?” Don’t worry, we won’t discriminate. Come ride with us too. It’ll be fun. If you are coming down from the North Side, up from the South Side, or in from the West Side, feel free to meet up at Dutch Bike Co. for some coffee and morning sundries. I’ll be in the shop around 5:00am listening to some James Brown and getting properly caffeinated. We’ll head out for the ride at 6:00am. We’ll cruise down to the ride start in Classic Dutch Style with a Bakfiets full of supplies. So please join Will, the Brehmen brothers and myself for a great ride. Just go to www.bikethedrive.org for all the information and registration. Or come by the shop and pick up a coupon for discounted registration.

Need to rent a bike for Bike The Drive? Give us a call at 312-265-0175 and we’ll set you up with special pricing for the big ride on Sunday. Pick it up on Saturday night before we close up or come by on Sunday morning. So let me know if you need a bike. And call me if you want some more info on where to meet.

Hope to see you there,

Vince

Dutch Bike Co.
651 W Armitage Ave
Chicago IL 60614

Removing Your Dutch Bike Wheel

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:16:00 GMT

Welcome back, class! Now that you've adjusted your Shimano Nexus hubs, we'll dive into the next most interesting operation on one of these bikes: rear wheel removal. Mastering this will allow you to replace tires or tubes that are worn out or damaged beyond patching. This will get a little more technical than the previous post, so it's very important to make sure you're comfortable using tools and that you have the time and energy to safely put everything back together. Please read through the entire post before tearing apart your bike, and be sure you're comfortable performing all the operations described (especially tensioning the chain!). Troubleshooting and adjusting your hub didn't require any tools, but this will, so get out that toolkit and polish up your:

15mm open-end wrench or 15mm deep socket w/ driver
10mm open-end wrench and 10mm socket w/ driver (you can substitute another 10mm wrench or a small adjustable if necessary)
Cable cutters (diagonal cutters or wire cutters can be substituted)
2mm hex key/Allen wrench
Dental pick, sharpened spoke, sturdy ballpoint pen, small switchblade, or something else with a nice point to it
Tire levers (if you plan on replacing tubes or tires)

Now that your tools are prepared, set your bike on its center stand (or clamp the seatpost in a work stand if you're lucky enough to have one).

We will remove the rear wheel first because it's a more complex operation and many of the steps will be duplicated in removing the front. As an overview, we're going to disconnect the brake, open the chain case, disconnect the shifter, disengage the chain tensioners, and remove the wheel. Then we will reinstall the wheel, engage the tensioners, tension the chain and center the wheel, reconnect the shifter and brake, and close the chain case.

To disconnect the brake, first loosen the cable fixing nut several turns. Pull or clip off the cable tip, and pull the cable out of the brake.

Now once we've removed the torque arm clamp bolt the brake will be completely disconnected.

After that, move back to the right side of the bike and open the chain case, starting by unhooking the tension wire running along the bottom of the case.

Once the wire is unhooked about 3/4 of the way down toward the front, unsnap and unclip the rear section as we did in the previous post.

Now loosen the axle nuts about three turns (Don't worry, the chain tensioners will hold the wheel in place) and yank the rear section of the chain case frame straight back and out of the bike.

Shift the bike into first gear, and poke the long end of the 2mm hex key into the tiny hole in the back of the cassette joint.

Pull downward on the wrench to give yourself some cable slack, and then use your pointy tool to pop the cable and cable stop out of the cassette joint.

Pull the cable housing out of the housing stop, being careful not to kink the cable.

Now that you've disconnected the brake and shifter cables from the hub, all that's left is removing the wheel itself! Loosen the chain tensioners until the nuts are even with the end of the threaded section, and loosen the axle nuts until the colored non-turn washers (yellow on the right, brown on the left) can completely clear the frame.

Lift the chain carefully off the teeth of the cog and set it down on the plastic of the cassette joint.

Now you'll actually remove the wheel: pull it straight backward until both chain tensioners are loose enough that you can flip them downward so that they hang from the axle.

The wheel will now be free to slide forward and out of the dropouts, and you're free to replace tubes, change tires or just marvel at your accomplishment.

To reinstall the wheel, you will essentially be reversing most of the steps you've just completed. Set the chain on the cassette joint -- next to the cog but not on it -- and then slide the wheel back into the dropouts. This may take some wiggling, and possibly even some fiddling to make sure that the chain tensioners are inside the dropouts, and the non-turn washers (brown and yellow) are outside. Gently pull the wheel as far back into the dropouts as possible, giving yourself enough slack to flip the tensioners back into place. Now that the wheel is held in place by the tensioners, you'll be able to reattach the shifter and brake cables, the chain, and the chain case.

Set the chain back on the cog and carefully turn the cranks a few revolutions to make sure that the chain is fully set on the chainwheel (front gear) as well. To reconnect the shifter cable to the cassette joint, first slide the cable housing end into the housing stop.

Now repeat the trick with the 2mm hex key to wind the cassette joint back to a point where you can slot the cable stop into its cradle, making sure that the cable sits cleanly along its channel. Shift up and down the range a few times to make sure that everything is working smoothly, and also use this opportunity to check the adjustment of your hub (just like you learned to do in the last post!).

Pass the brake cable through the housing stop and into the cable stop, tightening it down at at its original setting. Make sure the housing is fully inserted in the stop. At this point you can crimp a cable end cap onto the cable, then test brake function by pulling hard on the brake lever.

Slide the rear section of the chain case frame into place, carefully pushing both top and bottom ends into place in the main chain case frame. Be sure that the chain tensioner is outside the chain case frame on the axle.

Now that everything on the axle is in place, you can tension the chain. This step is going to be the most technical that you'll perform during the operation, so shake the kinks out of your hands and get ready! Tighten down the axle nuts until the tabs of the non-turn washers are fully inserted into the dropouts, but not so tight that you can't shift the wheel. Throughout this step, you'll be keeping the wheel centered in the frame by watching the distance between the (ideally fully inflated) tire and the chain stays. Tighten the chain tensioner nuts evenly as you bring the wheel back toward its original position. On Workcycles bikes (especially if you are using the original cog size), you'll frequently be able to find this spot by the indentations left by the non-turn washers in the frame powdercoat.

Ideal chain tension can be an art and a science, but the easiest gauge will be this: at the tightest spot in the rotation of the cranks (because there will be tight spots and loose spots) you should still be able to move the chain slightly (<1/4") up and down with your fingers. You should NOT hear a crackling sound as you spin the pedals through the tight spots, and the chain should not be so loose as to hit the bottom of the chain case.

Once you've got the chain at a nice tension, double-check the centering of the wheel and then reattach the rear brake's torque-arm clamp on the chain stay.

Now you can tighten down the axle nuts! Make sure these are solidly tight, really get your arm behind the wrench (unless you're some sort of giant burly guy, in which case you'll want to exercise some restraint).

Now that the wheel is reinstalled and the chain case frame is reassembled, most of what's left should be familiar from the last post: closing the chain case. Gently (because these are fabric parts, after all...) slide the rear section of the cover over the frame, keeping the chain tensioner outside. Pull the edges of the inside slit (between the wheel and the chain case) together and slide the prongs of the clip into their pockets inside the chain case. Snap the snap on the outside, and hook the wire back and forth across the hooks on the underside (don't miss any!).

...And you're done. Go for a ride!

Adjust Your Shimano Nexus Hub

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:14:00 GMT

As you may have guessed, we love some internally geared hubs here at Dutch Bike Co. We love the smooth shifting, the quiet operation, and the simplicity of use. From the shop perspective, I enjoy knowing that our bikes are out there being ridden and loved - not worked on.

More than any other drivetrain, an 8 speed hub really doesn't require its user to be a "bike person." An avid cyclist will certainly enjoy it -- as many of you have discovered for yourselves -- but anyone who can push the pedals will benefit equally from the utter simplicity and rock-like durability of this transmission. Combine the system with a chaincase and in a year of riding you'll probably do no maintenance whatsoever. You won't even have to wonder whether or not to feel guilty about it.

This brings us to the educational kernel nestled within this husk of a post: adjusting your Shimano Nexus hub. At this point, you might reasonably grow apprehensive that I'll try to explain planetary gear systems, expose you to exploded views, or start talking about gear inches. I won't. Adjusting your hub is a simple and easy procedure that will likely take less than five minutes and won't get your hands very greasy at all.

Step One: Diagnosis
When I teach a repair class, this is typically the subject that receives the strongest emphasis. Without understanding what's causing the problem, we can't fix it. Bearing this firmly in mind, we'll quickly check the three main parts of the system: the shifter, the cable, and the cassette joint (I'll explain in a moment). The cable will come first, because it's the simplest part of the system and -- relatively speaking -- the most vulnerable. Around three out of four "mis-shifting" or "gear slipping" issues on our bikes have the same simple cause:

Here, the cable housing (the outer sheath) has been tugged out of the shifter, exposing the cable. It has then caught on the edge of its proper place (the barrel adjuster) and failed to snap back in. This 1/4" difference leaves the system totally out of whack. The solution is even simpler than the problem: just nudge the end of the housing back into the barrel adjuster, and the tension already on the cable will do the rest, snapping it back into place.

If all is well so far, check over as much of the shifter cable housing as you can see for damage or kinks that could cause it to drag or bind.

Next, we'll move on to the cassette joint. This is the little plastic unit on the side of the hub where the cable attaches, and that translates your pull on the cable into the actual gear change in the hub. If you have a cloth chaincase (any Workcycle, Azor, or Jorg&Olif except Secret Service, Fr8, and Bakfiets) you'll need to open the back end just a little to see the cassette joint. Unsnap the outside snap, then slide the clip out of the pockets on the inside.

Gently peel the rear section of the chaincase up and forward, and tuck it out of the way.

Now you'll be able to see the gray and black plastic cassette joint, and the little adjustment window with a yellow indicator line. With a plastic chaincase you'll just be able to flex it inward slightly, and the view will be the same.

Now that you've ruled out problems with the cable, shift into fourth gear (you'll see a dot next to the number to tell you it's special) and check the yellow marks in the small window on the top of the cassette joint: if they line up, you're adjusted properly. If they don't, then turn the adjuster on the shifter (with a couple of experimental turns to make sure of your direction) until they do.

...And you're done! You've just done exactly what a good mechanic would have when confronted with Nexus hub "issues," and almost assuredly resolved them. Take the bike for a quick test ride, and enjoy your perfect shifting.

A Year of Saison

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:18:00 GMT

It's been almost a year since I built and started flogging the strange hybrid beast that we named the Saison (a saison is a Belgian farmhouse beer style whose wild yeast strains produce a light body but strong earthy flavor). The idea was to build a bike that could balance the toughness and "fuhgeddaboutit" maintenance interval of one of the Dutch bikes with the speed and acceleration of a modern American commuter. Strong wheels, a strong frame, internally geared drivetrain, disc brakes, full fenders, and a comfortable riding position were required. Add a few little extra touches for comfort (carbon bar and 28c Tserv tires) and style (gold Nokon brake housing and gold grips), and I was ready to go.

The Frame
Predictably, I couldn't let myself simply order a frame designed to do exactly what I intended for it (they exist). Instead, I decided to use the wrong-est frame to build this multi-speed city bike: a single-speed mountain bike. The Surly 1x1. And yes, I am perfectly aware of the abject silliness of this premise. That said, measure the actual radius of a 26" wheel with tire, and a 700c wheel with tire, and you'll find a surprisingly small difference. Measure the wheel/tire clearance of a 1x1 and you'll run out of measuring tape; you could lose a medium-sized child in the depths of that gigantic rear triangle. Even with tires half again the size there would be plenty of room for nice beefy fenders, too.

With tough steel tubes, convenient horizontal dropouts, and easily adjustable brake caliper mounts, the Surly would have been a fair bet even if it weren't super cheap. And deep down, who doesn't want to ride "the thing that should not be"?

The Build
Lace up a wheelset: light-ish rims made for 29'er mountainbikes on a Shimano Alfine hub (the stealth-bomber version of the eight-speed hubs in our Workcycles bikes) and a mostly-matchy front hub, and slap them into the frame.

Throw on the rest of the parts. Get a different crankset because the chainstays are so wide that the arms of the compact road crank I'd planned on using wouldn't even come close to clearing...wow. Bend the fender stays and install spacers to clear the brake calipers. Install lights on the brake bosses because they're just sitting there doing nothing. Install the KitchenAid headbadge because this is supposed to be an appliance, right?

The Ride
The first impression of the ride is the quickness: even though it's a big bike with a wide bar, it feels very nimble and responsive. You just point your shoulders and the bike zips that way. It's difficult to sufficiently emphasize the nimble feel of the bike and the resulting confidence: the handling is so intuitive that maneuvers that would be nerve-wracking on a more conventional bike just happen naturally and with little fanfare. The wheels and frame are highly rigid, and even with relatively big tires and the flex of the carbon handlebar the ride isn't Dutchbike-smooth, but it's not punishing.

The Alfine hub and shifter snap off quick, positive gear changes with almost no lag or interruption of power transfer. The disc brakes (Avid BB7 calipers and Shimano XTR levers) offer a surfeit of power and smooth enough modulation to keep it under control, although after putting in the miles on our roller brake-equipped city bikes they feel surprisingly aggressive.

The Year
Now, after a year of riding around Seattle, up and down stairs, through alleys, around parks and pump tracks, through street brawls and farmer's markets, and over every nasty piece of pavement and road debris I could find, I can actually evaluate the bike. It has commuted, gone on dates, shopped, and pubcrawled. It's been taken on countless test rides, and borrowed for extended periods. Through it all the Saison has required very little of its rider in terms of either maintenance or even basic consideration. After a few adjustments for break-in, the mechanical systems have functioned as close to flawlessly as any bike I've ridden. A little chain lube every few weeks, and the occasional stack of batteries for the cheap blinky lights I can't seem to get around to replacing with a sexy generator setup. It's not quite as impossibly maintenance-free as a Workcycles bike, but it's not too far off.

I can explain the experience of living with this bike best by calling it "enough." It's tough enough that even through the year of abuse I've barely had to think about it, while remaining light enough to accelerate and climb with pizazz. It's fast enough to really feel fast, and -- most important of all -- fun enough that I consistently want to ride it. The best bike is, after all, the one that you ride.

Want one?
With a somewhat less extravagant component selection, you can have one for right around $1700. We're custom building each one of these for the time being, so even though you're dodging the challenging "experimentation phase" of a project like this you can still have plenty of input on the specifics of your Saison. An albatross bar, a Brooks B67 saddle and 38mm wide tires for a more "Dutch" feel? A narrow cut-down riser bar and racy tires for tackling traffic? A Workcycles Transport-style front cargo carrier?
No problem. Have a tall, chilly glass of Saison.

Seattle Shop Ride!

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:00:00 GMT

Join us Saturday January 30th for an afternoon social ride! It's been too long since we've left our little cave down here by the boat launch, and too long since we've seen most of you, so come on down. Ride an Azor, a Workcycles, a bakfiets, a Christiania, a Gazelle, or something American...anything, as long as it's comfortable and fun.

We'll meet at the shop at 4, mill around for a bit, and head out west. We'll be rolling very slowly, to facilitate talking, kids, laughing, merrymaking, goofing off, and possibly even hijinx! Eventually we'll reach Golden Gardens, where we'll have some tasty snacks and refreshing drinks, and maybe try to ride a bakfiets on the beach. When we feel like it, we'll ride back toward Ballard and the shop at a leisurely pace.

If it's raining, we're still going, and we'll still be raffling off a pair of Clarijs panniers, a Nantucket basket, and a Bikecap saddle cover (pattern to be determined...I promise it won't be the creepy lace one). Five dollar entry for the raffle, and 100% of proceeds go to Haitian earthquake relief.

After that, like-minded adults are invited to join me in cruising toward points east. Points to include: the Traveler, the George and Dragon, Sinners and Saints, and onward...

The New Year!

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:21:00 GMT

It's a new year at Dutch Bike Co, with many big changes going on both here in Seattle and out in Chicago. We're finalizing plans for the interior of our new Seattle shop space on Ballard Avenue, and they're looking great. Despite the snowy weather and the temptation to hibernate, the boys in Chicago are developing some great ideas for the months to come. Keep an eye on the blog for posts on all sorts of topics from all of us here at Dutch Bike Co. We'll have information about upcoming rides, soirees, and maybe even a party or two in the style of the old days!

A few weeks ago our friend Mike Kleven came by and shot some gorgeous video of a Workcycles Opa coming together. Now for the first time -- unless you've been hanging out in the shop -- you can see the mysterious, alchemical process by which a ragged transatlantic cardboard box is transformed into a beautiful bicycle.

The Dutch Bikes Classic from Michael Kleven on Vimeo.

We hope you enjoyed this little peek into our Seattle shop, and a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the love that goes into each one of these bikes.

Saigon vs. NYC Commuter Vibe

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:42:00 GMT

Vietnam is a country of over 85 million inhabitants and 20 million mopeds. Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) is a city of over 5 million where many of these machines congest the streets. If you think your commute is knarly, contrast these two videos below. The first is taken by our friend and favorite man about the globe, Gregg Bleakney, during a non-rush hour (no kidding) period on Saigon's streets. The second is our friend Paul Steely White's relatively sedate and well-produced interview through the streets of New York.

How does the vibe of your commute compare?

Gazelle in the News

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:57:00 GMT

Some of the latest Gazelle news:
New York Times writes about the rise of the Euro bike .
Bike Europe reports a 20% increase in Gazelle orders.
Virgin Blue: “Gazelle, the original and still the best.”
Australian Cyclist Magazine: Gazelle Cabby tested and passed.

Fall Bakfiets Ride in Chicago

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Dutch Bike Chicago customer Andrew Coffey and his son JP share their fall day with us.

Repair Classes — Seattle

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:07:00 GMT

Sun Nov 8th and Sun Nov 15th, 6 - 8 pm, $65 per person

Join Fritz, for two Sunday evenings of two-wheeled wisdom and wit. You'll learn the anatomy of your bicycle, diagnosis of mechanical issues, and maintenance techniques to keep you independent and riding all winter. The first session will cover the anatomy and inner workings of your bikes, troubleshooting and safety checking, and fixing a flat. The second session will focus on fixes and tweaks for your bike that you can do in your garage, without a $400 professional workstand or too many special tools. The material will be tailored to your bikes, so bring them and your questions on both nights, and expect to get your hands dirty.

Belgian Beer, Bikes and Banter

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:08:00 GMT

Chicago 1 Year Anniversary Celebration — Tonight

Join us at our Chicago shop for a Belgian beer tasting tonight, Saturday evening, 6-9 PM, with Don Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield of Vanberg & Dewulf, the Belgian beer experts and founders of Brewery Ommegang, the first Belgian style brewery in the USA. Also, join us during regular hours in the shop, for a weekend of sales specials on bikes and accessories.

Chicago Loves its Cyclists

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:04:00 GMT

We love that Chicago PD and the DOT have joined forces to produce this safety video which addresses and can appeal to many audiences. Thumbs up to our friend Alex (we miss you) who makes a poignant cameo appearance in the commuter interviews. Now if we could only require cab and truck drivers to watch this video.

Traffic Enforcement for Bicyclist Safety from Chicago Bicycle Program on Vimeo.

Worcycles Oma vs. Electra Townie

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:12:00 GMT

A recent email inquiry asked me to justify the price difference between a Workcycles Oma ($1589) and an Electra Townie Euro 8i ($999). Some the factors to consider are individual component quality, ergonomics, durability, all-around utility and ride quality.

As far as differences in the quality of components and features, there are quite a few. The Workcycles Oma (and all the Workcycles bikes) have the strongest wheels on any bike which ships in the US market: double-wall, anodized aluminum, with stainless steel eyelets and 13 gauge stainless steel spokes. The Oma frame is brazed high-tensile steel, much heavier-duty and smoother riding than the lighter-weight, welded aluminum frame of the Electra. Both the Oma headlamp and the tail lamp are powered by the dynamo, unlike the Electra which has a dyanmo-powered headlamp, but battery powered tail lamp. The Oma has a full chain case, Electra open (more chain maintenance required, as well dirt on your clothes). The Oma has a much stronger, welded steel rack on which you can carry your friends and a lot more cargo. We would never recommend carrying friends on a Townie rear carrier.

Exclusively, the Oma has a built-in frame/wheel lock, mud flap, Brooks leather saddle, all stainless steel fasteners, stainless steel handle bars, stainless steel stem and steering return spring system, and has bigger, more durable Schwalbe marathon, 1.75" (622-47) tires.

Let's get this out of the way: the Oma is heavy and the Townie is lighter. For that the Oma rides smoother, takes a bit more oomph to accelerate, but rides like a Mercedes limo. The Electra is easier to lift, if you are carrying your bike up and down stairs or in and out of your apartment. The Oma (with a good lock and simple seat cover) can live outside all year long. We can't recommend lifting an Oma on a regular basis - remember, bikes roll. Both these bikes have the Nexus 8 speed so you can ride them anywhere it's hilly.

The Oma geometry is upright, time-tested (since the 1890's), encouraging an perfect posture. It is a purpose-built everyday city bike designed as transportation. It is sturdier, rides smoother, will carry more, requires less maintenance, keeps your clothes cleaner, will survive poor road conditions better and is more weather tolerant.

The Townie is a modern interpretation of a hybrid, aluminum "comfort bike"/cruiser design with some Dutch bike-like features. The Electra's main ergonomic feature and claim to fame is that it is designed with such a relaxed seat tube angle, that riders can place their feet flat on the ground whilst still in the saddle. This makes for a more secure feeling for inexperienced riders when starting or stopping. Great for riding wheelies though not the best hauler.

For those considering a less-expensive, recreational (i.e., you mostly ride in fair weather and rarely haul groceries/cargo/friends) bike with all the benefits of the Shimano Nexus 8-speed and roller brakes, or for those with adaptive needs or new to cycling, the Electra can meet your needs.

Behind the Scenes in Colombia

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:25:00 GMT

Our pal and adventure photographer Gregg Bleakney is somewhere in Korea, but just posted this multimedia report for VeloNews. Below is Gregg's behind the scenes, narrated slideshow about his experience following the Colombia es Pasión cycling team during the Vuelta Colombia 2009. His full story will be featured in the October issue of VeloNews - available soon, at a news stand near you.

Bike Slamming NYC

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Dutch Bike Co Seattle and Chicago staff are headed to NY for this coming weekend's New Amsterdam Bike Slam and Hudson 400 celebrations. We will be demo'ing Workcycles in Brooklyn Bridge Park on Sunday. If you live in the NY metropolitan area and want to ride Workcycles city and cargo bikes stop by Brooklyn Bridge Park, Sunday from 2-6pm. Bikes will be available for sale through our Chicago shop (312-265-0175) and can be delivered, fully assembled, to customers in the NY Metro area, within three days of purchase. Join us also at the New Amsterdam Bike Slam Award Ceremony on the Battery Park, Castle Clinton Stage at 11:45am. This event is free and open to the public. We and Workcycles are proud co-sponsors of the the six Workcycles city bikes presented to the winners of the Slam by Mr. Job Cohen, Mayor of Amsterdam. Rumor has it we may also see the mayor of Breukelen and the Crown Prince, Willem-Alexander and Crown Princess, Maxima of the Netherlands. I'll post royal pic's and any other breaking news (or blather) to my twitter feed. More also at Henry's blog.

Bakfiets on a 'Burban

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Now most of the time we FedEx bikes (yes, even cargo bikes) to out-of-state customers, but just in case you have a wild hair to pick up a Bakfiets yourself, we can now say with certainty that we can even send it home on the top of a Suburban. We have loaded Bakfietsen into pickup trucks, Honda minivans and VW Eurovans, but the top of a Chevy Suburban is a first. In case you're wondering, I'm happy to tell you that even after many hours at freeway speeds it arrived securely to its new home. Take advantage of our summer clearance and purchase a 2008 Bakfiets cargo bike, now $2749. We have a few bikes remaining in red, black, orange with red racks and red with orange racks. The 2008's are identical to the 2009's in every way, save for the 2008's have a Basta Pilot halogen headlamp and steel Shimano IM-41 roller brakes, versus the 2009's Basta Pilot LED headlamp and alloy Shimano IM-70 roller brakes. Call Chicago 312-265-0175 for details.

Po Campo Bags Now In-Stock

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:16:00 GMT

Dutch Bike Co. Chicago is happy to now carry Po Campo bags, conceived and manufactured here in Chicago by the homegrown creative team of Maria Boustead and Emily Siegler. Call us at our Chicago 312-265-0175 shop (11-6 PM CST) for color and shipping options.

Handlebar Bag $94.95 Perfect for a day ride or a night out, Po Campo’s Handle Bar Bag clips around any handle bars and uses magnetic closures & stow-away looks for easy access to items en route. Features: • adjustable attachment clips • water/fade resistant fabrics • easy open magnetic closure • cell phone/bus pass pocket • stow-away loops Size: W 10" x H 6.5" x D 3.5"

Rack Bag $159.95 Our rocking Rack Bag attaches easily to your bike rack, stores all your daily needs and is as durable as can be. Adjustable shoulder strap tucks away while riding and reflective side loops hold rear light. Features: • adjustable attachment clips • water/fade resistant fabrics • reflective light clip strap • strong zipper closure • stow-away loops • zippered cell phone/bus pass pouch • detachable shoulder strap Size: W 14" x H 9.75" x D 6.5"

Emily Siegler and Maria Boustead

Schmidt und Schier Schau

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:40:00 GMT

Here are three fun videos from Kirsten Dirksen, *faircompanies and Huffington Post contributor. Kirsten visited our Seattle shop last Summer and interviewed us about Dutch bikes, the slow bicycle movement and Bakfiets cargo bikes. Learn more about our bikes and meet David and Stephan.

Green Room Sessions

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:48:00 GMT

Dutch Bike Co. Chicago will be participating in the Alternative Transportation Green Room Sessions at Uncommon Ground 1401 West Devon Avenue Chicago Thursday June 11th, 2009, 6-9 pm.

Uncommon Ground boasts the first certified organic rooftop farm in the country. Stop by to savor the food and meet many of the great business people working to make Chicago a more livable city. We'll bring a Bakfiets cargo bike for demos. Check out today's Home Depot haul.

eat

Executive Chef Brian Millman will be preparing FREE appetizers utilizing product from Chicago's own Green City Market. drinklook Our participants represent a cross section of ideas for ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION

listen

A very special performance by Los Guitarristas - Guitarras Sin Fronteras Latin, Immediately following the Green Room Session at 9pm a Chicago-based Guitar Quartet under the direction of Maestro Alfonso Chacon since 2003. We perform original arrangements of South and Central American folk and popular music as well as great works of classical guitar.

drink

$5 TreeTinis - a year-round offering that changes seasonally featuring only the finest organic ingredients, Veev Acai spirit & organically produced Rain Vodka. For every TreeTini ordered, a tree is committed to be planted. Over 7,000 trees to date.

Please join uncommon ground for a very special evening of great food, amazing cocktails, live music, and amidst it all, support some great causes...

Cargo Bike Colombian Style

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:14:00 GMT

Our favorite man in the field, Gregg Bleakney is currently embedded with the Colombian national cycling team training in the high altitude of Medellin. We had a chance to Skype this morning and he sent me some pic's from his recent days in Bogota. Here you can see the everyday cycling culture in some of the poorest parts of the city. In the last few years, the city of Bogota has built hundreds of kilometers of cycling lanes equally through both the poorest and wealthiest sections of of the city. This has seemingly made life more egalitarian and reportedly greatly reduced crime. Check out the burly and practical cargo bikes on which many family members are taken to work and school.

The road below is a dedicated bikeway, along which a cottage bike repair industry grows. Note man in background wearing backpack with passenger on front of his double top-tube, yellow cargo bike.

The two pic's below illustrate the great contrast between the wealthy, freeway serviced areas of Bogota and the barrio, yet note the attention to bikeway detail in both areas. There is pride amongst the residents in knowing that the government will spend money to improve even the poorest areas of town.

Extreme Makeover Dutch Bike Seattle Edition

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Dutch bike Seattle got a makeover on Tuesday. Our shop is now visible from space, or at least from the Ballard Bridge. See some of the recent before and after pic's.

Floating Fat Franks

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:20:00 GMT

On a recent Saturday night, our friend Rick was pedaling home from a night out in Ballard back to his fishing boat at Seattle's Fisherman Terminal when he found himself off the docks and plunged into the dark waters. Not a great way to end a night.

Luckily he was packing Schwalbe Fat Frank tires on his Rivendell and was able to swim out and locate his bike floating upside down by her cream tires. A few months ago Rick equipped his Rivendell with Schwalbe Fat Franks tires, the cream balloon racers. If you've never had the pleasure of cruising on these marshmallows over brutal winter streets you may want to consider it. Cheers to Schwalbe for making tires that save our bikes from swimming with the fishes.

Bling is the Thing - NAHBS 2009

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:36:00 GMT

I visited the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS 2009) in Indianapolis this past weekend. This was a welcome respite and my first trip outside of Chicago since my arrival in October.

Thanks to my friends Tom and DeAnne for hosting my Indianapolis stay and welcoming me with all manner of good company, conversation and food. As well, I'd like to thank the Fighting Cocks volleyball club for initiating me into their fold with a shot of their namesake whiskey and a hearty rendition of their fight song. Mercifully, they only sang their limerick (to the tune of "Mickey Mouse") once and I was able to avoid the 103 proof rye for the rest of the evening. These guys have been playing together through three generations. Their jolly party banter, good humor and obvious joy in each other's company reflects a life well-lived and played amongst friends.

I was hoping for some efficient form of public transportation to whisk me down to Indy for the weekend. The Amtrak "Hoosier State" runs once per day leaving Chicago at 5:45 PM and arriving Indy over five hours later at 11:50 PM. Not attractive, seeing as a three hour drive down the freeway takes me right to the bar where I can drink a beer and eat pizza with Tom and DeAnne. In that way Hertz is a far more convenient (and not much more expensive, sparing carbon emissions-associated guilt) solution than Amtrak. Amtrak was not going to ferry me back & forth to my hosts who live in the suburbs of Carmel, IN. Once clear of Chicago's early Friday afternoon congestion I felt a proud freedom fueled by the open highway ahead, a full tank of gas, a company debit card, my folding bike in the trunk and cruise control locked on 72.

Indianapolis, beyond being home to the world's most famous speedway and the NFL's Colts, is the home to many war memorials. Driving into town I am greeted by a most impressive obelisk capped by a sword-bearing, torch-holding, tunic-clad, winged-cap-wearing sort of lady liberty. The Indiana Soldier's and Sailor's Monument and the round brick-paved plaza surrounding it mark the center of the city. For a moment I imagined I was in Italy or France, but once through the lovely plaza it was clear I was just on my way to a big parking lot in the neighborhood of an American football stadium. I popped the trunk, unfolded my bike, rode through crowds making their way to a monster truck jam and found my way to the convention center.

I saw no bike parking accommodations outside the convention hall. In the lobby, a local organization hosted a handy bike corral, likely to spare us the bike confiscation debacle of last year's show.

The convention hall itself was packed. I bumped into some of my new Chicago friends as well as Dutch Bike Co. Chicago customers. My impression from talking to some of the builders is that the quantity and caliber of prospective buyers increased over last year's show. I imagine that mid-west cycling enthusiasts confined by this unusually wicked-cold winter make it a point to stoke their passion at any opportunity. This festival of bespoke bike porn proved the perfect remedy for mid-winter blues.

The show seemed more homogeneous than last year's: missing were odd builders and specialty component manufacturers (Rohloff, Schlumpf... ) from the far reaches of Europe. More present were the bigger custom manufacturers like Independent Fab., Co-Motion and component manufacturers like Brooks, Cane Creek and SRAM. I liked that SRAM was promoting their Truvativ two-speed HammerSchmidt crank/bottom bracket. Though an innovation focused mainly at the mountain bike and 29'er market, I believe the HammerSchmidt would make an elegant and bullet-proof two-speed city bike solution.

As far as city and utility bikes, many builders displayed sporty solutions with derailleurs and forward-leaning positions for the riders. Really, because they're so precious, it's hard to call a $3-5000 hand-built bike a utility bike, unless its a cargo bike or a long-tail. I would have liked to have seen builders using full chain cases and more internally-geared hubs. These two components combined with a completely upright riding position are the trademarks of a true utility or city bike. The maintenance and longevity benefits of having your whole drive-train sealed are innumerable, way beyond the bonus of never needing to roll up your right pant leg. I saw not one bike with a full chain case, though some very beautiful stylized chain guards.

Someone leading the city and utility bike design movement is Mike Flanigan, known as ANT Bike Mike for his company Alternative Needs Transportation. Mike is building one of his popular designs in a more standardized manner. No longer a true custom, his low-volume production, front and rear-racked Boston Roadster is a paragon of fun, style, utility and affordability. One look a the steel one piece crank may drive many gear-headed dilettantes into a hypertensive pseudo-scientific rant, but to me it just says strong, durable, time-tested and gives me the warm fuzzy feeling I get when I think of my first Schwinn.

It's worth mentioning that Mike's roadsters have internally geared hubs, grip shifting, dynamo hub-powered headlamp and tail lamp, fenders, roller brake, a sprung saddle, as well a front and rear rack - all features that turn a bike into a practical and comfortable appliance - a true city bike and one that will serve its owner for years to come with little maintenance. The only thing missing is a full chain case, which remains in the domain of Dutch city bikes designed for those who wear their business clothes when they ride. It's also worth celebrating the sporty and cool Bilenky cargo bikes. Bilenky seemed to have the widest variety of bikes, from fat-tired monsters, to porteurs, to hybrid tandems and a triple with recumbent stokers on either side of the captain.

While in Mike's booth on Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting someone who is likely The Daddy of all Indianapolis bike riders. He asked me to guess the year of his birth. I suddenly knew I was getting sandbagged. I blurted 1920, figuring he was so old that everyone guessed short of his real age, so I thought I'd guess long. He answered 1915. Whoa, and still riding a bike. That's 93 or 94 years old, for those of you who don't have a calculator or like me, spare brain cells devoted to arithmetic. He owns 3 bikes and told me the story of recently re-discovering his first (1920) bicycle in a local antiques shop. He said that the bike was the only one to be found in a neighboring town's mercantile store, initially so big that at first he could only ride it standing up, because he could not reach the pedals from the saddle. Eventually the bike fit him and after some time he repainted it and it was this paint job which gave the bike away almost ninety years later when he spied it hanging in the antique shop. Missing was the perfect ending in which the antique shop owner sells the bike to the nostalgic 90-plus year-old man who was once the bicycle's original childhood owner.

Enjoy the slides below...

David in Europe Until 2/24

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

David is in Amsterdam this week meeting with suppliers. We have limited staffing until his return on the 23rd, so shop hours will be limited to weekends. Feel free to call Stephan at our Chicago shop 312-265-0175 if you have any questions. Thanks and cheers.

The New Year

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:08:00 GMT

We want to thank everyone for continuing to believe in Dutch Bike Co. and our mission to bring the best of the what the bicycle is about to America.

A Bakfiets in Winter

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:41:00 GMT

Seems over the last few weeks here in Chicago we've had a snow storm every few days. Eddie, our property manager, begins his snow shoveling rounds many times before 4:00 AM. Shoveling sidewalks is The Law here in the windy city and property owners are fast (and smart) to mitigate their liabilities. Buried under the covers, as I drift in in and out of dreaming my next tropical vacation, I can hear the shovel scraping.

Now for many cities, this sort of weekly winter onslaught results in municipal paralysis (to the delight of all school-free children). In Chicago, four or five inches of snow quickly succumbs to battalions of snow plows, running day and night on all the major boulevards, strewing salt behind them as if the roads are salmon fillet and we are curing gravlax for the holiday. Due to this saline seasoning, the roads remain wet to well below twenty degrees. Cars shoosh by as if it just rained. Truly icy main roads are a rarity, and on the occasion the roads do dry, they just imitate ice like the flats of Bonneville

I do not ever remember applying the adjective awesome to the cold, but today it applies. On my morning Bakfiets ride to the gym, ice formed on my nostril hairs. My breath escaped into giant steam clouds only to freeze as layers of ice on my sunglasses. I suppose there is a point where a gob of spit would freeze before it hits the ground, but it's not quite that cold yet, but seemingly close. NOAA says it's -3 degrees Fahrenheit, that's -19 degrees C for you Swedish astronomy fans. Did I mention it's sunny and the wind is blowing 30-40 mph? That makes the wind chill -30 degrees F. Santa says wear a hat, eye protection and some good gloves. The ride to the gym is less than two miles, so I savored less than ten minutes each way of the invigorating awesomeness that is today's blowing cold.

When it's this cold the accumulated snow, well, it does just that: accumulates. It has no place to go other than under and around parked cars. It doesn't melt, no matter how much salt the DOT Head Chef throws on the pig. Even the randomly strewn blue salt crystals on my Bakfiets cargo cover were encased in ice. I passed several motorists digging out their cars, one, stuck in a rocking back and forward, howling tire dance (with a tip of the cap to Sammy Hagar) called "I can't drive 55" (like it's 55 degrees, that is). No problem for a post-apocalyptic, wool overcoat-clad, studded tire riding Bakfiets pilot. I just plow my bike into the snow bank, hop off and push the guy out of his predicament. Subsequently, we both drive off much happier about the state of motorist-cyclist relations.

Because Chicago is really, truly, unbelievably, billiard table flat, it is universally "Bakfiets-able". The only hills are bridges and valleys, freeway underpasses. This makes it easy to carry whatever I like, wherever I like. About 40 lbs of "stuff" (anything will do, even snow) in the front of the Bakfiets will help the front wheel cut through even the most peanut-buttery snow. Because Bakfiets and rider are together as aerodynamic as a cathederal, wind can just as easily be an enemy as a friend. I ride the narrower tree-lined side streets, where the wind is less ferocious and pedal like a liquor store bandit whenever the wind is to my back, because it is just as likely to be blasting me in the face by the next intersection.

The Artwork of Tully Satre

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

line ¹ |līn|

We are pleased to exhibit the artworks of Tully Satre ("say-ter") this month, through January 30th, 2009. Mr. Satre is a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Are these post-modern tapestry designs, tartans, a painterly algebraic expression or obsession? You decide. The meticulous attention to line will surely tickle you. Show hours are TU - SA, 11 AM - 6 PM and SU, noon - 5 PM (closed Mondays)

Practical Chic Drives an Oma

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Our friend, style & finance blogger and author of the snappy recession guide Don't Get Caught with Your Skirt Down, Jill Keto takes some time to have a glass of wine and take an Oma for a test ride. Disclaimer: no animals or children were harmed in the making of this video.

Bike Friday Everyday

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:47:00 GMT

Time is a luxury, so if your weary of wasting 7-10 seconds per day, 49 seconds a week and an average 3.2 minutes a month folding your bike, the Bike Friday is your time machine. We're now pleased to have Bike Friday folding bikes in our shop.

These bikes have a very loyal customer base all over the U.S. and abroad, made in Eugene Oregon they're a great compliment to the species of imported city bikes in our stable. While our Dutch and German bikes are meant to be left (or piled) outside the train station, these babies come along for the ride, either just folded or packed into their own Samsonite luggage carrier which doubles as a trailer for touring.

What we lack for in trains here in the Puget Sound we make up for with an estimated 500,000 boats permanently moored in the area. The folded Bike Friday is so compact it can be easily stowed on a boat making each port of call an opportunity to continue cruising on land.

Nan Eastep

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

This item has no description. Follow link to view item.

Dutch Bike Seattle Fashion Show

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

We know our mantra has always been that you don't need to wear special clothes to ride our Dutch bikes, but I make exception when it comes to fine wool and oil-skin fashions. For those of you who like to wear fashionable clothes when you cycle, we have something very special. [caption id="attachment_210" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Nan in green dress by bicigirl @ Flickr"][/caption] This coming Sunday November 9th, from 11 AM to 1 PM, we'll be hosting B.Spoke Tailor at our Seattle shop where you can check out some of the finest cycling clothing around. Founder and expert tailor Nan Eastep will be on hand to showcase her fabulous line of wool riding knickers, oil-skin coats and backpacks. The color palette of her clothes are perfect for fall riding and more functional than 90% of what's out there.

Doctor Nygaard on Tools

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Chris Nygaard is Dutch Bike Co. Seattle's Dr. of Pedalology, and he's here to share with you bike wisdom from the malt beverage-washed shores of his vast mind. As much as I would like to say this is a list of tools in the order you should buy them in, it's not. There are too many considerations and differences in rider abuse... er "style" which play a roll in what you will need to buy tools for first. Not to mention, what you have plays a huge roll in what you need too. For example, my Klein bottom bracket tool is super cool, but for $250, you can get a lot more use out of the full set of hex wrenches, sockets, ratchet, screwdrivers and wrenches you could buy for $250 than you will ever get out of a Klein bottom bracket tool if you don't even own a Klein made in Chehalis. For example, it's usually worth the labor to have someone press in a headset rather than buy a headset press to do it yourself once you consider:

How much the labor to install a headset is ($20-$40 as a rule)
How much a headset press costs ($80-$200)
How often you will have to use the headset press to justify it's cost (between four to twenty times)
How much space a press will hog up in your toolbox or on your tool board (One of the biggest and most awkward bike tools)

First, seriously think about what you will actually need to use once a day, week, month, and year. Then buy the tools that you will use the most often first. Not to say you should turn down a full Campy tool kit from someone at a garage sale who doesn't know what they have for $20, but those "opportunities" are rare to non-existent. Focus of repeatable value. Second, have a storage and organization plan first, then buy tools after. Digging about in a box trying to find a tool you need is really annoying, but loosing tools or having them get damaged is even worse. Surplus ammo cans are water tight and have sturdy construction and handles. You can also bolt them down and lock them if you are worried about your tools wandering off. There are even some great customizable lift out organizers for them so you don't have to dump out the whole box to find what you want. I also like to throw a few of those silica bead packets you get in electronics in the tool box to reduce moisture and rust. A sturdy dresser from a thrift store may fit your cost, design, and or space needs better than an ammo can or toolbox. Drawer organizers, sliding trays, and tool storage options can make the most of your space and leave you more space to keep your other things, while looking like part of your bedroom. Third, it's not a race. Tools haven't changed much over the years. Sure, ratcheting combination wrenches are newer to the common market, but not many people need them compared to a regular combination wrench, the design of which has not changed in more than one-hundred years. With this in mind and being price conscious, there is no need to rush out and buy everything. You can get great deals by shopping smart and watching for sales. Ebay is great for this as many people buy the huge tool sets, then break them up to sell off as smaller sets. These are great ways to get full runs of sizes on sockets, wrenches, and screw drivers to name a few. Fourth, and I can't say this enough, so I'll put it in quotes and use a whole other sentence. "Good tools aren't cheap, and cheap tools aren't good." There are exceptions for the savvy ebay shopper, lucky estate/yard sale find, fortuitous flea market discovery, etc... but tools you find at Ace, Ikea, TruValue are usually not worth owning. I find owning crappy tools more frustrating, expensive, and annoying than not owning any tools. You will want forged tools from a name you recognize like Allen, Craftsman, Husky, Mac, Matco, or Snap-On which have a high chrome finish if possible. Of these, I personally think Craftsman offer the best value, availability, and customer service, but you may have a family member who works at Home Depot, or a tool company. I also feel Harbor Tool and Freight is almost always worth more as bird cage liners than a tool catalog because they sell very few tools with a name you can find anywhere else if you need to replace them. Also worth considering, multi-tools are are intended to get you home, not to be used as a daily tool on your work bench. Multi-tools are frequently designed with compactness and light weight at the expense of ergonomics and durability, which is a trade off you do not want to make. Keep the folding tools in your bag and get the real thing for home. As I said from the start, this is not a list of tools in the order you should buy them in. I have tried to group them into Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Tetsuo, the Iron Man (www.imdb.com) levels of tool commitment. Here we go...

Basic Tools You Should Have

Ball End Hex Wrenches: (10mm, 8mm, 6mm-3mm, 2.5mm, 2mm, 1.5mm) This is usually one of the most common sets sold and has everything you need. If you have imperial bolts, get the set which has three or so more wrenches than this one. Combination Wrenches: 18mm-7mm (Craftsman sells this set, which is great. It's also made in Imperial sizing. Screwdrivers: 1/8" and 1/4" flathead, #0 and #2 Phillips. 12" Adjustable Wrench: It’s a wrench, which adjusts. Floor Pump: Don't skimp here. Spend $40 or more and make sure you get one with replaceable parts. Hoses split, gaskets wear out, and some small thing will break. A $30 pump you replace every six months costs more than a $100 pump you use for years. Spoke Wrench: There are five or six common standards, only about three are common on modern bikes. Get the size you need. Chain Tool: Just like chains, there are two sizes you will find. 1/8" and 3/32". Get the one your bike uses. Cassette or Freewheel Tool: There are lots, but get the one you need for your bike first. If you ride a fixed gear bike, get a Lockring tool instead. Chain Whip: Just like chains, there are two sizes you will find. 1/8" and 3/32". Get the one your bike uses. Hammer: Ball peen is preferred, but any iron based hammer will do. 3 Piece File Set: Should have a flat mill, half round bastard, and a round file. Utility Knife: Replaceable blades too. Pointy Thing: Awl, sharpened spoke, probe, or whatever. Round, no bigger than 1/16" diameter, metal and pointy on one end. Linesman Pliers: These are bull nosed pliers with cutters. Ruler: If you don’t have a ruler, you should really get one with both Imperial and Metric markings. Bottle Opener: You drink beer, right?

Intermediate Tools

Grease Gun: Shoots grease into stuff. Great for hubs, headsets, and lubing hard to get things. Also keeps the grease inside clean and free of contaminants like dirt, dust, stray metal bits, etc which WILL fall into an open grease tub. Headset Wrenches: Get what you have. 32mm, 36mm, and 40mm are the most common sizes for 1", 1 1/8", and 1 1/4" headsets. There are a few odd sizes too. Cone Wrenches: Two each of 13mm, 15mm, and 17mm. Other sizes exist, but not many and not often. Cow Magnet: Great for removing old bearings from hubs and such. 3/8" Drive Ratchet: No flex head or stubbies. Just a regular ratchet. 3/8" Drive Shallow 6 Point Sockets: (17mm-8mm) NOT 12 point! 3/8" Drive Hex Drive: (10mm, 8mm, 6mm-4mm) T-handle Hex Wrenches: (6mm-3mm, 2.5mm, 2mm) NOT Ball end! Cable Cutters: The cutting blades must cross like these. Diagonal cutters are not what you want. Arc Joint Pliers: 9 1/2", give or take 1/2" Soft Face Hammer: Like a hammer, but softer on what you are hitting it with. Good for painted things and fizzball. Pedal Wrench: Long, thin, and full of leverage. Chain Ring Spanner: Comes with many Shimano crank sets. This will probably be free. Crank Bolt Tool: This can be as simple as a 14mm socket (see above), 15mm socket, or an 8mm hex wrench, or a special tool. Crank Arm Extractor: I recommend a regular one instead of an ISIS or Octilink specific one. The adapter to use a regular one on ISIS or Octilink is $4.00, but a whole extractor is closer to $20.00. Spend $24.00 and have the ability to do both. Bottom Bracket Tool(s): Get the one(s) your bike uses. If you have a sealed bottom bracket, it'll be one tool. If it's a cup and ball bottom bracket, you will need three: lockring tool, bottom bracket spanner (specific to bottom bracket model), and a fixed cup wrench. Needle Nose Pliers: For small hard to reach things. Fourth Hand Tool: This one pulls the slack out of a cable. Not used for derailleurs, but helpful on brakes. Metric Veneer Calipers: Used to accurately measure nearly anything 6 inches or smaller. Make sure it has depth measuring capabilities. Then commit 22.2mm-7/8", 25.4mm-1", 28.6mm-1 1/8", and 31.8mm-1 1/4" to memory. Bench or Work Area: Having a dedicated work area is one of the best tools you can have. You should be making a bench or buying one. Extras: Having a few tools for your friends bikes is a good idea by now as a rule. Maybe a spoke wrench for some other size, or a freewheel tool for something you don't own. You get the idea. By this point, you are investing in tools which are going to benefit more than just yourself. Some common ones that are not more than $20.00 will likely get you a free six pack from a friend about once a month or so, which pays for the tool in about a month.

Advanced Tools

Repair Stand: By now, working on a bike is something you do often enough that a stand is pretty much required. You don't need a Park PRS-2 OS to change a flat. Many folding stands like the Pedros and Ultimate repair stands are less than half the cost, a quarter of the weight, portable, and can be put away to save better than six square feet of floor space in your home. Truing Stand: One make of metal, with two uprights, and lots of adjustably. The Park TS-2 has been the standard for years. Nipple Driver: Makes building wheels loads easier. Ball End Hex Drivers: Like screwdrivers for hex bolts, but ball ended for those hard to reach areas. Not used to torque the bolt ever. Housing Cutters: The cutting blades must cross like these. While functionally the same, you do not want to use the same cutters for housing as you do for cables. Housing wears cutters out much faster. Hack Saw: 12" size and a few extra blades. Fork Cutting Guide: For trimming forks. Kind of obvious, but still a good tool to have. Taps: 5M x .8, 6M x 1, and maybe another size you personally own or see a use to own (like a 10M x1 for derailleur hangers or 4M x 7 for horizontal dropout screws). Tap Handle: To fit above taps. Chain Ring Aligner: Used to bent chain rings so they are true, but very useful for reshaping all manor of thin metal bits, like front derailleurs, rack struts, and your temper. Headset Cup Remover: I'd get the Park one because it does both 1" and 1 1/8". If you only work on one size, you can think about something else, but seriously, you won't remove than many headsets. Headset Press: Get one with adapters for 1", 1 1/8", and 1 1/4". You may only ever use 1", but the odd MTB friend with a old Fisher or Cannondale will thank you, and there is no price difference. Star Nut Press: More hammering than pressing, but it's what installs the star nut. Crown Race Installer: Can be a slid hammer style or the newer press on type, but you'll need something. They are sized, so consider what you are going to be installing. Dropout Alignment Tools: Makes the dropouts parallel to each other which makes QRs clamp better and hubs last longer with easier wheel installation and removal. Rear Hanger Alignment Tool: Makes shifting work when all else fails. Bench Vice: 5 inch. Nothing smaller, maybe a little bigger if you have other hobbies or job which use something bigger. Axle Vice: This lets you clamp an axle in a vice without crushing it. Good to have, but not needed very often. Extras: Wrap up the odd sizes you don't have for taps (apart from bottom bracket taps mentioned below), spoke wrenches, headset wrenches, and bottom bracket tools. OK, now it really serious. By now you have a professional bike shop and you can fix most anything. The only thing separating you from a business is a tax license and insurance. Many successful bike shops don't have some of these tools, so anything past this point is a fetish, or a business venture.

Tetsuo, the Iron Man Tools

Headtube Mill: Mills the headtube so the headset cups press in smoothly and seat evenly. There are four sizes, only three are common, and of those three, only two that you will see with any regularity. You want 1" and 1 1/8", 1 1/4" if you know someone who owes you their soul with a Bike Friday, Cannondale, Fisher, or tandem, and 1.5" for the crazy downhill person you know who owes you their should and first born. Bottom Bracket Taps: English, then Italian, then anything else you need, which there isn't any of anymore. Seriously, unless you are planning on reviving French and Swiss threading just some the whole bike world can laugh at you until they pee themselves, English and maybe Italian only. Bottom Bracket Mill: Mills the bottom bracket shell to make sure the ends are parallel to each other. Pretty much only useful if you deal with expensive cup and ball bottom brackets, which you shouldn't be. Fork Crown Mill: Mills the fork crown to the correct size for the crown race. Fork Threaders: Threaded forks are getting harder to find, so not much needed here. There are four common sizes: 1" English, 1" Italian, 1 1/8" English, and 1 1/4" English. Anything else is to rare and weird to care about. Wheel Dishing Tool: If you're building wheels, this it the thing that makes sure it's centered. If used right, is accurate to -/+.005" or better. Hope your truing skills can match it. Expandable Reamer: Makes odd seattubes round and accepting of equally round seatposts. Fork Alignment Guide: Good for realigning some forks after a bend. Phil Wood Spoke Machine: Pretty much the Holy Grail if you build wheels and a total mystery if you don't. Frame Jig: Pretty much the Holy Grail if you build frames and a huge heavy piece of junk if you don't. TIG Welder/Brazing Torch/Cutting Torch: By now, you don't need me to explain why you have this.

Prep, Open & Party

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

We had a super weekend of sales and oh so many visitors to the store. Some from as far away as Missouri and southern Illinois, just to buy bikes. Thank you all for making our opening weekend a success. Thanks also to Millie at Enbeadia, our welcoming new neighbor who also happened to save the day when we realized we had no wine key or beer opener.

Note to self: corkscrews and bottle openers = essential tools for Dutch Bike Company Chicago.

Sorry the rest of our friends and readers couldn't all be here to hang the sign and party with us until, not quite, the break of day. Next time...

Oh, and Czech us out in today's Coolhunting post.

Low Rider Bakfiets & More Video

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Thanks to Tim King and the Mexican Institute of Sound. Andrew Coffey and JP share their fall day with us.

Inventory Arrives in Chicago

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:52:00 GMT

The Seattle staff are all in Chicago this weekend to assist with the grand opening of the Chicago store. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause our customers and visitors to the shop. Just give us a call in Chicago 312-265-0175 if you need any assistance. We all have access to email, so you can still reach us that way as well.

Our inventory has arrived. Thanks to Henry at Workcyles for packing more bikes into a 40 ft ocean-going container than seems humanly possible and seeing to it that they arrived in perfect time for our Grand Opening. Thanks also to the Chicago area US Customs for making this the smoothest and swiftest clearing process we have experienced. Thanks especially to Gerson Development and Exit Management for making possible and welcoming us into our new home.

Chicago Opening October 18th

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Hey, it's almost time. More bikes arrive this week. Did you know that Chicago has a 24 hr. Home Depot. Yup, you can buy hand tools and light bulbs at midnight. Sorry I don't have much time to blather on about how happy we are to be here, but here are some photos from my last days in Seattle and our new home in Chicago. Hope to see you sometime in the shop soon. Our hours will be 11 AM to 6 PM Saturday the 18th.

Chicago Location Revealed

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Dutch Bike Seattle is thriving - thanks to all of our customers, friends and fans in Seattle and all over the USA. Sporty Seattle seems to be warming up to the more relaxed and practical lifestyle Dutch bikes inspire. We've even come up with a "Seattle Gearing" package (20 minute swap - rear 20T cog for a 22T cog, and add a few links to the chain) for those who need or want some more hill climbing power with their eight-speed Nexus. There will be no need for Seattle Gearing packages in Chicago - where the biggest hills are typically bridges over the river or headwinds. We could gear up some of our Secret Service bikes as Chicago Speedsters... It may be handy to have a big downwind gear as you are making your way along a boulevard into the city. And, on your way into the city from the north end with that big fat tailwind pushing you along Lincoln, Clybourn or Halsted, (because you have a little extra time in the bank) why not turn off on Armitage and visit our soon to open Dutch Bike Chicago location at 651 W Armitage #1E. Gaze through the window and imagine a big shiny black Secret Service or Opa or Oma or Transport waiting for you to take it home. Here the cha-ching of the register as Stephan and staff happily ring up enthusiastic new customers. Giggle at the thought of thousands of Chicagoans in sitting up and parading around town on their Dutch bikes, with perfect postures and bugs collecting in their perpetually grinning teeth. See you in a few weeks...

Sweet Home Chicago

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

I returned last night from a whirlwind three day trip to Chicago. My main mission was to secure the lease for our new shop. Mission accomplished. Thanks to our friend Alby Van Alyea and broker Diana Rendina for making it a fun and smooth process. And a special thanks to our new landlord and his enthusiastic wife for taking a liking (from afar) to us. We look forward to meeting the both of you soon. I'm not yet ready to reveal the neighborhood or the specific address, but I am willing to play twenty questions over the next few days. So, if you want to play, just ask me yes or no question here in the blog. I will answer in a timely manner. The one who guesses the street and neighborhood will win a Dutch Bike Seattle T-shirt, illustrated by Ed Fotheringham (cartoonist/illustrator whose work can be seen in The New Yorker). Friends and family are not eligible. And no, Ed McMahon will not be coming to your door with an million dollar check from Publisher's Clearinghouse.

Dutch Bike Seattle's Opa in GQ Magazine

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

We don't have any links. You may have to head to the newsstand, barbershop or dentist's office to get yourself a copy of the September issue of GQ Magazine. If you subscribe, you're set. Just go to page 197 and feast your eyes on our Opa featured in a full-page editorial. Now I had to explain to my mom the GQ (Gentleman's Quarterly) Magazine is the equivalent of Vogue or Cosmopolitan for men, and then she wrote it down, and she'll get a copy, and she'll be entertained and proud when she eventually gets to page 197.

Parking Your Bike in Tokyo

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

A recent article in the Washington Post, "For Bicyclists, a Widening Patchwork World: U.S. Lags Behind Two-Wheeled Boom" by Blaine Harden illustrates the growth of cycling worldwide. In the case of cycling infrastructure, the bottom line is - if you build it they will come. This has been proven in cities all over the globe. The article was accompanied by the video below of a sweet bike parking system in Tokyo and an interview with the president of Giant Bicycles.

Care and Feeding of a Brooks Saddle

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Bicycle saddles exist so that riders aren’t obligated to stand for the duration of a given bicycle ride. They are a source of comfort to some cyclists, and a source of discomfort to other cyclists. Most other things you chose to sit on do not require you to straddle them and rest nearly your full body weight on one of the most sensitive parts of your body. As a result, a saddle is the most personal choice you can make when it comes to a comfortable ride. No other part of a bicycle will make you want to ride it more or less than the saddle, and yet many people who buy a new bicycle never even consider the possibility of upgrading the stock saddle, or even trying a few other saddles with a different size, shape or material before they head home with their new bike. ... While the investment in time to try several saddles is worth it, the true test is breaking in yourself and the saddle. Many modern saddles have no break in period. They have a hard plastic or carbon fiber shell which is covered by some leather, Kevlar, synthetic leather, or Spandex with varying amounts of padding underneath. For these modern saddles, the only break in is you getting used to how a saddle fits you. Many people go this route for convenience, cost, or ignorance to the existence of other options. While modern saddles can offer years of comfort and use, they do not offer one of the main reasons why a Brooks saddle is an excellent choice. Brooks saddles get more comfortable as you ride them because they conform to fit you. The only daunting parts about owning a Brooks are how to break it in, and then how to care for it in the years which follow. Both are easy, and require very little time or effort on your part. Rarely can so much comfort come from so little effort.

Step 1: Selecting a Good Fit

Before you buy a saddle that you have no previous experience with, such as already owning the same model, it’s worth sitting on the saddle before you buy it. When you are shopping to buy a new saddle, plan on spending at least an hour, or more if you need to go to a few different shops, to try all the saddles you are interested in. Take three things with you: Your bike, the clothing you expect to ride in, and an open mind. The reasoning is that you want to put yourself in the same conditions you will be using the saddle so that you can accurately assess which one fits you the best. No amount of poking a saddle as hard as you can with your finger will tell you if the saddle supports you well or not. Sitting on it will. A saddle’s weight will not tell you if it hurts to sit on. Sitting on it will. A saddle’s color will not contribute to the comfort of your ride. Sitting on it will. With this in mind, try to leave behind any preconceived notions you have about what you think you want, and just pay attention to what your body tells you. A notebook is also a good idea to bring alone, so that you can make some notes about how different models felt, what you liked, didn’t like, prices, stuff that you will not instantly remember if your life depended on it. Whether you, or the sales person, attach the saddle to your bike, start with it as close to level from front to back as possible. If you are female, you may want to lower on the nose of the saddle about a ¼”. This can be changed to suit your position and riding style, but it’s a good neutral place to start when trying a new saddle. When you sit on the saddle, you want the majority of your weight to be on your ischial tuberosities, the boniest part of your butt. You want little to no weight on anything forward of the ischial tuberosities, but contact and support are generally just fine. Ideally, your goal is to find a saddle which fully supports you, and does not limit your range of motion, while being comfortable to sit on. If you feel like the saddle is like sitting on the narrow edge of a split rail fence, you need something wider. If you feel like you are sitting on a bar stool, you probably want something narrower. If you are able, take the bike, or saddle more accurately, for a ten to fifteen minute ride. Make any minor height or angle adjustments you need, and test again for a few minutes. Then, try another saddle. Once you have made your selection, it’s time to buy it.

Step 2: Treating the Leather

Presumably, if you are still reading this, you ended up with a Brooks saddle, or spotted the title of this article and skipped the part about finding a new saddle. One thing everyone seems to agree on is Brooks saddles need some care to aid in their break in and extend their service life. Being natural leather under tension, they need to be kept clean, dry, and have grease/oil/treatment applied from time to time to prevent the leather from drying out. Brooks suggests Proofide as the best means of treating and protecting their leather saddles. While Proofide is a fine product, there are any number of others which work as well, do more to help the break in process, are easier to find, and cost less. Likewise, there are several products which you should avoid using, such as mink oil, or silicon based waterproofing agents because they are either destructive to the leather, or do nothing to actually treat the leather. As a rule, you want to both oil the leather to keep it from drying out or cracking, and you want to provide some means of water resistance to keep the leather from absorbing water. Proofide is good at the later, but not the former. Neatsfoot oil is good at the former, but not the later. It is therefore a good idea to employ both a leather dressing and leather protectorate to help speed the break in time and help extend the service life of the saddle. Chris’ Tip: Personally, I prefer Obenauf’s Leather Oil to neatsfoot oil, and Obenauf’s Heavy Duty LP to Proofide. I have seen better results from infrequent applications of Obenauf’s to a Brooks saddle in the rainy weather of Seattle, than frequent applications of Proofide. This is my preferred product, what I personally recommend, and it is what I use in the shop for every saddle. I’m not paid, sponsored, or otherwise compensated by Obenauf’s at all, I just love their products. There are generally two means to applying oil to a saddle. One is to apply it by hand using a dauber, or by pouring a small amount of oil into or onto the saddle, then working it into the whole of the saddle. The other is to submerge the whole saddle in the oil for a period of time and then drain the oil back into the bottle. Both have their merits, but applying by hand requires you to have less leather oil on hand, and usually has less clean up and wasted oil. Whereas the submersion method ensures every part of the leather will be treated with oil. Sheldon Brown detailed an excellent means of soaking by forming a sheet of aluminum foil around the top of the saddle to catch the oil and pouring the whole of a bottle in to soak for 30 minutes to an hour here. If you want to apply by hand, here are a few tricks. Be aware the saddle will get much darker than it is now. Here are two new Brooks saddles in Honey, one has been treated and the other has not. There is a big difference. Also be aware if a color was used to make the saddle a color, then some of that dye will likely run out during the treating process, which could be an issue if you have white carpets and some oil drips. It will also come out on your shorts in the first few rides, so avoid light colored clothing at first, or use a saddle cover.

Clean off an area on your work area about as big as a jelly roll pan. You will want to have a clean and dry work surface. Using a jelly roll pan to catch any oil drips is a good idea as well. This is not something you want to do over the heirloom rug from your spouse’s dead grandfather, or a new couch (unless it’s leather).
Wash your hands. You want to prevent cleaning agents, dirt, and grease from getting on the saddle.
Have two or three lint free rags to wipe up oil and clean off the saddle when you are done ready before you start. You hands are going to get oily doing this, and people rarely enjoy oily hand prints around the house or on the clean linens.
Warm the saddle up before you start. It should not be hot, as it can damage the leather and you will need to be able to handle it. If the sun is out, ten to twenty minutes of sitting in direct sun should be good for most locations in the world on a summer day. If you live somewhere where it isn’t currently, or doesn’t get warm, try a hairdryer. Do not use direct heat though. It is common for other cyclists to feel sorry for you while simultaneously laughing at you if you forget your new Brooks in the oven.
Once warm, apply oil to the inside of the saddle first, then the outside. When you have a freshly dunked dauber of oil, be sure to get the crevices of the saddle frame and the nose piece first, while saving the big open areas like the middle for last.
Rub the oil around with your hands. Some parts of the leather will take oil faster than others and look dryer than the rest. This seems obvious, but the trick is to even the oil out over the whole surface inside and out.
Let the saddle sit for five or ten minutes in a warm place to absorb the oil on a rag or other surface which will not stain if oil drips off the saddle.
Repeat step 5 through step 7 two or three times. This is much easier to see visibly on any saddle which is not black because the saddle will get darker.
Using one of the clean lint-free rags, wipe off any excess oil, then warm the saddle again.
Once warm, apply the leather protector to the inside of the saddle first, then the outside. Rub it in with your hands paying special attention to the edges, rivets, and inside.
Place the saddle in a plastic bag just big enough to hold the saddle, tie it off so there is as much trapped air in the bag as possible, then place it in the sun for an hour. If you do not have access to reliable sun, put it somewhere warm, like the top of a dryer while drying a load of laundry.
Remove the saddle, and wipe it off with the lint free rag before mounting it to your bike.
Mount the saddle on your bike. I hate to be presumptuous, but I am going to presume that you know how to do this. There are an awful lot of seatposts out there, and I am leery of telling you how your seatpost works without seeing it. However, there are several saddles which will not work in some types of seatposts. Several Brooks have more than two seat rails and come with a clamp for a “pipe” style of seatpost. If you want to use a modern micro-adjust seatpost, you will need a Seat Sandwich®, which may not work will all types of seatposts. Consult your local bike shop if needed.
Adjust the saddle to your liking, but always start neutral. Clamp the saddle rails in the middle with the seatpost and ensure the nose and the tail of the saddle are level with each other. Most people like the saddle to be as close to level as possible, although many women like the nose of the saddle to be tipped down as much as ¼” or 6mm. The more upright your riding position is, the more tipping the nose up is worth considering. But if the saddle as springs, consider tipping the nose down so the saddle is close to level when you’re sitting on it with your full weight. In the end, you have to decide what is right for you. Do not be surprised if it takes several tried to find the best position and angle for yourself.

Step 3: Changing Your Habits

Once you have installed the treated the saddle, it should be ready for a few weeks of riding with little to no further attention. However, there are some differences between a leather saddle and a modern saddle which may necessitate some changes in your behavior and habits with your new saddle. ¨ Do not ride a leather saddle wet. It will stretch out the leather and dramatically shorten its service life. In point of fact, you should carry a plastic grocery sack or other specialty seat cover to protect your saddle in the event it starts raining while you have it locked up somewhere. If you do not have fenders, and expect to ride in the rain, get some fenders before you ride in the rain. The water which gets flung off the rear tire will to get your saddle wet enough to cause damage. The odd drop of water will not cause damage, but sustained tire spray while riding should be avoided. ¨ Avoid leaving the saddle in the sun for days and days. Ultraviolet light can cause the saddle to dry out and crack. Leather oil and protector will help, but it’s cheaper, easier and more effective to keep your bike inside, and not just for your saddle. A bike kept inside will last longer and work better than the same bike left on a patio, or in a shed. Bikes like the same environment as you do, which is to say about 70 degrees Fahrenheit/21 Celsius and about 50% humidity (give or take). ¨ Wear dark shorts or pants. The leather will stop leaching out any dyes eventually, but the first hundred miles or so will really do a number on whites. ¨ If needed, clean the saddle with a damp rag and a little saddle soap, but you probably won’t need to very frequently. The goal is to keep the saddle free of dirt and water. Fenders are the best way, but unexpected things such as stream crossings, irrigation run off, snow storms, chemical spills, etc. can be very hard on a leather saddle. Brush off any dirt that you can, and use a little water and saddle soap to clean up the rest. Changing your habits for the better is always the best way to extend the service life of any part, but especially for a leather saddle. While ferrous metals rust and aluminum can corrode when exposed to water and/or salt, leather will break down substantially faster than metal if left untreated and uncared for. Depending on weather conditions, and where you store your bike, reapply the leather protector about once a month to three months. Not a lot of the leather protector, just enough to give the outside a little bit of a shine. A blob of leather protector about the size of an apple seed will be enough for the top, and a blob the size of a grapefruit seed will be enough for the bottom. If you live somewhere really hot and dry, and you cannot bring your bike inside, aim for the monthly application. Likewise if live somewhere really humid and wet and you cannot keep your bike inside.

... and They are Gorgeous

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Retrovelo in the House...

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Soon. We know that our Retrovelo shipment is here in Seattle. Will it get inspected and released by customs on Monday? Or, will it get released on Tuesday? Or, will customs decide to make us wait... ? I'll keep you posted.

Dutch Bike Co. Seattle in the News

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Last month I was interviewed by Crai Bower for a Forbes Traveler article entitled North America's Most Bike Friendly Cities where I had a chance to hint at the need for a shift in the way we view bicycles - from sporting goods to transportation appliances. I also had another chance to kiss Portland's ass as one of the great cycling cities. I do love Portland, certainly as a cycling mecca and hope America's ass-kissing of Portland as a great cycling city will stir the envy of sport-cycling-centric Seattle (and other cities with elitist cycling egos) to invest more in cycling infrastructure for the everyday rider. One of the other top cycling cities mentioned in the article is Chicago and from what I recently observed it's true. There are seemingly more everyday people, in everyday clothes, riding ordinary bikes at casual velocities than in any other US city I have recently visited. Chicago is big and it's flat and there are a lot of old Schwinns piloted by the children of the original owners. There are bike lanes along many of the main boulevards. Mayor Daley is committed to making Chicago the best cycling city in the USA. His plan calls for a 500 mile network of bikeways so no Chicagoan is more than on-half mile from a bikeway. This may explain why our biggest and most fervent customer base is in Chicago. Chicago takes its working class viewpoint and applies it to cycling with superb effect.

Today we were featured on the front page of the Seattle Post Intelligencer's business section in the article Small Retail: A practical ride with the subtitle reading "Biking upright, Dutch-style, is catching on". And, it is catching on. This makes us happy. More and more people locally are finding us and tickled that they need no special uniform, athletic qualifications or technical knowledge to operate our bikes. They are meant to be ridden in the manner we used to ride and love bikes as children. This explains the grins and exhuberance which usually accompany test rides.

For those of you who read the PI article, you already know we let the cat out of the bag. Some of you may have already put two and two together. For everyone else, I'd like to tell you, we are opening a second retail shop in Chicago sometime this fall. Thanks to our fervent cutomers there, including the incomperable aLex, we already feel welcome.

Rocky's Nemesis Rides a Bakfiets

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

For those of you who grew up enjoying Sylvester Stallone as Rocky - and you know who you are - you'll be pleased to know that his arch-rival Apollo Creed, the smooth-voiced actor Carl Weathers is fit and busy. He's riding a Bakfiets around Seattle and sharing a zen-like stream of non-sequiteurs, musings about change and encouragements to a variety of speechless individuals in a series of ads for the Washington State Credit Unions. Titled "Change is Beautiful" the ads take you around town, from Gasworks to the bike trail along the the canal in Fremont, all the while with Carl making his way in our Dutch Bike Seattle Bakfiets with a bucket full of flowers. The subtext to the ads is "change is calling" and when you watch them you will agree, change IS calling. We just don't yet know to what it is calling us. Stay tuned as Carl leads the way... In other media related news the Bakfiets has become the recent focus of the comic series at Yehuda Moon.

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Dutch Bike Co. Seattle in the News

Rocky's Nemesis Rides a Bakfiets

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