Fall is here!  Which means, for those of us living here in Seattle, rain.  A lot of rain.  Driving rain.  Endless driving rain.  I’m pretty sure that last November it actually rained every day.  However, any experienced Northwestern cyclist can tell you that the best way to combat the crushing depression of the winter months (other than maybe buying a SAD lamp) is to keep riding your bike!  And what this means, is fenders. 

There are many different types of fenders.  Because I insist on riding completely impractical bikes, my only option are the clip on, or “fairly ineffective,” type of fenders.

These fenders are convenient because they simply clip on to the seat stays and fork blades of the bike, and don't need any eyelets or mounting hardware.  They’re inconvenient because they don’t really work very well, and as a result my bike is always dirty

and my feet are always wet and sad.

So, despite the more involved mounting process, full fenders are a better option.  They provide much greater coverage, which is great for your bike because it keeps it clean, prolonging the life of your components, and great for you because it keeps you more dry, prolonging the life of your ride.  A great example of full fenders are the ones that Fritz has on his bike.  Look at that clean bike!

And look at those happy feet!

“But wait!” you might say.  “I ride a racy road bike! I don’t have room for fenders! Or eyelets!”  Not to worry!  Both Fritz and myself have extensive experience putting together custom fenders to fit on even the most race-oriented carbon fiber speed machine.  There are several ways we can do this, but our most common method is to actually fabricate some mounts out of rack struts (thin, rectangular pieces of steel) and use these to clear the tight spaces in between the tires and brake calipers.  In the case of bikes without eyelets, we can use different types of clamps to keep the fender stays attached to the frame.

So why wait! Get some fenders! Keep your feet dry!

Just thought everyone might like to know what happens when Dutch Bike Chicago heads over to Dutch Bike Seattle. Watch until the end to see who forms the head.  Who is that guy?

Here at Dutch Bike Seattle we sell appliances. Most bike shops sell sporting goods. This partially explains our curious look and lack of precise answer when you ask one of us "how much does this bike weigh?" In the world of appliances weight isn't so important. Durability, utility, ease of use and comfort are important. In the world of sporting goods, weight, speed and technology are important. If you are shopping for a city bike, we imagine you are not racing (or racing others) to get to where you're going. I venture to say you wouldn't buy a five pack of beer to save twelve ounces in your panniers to make the ride home faster. It is precisely this "sporting" point of view that keeps many from entering or re-entering the ranks of the everyday cyclists. Many may feel daunted (especially if they are out of shape or practice) by the special uniforms, shoes, computers and technical knowledge which accompany the bicycle sporting goods industry and practice. Now in the appliance world, I don't care much about your uniform, training or technical knowledge. I do care about how the bike fits and feels to you. I want to know that it's going to be useful for its intended purpose, comfortable to ride every day and enjoyable for a long (long) time. Appliances can last a lifetime. Sporting goods sometimes only last as long as the next wave of technology or fad. How many expensive mountain bikes and road bikes sit dusty in peoples' garages and closets because they are seemingly no longer comfortable to ride, or their owners no longer feel like they want to get in shape to ride? The hunched-over, neck craned up, arms extended, position on a sporting bike is not a natural position for the human body. You must adapt to the posture. So, through training and/or habituation the position can feel "normal," but this position was designed to go fast and improve control in competitive circumstances. It was not designed for everyday comfort and utility, yet in the USA it has become the de facto posture for recreational and sporting cyclists alike. In the USA, for those who are "utility" cyclists, those who cycle to simply get around, there have been few alternatives to the "sporting" bikes. Cross bikes and city cruisers are just more upright adaptations of sporting bikes or cheap knock-offs of the Schwinn and Huffy cruisers (which were cheap back then already) of our youth. In Europe the majority of cyclists have been riding bikes designed for utility. There are many reasons we love "utility", European city bikes, from being able to ride upright, spine perfectly straight, with our head at SUV driver-level, to the ability to carry friends, family and groceries, to the ability to ride comfortably all day, running all manner of errands and commuting. These are the bikes we choose to sell — appliances — and it is the reason we may pause before attempting to answer, "how much do they weigh?"