Dutch bikes & Singlespeeds on made.com

Made.com are doing a solid looking dutch bike for £169. Delivery time is ~6 weeks, and it comes with a full money back guarantee. I'm going to email them to find out what the component spec is like, but first impression is that this looks very good for the money. The only similar thing I'm aware of is the Old Skool Hooligan, which appears to be of lower quality (but no, I haven't ridden either). Very very tempted to buy this as a Christmas present for my long-suffering girlfriend.

Note: No, I don't work for made.com, nor do I know anyone who does, nor do I have any interest in their business whatsoever.

Do you think they have mirrored the image of the left hand bike?

worth a punt at that price I'd say and its not feckin orange like the OSH, its 5-6 weeks manufacturing, 10-12 weeks delivery though

hmm, missed the bit about manufacturing vs. delivery.
Have emailed them re specs.

A bit dubious about that, there's a company called Dutchie whose pricing seem fair, especially with the component (dynamo hubs).

3 speeds bike for £300 (and yes I know it got a front v-brake);

http://www.dutchie.co.uk/dutchie-dapper.html

just checked the spec.

I'll tell you this, singlespeed dutch bike are only perfect in Amsterdam, in London it's pretty hard work (I used mine on a 10 miles commute between Clerkenwell and Wimbledon, doable but very much rather have a 3 speeds for the occasional hill and the many start/stop traffic).

How about the rest of the Low Countries, Ed? Are these bikes unsuitable?

What would be a good bike for Denmark?

danish people don't ride bikes, n3lson.
what a silly question.

How about the rest of the Low Countries, Ed? Are these bikes unsuitable?

Amsterdam is just merely an example, all I'm saying is that in London, it'd be sensible to opt for a 3 speed set-up.

£170 for a bike with all that?

From what I can see of the close ups, the cranks look a bit ropey, but basically if thats the sort of thing you want you can't do better new.

Remember when the Create bike first came out under 'Unipack' and they advertised it as an £800 track bike for £200?

this.

Yeah, but I thought the general consensus was dutch bikes were; a) pretty shit; and b) cost fuck all in Dutchland.

Which means, that this is probably one of those standard Dutchies without the fat UK markup.

Well thats what I think anyway.

And on the Create's, a friend of mind changed the BB, cranks, and chain and it's still going strong being ridden by a massive German guy who treats it like shit. Obviously it's not worth the £260 or so it would have cost to do that, but it's still a perfectly good functioning shit bike. As in, you peddle, it moves.

With this ^ (assuming you can be bothered to sort) even if bits fuckup, it's still a good deal.

and the £260 get you an SE Draft, of which does have quality control that Create lack.

Yeah, but I thought the general consensus was dutch bikes were; a) pretty shit; and b) cost fuck all in Dutchland.

Wrong on both counts IMO.

Also IMO, this is different to create, because the cheap price comes from them getting the orders and money up front, then commissioning the product to be made. As I said, I'm waiting to hear back on the components / tubing used, which is how I will judge whether or not to buy one.

1+ on Dutch bike not being shit and doesn't cost fuck-all in Dutchland, for instance I've seen quite a handful of £600+ dutch bike, I've seen this one every now and then in Amsterdam;

People do use their bike as a main transportation (as well as carrying their children on), so to them it make sense to spend a bit more on a decent bike, like a Bakfiet that tend to cost over a grand.

Although the majority are those simple step-thru one just like the cheap lady one Hollander sell.

Just to be clear I am not saying that all bikes made in holland, or on licence or by Dutch companies are shit.

I'm talking about those heavy imported things that pop up on gumtree and other places, which many mechanics say have varrious fundamental flawes (like the dropouts).

My understanding was (from one Dutch friend and another random) was they were cheap in A'dam and expensive here.

And my point about Creates, wasn't that they were good, or even good value for money after you've fixed the broken bits, but that these Dutch bikes even with broken bits would be worth it.

They have a big sprung saddle, full mudgaurds, rack, chain cover and stand. The bits that are likely to fuck up are the tyres/wheels and cranks. You can change these and still come up with a working bike in that style for a good price.

hmm, not exactly much detail on these.

Many thanks for your email.

We do try and put as much info about the product on the product page of the website. So: The Hollander bike is equipped with a hard-wearing leather saddle with springs for your comfort. With a steel frame for strength, rubber tyres, an aluminium drum brake in the front and pedal brake in the rear. Comes with stand. Single gear.

The frame size is 28" and I am afraid that we cannot give you more specific details of the manufacturer.

I hope that this helps,

Many thanks and best wishes,

Clare

That's pretty lame, but sorta to be expected.

IMO if youre after this sort of bike (and dont want 2nd hand) it's worth a punt. Cheap, loade with extras. Plus if think about about the style of riding it's intended for, it doesn't need to be all that.

Although, as I think was mentioned, these type of bikes are often better suited to small flat cities.

I do work for Bobbin Bicycles and I do rate their products. We stock Gazelle, Pashley and Pointer among others and have some sale bikes at the moment...ex-demo end of season and specials ready for x-mas. See our workshop blog for more; http://bobbinbicycleworkshop.wordpress.com/
I can vouch for their quality as I am an experienced mechanic and put most of them together.

If you want a 2nd hand bike for god's sake do the sensible thing and visit Amsterdam (where I used to work with www.workcycles.com) using Stena Lines cheap rail and sail deal and go visit Vitor here: http://www.recycledbicycles.org/ ..he is a great guy and you will get a bargain. If you can't be arsed with Dutch trips then visit Stefan in Brighton; http://www.amsterdammers.co.uk/

One thing you ought to take as gospel is that new bikes priced under 200-250quid really are a false economy. For the main part corners are cut in general build quality and before you know it your shiny sit-up and beg wll be bleeding orange rust from its shitty pressed dropouts, the paint flaking off like a danish pastry, bottom-braket siezures, pedal failure, seatpost/stem will not be greased, don't even think about transporting your dog/girlfriend on the rack dutch stylee and you know that genuine comfy leather saddle will not be a brooks...more likely built in a nasty factory in china with cow hides from Brazil's MC Donalds ranches and it will break spectacularly.

Another suggestion; support local independent bicycle shops not faceless dot.coms. What you gonna do when you realise the wheels are made of tin-foil...send angry emails/hack them? Evans/The Surgery can be pretty un-careful in the set-up and after-sales of dutch/sit up and beg (SUAB) bikes but at least they have a workshop with the tools and staff to fix them.

I see bikes as tools and I have learnt that buying shit tools is dangerous, expensive in the long run. If you want a bike to transport you and your stuff everyday reliably as the Dutch, Danes and Germans do then consider investing in quality. The average spend on a Workcycles bike would be 900 euro or so and for that you get a quality product that you can pass to your kids.

If you are using a dutch or SUAB bike every day then you need gears really at least 3, ideally Shimano Nexus, SRAM T3 or Sturmey Archer. Then just change your rear sprocket size to suit your needs (44;17 is workable for most who are used to biking).

In summary, that Hollander looks bad meaning bad. Don't waste your dorra!

A Workcycles Oma (Granny). QUALITY!!

woah!
alexis have you moved back to England?

Hell yes I did. Way to much weed over there and too many bikes. Do you also live in fair Lahndahn taan Henry? I live in Homerton; or Homer-town as I call it as of now.. DOh!

Nice ranting above huh! LOL.

Lets go for a ride and ale/bitter/pie!

Very fair points, alxs. I was hoping to hear from them that they were going to be built with decent components, but it seems that they aren't.

nah, I've moved north(ish) to Nottingham.
I'll be down at christmas time, and around homerton cos my (sort of) gf lives in Clapton.
bitter ale pie/ ride sounds ace!
will be in touch now that you've returned from the land of the nether.

Radical buddy! It's nice being home. Can't wait for spring and getting back into polo and Oxford visits (OCW closed!!RIP). Hope to see you soon.

And another mean-machine;

A Workcycles FR8.