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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

1. 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).
2. Wash your hands. You want to prevent cleaning agents, dirt, and grease from getting on the saddle.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Using one of the clean lint-free rags, wipe off any excess oil, then warm the saddle again.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. Remove the saddle, and wipe it off with the lint free rag before mounting it to your bike.
13. 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.
14. 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.

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?"

Now we get a lot of inquiries about the differences between the Azor (Dutch - made in Holland) and Velorbis (Danish - frames made in Germany, bike finished in Denmark) bikes. Let's start with the most common question — weight. How much do they weigh? Well, the Velorbis bikes are heavy and the Azor bikes heavier. If you need to know the exact weight, then I may suggest you are shopping for sportier bikes than we sell, or you are lifting your bike way too much, or you may have a latent Lycra addiction. Regardless of weight, they both roll quite nicely and with the eight speed you can get most anywhere in any city. On our bikes you will never be the fastest person on the road, though many times you may be the most stylish, relaxed and comfortable rider on the road. If you count your wealth as free time, you can afford the extra five minutes your comfy bike takes to get you and your groceries (how much do they weigh?) home. The substance (weight) of the bike is a major component of the ride comfort. Michael "Drunk and in Charge" in Brooklyn was sorting out the differences between the Velorbis Churchill baloon and the Azor Opa. I thought I'd share my response: "There are some distinct functional differences between the Velorbis and the Azor Opa, as well as some huge subjective differences in the way they ride and handle. They are two very different bikes that have a similar look. The Velorbis has 26" tires, a chrome moly frame and steep[er] frame angles, which translates into faster acceleration, quicker steering and overall a "springier" ride. The Velorbis rear rack is a light duty rack on which you will not be able to carry your friends (for very long) or (Alex's proverbial) 50 lb bag of dog food. Everything about the Velorbis is lighter and sportier (you are leaned forward a bit) and feels more like the performance of most of the bikes we are used to buying in the USA. The Azor Opa and all the Azor bikes are equipped with 28" tires, a high tensile steel (less springy than chrome moly) frame and relaxed frame angles. They are slow to accelerate, ride like a Cadillac (you are sitting absolutely upright) are extremely stable and can easily haul a boyfriend or girlfriend or dog food and beer on the burly welded steel rack. I love both bikes, because they are so different. One feels [more] like a sports car the other like a luxury car. The Velorbis (with balloon tires) inspires me to want to race people on skinny tired bikes and careen down stairwells. The Opa (or Transport) inspires me to want to cruise and slow my life down (why are all these people on other bikes bent over and in such a hurry?). The Scrap and the Churchill are exactly the same frames (geometry and components) save for cosmetics and tire options. The Azor Secret Service (because it is a bit lighter and sportier) bridges the gap between the Velorbis and other more burly Azor models. You are choosing between apples and oranges."

Scribner’s

Volume 17, Issue 6, June 1895

By Marguerite Merington The collocation of woman and the bicycle has not wholly outgrown controversy, but if the woman’s taste be for the royal pleasure of glowing exercise in sunlit air, she will do well quietly but firmly to override argument with the best model of a wheel to which she may lay hand. Never did an athletic pleasure from which the other half is not debarred come into popularity at a more fitting time than cycling has to-day, when a heavy burden of work is laid on all the sisterhood, whether to do good, earn bread, or squander leisure; no outdoor pastime can be more independently pursued, and few are as practicable as many days in a year. The one who fain would ride, and to whom a horse is a wistful dream, at least may hope to realize a wheel. Once purchased, it needs only to be stabled in a passageway, and fed on oil and air. The first women cyclists of New York City seemed to rise in a heroic handful from the earth near Grant’s Tomb, on Riverside Drive. That was years ago. To-day, on the broad western highway of the city a dotted line of riders, men and women, forms a fourth parallel to the dark band which the Palisades stretch across the sky, the Hudson’s silver width, and the white thread of flying smoke from the trains beside the river. They ride from the first day of spring to the last privileged days of frosty winter. They ride from morning to high noon, and their lanterned wheels purr by with the gleam of a cat’s eye through the dark. A moon sends hordes of their queer cobwebby shadows scurrying over the ground. In the revolving years, to the eyes of those whose windows overlook the wheelways, the woman cyclist has ceased to be a white blackbird. The clear-eyed, vivified faces that speed by give no clue to the circumstances of the riders, but inquiry shows that many callings and conditions love the wheel. The woman of affairs has learned that an hour, or even half an hour, may be stolen from the working day, with profit to both woman and affairs. Now and again a complaint arises of the narrowness of woman’s sphere. For such disorder of the soul the sufferer can do no better than to flatten her sphere to a circle, mount it, and take to the road. An hour of the wheel means sixty minutes of fresh air and wholesome exercise, and at least eight miles of change of scene; it may well be put down to the credit side of the day’s reckoning with flesh and spirit. The eye of the spectator has long since become accustomed to costumes once conspicuous. Bloomer and tailor-made alike ride on unchallenged; tunicked and gaitered Rosalinds excite no more remark than every-day people in every-day clothes. No one costume may yet claim to represent the pastime, for experiment is still busy with the problem, but the results are in the direction of simplicity and first principles. Short rides on level roads can be accomplished with but slight modification of ordinary attire, and the sailor hat, shirt waist, serge skirt uniform is as much at home on the bicycle as it is anywhere else the world over. The armies of women clerks in Chicago and Washington who go by wheel to business, show that the exercise within bounds need not impair the spick-and-spandy neatness that marks the bread - winning American girl. On the excursion a special adaptation of dress is absolutely necessary, for skirts, while they have not hindered women from climbing to the topmost branches of the higher education, may prove fatal in down-hill coasting; and skirts, unless frankly shortened or discarded, must be fashioned so as to minimize the danger of entanglement with the flying wheel. Knickerbockers, bloomers, and the skirt made of twin philabegs, all have their advocates; Pinero’s youngest Amazon has set a pretty fashion for the cyclist, and many of the best riders make their records in a conventional cloth walking-dress with cone-shaped skirt worn over the silk trousers of an odalisque, or the satin breeks of an operatic page. This sounds costly, but it need not be. Here and there a costume strikes the spectator as an experiment, but the sincerity of all is unquestioned, for absence of self-consciousness has characterized the woman cyclist from the outset. The pastime does not lend itself to personal display, and in criticism the costume must be referred, not to the standards of the domestic hearthrug, but to the exigencies of the wheel, the rider’s positions to the mechanical demands of the motion; accordingly, the cyclist is to be thought of only as mounted and in flight, belonging not to a picture, but to a moving panorama. If she ride well, the chances are she looks well, for she will have reconciled grace, comfort, and the temporary fitness of things. Regarding bicycling purely as exercise, there is an advantage in the symmetry of development it brings about, and a danger in riding too fast and far. The occasional denunciation of the pastime as unwomanly, is fortunately lost in the general approval that a new and wholesome recreation has been found, whose pursuit adds joy and vigor to the dowry of the race. Having reached these conclusions, the onlooker is drawn by the irresistible force of the stream. She borrows, hires, or buys a wheel and follows tentatively. Her point of view is forever alter changed ; long before practice has made her all expert she is an enthusiast, ever ready to proselyte, defend—or ride! There is full opportunity in and about New York City for the daily hour with the wheel. From Christmas to Christmas Central Park is a favorite haunt of the cyclist when the weather is kind, and indeed a fine frenzy once set rolling the eye of a poet, who told of a wintry flight among snow-laden pine-trees over sheets of frozen snow. It sounded like a Norse Saga, but the scene was Central Park, the steed a wheel, and the story true. Riverside Drive and the Boulevard offer fair roads and a breeze coming fresh from the sources of the Hudson, untainted as it sweeps by Albany; the historic ground of Washington Heights is practicable as well as picturesque, for the Father of this country outlined a clear march for the city’s gigantic stride; Washington Bridge is a fine objective point where the rider will surely dismount to rest in the embrasure of the parapets, and admire the view up and down stream where the little Harlem wriggles along between its high green banks. For the longer ride, by crossing Madison Avenue Bridge a wheel-worthy road leads to Westchester and Mount Vernon. There is a ferry at Fort Lee, and a good road even in New Jersey, skirting the trap-rock battlements at whose base the Hudson lies like a broad moat. People who return from Tarrytown speak rather boastfully of the hills. Far-reaching dreams of summer may bear the traveller of the wheel through clean stretches in time Berkshires, on sunny lanes of Normandy, among Welsh mountains, or down Roman roads between English hedge-rows, but all the workaday year there are highways radiating from the heart of the city to the borderland of the country, where one may breathe new inspiration for the world—the world that we persist in having too much with us in the getting and spending efforts that lay waste the powers. SPINNLIED FOR GRETCHEN ON THE WHEEL Good health to all, good pleasure, good speed, A favoring breeze—but not too high— For the outbound spin! Who rides may read The open secret of earth and sky. For life is quickened and pulses bound, Morbid questioninng sink and die As the wheel slips over the gliddery ground And the young day wakes in a crimson sky. Oh. the merry comradeship of the road With trees that nod as we pass them by, With hurrying bird and lurking toad, Or vagabond cloud in the noonday sky ! Oh. the wholesome smell of the good brown earth When showers have fallen for suns to dry ! Oh. the westward run to the mystic birth Of a silver moon in a golden sky ! Good health to all, good pleasure, good speed, A favoring breeze—but not too high— For the homeward spin ! Who rides may read The open secret of earth and sky.