A long weekend in the Land of Bikes (long, includes some recumbentcontent)

Spent a long weekend in the Land Of Bikes, mainly being shown to Roos's
pals and family for inspection but we managed to squeeze some general
bikeage in too, and that's what this post will concern itself with.

Never been to the NL before, except changing planes at Schipol, which
doesn't really count...

Arriving at the station from Schipol we popped around the corner to the
bike hire place. I knew I was in the "City of Bikes" but the scale of
the operation here showed I just wasn't prepared for how much a basic
part of life they are. There were a few of the new Giant semi-recumbent
EZ-Bs about, but almost all of the stock were classic Dutch roadsters.
Looking at the blurb sheets, "Manual gears and brakes" were 50% extra,
so we got single speeds with coaster brakes. I'd never used a
back-pedal brake before, so that was a learning experience... The bikes
also had dynamos as standard, full guards, chaincases and racks from the
Dreadnought school of design, a built in lock on the back wheel and a
lock chain you could tow an oil tanker with. And they also had a big
hire bike sign on the front, announcing to everyone "I AM A TOUROID!".
Roos rather resented hers, but I rather liked it. My main problem with
the cycling (aside from getting the hang of the brake) was rights of
way. I had far more than I thought, but even where I know I didn't have
RoW people stopped and waved me on. Quite possibly helped by that Mac
Bikes disc...

But, getting about I was soon struck by a few observations. First, the
number of bicycles is *incredible*. Every street I ever used had dozens
and dozens parked along it, and the people riding them fitted every
description and they're clearly used because they're good utility
transport (one of my hosts for dinner on Saturday, an affluent
professional, commented "you can drive through Amsterdam if you want,
but it would be your fault!"). Almost all were cruisers. There are a
few MTBs, but at one point I'd seen more longjohn cargo bikes than MTBs
and you'd actually see more MTBs in a day in London, despite orders of
magnitude fewer bikes. Practically everyone rides in day to day
clothes. I'd seen no helmets at all until Sunday, and all those were on
folk in lycra on sports machinery (I think I got up to 12 total count
for lids for the 4 days).

One of the reasons for the trip was Roos wanted to try out some more
recumbents, so by email prior arrangement we went to a Ligfiets
specialist. She'd asked to try out the Rainbow Lyner (a 20/26 tourer,
AFAIK not available in the UK) and the Nazca Fiero, a semi-low 20/20
also not available here. She decided the Fiero was lower than she was
looking for (it did look lower than the pictures) so after a chat with
the Darth while I rode it round the square a Challenge Mistral was
substituted. Shame, I thought, as on my brief acquaintance the Nazca
seemed *very* nice!
We set off on a local tour taking in windmills, flat and damp places
etc., and both immediately warmed to the Rainbow. Nothing fancy, but
did what it said on the tin. The suspension isn't as elaborately
executed as on the Streetmachine so pogoed a little more, and it would
be good to have a hill to try it up, but a good, straightforward bike
that soaked up the miles in comfort. We were both rather underwhelmed
with the Challenge. Seat wasn't quite to my liking and with no front
suspension the block paved streets that account for quite a few of the
ones we were on meant quite bad vibration. I didn't really have an
issue with the rear sus, but Roos found that not to her liking either.
Hey ho, the brakes were good (Magura hydraulic rim brakes)... On paper
it's not a million miles from the Grasshopper (which is only on paper at
this point in time, of course) so with that as the #1 paper contender,
things were looking like being rethought, quite possibly along Rainbow
lines.
Back at the Ligfiets shop we talked about the bikes, thanked the Darth
and were about to go when Roos asked if I wanted to try anything else
while I was there. I replied by asking her if she's actually tried the
Nazca? No, it looked a bit too low for what she was interested in. I
suggested a quick trip round the square wouldn't hurt, so she did that...
.... and coming back to the shop with a grin that said "I want my red
lightsabre *NOW!*" it was clear more re-thinking was necessary. It is a
lovely piece of kit, very comfortable and with the underseat steering
still easy to get on and off and manoeuvre without twitches. So, at the
end of the day we were at "more research required", and the conclusion
was we'd have to go back to try out more and assess how well the Fiero
might tour. And when the Grasshopper appears next month it might well
change the ground again, but we won't know until we try. Our experience
with the Challenge showed quite well how paper statistics aren't all
there is to it when comparing 'bents: you really should give the model
you're interested in a try.

After that, back on a slightly different Batavus cruiser. I'd got the
hang of the coaster brake and it was the easiest bike to ride no-hands
I'd ever ridden. Did block paved streets better than a Mistral too,
just a shame my cycling sojourn was ended not so much by the puncture
fairy as the blowout and shredded back tyre hobgoblin... The hire
company should have reclaimed it from Roos's dad by now, I hope!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch writes:

so we got single speeds with coaster brakes. I'd never used a
back-pedal brake before, so that was a learning experience... The bikes

I did get a bit worried when the 'learning experience' involved fidgeting
about while standing on the tram rails....

also had dynamos as standard, full guards, chaincases and racks from the
Dreadnought school of design, a built in lock on the back wheel and a

These were actually fairly modern compared to what you'd got a couple of
years ago!

One of the reasons for the trip was Roos wanted to try out some more
recumbents, so by email prior arrangement we went to a Ligfiets
specialist. She'd asked to try out the Rainbow Lyner (a 20/26 tourer,
AFAIK not available in the UK) and the Nazca Fiero, a semi-low 20/20
also not available here. She decided the Fiero was lower than she was
looking for (it did look lower than the pictures) so after a chat with
the Darth while I rode it round the square a Challenge Mistral was
substituted. Shame, I thought, as on my brief acquaintance the Nazca
seemed *very* nice!

I had actually arranged to get an Optima Dolphin instead of the Lyner, as
it has specs very close to the Grasshopper (on paper), but it turned out
that it was a model for short poeple and the beam couldn't extend enough.
My next choice was the Optima Lynx, same specs but longer wheelbase but he
didn't have it in stock, and based on my expected use of the bike he
suggested the Lyner.
I had chosen the Fiero because it had a very high drool factor from the
first time I read about it, but I knew I was unlikely to buy something
like that so I convinced myself to be Sensible and try another bike that
fitted my intended use.

We set off on a local tour taking in windmills, flat and damp places
etc., and both immediately warmed to the Rainbow. Nothing fancy, but
did what it said on the tin. The suspension isn't as elaborately
executed as on the Streetmachine so pogoed a little more, and it would
be good to have a hill to try it up, but a good, straightforward bike
that soaked up the miles in comfort.

It worked better than I had axpected from the pictures. It doesn't look
very sexy, with a long straight beam instead of trendy curved, but that
also means that the chain is almost straight and runs very smoothly. A bit
lower than the Streetmachine, capable of taking a lot of luggage, but
still quite fast.

suggested a quick trip round the square wouldn't hurt, so she did that...
... and coming back to the shop with a grin that said "I want my red
lightsabre *NOW!*" it was clear more re-thinking was necessary. It is a
lovely piece of kit, very comfortable and with the underseat steering
still easy to get on and off and manoeuvre without twitches. So, at the

The Fiero is comparable to the Speedmachine on paper, and I wasn't
particularly impressed with that one, but with the Fiero everything just
felt right. I am not convinced it is the best bike for the touring and
camping I am likely to do.

The Lyner, or something like it, would be the Sensible Choice. A
nice friendship that becomes a bit more warm and fuzzy over time. Ideal
son in law.
The Fiero is more the sort of love affair where you have to wait and see
what comes out after the initial rush. Not the sort of boy to introduce to
your parents :-)

end of the day we were at "more research required", and the conclusion
was we'd have to go back to try out more and assess how well the Fiero
might tour. And when the Grasshopper appears next month it might well
change the ground again, but we won't know until we try. Our experience
with the Challenge showed quite well how paper statistics aren't all
there is to it when comparing 'bents: you really should give the model
you're interested in a try.

It surprised me how different bikes are that are sort of similar on paper.
And seats you can only judge by sitting on them for a couple of hours
(though I knew the Mistral wasn't for me after a few minutes around the
square). And interesting to speak to another shopowner, this one has very
different preferences and priorities than Ben.

I just found out that the 'bent shop in Den Haag is around the corner from
my brother so the next trip will be planned Soon.

Roos (who usually doesn't make Sensible Choices :-)

Roos Eisma writes:

end of the day we were at "more research required", and the conclusion
was we'd have to go back to try out more and assess how well the Fiero
might tour. And when the Grasshopper appears next month it might well
change the ground again, but we won't know until we try. Our experience
with the Challenge showed quite well how paper statistics aren't all
there is to it when comparing 'bents: you really should give the model
you're interested in a try.

It surprised me how different bikes are that are sort of similar on paper.
And seats you can only judge by sitting on them for a couple of hours
(though I knew the Mistral wasn't for me after a few minutes around the
square). And interesting to speak to another shopowner, this one has very
different preferences and priorities than Ben.

And something else that you can't see on paper:
Both the Nazca and Rainbow bikes were very nicely finished, while the
Challenge one wasn't as convincing. And the Shopowner said he had good
experiences with Nazca and Rainbow, they're both small companies with good
customer service.

Roos