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Jay's new Electra Amsterdam "Fred": a Dutch city bike is reborn inChicago
Congratulations on collecting your new Electra Amsterdam, Jay. Tell us
all about it (1). Andre Jute Dutch city bikes forever (1) I saw a brief note in another thread about a broken folder, but the momentous occasion of your grown-up commuter should be proudly marked in a thread of its own. |
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Jay's new Electra Amsterdam "Fred": a Dutch city bike is reborn in Chicago
"Andre Jute" wrote in message ... Congratulations on collecting your new Electra Amsterdam, Jay. Tell us all about it (1). Andre Jute Dutch city bikes forever (1) I saw a brief note in another thread about a broken folder, but the momentous occasion of your grown-up commuter should be proudly marked in a thread of its own. Thanks, Andre, for your kind thoughts; I am quite thrilled! with my new Electra, which you and the other RBT experts pointed me toward. ...when I was going in the wrong direction (again), I somehow righted myself, with your help. It is parked in my kitchen - no garage for this beauty! Plus, I need to apply Proofide to this new saddle, at room temp. My bum is a bit sore from today, but IMO Brooks saddles are for men, who can handle a little pain. Hey, life is pain...get used to it! Comparing the Electra with a BF is not a fair fight. BF would throw in the towel early on. I will post pics of my fully customized Electra in a week or so, on my website. I want to have all the spec'ed stuff in place. On the way home today, I saw a few bike riders. They were ALL riding quite upright, with drop handlebars. But for those who want to call me Fred, go ahead. I like riding upright. I can see what is going on. This Electra is stylin'. J. |
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Jay's new Electra Amsterdam "Fred": a Dutch city bike is rebornin Chicago
On Mar 11, 2:00*am, Andre Jute wrote:
Congratulations on collecting your new Electra Amsterdam, Jay. Tell us all about it (1). Andre Jute Dutch city bikes forever (1) I saw a brief note in another thread about a broken folder, but the momentous occasion of your grown-up commuter should be proudly marked in a thread of its own. Jay also wrote in the other thread: I think this 'faux Dutch bike" Electra will be just fine, for what I need. Of course it will. But I wouldn't call it a "faux Dutch bike" too loudly if I were you. The chances are that it was built in Taiwan *right next to Dutch bikes with famous Dutch names sold to Dutch people in The Netherlands*. Gazelle make a big, big thing of still building most of their own frames, but most of the Dutch makers buy their frames in. And a big name in Dutch bikes in the Netherlands is, wait for, Giant, who everyone knows is Taiwanese. The irony is that my Trek Cyber Nexus is probably more of a Dutch bike than almost anything you can buy in The Netherlands except Gazelle -- because Trek still build their own and, like Gazelle again, Trek fit custom components from their own component house, Bontrager. Thus today the Dutch city bike is more of a concept and a geographical description of *greatest concentration of usage* rather than necessarily a locus of manufacture. So, I would say whether Jay's Amsterdam is a genuine Dutch city bike depends on the geometry and the components a lot more than on where it was built or for whom. My guess is that investigation will show that Electra's Amsterdam Royal is a real Dutch city bike, merely built for an American firm to be sold in the States. I would not be surprised at all if Lou were to tell us it looks and is specced amazingly like such and such a Dutch brand name's upper-level bike that just coincidentally (!) happens to be built in the same factory in Taiwan as Electra's Amsterdam. If it looks like a duck, and it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, and the innards are the innards of a duck, but is found in Chicago -- it is a duck, but found in Chicago. AN ASIDE ON ESTABLISHING A DUTCH CITY BIKE MARKETING NICHE: In my never humble opinion, Electra would be amazingly stupid to enter this (presenty) low unit sales but high margin and high growth-potential section of the market any other way than by chinese copy of a proven design and specification; some of the earlier bikes Jay looked at were designed by guys who though they were smarter than the Dutch, like Joe Breezer, and they shot themselves in the foot; Electra will take more than its fair share of this market in the States, precisely because they were cautious and unadventurous, mark my words. Andre Jute When I rule the world, there will be a tax on hairsplitting, and a bigger tax on log rolling, because it subverts the political process by giving pressure groups power over the majority |
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Jay's new Electra Amsterdam "Fred": a Dutch city bike is rebornin Chicago
Andre Jute wrote:
On Mar 11, 2:00 am, Andre Jute wrote: Congratulations on collecting your new Electra Amsterdam, Jay. Tell us all about it (1). Andre Jute Dutch city bikes forever (1) I saw a brief note in another thread about a broken folder, but the momentous occasion of your grown-up commuter should be proudly marked in a thread of its own. Jay also wrote in the other thread: I think this 'faux Dutch bike" Electra will be just fine, for what I need. Of course it will. But I wouldn't call it a "faux Dutch bike" too loudly if I were you. The chances are that it was built in Taiwan *right next to Dutch bikes with famous Dutch names sold to Dutch people in The Netherlands*. Gazelle make a big, big thing of still building most of their own frames, but most of the Dutch makers buy their frames in. And a big name in Dutch bikes in the Netherlands is, wait for, Giant, who everyone knows is Taiwanese. The irony is that my Trek Cyber Nexus is probably more of a Dutch bike than almost anything you can buy in The Netherlands except Gazelle -- because Trek still build their own and, like Gazelle again, Trek fit custom components from their own component house, Bontrager. Thus today the Dutch city bike is more of a concept and a geographical description of *greatest concentration of usage* rather than necessarily a locus of manufacture. So, I would say whether Jay's Amsterdam is a genuine Dutch city bike depends on the geometry and the components a lot more than on where it was built or for whom. My guess is that investigation will show that Electra's Amsterdam Royal is a real Dutch city bike, merely built for an American firm to be sold in the States. I would not be surprised at all if Lou were to tell us it looks and is specced amazingly like such and such a Dutch brand name's upper-level bike that just coincidentally (!) happens to be built in the same factory in Taiwan as Electra's Amsterdam. To my knowledge there are no more Dutch bicycle companies who build there own frames. Maybe some steel models are still made here. Almost all aluminum frames are specd here but welded in the Far East. The bare frames come over in large quantities and are painted and put together over here. Some companies are large enough to customize some parts like, handlebars, seats, stems etc but most are off the shelf parts from the parts companies like Shimano. IMHO you can put together a typical 'Dutch' style bike anywhere in the world. Just spec it the same way. Here are some links to the major Dutch bike companies: http://www.gazelle.nl/nl/ http://www.batavus.nl/ http://www.koga.com/ A smaller company almost in my backyard is: http://www.rih.nl/ I visited it several times. There is a nice video on the website showing exactly what they do: http://www.rih.nl/site/bedrijf/video/index.php Just click around and enjoy. Lou It has a nice vie |
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Jay's new Electra Amsterdam "Fred": a Dutch city bike is rebornin Chicago
On Mar 11, 7:54*am, Lou Holtman wrote:
Andre Jute wrote: On Mar 11, 2:00 am, Andre Jute wrote: Congratulations on collecting your new Electra Amsterdam, Jay. Tell us all about it (1). Andre Jute Dutch city bikes forever (1) I saw a brief note in another thread about a broken folder, but the momentous occasion of your grown-up commuter should be proudly marked in a thread of its own. Jay also wrote in the other thread: I think this 'faux Dutch bike" Electra will be just fine, for what I need. Of course it will. But I wouldn't call it a "faux Dutch bike" too loudly if I were you. The chances are that it was built in Taiwan *right next to Dutch bikes with famous Dutch names sold to Dutch people in The Netherlands*. Gazelle make a big, big thing of still building most of their own frames, but most of the Dutch makers buy their frames in. And a big name in Dutch bikes in the Netherlands is, wait for, Giant, who everyone knows is Taiwanese. The irony is that my Trek Cyber Nexus is probably more of a Dutch bike than almost anything you can buy in The Netherlands except Gazelle -- because Trek still build their own and, like Gazelle again, Trek fit custom components from their own component house, Bontrager. Thus today the Dutch city bike is more of a concept and a geographical description of *greatest concentration of usage* rather than necessarily a locus of manufacture. So, I would say whether Jay's Amsterdam is a genuine Dutch city bike depends on the geometry and the components a lot more than on where it was built or for whom. My guess is that investigation will show that Electra's Amsterdam Royal is a real Dutch city bike, merely built for an American firm to be sold in the States. I would not be surprised at all if Lou were to tell us it looks and is specced amazingly like such and such a Dutch brand name's upper-level bike that just coincidentally (!) happens to be built in the same factory in Taiwan as Electra's Amsterdam. To my knowledge there are no more Dutch bicycle companies who build there own frames. Maybe some steel models are still made here. Almost all aluminum frames are specd here but welded in the Far East. The bare frames come over in large quantities and are painted and put together over here. Some companies are large enough to customize some parts like, handlebars, seats, stems etc but most are off the shelf parts from the parts companies like Shimano. IMHO you can put together a typical 'Dutch' style bike anywhere in the world. Just spec it the same way. Here are some links to the major Dutch bike companies: http://www.gazelle.nl/nl/ http://www.batavus.nl/ http://www.koga.com/ Thanks for the information, Lou. What I thought. A smaller company almost in my backyard is: http://www.rih.nl/ I visited it several times. There is a nice video on the website showing exactly what they do: http://www.rih.nl/site/bedrijf/video/index.php A super movie. I looked into the RIH Prisma (city sports with hub gears and rear roller/front disc brakes) before I bought my Gazelle Toulouse, but landed it would have cost twice what the Gazelle cost. But what a beautifully executed bike, especially that smooth welding, and the conformable leather grips: http://www.rih.nl/site/modellen/pris...ving/index.php Just click around and enjoy. Lou It has a nice vie Indeed. Thanks for taking the trouble to inform the fans, Lou. We appreciate it. Andre Jute Visit Jute on Amps at http://members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/ "wonderfully well written and reasoned information for the tube audio constructor" John Broskie TubeCAD & GlassWare "an unbelievably comprehensive web site containing vital gems of wisdom" Stuart Perry Hi-Fi News & Record Review |
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Jay's new Electra Amsterdam "Fred": a Dutch city bike is rebornin Chicago
On Mar 10, 7:44*pm, "Jay" wrote:
"Andre Jute" wrote in message ... Congratulations on collecting your new Electra Amsterdam, Jay. Tell us all about it (1). Andre Jute Dutchcity bikes forever (1) I saw a brief note in another thread about a broken folder, but the momentous occasion of your grown-up commuter should be proudly marked in a thread of its own. Thanks, Andre, for your kind thoughts; I am quite thrilled! with my new Electra, which you and the other RBT experts pointed me toward. ...when I was going in the wrong direction (again), I somehow righted myself, with your help. It is parked in my kitchen - no garage for this beauty! Plus, I need to apply Proofide to this new saddle, at room temp. My bum is a bit sore from today, but IMO Brooks saddles are for men, who can handle a little pain. Hey, life is pain...get used to it! Comparing the Electra with a BF is not a fair fight. BF would throw in the towel early on. I will post pics of my fully customized Electra in a week or so, on my website. I want to have all the spec'ed stuff in place. On the way home today, I saw a few bike riders. They were ALL riding quite upright, with drop handlebars. But for those who want to call me Fred, go ahead. I like riding upright. I can see what is going on. This Electra is stylin'. J. I'm at the Taipei Cycle show and there are quite a few Dutch commuter bicycles here, including some real hauler type bikes." The response to "are you selling in the U.S.?" is always the same, "no, no shops will take the risk." They sell a lot of units to visitors to the Netherlands who ship them back. |
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Jay's new Electra Amsterdam "Fred": a Dutch city bike is reborn in Chicago
"Andre Jute" wrote in message ... Congratulations on collecting your new Electra Amsterdam, Jay. Tell us all about it (1). Andre Jute Dutch city bikes forever (1) I saw a brief note in another thread about a broken folder, but the momentous occasion of your grown-up commuter should be proudly marked in a thread of its own. I expect to get most of my spec'ed parts from RTC tomorrow (Fri 14-Mar). I know RBT folks are impatient to see how this bike turned out, but I just can't take pics of these stock grips. And I need the extra long seat post to mount my DiNotte taillight and the Arkel seatbag, etc. I do not want to waste RBT's time on a half-baked Electra. Especially not when this bike will be a very important part of my commuting life for years to come. I do think the stock Electra taillight is a puny piece of crap, not on a par with the other bike components. But I will have redundant head and tail lights, especially for winter use. So this is not a big deal. And my bum gets a little sore late in the day. But IMO, one must *earn* a new Brooks saddle. Wimps buy whatever else, often at greater cost, and shorter life. Brooks saddles are an acquired taste. J. |
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Jay's new Electra Amsterdam "Fred": a Dutch city bike is rebornin Chicago
Jay wrote:
And my bum gets a little sore late in the day. But IMO, one must *earn* a new Brooks saddle. Wimps buy whatever else, often at greater cost, and shorter life. Brooks saddles are an acquired taste. That's the mantra, just keep chanting. |
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Jay's new Electra Amsterdam "Fred": a Dutch city bike is reborn in Chicago
In article , Jay
wrote: And my bum gets a little sore late in the day. But IMO, one must *earn* a new Brooks saddle. Wimps buy whatever else, often at greater cost, and shorter life. Brooks saddles are an acquired taste. J. Paying extra for the privilege of discomfort. Sounds like you want to earn a case of hemorrhoids as well. But what do I know. Far from aggravating discomfort, my opting for a B17 actually alleviated it. |
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Jay's new Electra Amsterdam "Fred": a Dutch city bike is rebornin Chicago
On Mar 14, 6:33*am, Peter Cole wrote:
Jay wrote: And my bum gets a little sore late in the day. But IMO, one must *earn* a new Brooks saddle. Wimps buy whatever else, often at greater cost, and shorter life. Brooks saddles are an acquired taste. That's the mantra, just keep chanting. You can gimbal mount Tibetan prayer wheels to your handlebars as well! Velo makes the most marvelous sporty city saddles IMHO these days: http://www.velosaddles.com/products_...cat_id=6&id=33 Nice wide support. Cut away base,so you never bottom out. Cushy with no numb bits. Narrow nose. Cheap. About $25. Yeah, it's ugly, but you sit on it. |
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