| Re: Dutch Bikes, Literally
On 4 Nov 2003, peterstorey@mindspring.com (Peter Storey) wrote:
>But did you say "hilly Essonne"? The Oase is said to weigh almost
>22kg (48 lbs). In fact, that is not terribly out of line for a
>fully-equipped Dutch city bike, but it may explain why so few are sold
>in France. How it is that an aluminum-framed bike can weigh that much
>is still something of a mystery to me, but the same is true of the
>Gazelle and Batavus offerings.
My Batavus Legato weighs only 20.3 kg (44 2/3 lbs). See it at:
http://www.batavus.nl/2002/collectie...asp?bikeid=408
>The 8-speed gearing on the Oase will probably get you up the hills,
>but it will be VERY slow going.
You can change your rear cog wheel. Dutch bikes have the center gear to be
equivalent to a one-speed bike. I changed by rear cog wheel from 17 to 20
teeth. This moved the straight through position exactly one notch from gear
4 to gear 5. I could have gone more if needed. I do have a 21 cog wheel
here. Maybe when I get older I'll use it.
Don <donwiss at panix.com>.
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