Big hybrid-type bike. Pashley or Batavus?

[Thunderbug]

I'm looking at investing in a decent hybrid or Dutch style bike. I live
in West London so aside from perhaps a tow path it's never going to be
off-road.

Build quality and reliability are important to me - not because I'll be
going dozens of miles daily, but that I know nothing and don't
particularly want to have to know anything about fixing things.

Mudguards, lights, at least a strong rear rack (if not a front one) are
a must - and made specifically for the bike by the manufacturer rather
than bolted on generic stuff is preferable, I'd prefer a sit-up-and-beg
type bike with a comfortable saddle but I don't know enough about brakes
or gear types to be picky.

It's got to be big (I am 6ft7) and it's got to be strong (I'm 20 stone
right now). I have what I hope is a sensible budget of £500-600 and
don't mind either buying locally via special order from my own cycle
shop or travelling somewhere by train that I can bring it back from a
more specialised shop.

I like the Pashley Roadster Soverign (24" frame, 28" wheels) at
http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/roadster-sovereign.html and any of the
similar Batavus or Gazelle built Dutch bikes, but don't know their
relative build qualities.

Any tips or thoughts?

[POHB]

On 20 May, 22:10, Thunderbug > wrote:
> I'm looking at investing in a decent hybrid or Dutch style bike. *I live
> in West London so aside from perhaps a tow path it's never going to be
> off-road.
>
> Build quality and reliability are important to me - not because I'll be
> going dozens of miles daily, but that I know nothing and don't
> particularly want to have to know anything about fixing things.
>
> Any tips or thoughts?

The thing that you're most likely to need to fix is punctures. Get
some super tough tyres e.g. Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Not the lightest
or fastest rolling tyre in the world but that doesn't seem to be your
priority.

[Peter Clinch]

Thunderbug wrote:
> I'm looking at investing in a decent hybrid or Dutch style bike. I live
> in West London so aside from perhaps a tow path it's never going to be
> off-road.
>
> Build quality and reliability are important to me - not because I'll be
> going dozens of miles daily, but that I know nothing and don't
> particularly want to have to know anything about fixing things.
>
> Mudguards, lights, at least a strong rear rack (if not a front one) are
> a must - and made specifically for the bike by the manufacturer rather
> than bolted on generic stuff is preferable, I'd prefer a sit-up-and-beg
> type bike with a comfortable saddle but I don't know enough about brakes
> or gear types to be picky.
>
> It's got to be big (I am 6ft7) and it's got to be strong (I'm 20 stone
> right now). I have what I hope is a sensible budget of £500-600 and
> don't mind either buying locally via special order from my own cycle
> shop or travelling somewhere by train that I can bring it back from a
> more specialised shop.

Consider German ones too... Bikefix (http://www.bikefix.co.uk/ Lambs
Conduit Street in London, so quite close to you) do Fahrrad Manufaktur
which ticks most of the boxes above, and is a bit lighter than the
full-on trad roadster. Not sure their standard stock sizes are big
enough but it's probably worth giving them a call and having a blether
about it.

Another thing to consider is take a short break to NL where you'll get
more choice in this sort of bike in a small town bike shop than you'll
find in the whole of the UK, and where the population as a whole are
taller than here so you'll have a better chance of something suitably
outsize. If you do it this way note that the most basic Dutch roadsters
will only have a single back pedal brake which isn't really sufficient
to take on Real Hills and is actually illegal in the UK, so make sure
you specify a hand-operated brake for the front wheel (not a problem,
they're /usually/ standard and if not are optional extras). Similarly,
the basic spec is single speed, while I'd suggest a multi-gear rear hub
for the UK, 3 speeds is often enough, 7-8 will cope with almost anything
urban, but 1 is a bit limiting at times) which again is easy enough to
find and specify.

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

[Thunderbug]

Peter Clinch wrote:
> Another thing to consider is take a short break to NL where you'll get
> more choice in this sort of bike in a small town bike shop than you'll
> find in the whole of the UK, and where the population as a whole are
> taller than here so you'll have a better chance of something suitably
> outsize.

Which is where, remarkably, I'll be heading this weekend! Long-planned
trip, but I only recently set my mind on aquiring a decent bike so going
by plane I've little chance of bringing one back (or, flying into
Heathrow - little chance of ever seeing it again if I did!)... I'll look
around while there and perhaps return by Eurostar/ferry.


> If you do it this way note that the most basic Dutch roadsters
> will only have a single back pedal brake which isn't really sufficient
> to take on Real Hills and is actually illegal in the UK, so make sure
> you specify a hand-operated brake for the front wheel (not a problem,
> they're /usually/ standard and if not are optional extras). Similarly,
> the basic spec is single speed, while I'd suggest a multi-gear rear hub
> for the UK, 3 speeds is often enough, 7-8 will cope with almost anything
> urban, but 1 is a bit limiting at times) which again is easy enough to
> find and specify.

Thanks for that - all good information.

Upto 5 speed seem to be hub gears - I've never had a bike with those and
they look like they work by magic! I'm drawn towards them even though
they have fewer gears because they look less likely to break if hit hard.

[Thunderbug]

POHB wrote:
> The thing that you're most likely to need to fix is punctures. Get
> some super tough tyres e.g. Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Not the lightest
> or fastest rolling tyre in the world but that doesn't seem to be your
> priority.

Good point! They're fitted as standard to the Pashley so I'm still
err-ing towards that, though the Dutch ones look more fun.

[Peter Clinch]

Thunderbug wrote:

> Upto 5 speed seem to be hub gears

Now widely available up to 8 speed, with a 9 speed from SRAM due Real
Soon Now. There is the 14 speed Rohloff, but that costs more than your
whole budget just for the hub and isn't really a sensible way to spend
money on an urban bike.

> they look like they work by magic! I'm drawn towards them even though
> they have fewer gears because they look less likely to break if hit hard.

And the main thing is they just need a lot less fiddling with (i.e.,
more or less none). They also keep a straight chainline so the chain
lasts longer, and the rear sprocket too. You can also change them while
stationary, very handy if you pulled up hard at lights while in a fairly
high gear.

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

[Nigel Cliffe]

Thunderbug wrote:
> Upto 5 speed seem to be hub gears -

You can get 14 speed hubs, at a price.
More common are 3, 5, 7 and 8 speed. Price tends to rise with number of
gears, though 8 from both Sturmey and Shimano are affordable. SRAM tend to
cost a little more.


> I've never had a bike
> with those
> and they look like they work by magic! I'm drawn towards them even
> though they have fewer gears

Not a major issue. What matters is range (how low, how high) and spacing
(how big a jump between gears). For a "serious racer", they want the
spacing very close together so they can tweak up/down tiny amounts.
Mountain bikes and tourers tend to want a wider range and can accept bigger
jumps between the gears (steep up hill, with load, fast decents). For urban
use it depends how hilly the area; in the flat just one gear will do. In
many towns 3 or 5 moderately spaced is enough.


> because they look less
> likely to break
> if hit hard.

There is one weak-spot to check, and it varies between maker as to how its
done. The control cable has to link to the hub somewhere.

Some do it with a rod attached to a chain which sticks out from the RH of
the hub axle (ancient Sturmey Archer hubs all did this), others use a box
stuck on the outside to route the cable. Both of those designs is
susceptable to impact damage. That said, as a child, I dropped my 3-speed
Sturmey on its side regularly and it continuted to work, and they are far
less susceptible to damage compared to derraileur systems.

Other makers have the cables inside the frame at the rear wheel, so less
exposed to damage.



- Nigel


--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

[Roos Eisma]

Thunderbug > writes:

>Peter Clinch wrote:
>> Another thing to consider is take a short break to NL where you'll get
>> more choice in this sort of bike in a small town bike shop than you'll
>> find in the whole of the UK, and where the population as a whole are
>> taller than here so you'll have a better chance of something suitably
>> outsize.

>Which is where, remarkably, I'll be heading this weekend! Long-planned
>trip, but I only recently set my mind on aquiring a decent bike so going
>by plane I've little chance of bringing one back (or, flying into
>Heathrow - little chance of ever seeing it again if I did!)... I'll look
>around while there and perhaps return by Eurostar/ferry.

My (recumbent) bike was shipped to me without a problem. Bought it from a
small Dutch manufacturer, and it arrived in a large cardboard box with
some easy assembly left to be done.
So if you find a bike but need to order it anyway (they may not have the
exact model you want in stock) then see what they think of shipping.

Roos

[Roger Merriman]

Thunderbug > wrote:

> POHB wrote:
> > The thing that you're most likely to need to fix is punctures. Get
> > some super tough tyres e.g. Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Not the lightest
> > or fastest rolling tyre in the world but that doesn't seem to be your
> > priority.
>
> Good point! They're fitted as standard to the Pashley so I'm still
> err-ing towards that, though the Dutch ones look more fun.

they (the marathon pluses) have good strong side walls, even dropping
down the pressures they will carry me best part of 14 stone and some
fairly heavy loads with out bottoming out.

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

[Thunderbug]

Thanks all - I went to Holland at the weekend and looked at some Gazelle
and Batavus bikes, but preferred the Pashley that I'd seen. It having
two normal hand brakes and that it's a bit more 'normal' in the UK (and
hopefully easier to get parts if necessary in the future) swayed me -
that and if it comes to worst, I can get a direct train to Stratford
where they're made from round the corner :)

I put a deposit down this morning at a local bike shop and Pashley
reckon 4-5 weeks for delivery: hopefully we've not had our week-long
'summer' by then!