Hello from (the center) of the Netherlands

[tomdutchie]

Hi All,

My name is Tom and currently living in the center of the Netherlands (Utrecht): a place where I moved to because who likes complicated/long commutes: certainly if you don't want a car, and therefore depending on public transport and/or bike.
I think my interest in e-bikes was pretty quick after they became mainstream: following what is new from the bricks laying on the back to the almost stealth technology that it evolved to. At this moment I am riding a LaPierre (first eden park model) and having a veloretti in pre-order.
Because of the current state of epidemy not riding that much, but normally commute 150km/week (with groceries etc. making it an average of about 200km): so not that much.
Besides the bikes themselves also pretty interested in city planning, traffic issues (so: big fan of the city skyline game ), renovating (since i want to make my house co2 neutral) and making things smarter.

 

[PedalUma]

Hi @tomdutchie, Welcome!
I am in Northern California and because of ebikes have gone car free since January of 2018. People in my town's government are into bikes which is great and we have a bike friendly train with nice places to ride with big hills. Please include some photos. Here is one of my electric Dutch bikes.

 

[tomdutchie]

Hi @PedalUma,
Looks like you have a more dutch bike, then I have

Mine is from a French company (LaPierre) and now about 4 years old, still functioning but after 4 years you simply want something new/extra
What I find positive is the Nuvinci/Envolio gear (now having a second, the first one broke within the warranty period) and the stealthy look.
The 400W powerpack battery still giving me about 40-100km (depending on support level and my own energy level )

The new bike (Veloretti) is not yet on the market (next month), also with Envolio (but automatic, curious) and in-frame battery (a little bigger/also removable) battery (inframe):
so going to report how it is..

As reported, now living in Utrecht (before: Rotterdam). The two are (although both dutch, so lots of biking) almost the two ends in being bike-oriented.
Rotterdam was rebuilt after WW2, so made its streets wide and car-friendly since that looked like a good plan at the time. Now Rotterdam is in the transformation towards people-oriented.
Utrecht still has its old center and made it in '70s (almost) carfree. Also, the extensions that were built since are with giving the bike a prominent place in the infrastructure. This all resulting in a city where the bike is the way to go everywhere, with lots of parking spaces (parking at the station) and always looking for improvement. The latest focus is on diverting cyclists from the center with designated bike roads, because that is simply too full, causing traffic jams [of bikes]
Hope the world soon getting opened up again, so touring is more fun (the Netherlands is small, and the big cities are at (e)bike distance)

 

[PedalUma]

Here is one I rode today with the stealth appeal you mentioned. Nuvinci/Envolio is the way to go. The new bike looks nice.

 

[PedalUma]

I saw the video on why Dutch bikes are best. Fun. The Dutch bike I showed you has internal roller brakes. It is true that Dutch bikes are very rare in North America. Bikes here are generally categorized a 'sporting goods,' meaning that they are toys and not transportation. The bike with a Union Jack has a coaster (foot) brake and is a three speed with a Nexus hub of gears.

 

[tomdutchie]

yeah, the channel is very nice

This Canadian guy is not only good in explaining how we Dutch see biking [a way of getting from a to b, a tool, instead of sports equipment], but really good in the whole infra/city planning change we made to get on the bike: from planning in of neighborhoods, bike-roads [where cars are "guests"] to the nitty-gritty of traffic lights and ringing your bell.
Really funny to see that things that the Dutch been doing for decades now, is seen by others as revolutionary: maybe it's the crazy prices for owning, riding, and parking cars and the public transport being rather slow (and us being cheap) that is making our love for the bike. But I think city planners here now aware that [sub]urban planning without good bike infra is the worse planning you could think of now because it will probably the main transport for many. For example: Here in Utrecht now planning a full (newly developed) part of the city car-less, because of the proximity of the city center and public transport and a direct (bike) route to that center.

BTW: Did you put your steering handle below the saddle, giving a more downright position? That would be atypical for a Dutchie to do . Actually one of the reasons for the pre-order I've placed was to get the more upright (relaxed/touring) experience since the LaPierre is more down, and I'm getting old .
Am I seeing good that you mounted a kit to the bikes to make them electrical? [looking smooth, a bottle as battery]

 

[PedalUma]

yeah, the channel is very nice

This Canadian guy is not only good in explaining how we Dutch see biking [a way of getting from a to b, a tool, instead of sports equipment], but really good in the whole infra/city planning change we made to get on the bike: from planning in of neighborhoods, bike-roads [where cars are "guests"] to the nitty-gritty of traffic lights and ringing your bell.
Really funny to see that things that the Dutch been doing for decades now, is seen by others as revolutionary: maybe it's the crazy prices for owning, riding, and parking cars and the public transport being rather slow (and us being cheap) that is making our love for the bike. But I think city planners here now aware that [sub]urban planning without good bike infra is the worse planning you could think of now because it will probably the main transport for many. For example: Here in Utrecht now planning a full (newly developed) part of the city car-less, because of the proximity of the city center and public transport and a direct (bike) route to that center.

BTW: Did you put your steering handle below the saddle, giving a more downright position? That would be atypical for a Dutchie to do . Actually one of the reasons for the pre-order I've placed was to get the more upright (relaxed/touring) experience since the LaPierre is more down, and I'm getting old .
Am I seeing good that you mounted a kit to the bikes to make them electrical? [looking smooth, a bottle as battery]

I have long legs so I raised the saddle for a test run. You are correct about riding position. Back ram rod straight. Yes, I pop on a motor and a small stealthy battery keeping the wires clean.

 

[tomdutchie]

Nice collection of e-bikes you have there, or these are not all yours, but bikes where you put the motor on?

 

[Necrophos]

I just moved to Amsterdam, and the Covid restrictions are annoying. It was almost impossible for me to transport my stuff to the Netherlands because of it. It took me three months to finally find a good company that actually helped me. Loparemovals did everything, and I’m really grateful because it was almost impossible to accomplish. If anyone is facing a similar issue, then you should definitely visit their website https://loparemovals.com/european-removals-netherlands and ask for services.

 

[Nomad]

but but ...... for me getting to work is a sport. Imagine that building something that's durable and just simply does it job.

 

[PedalUma]

Nice collection of e-bikes you have there, or these are not all yours, but bikes where you put the motor on?

I have done a bunch of them. I might own one for a while, then sell it. I mostly work on other peoples bikes, converting them. Here is one I delivered today. It carries 120Kg on the rear rack. 750W, 90Nm, torque sensor. A local politician owns it. I paid $650 for it before upgrades. @tomdutchie, you can see some more, PedalUma.com, if you are interested.