I saw this gorgeous commuter parked on 8th in DC near the Penn Quarter Farmer's Market last week. It has front and rear racks built into the frame, matching fenders, internal gear hub (I think), dynamo-powered rear light and Brooks saddle. I noted all of that, took 2 pictures with my camera phone, and promptly forgot the name. I think it's something like Kettler or Kessler and I seem to recall that it was German, but I've tried Googling all those terms to no avail.

Any thoughts? It was the most beautiful bike I've ever seen.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1047/986483345_70465321ae_m.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1145/987332550_11f1da5c4b_m.jpg

Larger images available at www.flickr.com/photos/magalino.

Cross-posted in Commuting Forum.

*WANT*

that is awesome. I'll be watching this threa closely for more info!

You visited places like the Dupont farmer's market and Arboretum that most tourists miss. Anyway, DC is an international city and people from other countries bring their bikes along so you can see bikes from all over the world here. Sometimes I stop to chat with people with odd bikes. At the folklife festival I talked to a guy with a cool bike from Hamburg. It had hydraulic rim brakes and everything needed in a transport bike. The best bikes seem to be from Europe.

Actually, I live here now. Just updated my profile.

Cross-posted in Commuting Forum.

So the answer is in the Commuting forum.

I saw this gorgeous commuter parked on 8th in DC near the Penn Quarter Farmer's Market last week.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1047/986483345_70465321ae_m.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1145/987332550_11f1da5c4b_m.jpg

Larger images available at www.flickr.com/photos/magalino.

Cross-posted in Commuting Forum.

Fietsfabrick Pack Max:
http://www.fietsfabriek.nl/pages/collectie.htm
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Fietsfabrick Pack Max:
http://www.fietsfabriek.nl/pages/collectie.htm
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[edit]...Well after checking the other thread, I see that someone in the Commuting thread found the same bike, but on another site. ...But mine's cheaper! :)
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Okay my turn!

What's this one?.....
http://clevercycles.com/blog/clever_in_europe/clever_in_europe-Pages/Image26.html
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Okay my turn!

What's this one?.....

I dunno but, oh wow!

Okay my turn!

What's this one?.....
http://clevercycles.com/blog/clever_in_europe/clever_in_europe-Pages/Image26.html
~

Heavy, very heavy.;) :D

They're both so lovely.

[edit]...Well after checking the other thread, I see that someone in the Commuting thread found the same bike, but on another site. ...But mine's cheaper! :)



Is 900 Euro a good price for that bike? It is beautiful, though. I wonder how much it weighs.

Reminds me of a girls version of a Swedish Army Bike.

Is 900 Euro a good price for that bike? It is beautiful, though. I wonder how much it weighs.

Sounds like a lot of money to me for a bike like that.

A nice practical bike alright. I was much taken by this one on the Dutch website.......

http://www.fietsfabriek.nl/pages/ff22.htm

Yes laugh if you like, but if you have small children they'd think it was wonderful. :)

I saw this gorgeous commuter parked on 8th in DC near the Penn Quarter Farmer's Market last week. It has front and rear racks built into the frame, matching fenders, internal gear hub (I think), dynamo-powered rear light and Brooks saddle. .....
It has a front light too, mounted underneath the front edge of the front rack. It's visible in one of your photos....
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A nice practical bike alright. I was much taken by this one on the Dutch website.......

http://www.fietsfabriek.nl/pages/ff22.htm

Yes laugh if you like, but if you have small children they'd think it was wonderful. :)

I wish I had small kids just so I could justify buying that bike. It's awesome!

The best bikes seem to be from Europe.

You noticed?

Kettler is a very well-known German bike company. Very popular brand here.

Kettler is a very well-known German bike company. Very popular brand here.
Does Kettler still sell their geared hub bikes in Germany?
This page from Yellowjersey says they stopped in mid-2006, but that may have been just what was sent to the (cheaper) US market:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/kett3.html

...the folks at Yellowjersey seem to feel that discontinuing the geared-hub bikes was a considerable step backwards.
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Reminds me of a girls version of a Swedish Army Bike.

The current Swedish mail bikes are pretty nice, too. They sport pretty beefy racks. The women who ride them are pretty burly too ;)

The current Swedish mail bikes are pretty nice, too. They sport pretty beefy racks. The women who ride them are pretty burly too ;)

Very true! The old Swedish mail bikes end up in Latvia to be used by the Latvian Post Office. The racks are extremely robust and sport very nice Ortleib type waterproof bags.