Classic & Vintage - Batavus Runner 3 speed

Hi, So I got this bicycle today. I think it's beautiful! But I know very little about it. Sorry the pic quality is not great, I took it in my hallway at night, but I wonder if anyone can tell me about it? Thanks!

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c124/thismama00/CIMG2121.jpg

I don't know if it qualifies as 'vintage' but I searched and seems like most of the Batavus threads are in here.

Take another look. I don't think there is any argument that it is not vintage.

So, you mean it's not? I really have no idea. I just want to learn about the bike. I dont mind if this gets moved to wherever.

No, no, that was obtuse. It is clearly vintage. Someone else here can be more precise.

Oh, sorry, thank you for clarifying. I am really not knowledgeable about bicycles. Was surprised I can't find anything online about this specific bike.

I'm pretty sure it's Dutch-made.

Yes sorry I should mention it has Dutch writing on it. And I believe those panniers are original - they are very dirty though.

Dirty? I guess you better get rid of the bike in that case. ;)

Haha yeah, I'll put it in the garbage bin tomorrow. It must be beyond hope.

What type of rear hub does it have? That'll tell a lot.

The rear hub is Sturmy Archer.

Good, it should have a date on it then. Look for numbers like 73 3 which would mean March, 1973. The hub date is the easiest clue as to the bike's age.

So, would this kind of be the Dutch equivalent of the Raleigh 3 speeds and the like?

How heavy is it compared to the Old Dutch etc? It doesn't feel that heavy, but can I assume it's as sturdy? I would like to mount a rear child seat on it.

Are they easy for me to learn to fix and/or will most bicycle mechanics be fine with working on it? I don't have a shop in my city that sells the Dutch bikes.


Good, it should have a date on it then. Look for numbers like 73 3 which would mean March, 1973. The hub date is the easiest clue as to the bike's age.

Okay, I will check, thank you!

I'll bet it weighs 35-40 lb.

I kept hearing how heavy the Dutch bikes are but this one seems downright fine to me. Probably because I have a giant Xtracycle to compare it to!

These kind of bikes are very common here. Very sturdy. hey put out hundreds of thousands of them each year. Don't hesitate to put a child seat on it, it's made for that. Concerning quality it's a solid mid range bike.

It may be lighter than the typical Dutch bike.

The Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub is one of the best pieces of cycling equipment in history.

I've worked on a ton of English 3-speed bikes, which yours resembles. They are some of the most durable and reliable bikes around. I like working on them. Everything is made of high quality materials. I know all the quirks and problems and their solutions. It may be hard to find a 3-speed bike expert, but you probably won't need to, either. They're not hard to learn about.

There's an English 3-speed in the bike shop where I work, waiting for repair. I hope I get a chance to do the repairs.

They are some of the most durable and reliable bikes around. I like working on them.

I live on a typical dutch canal, which somehow ends up full of bikes. Mainly bikes like this. I regularly see bikes getting dredged all caked in the dreadful sludge, and amazingly, they still run! If you keep the chaincase closed they practically last forever. The bike I ride when I'm over at my parent's place was bought new by my granddad in the sixties and still runs without a creak, the only thing that was replaced are the tires.

These kind of bikes are very common here. Very sturdy. hey put out hundreds of thousands of them each year. Don't hesitate to put a child seat on it, it's made for that. Concerning quality it's a solid mid range bike.


It may be lighter than the typical Dutch bike.

The Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub is one of the best pieces of cycling equipment in history.

I've worked on a ton of English 3-speed bikes, which yours resembles. They are some of the most durable and reliable bikes around. I like working on them. Everything is made of high quality materials. I know all the quirks and problems and their solutions. It may be hard to find a 3-speed bike expert, but you probably won't need to, either. They're not hard to learn about.

There's an English 3-speed in the bike shop where I work, waiting for repair. I hope I get a chance to do the repairs.


I live on a typical dutch canal, which somehow ends up full of bikes. Mainly bikes like this. I regularly see bikes getting dredged all caked in the dreadful sludge, and amazingly, they still run! If you keep the chaincase closed they practically last forever. The bike I ride when I'm over at my parent's place was bought new by my granddad in the sixties and still runs without a creak, the only thing that was replaced are the tires.


I'll bet it weighs 35-40 lb.

Thank you so much for the info, you guys, very reassuring! I am in love with the bike. Going to try to get my hands on a Bobike Maxi child seat for it...

Thank you so much for the info, you guys, very reassuring! I am in love with the bike. Going to try to get my hands on a Bobike Maxi child seat for it...

no problem :) the countless miles I spent in one of those... Just a note of warning though, I once tried to climb in the seat when my mom wasn't near the bike and it was resting on it's kickstand. That ended in tears.

I kept hearing how heavy the Dutch bikes are but this one seems downright fine to me. Probably because I have a giant Xtracycle to compare it to!

Get a scale, its plenty heavy. Pretty much all the vintage 3 speeds are heavy (at least, every single one I have had has been heavy, and I have had quite a few of them). I have a 1961 Gazelle 3 speed, that is well over 50 pounds.

You got a nice one!

You can also connect a child seat to the bars.

You can also connect a child seat to the bars.

I liked the front seat a lot more! seeing the road was a lot more fun than my mom's coat :). But unfortunately I got to big and had to move over. Plus my sister needed a place to sit :).

Beautiful bike!

The vintage Batavus bikes are so much nicer looking that the current offerings I think. Maybe that is because they look so much like Raleighs ;)

Haha, yes it does look like a Raleigh! I thought so too.

My 'baby' is 3 years old and 40 lbs so I will need to go with the rear Maxi seat. The front ones look very cool though. There is a woman in my piddly little city who rides an old Batavus with the Bobike Mini on the front and the Maxi on the back. I see her bike locked up at festivals around town. I always admire it.

I prefer using a trailer to putting kids or cargo on the bike. The carrying capacity is huge, and it doesn't affect the handling of the bike at all. It's unwieldy in small spaces, though.

My kids are adults now, and I use a kiddie trailer for shopping, etc. I've towed over 100 lbs (45 kg) in it, up the fairly difficult hills here.

When my kids rode in the trailer, they loved it. They rode together. They're three years apart in age. The trailer had enough room in the hatch behind the seats for a lot of cargo. They never got bored riding in it. One of them said that the trailer went faster than the car, which is understandable, given that it's lower and has no suspension.

Yes I had a great Chariot trailer before I got my Xtracycle. My issue is I live in an apartment building and it was just insanely impractical to lug the trailer and bike and kids into the elevator. And of course I was afraid of my trailer being stolen if I locked it outside. Hilariously I lost that fear once my Xtracycle was on the way, so I would leave the trailer outside and it became very easy to use bike and trailer. I felt a bit anxious that I had laid down the money for the Xtracycle during that period.

But once the Xtracycle got here, for me I find it a lot more efficient to just pedal the bike without dragging the trailer, it is a lot easier. Well, once I got the balance thing down. Also my older child is almost 8 and she was looking very ridiculous in the trailer.

But now she can ride her own bike a fair bit. I do still need the Xtracycle's capacity to carry her some of the time (pick ups, drop offs, and I like knowing on long rides that if she drops her bike and scrapes herself up, I can tie it to a tree and carry her out easily on the Xtra). But I am looking forward to also owning a bicycle that is not 7 feet long. This one just seems so... short! It's lovely.

I think the trailer/seat thing depends on where you ride I bet.

I don't think I'd like hauling a kid in a trailer around chicago. They are just too wide. I'd be in the traffic lane AND the door zone all at one time in the narrow bike lanes and sharrows riding around town. I feel that even just riding with my folding baskets open that I'm too wide sometimes.

Something like a Bakfeit or Madsen would be not much wider than my current baskets and plenty stable for kid(s) in the bucket. I'd just be way too paranoid with a trailer that the kid would get doored or we'd all get run over by impatient drivers trying to get by on a narrow sharrow.

Then again I'd be too paranoid to ride with a kid in a child seat as I'd be so paranoid about dropping the bike and child. I'd be a nervous wreck any of the ways -but I would feel the most confident with a cargo bike with a bucket. It's a good thing I don't have kids. I worry too much.

Yes I think the bucket would feel very stable and traffic safe. I thought they were heavy and a bit difficult on hills which caused me a bit of pause - I am not very in shape. But I don' know if that's true.

I have actually dropped my bike while carrying a child - it was years ago when my first was 3, and a rental. I knew it was in shoddy shape and the gears were unreliable, so it was my own fault, but I was going uphill and the pedal slipped, and the bike went down. She was unhurt and not upset thankfully. I have never dropped my Xtracycle, and recently got the double kickstand for it which is wonderful. I think I was going to be more likely to drop it at a standstill than riding.

Very true about different places - I am from Toronto and would never, ever ride a bicycle with trailer there. So I assumed trailers are impractical for the big city. But we were recently in Montreal, which has more dedicated bicycle lanes and an overall gentler feel, and I saw lots of parents and children out and about with bike and trailers.

I liked the front seat a lot more! seeing the road was a lot more fun than my mom's coat :). But unfortunately I got to big and had to move over. Plus my sister needed a place to sit :).

That is pretty cool that you remember being carried on a bicycle. I hope my children will have that memory.

Riding everywhere with a child instead of driving will certainly get you into shape -even in a flat city like Chicago where the only "hills" are the bridges and underpasses under/over the expressways and over the river.

My friend has a Madsen and pretty much uses it exclusively for transporting her child around town and loves it. I didn't know her before she started doing this but she said she has lost a ton of weight. She's a tiny little skinnymelinks now. When she's riding without her kid on a regular bike she just FLIES.

Riding with a loaded cargo bike or trailer (or even it unloaded) isn't going to be as rapid as riding a regular bike. You'll get there -it'll just be slower and take a bit longer. That's the workout since it lasts so much longer than what would otherwise be a short ride. Effort per minute isn't any greater but since you are going slower with the same effort the workout lasts so much longer ;)

Oh wow good for her.

I have managed to stay chubby. But I have noticed marked gains in endurance and agility and I often wonder where I'd be if I were still driving. I also don't ride everywhere, I also take the bus and I tend to putter over shortish distances with the bike. But oh man, the first ride on my Xtracycle I had a horrible sinking feeling that after all the waiting and the investment (I had the bike built up beautifully with disc brakes and built strong wheels), I wasn't going to be able to hack it. Within a week though it was downright manageable and now it feels like nothing, like just riding.

My daily commute involves a horrible, non bike friendly part of town where I take my daughter to school. I have a new plan for this fall though that I will bike to our second bus, eliminating the first, bus her to school, bus back to my bike and ride to my university, about a 30 minute ride one way over beautiful calming bicycle trails. Bussing only is tempting when I am bleary eyed in the morning, but bicycling leaves me in a far happier mood.

Getting into shape doesn't happen over-night.

I ride everywhere and I'm still heavy and sport a set of man-boobs that are the envy of many a small-framed woman. It doesn't help that I like the beer and ice-cream breakfast...

Oh well. I can bench-press my weight still. that's all that really matters right?

Hahaha! That is definitely what matters. Mmm ice cream...

My child seat was initially a wicket basket and later a constuction made out steel, wood and sky. Safety concerns weren't very omnipresent back than.

Great stuff here!

bikeymama, you're amazing. Where do you live? It must be a more bike-friendly place than suburban NJ.

My wife and I are getting around more and more by bike. She rode to the supermarket yesterday with a crate on her rack for the first time yesterday. She said it was a bit of a challenge, and she was a bit scared, but she learned how to handle the bike and did well. It's a three-mile trip each way. We're at the top of a hill, so that part of the ride is tough.

I've also co-founded sombike (http://www.sombike.com) and we are working at making the place more bike-friendly and encouraging people to ride.

You may want to take a peek in the Utility Cycling subforum here. Lots of die-hards there.