Woutervanwijk

Thx Brent. I will take a look at it. I will have to open the bottom bracket anyways so i might as well change the spindle if it is necessary. Cheers, wouter

non-fixie 

Here's a bike that deserves some exposure in this thread. I've had it for a while, but never took any pictures of it until tonight. It's a Sprey, and unlike the white example I've posted earlier, which has a Joco-built frame, this one was actually built by Daan Spreij himself, sometime in the eighties. It's a bike I'm quite fond of, not only because it's pretty, but also because of the wealth of styling clues Mr Spreij lent from other builders. If only it were a few centimeters bigger.
It's still as I got it, and I really need to get rid of the aero levers, pedals and SunTour RD and bring it back to full 600 arabesque.

Wielerhuis Sprey, BTW, is still at the address mentioned on the DT, should anyone want to make a pilgrimage.









EDIT: Daan Spreij has now retired and his shop in Aalsmeer is no longer, alas.

Zieleman

Wow Maarten, the paint looks to be in superb condition! Are you sure the original setup was full arabesque and not a big mix to the taste and likings of the first owner? Maybe the levers are not original, they must have been a musthave upgrade in the late 80's, but it wouldn't be the first Dutch handbuild by a small custom builder with a mix of available/practical components. btw Did I mention my ideal size is 58? Or is this one unreasonably smaller than it looks?

Italuminium

Very nice Sprey, Maarten. is that a 56? If you need some arabesque levers, I've got a spare set.

non-fixie 

Thanks, guys. Zieleman, you're right. It may not have been all 600 arabesque to begin with. The Campagnolo shifters may be testament to that. But I think it would look a lot better without the aero stuff, and something a little chintzy, like 600 arabesque or NR would be more appropriate.

Italuminium, thanks for the offer. I think I've got a pair or two of those in the parts bin. BTW, the size is 58 CT, so Z is right on this one as well.

pullup

Good looking bike Maarten, Daan Sprey surely had talent as a builder and it certainly is nice to see the regional styling similarities to other N-H bikes.

Did you take a picture of the headbadge as well ?

non-fixie 

My sentiments exactly. And the headbadge reminded me of at least one other Amsterdam brand:

Elev12k

When browsing local car classified sites I encountered this:

l'Eroica fan




Btw nice Sprey, Maarten

non-fixie 

Thx. Lancia fan too by the looks of it.

Elev12k

Well spotted Lancia Flavia 2000

non-fixie 

Speaking of l'Eroica, I've used my Van Oel as a test hack for some Eroica modifications: gearing, wheels and tires. Took it to the Limburg hills for a week, including some gravel roads and mountain bike paths. Rides like a charm, except for numerous flats caused by what I think is 'torque creep' of the tires under vigorous braking. If you look closely you can see the rear valve stem showing a disturbing angle.

Elev12k

You will be going to l'Eroica upcoming year? If not it could possibly proove to be a good setup for next years RetroRonde

non-fixie 

Yes, I made the cut in the lottery . Got a bike and will probably build another two just to be sure. Now I just need some strong legs ...
I'm still sorry I had to miss the RetroRonde due to other obligations. It would have been a useful exercise.

Zieleman

Obligatory after-pics:

non-fixie 

Beautiful! The should be proud in Voorburg!

EBH

Very nice...

pullup

Great stuff that looks to be in perfect shape.

paulkal

That is a great looking van Herwerden

Italuminium

Cool! Can you tell the difference between GS and NR in terms of shift quality?

Zieleman

Thanks for the thumbs up everyone. I actually hesitated a little when I took this one home. The difference between GS and NR is very hard to tell while riding. I think the difference lies mainly in the materials and finish. For instance the rear derailleurcage is not a very pretty one. The brakeadjustmentscrew-thingies and other brakeparts are not chromed unlike NR and were heavily coroded. With as much polishing as I could bare I kind of brought a little shine back. The bearings in the BB and headset are loose, where in my NR stuff they're all in bearingcages. Shifting is exactly the same as NR (in my short experience > yearandahalf with NR, 50km with GS).

Elev12k

Very nice, Don Do you know anything about the Van Herwerden's origins?

Zieleman

I bought it from a very nice man who lives in Heemstede and had ridden it for some twenty years or so. He said the bike was bought by a friend of his at Van Herwerden in 1982. The gruppo is probably original to the bike, though I must add the FD and seatpost are not in any way distinguishable from NR. Steffen showed me the tiny difference between the GS and NR FD and when I checked it at home, I noticed this FD must be an NR... So either it was replaced somwhere down the line or Van Herwerden installed this one NR piece (disregarding the seatpost) between all the GS stuff, knowingly or by mistake. We shall never know...

rjhammett

It isn't classic and it isn't vintage but it is Dutch. I bought this bike this spring for my wife from a woman that brought it over from the Netherlands when she moved here a couple years ago. I got it for a ridiculously low price. I don't think there are many in the U.S.

Zieleman

Oh that is Dutch, alright! There may not be many in the US, but they're all over the place here! Probably very good quality bike (though I've never ridden one), way better than the other half of the mass which consists of cheap Chinese 'steel' granny bikes.

Chicago Al 

I have an automatic eBay alert for 'Zieleman,' on the chance that one will turn up there, in my size at the right price. This morning the below appeared...sorry it looks like I can drag the listing and photos over, but they get mangled. Anyway you can see that it's an appealing looking frame, nominally 55cm.

Last one on US ebay was a 52-53cm frame, my size, but had internal cabling, chromed fork (Z pantograph) with a steep angle, just did not 'ring my bell.'

https://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-Ko-Z...E:B:SS:US:1123


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