victor

Hey, I'm new here. Maybe somebody can help me.

I ran into the previous owner of the now defunct "Wheelsmith" here in Palo Alto, CA. He was riding a really cool Dutch city bicycle. Regrettably, I've forgotten the name. Does "Kroener" ring a bell?

-Victor

rybowen

Not with me, but that doesn't mean anything. I've seen Batavus, Gazelle & bikes house branded as "Van Der Heem".

So wheelsmith is gone? I had a p15 paramount that I bought at a Sunnyvale garage sale in mint original condition for $15 that had a Wheelsmith sticker on it.

MoultonChopper

I think a Kronan was the bike he was riding.
https://www.kronancycle.com

Rudgey

The Kronan is the new production Swedish army bike. used dutch bikes are available from a few sources, someone in Vancouver,WA has some, at least that's what I've heard and recyclesonline.com in Bellingham,WA has some - they had a crate load at one time. but they've sold all their nice bikes and new bike built by Azor. The population of dutch bikes in Portland seems to be growing, every few days a see one I've never seen before, I purchased mine on ebay.

Trek sells a dutch market city bike, which may be only available in Portland, don't know. It's really an ugly hybrid with a generic chaincase but it is set up for commuting.

there is a list of 3 speed/gear hub/city bikes on threespeedbicycles.com

victor

I found it! Kronan. www.kronancycle.com
I'll check out the others that you had mentioned as well.

Yup, Wheelsmith was purchased by Mike's Bikes. It's now on El Camino Real in Palo Alto just north of California Ave.

victor

That was it! Thank you very much.

I checked the link and found that the store in Berkeley still exists; but, it had moved on me.

Thanks again,

Victor

kurremkarm

*Cough* 46 pounds.

Rudgey

I tried to buy a Kronan, I talked to them on the phone, they said they had one for me in their Niagra Falls area warehouse and then I never heard back from them, they apparently don't get many shipments to the US, it's not a high priority for Kronan, extra liability insurance, fear or lawsuits, most european companies couldn't be bothered and most get sent to the dutch market, 5 month waiting list or somehting. I decided to buy a Pashley roadster, quite a bit more money but it does have nice drum brakes and 5 gears and a lugged frame. There is another swedish bike in the US Skeppshult (sp?) for some reason all their dealers are in the NY area, they have a big ol roadster, a light roadster,looks similar to a Raleigh Sports and some weird Z frame roadbikes.

mswantak

I think you're way ahead with the Pashley; they make Kronans look like farm implements.

Rudgey

Kronans are farm impliments, on their webpage they have a photo of someone pulling a cow with a Kronan. I'd still buy one, put some drum brake hubs in and studded tyres and you've got a volvo snow bicycle.

Stacy

https://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/bik/50765105.html

USAZorro

Stacy, Is that a seat or a trampoline on the men's model? The spring coils must be 4" across!

mswantak

That's the only way to get any give out of a hairpin spring. How much do those Indians go for?

stevonutria

Anyone know the best way for me to get Batavus decals i just picked up a 58 cm frame with everything but the wheelset.

Stacy

$150 with free delivery withiin NYC. No idea whether he ships.
I think the trampoline/saddle also functions as a hammock in case you poop out from the single gear

Stacy

Rudgey

I hope those bikes weren't build buy the same company that built my "Abley" roadster, I'd like to believe that some Indian bikes are half way decent but it seems like the ones that wind up here are pretty awful. Mine had defective bad hubs, warped shell and bent axle, front hub was missing the dust cap, several bent rod brake parts, the front brake stirrup was broken, the chainguard mount was designed to rub the chainguard against the chainwheel and the worst part is, the Made in India sticker only said "MADE IN" they forgot the india part. I wonder if that guy imports those directly, hopefully they aren't abley roadsters with the tacky stickers removed.

recycesonline.com sells used dutch bikes, though they probably only have project bikes left. They did sell some new bikes built by Azor, a smaller company that is expanding outside of holland. azor.nl, apparently the only dutch compoany willing to sell anything in the states, so in theory you could order one and have it shipped individually or from one of their new internet based dealers in the UK. I wanted to find a way of buying a new danish Raleigh Sports w/chaincase and drum brakes or a Gazelle roadster with rod operated drums but after a year of searching I couldn't find anyone willing to sell me anything, not even replacement drum brake cables, so pashley it is.

mswantak

I'd like to believe that some Indian bikes are half way decent but it seems like the ones that wind up here are pretty awful.

Well, it's hard for the factory to get good help these days; everybody's working at outsourced tech support jobs. And doing every bit the fine job they did at the factory, too.

Stacy

Considering these Indian Roadsters come with a rack, generator, lights, and kickstand, which here in NYC could easily go for the price of the entire bike, I'd be a bit hestant to buy one sight unseen.

Stacy

mswantak

Heck, it couldn't be any worse than buying a 30-year-old Raleigh for the same money; you know you're going to have to detail it out. I'm also presuming the dynamo lights are as pathetic as the old Royce or Miller sets they resemble. Great bell though; looks like an inverted dog dish.

USAZorro

Come now! You could send the bell through the spring loop in any orientation you choose without the two components even touching.

Rudgey

I think it could be a lot worse, the only parts I've had to replace on old raleighs and very used dutch bikes are front cones, tyres and tubes, I've had about 12 over the past 4 years, even bikes that I'd figured were in poor mechanical condition considering the poor paint. None of these bikes had the tacky dipped paint of indian bikes, the chrome, when cleaned up looks a lot better than the stuff on indian bikes, no warped hubs, no bend axles, no broken brake parts, never had to replace any BB parts on these bikes, Indian BB cups and headsets are junk and the nuts and bolts used to assemble the bikes are not only junk they are dangerous, I wouldn't want a rod brake stirrup comming loose in traffic, replacement bits might be a bit difficult if the bike is Whitworth threaded, mine is.
I just disassembled a 1952 Rudge Sports, worn out brooks, very faded paint, paint worn off top tube, wear on the side of the rims and the white patch on the rear fender was sandblasted off by years of dirt and gravel and of course a peppering of surface rust on the chrome, and not a single damaged internal part. That's not to say that you won't find damaged parts - if someone for instance failed to readjust the front hub after fixing a flat the axle and cones may be damages, I've seen this happen on a Malaysian built raleigh sports circa 1990 - but these bikes were built to last, I don't think they have quality control in these Indian bicycle factories, it's probably cheaper for them to build more and let the bike shops sort it out, you get a crate of 100 bikes, and get enough good frames and parts for 60 good bikes, then you sell the rest to dumb americans.
I wish someone would find a source for chinese roadsters, surely they are better, after all they are the ones who build most bikes, I've never really examed one but the Flying Pigeon I saw had decent paint nice transfers, and the chrome was smoother and had a bit more "depth" to it.
I bought three indian roadsters a while back for 50 a piece from someone in LA who had a warehouse full of them, I still haven't gotten one to work, there are as many defects as there are moving parts on the bike, apparently someone tried to set up a roadster brand in the US but gave up when he saw the poor condition of the bikes and is now looking for a chinese source. I really don't like posting about how crappy indian bikes are, I was always annoyed by P.C. Kohler's angry posts about indian bikes on oldroads.com , I figured it was baseless xenophobia, I thought, they can't be that bay billions of indians ride these things everyday. I was wrong.

Rudgey

Indian dynamos are 12V set ups, they are far worse than any old Union or Nordlicht generator and they last about 20 min, the Lamps however are quite nice, they are made out of thick metal and have a solid feel lacking in the retre lights available at LBS, it's the best part of the bike. You shouldn't assume that something old is automatically crap, I've got an rusty old Nordlight generator on a 1960s belgian roadster and it creates less drag than the new Axa generator on my newish but downmarket dutch Prinsess bike.