WilliamK1974

This all started when I decided to try and get my girlfriend interested in bicycling with me. Thing is, she has not had a bike in many years.

My city has a bike rental program, so we started with her riding a rental bike and me riding my road bike on our river-walk. Once she got used to the controls, she seemed to handle the actual riding ok. Trouble is, even with my late 80s 12-spd, I was able to dust her a few times without even trying. This does not make for much of a fun ride together.

As far as getting her own bike goes, we went to look at the selection at the LBS where I got my MTB a few years ago. They had a hybrid/comfort bike by Del Sol that seemed somewhat promising, as well as those bikes that have a chair in place of the saddle. Not my cup of tea, but not my decision either. I let her do all the talking like a good BF and the Del Sol seemed to be the one she was most interested in, though she elected not to buy that day. Seems like it would have been less than $500.

We went to Walmart for something, and she gets all interested in a fuschia beach cruiser in the store. I told her that she might not like it as much as she thinks and would likely outgrow it fast here in the hilly South, but I am not sure the message got through or not.

All this has me thinking that whatever bike she gets, maybe I should think about getting something similar so I do not end up dusting her with my drop-bar bike. That has lead me down the path of considering a city bike, and even better, a Dutch city bike. I visited a shop that sells those about an hour from home last week. They had a just-sold Gazelle Toer Populaire, and the owner let me ride a Pilen Lyx. I like the aesthetic of those bikes, and their functionality with upright posture and ability to carry weight in addition to the rider. But $1400+ for a Gazelle or $1500 for a Pilen just is not realistic for me at this time.

I took my GF with me to that shop, and she was too scared to even try one of the bikes, and did not believe that spending that much on a first bike was wise. Probably a good point. I was just trying to show her a different set of choices than the ones we had seen at my local shop.

As far as the Dutch thing goes, there is a brand called Dutchie that seems to offer the Dutch opafiets experience for $699+shipping equipped with an 8spd SA internal. But I have never heard of them and do not know their provenance.

So, I thought about trying to import a used Gazelle or similar opafiets to the US from the NL. Not a worn-out used bike, but one that may have a patina while still having been maintained to a nice standard. Trouble is that a bike which was purchased new and used in the NL might be a single-speed, which is not practical for riding here in the hills of Tennessee. It also might cost more to ship it here than the purchase price.

Of course, the whole notion of riding a Dutch city bike here might be very impractical. But I think the reason my GF has not made her purchase yet is because the Del Sol just does not jump out and grab her. I can understand why. They and their Trek equivalent just seem kind of drab and soul-less. In my case, those Dutch bikes look different, not like all the other bikes I see out there. While a Gazelle might be kind of heavy, the Del Sol also has some weight-adding equipment that seems unnecessary.

Anyhow, any thoughts or advice on this matter would be appreciated.