Originally Posted by
kickstart
Riding a classic roadster, aka "Dutch bike" seems to be like riding fixed, too often dismissed out of hand by those who don't get it.
I tried fixed and didn't like it, but I get it. Its a real shame what the obsession with performance road bikes has done to cycling in North America.
It cracks me up how some say save money and just get an old steel bike and slap some stuff on it to make it look "Dutch" without any clue that it will be nothing like a real roadster.
Just imagine what a "Dutch bike" would do to cycling in America if it was the only thing available. "Dutch bikes" have their uses in Holland but that's a pretty tiny area that is mostly flat. A "Dutch bike" in my city is mostly useless.
You could ride one around Denver's city center and, maybe, north and south on the Platte River but from where the Platte River comes out of the mountains to Commerce City (a distance of, roughly, 30 miles) you couldn't ride it west of the river. At the city's center, you couldn't ride it more than about 50 feet west of the river. There's a 300 foot climb there in about half a mile that is difficult enough on a multigeared bike.
On my commute, each and every day, I have to 700 feet of climbing. Someone in Amsterdam probably won't climb 700 feet in a month. People get all misty eyed over Amsterdam but that model doesn't fit everywhere.