Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
I'll comment if I want to, since the tone of your parting shot seems to fit with others' comments about these bikes selling mostly because they're fashionable right now. What supposed magic of design is helping a normal average person get up a hill easier with 15lb more bike and higher gearing and potentially a hundred pounds of kids/groceries/payload?
Not easier, just no different than any other bike that doesn't prioritize speed and light weight. My dutch bike is 20+ lbs heavier than my road bike, but I'll be danged if I can tell the difference in effort it takes to get up that mile long,15% grade on my commute home. Its work no matter what bike I'm riding.
If I'm doing a long ride I actually prefer the dutch bike because at the end of the day, the extra comfort more than offsets the additional effort and is ultimately less fatiguing.
Retro bikes may be in fashion with certain urban cliques, but that doesn't change a dutch bikes value for practical utility.