Hi,
I got a new Batavus Course in high school, mid 80's. It was my transportation before getting a drivers license. Somewhere along the line, the wheels got stolen, so I tossed it out into the garage until my mother forced me to take it to my own home years later.
My son is starting to ride, so I pulled the old frame out, took it to a bike shop for an estimate to get it road ready, and they came in about $500 - $600, probably much more than the bike is worth. Seems we paid between 200 and 400 back in the day.
Then I got to thinking, if I was going to spend some money, perhaps I should try to restore it to original equipment.
So my first challenge is trying to determine, at least as close as possible what the original equipment was. I've searched ebay, google, this forum, etc for a parts list and have not found one. This was one of the last models they produced in the US.
Some of the parts are just missing parts:
Weinmann brake handles - beautiful drilled handles. The repair technician says they are missing the cable housing stops and he cannot get them. I've seen several Weinmann handles on Ebay and was wondering if the stops would be universal (ie: could I get a pair of similar handles and use the stops). Also, I seem to recall this one having the second brake handles that came across the top of the handle bars. They obviously are not there now, but there appears to be holes in the down handles where they might attach. There is also a lever where the handle joins the mount and i'm not sure what that is for (parking brake?).
The shifters are Huret. The levers are corroded and will probably need replacing, but as you can see, they are also missing the inner bushings that hold them to the mount. The mount bolts are threaded, so it appears I need a type that will screw on. I have found 'braze on' shifters on ebay, but I presume these will not work unless I replace the mount also.
The rear derailleur is also Huret and one of the pullies is missing a tooth, I think I can replace the pully.
As for the brakes, which are also missing, I presume they might have been Weinmann also, but I'm not sure if I need center pull or side pull.
Then the wheels and sprocket. I have no clue what they might have been. I do know at least the front wheel was quick release, I dont' recall the rear wheel. They were aluminum and I think were a matte finish, not shiny. I have seen similar looking Weinmann rims on Ebay, all shiny. Some have shimano hubs, some Suntour, etc.
If I cannot get an oem parts list for the bike, I would be satisfied with similar parts from the same era / manufacturers. However If I'm going to be spending any money on 25 year old parts, I would like to get as close as possible to the original.
The crank is Intercycle.
The handlebars say 'Made in France'.
I've been to the Batavus website, which they should just take down the English version, nothing works. They do post phones numbers. Are there any Batavus owner's groups? I did a quick Google search and did not find any.
I appreciate any advice you might have.
Thanks in advance,

Jon

You have a low to mid level Batavus. You need to ask yourself, "How much is this bike really worth to me?" If the answer is "not a lot", sell it, and start with a different bike. If you aren't good with a set of tools, this bike is going to be expensive to restore. Again, take a pass, and move to a different bike.

If you're interested in restoring it, the first thing you need to do is find the Batavus catalog for that year online. If you're lucky a Batavus enthusiast has a scanned pdf posted online. This would have a chart of the parts that you need to get (like the brakes!)

Chains, cables, cable housings, and tires with tubes can all be bought relatively inexpensively. You will be able to find a set of secondhand wheels that are about right without a problem.

The hard parts will be finding the bits for the shifters and derailleurs, but if you don't care about having a Huret set, then anything will do.

You'll need to do some searching on this site to understand what needs to be done and how to do it.

Good luck!

Edit: looks like Weinmann sidepulls: https://velospace.org/node/20353

Welcome to the forum! Like TimmyT says, it's not the most collectible Batavus, but if you'd like to undertake a first restoration project, it is a cool choice. And it will make a nice rider, even with budget replacement parts. Have fun!

Hello Byrd48 Welcome to the forums. How old is your Son? Personally I agree with he others, this is fixable but at what cost are you willing to do it. The good part is there is nothing over complicated on this bike to service. Even if you don't have the skill and the fancy tools to a professional job you can do the lion's share of the work and turn it over to the pros for a final tune up.

OH your Son.... how old is he? is he old enough to help? While it isn't a hotrod in the garage restoring dad's old bike may make a father son project. There is lots of information on this and the mecchanics forum for making repairs and some good videos on the park tool website.

I recomemd getting yourself a decent used mountain or hybrid bike from craigslist to ride and take a stab at cleaning this up. Start with just cleaning and waxing the frame and then have the local shop loosen the cranks and BB so you can remove it and clean and lube it.

Where do you live? There is likely a C&Ver nearby willing to help.

Thanks for the input. It actually looks like I can find those era parts for the same or less than buying new, except for the fact that I'm getting old used parts. I probably will not ride it too much and it's for sentimental reasons that I want to renovate it. There is a bike coop in my area, so I might need to get with them on help installing and tuning it once I have the parts.
Thanks again,
Jon

Hi,
My son is 4 and a half, so I have a few years before we can truly ride together, and when we do, I'll probably be better suited to have a different type of bike like a hybrid or mountain bike. From what I've seen on ebay, I think I can get the parts for the same or less than new replacement parts (at least according to what the bike shop guy quoted me). I'm in Atlanta. I also have a 1980 Fiat Spyder from high school sitting in the driveway awaiting a renovation, and they stopped selling those in the US about the same time Batavus pulled out. The Fiat will be a huge project, the bike seems more manageable (and much cheaper).
It's not top of the line, but I have so many fond memories plying the miles and miles of asphalt on it in my youth.
Thanks again for the input!

Jon

Have fun with this. It will take you a little bit to get your bearings with the bicycle, but you'll be OK. Check Sheldon Brown's site, search here to see what other members have done, and post when you get stuck.

There's nothing wrong with used parts. In fact, to get the look of that bike back to something near stock, I would imagine it will be $100 to $200 plus some consumables (tires, tubes, grease, etc.).

Somebody here, I'm sure, knows which jockey wheels you will need for the RD, too. Without knowing anything about that derailleur, I'm guessing that the shimano replacements will work: SHIMANO UPPER LOWER 5-8SP 10T PULLEY SET MTB ROAD BIKE REAR DERAILLEUR PULLIES
Somebody might be able to confirm that for you.

Thanks Timmy,
Scanning the memory banks, I think I might have taken off the side pull handles back in the day, perhaps because to a 14 year old, they looked 'sissy'.
The memory is fuzzy, but I also think I might have had 26 inch wheels. I'm 5'7 now and might have been less then. The bike shop repair guy did not think that was plausible. Are 26 inch wheels common, or were they? I found a few Weinmann wheelsets like this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/150815884186...#ht_1635wt_900
and this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/160801082059...#ht_1580wt_900

The first is listed as 27 inches, the second is listed as 700C (does that mean 700 millimeters?).

I think, with a replacement pulley, both derailleurs should be operational. The cables are actually still attached to the shift levers. I can't imagine how I'm missing the bushings to attach the levers to the downtube mount, but the cables are still intact?

While it's possible, it's also highly unlikely that 26" wheels were ever on that bike. They are almost exclusively for mountain bikes.

Generally, as the quality of the bike improves, the wheels go from 27" to 700c. The difference is a whopping 4mm in the radius (a diameter of 630mm for 27" and 622mm for 700c, see Sheldon Brown's page, BTW, 700c is a size, not a measurement) . My guess is that the Batavus had 27" wheels, but the brakes may have been able to accept either wheel. The bike I linked to above appears to have 27" wheels (look at how high the shoes are in the brakes --- there's at least 4 mm for the shoes to come down to accept a 700c wheel). Do you remember if this was 12 or 10 speed? A 12 speed would have a rear OLD (Outer Locknut Dimension) of 126 mm. A 10 speed would have 120 mm. You can jam a 12 speed wheel into a 10 speed slot without ill effects, but it's best to get the right set to start with. You can put a ruler across the rear dropouts where the axle would go, and this would give the answer instantly.

You'll want to replace the cable housings and the cables for the bike. Modern housings have a plastic liner that reduces friction in the shifting system. Modern shifter cables have a thin plastic coating. Your cables are probably rusty in the housings, too. Shifter cable housing is relatively inexpensive, and cables (both brake and shifter) will run you $3 to $5 each. (NB, shifter housing and brake housing are different both in size and strength, so don't use one in place of the other.) Your local bike shop can sell you the right lengths of both in either black or white. For more exotic colors, you will probably need to go online.

For period correctness, I would go with the Normandy hubs on Weinmann rims. A 700c pair like this would probably work, too.

There are lots of decent online retailers for various parts: Nashbar, Tree Fort, and Niagara cycle come to mind.

And before you even ask, I'm going to recommend Panaracer Pasela Tourguard Tires with a kevlar bead. For 27" rims go with 1 1/4", for 700c get either 32mm or 35mm.

And whatever you do, just say, "No" to splash handlebar tape.

I'll not be replacing the handlebar tape It's gapped in a few places, but it holds too many stories for me to change it... And my primary goal is to bring it to as close to what it was as possible, I'll not be riding it that much (unfortunately I just don't live in a good riding area)
It might have been a 12 speed. I recall it was 'different' than most of the standard bikes my friends rode. I'm thinking 10 speed was the standard back then. The other 'difference' was that I was the only one who didn't have a kickstand on my bike
The OLD is approx 5.25 inches which would equate to about 133mm. so that would seem to confirm 12 speed.
I looked at those rims you linked to, they do look appropriate, but then I would need to source a sprocket for the rear wheel. Do you know if Weinmann made sprockets as well? Is the sprocket considered part of the hub?
Thanks so much Timmy, I really do appreciate the input. I can get under a car and know my way around, but bikes are an entirely different (and intriguing) world.

Jon

Weird. 5.25" would be too large ... that would be about the right spacing for a modern 7/8/9 speed freehub body. 5" (127mm) would be about right. Is the rear triangle offset at all? That is, is it bent? Can you see anything obvious? If you don't mind, could you post a whole shot of the frame from the drive side and one of the rear triangle viewed from the rear towards the seat tube? You posted close-ups which don't help in this instance.

Freewheels are a different part from the wheel. For a used set, wheels are often sold with the freewheel already attached. English threaded freewheels are relatively cheap and plentiful. The advantage of a new freewheel is that you can get something that is ramped with grooves that allow faster, easier shifting. (There are a lot of people who swear by the old stuff, but it just isn't even close in terms of functionality.)

You'll need to find some c&v locals to ride with in the Atlanta area. A group of friends helps to get riding more.

There is, indeed, NOS Benotto bar tape out available: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-White-Be...item3f179b2335
People around here hoard the stuff.

Happy to help .... Tim

I would strip it down and clean the frame. Then clean up the components or find a donor bike at a thrift shop/garage sale and swap components. Repack the bearings in the bottom bracket, headset and wheels. These are things you can do with mostly common tools. The bottom bracket tools you might be able to rent or borrow from the bike shop you are spending all your money at.

A Fiat Spyder? Those are cool. a friend of mine had one when I lived in Boston. She used to let me have when she wanted to my slightly nicer Cavalier to drive up the Maine.

I took some higher resolution photos, hopefully this is what you'll need. You can see how I took the measurement for the OLD.
Thanks,
Jon

You're OK. The OLD is equivalent to the distance between the inside of one rear dropout to the inside of the other rear dropout (both locknuts would sit inside). I think you measured outside to outside. Looks like 4 7/8" which is 124 mm. Double check that, but 126mm hubs (6 speed) would be OK.

The paint on that bike looks really good for so many years of neglect.