Dutch bicycle options??
 

I am in the market for a new dutch style bike. Problem is I live in the united states.

The bike would be used only for commuting and running to the store. Right now I am eyeing the Electra Amsterdam Royal 8i mainly because it is the only option I can find.

For me the bike MUST have the following to even be considered.

1. Upright riding position. Not even the slightest lean is acceptable.
2. IGH (Internally geared hubs). 8 speed preferred.
3. Full Chaincase.
4. Coat guard
5. O-Lock
6. Dynamo lighting, hub dynamo preferred.

Mainly looking for suggestions on where to buy one. I'd just go all out and buy a royal dutch gazelle, but you can't get them in this country as far as I can tell.

And price is no real problem. Cheaper is naturally better as I would then have more to spend on other things.

I ride an Achielle Craighton Oma that I had shipped to me from A Street Bike Named Desire, a bike shop in Palo Alto, CA. Here's the link: Achielle Craighton Oma - A Street Bike Named Desire. It hits all of your requirements except the coat guard, which you could add. I ride in dresses and skirts a lot and have not found that I need to add the guard. This bike shop also has some other models that might work for you. Good luck.

There are new school dutch inspired bikes like Public and Linus. They have various models ranging from bolt upright to semi upright.

There are stores that import dutch bikes: Clever Cycles in Portland. And Bay Area bike shops like "Street Bikes by Desire."

I added a dynamo to my Public Bike. O-Locks are useless where I live. I test road a Pilen, which is a Swedish bike with all the features. I did the sportier ride.

And I am wrapping up my own build: a Soma Buena Vista mixte with a dynamo and chain guard. There are aftermarket full chain cases as well. I found the partial worked well enough for me and my climate. I also wanted to be a tiny bit less upright. Still have upright bars, but less so than my last bike.

I looked seriously at the Buena Vista when I got my bike. That's what i would have done if I had been more confident in my bike building abilities at the time. It's a beautiful bike.

I am only a couple days into my Buena Vista and it has been awesome so far! I got a bike shop to do my build!

OP: Street Bike Named Desire was about 70% Dutch like bikes.

There are some dutch bicycle people here...I believe [MENTION=365305]kickstart[/MENTION] has a Gazelle

Pashley hits all your criteria. They have a distributor in the US.

Workcycles is another. You can buy in NYC.

I got my Gazelle from Calhoun Cycle. Gazelle - Calhoun Cycle. Ther are a few other dealers ans previously mentioned, just takes some searching.
You can make something similar, I did using a Robin Hood sport. You will end up with a very practical utility bike, but it wont have the same ride quality or bullet proof durability. I've put over 2000 miles on my Gazelle so far, it hasn't needed any maintenance or repairs yet, and I ride it daily in a wet climate on poor roads including gravel.

There's also a dealer in San Francisco, http://www.mydutchbike.com/

My gazelle came with an Axa defender lock which accepts a plug in chain to make it much more useful. Defender*-*axa-stenman

A guy who works in my building has a Paper Bicycle:

Home - Paper Bicycle

I'd stay away from the Electra. The geometry leaves a lot of people with sore backs after a bit of riding and many of the parts are a lot cheaper than typical Dutch bikes. The pseudo Dutch bikes are great for some people and fall short for others. All depends on your desires. They usually have smaller tires and don't have the smooth ride of Dutch bikes. The racks are often a bit on the lean side and they can sometimes be squirrelly when loaded with groceries or stuff (to little fork rake?).

Workcycles, one of the highest rated in The Netherlands, will ship directly to you.

More: City Bikes | LocalMile

I don't recall if Vanmoof bikes have the coat/skirt guard, but I think they have all the other stuff.

There are US Importers Of NL made Bikes Clever Cycles is One, in Portland Oregon, maybe some closer to you, Or Pay Domestic Shipping.

Other than That ... get a Bike that Fits and have the dealer add all your accessory wishes before you Take It Home, or have it shipped,

and pay the increased Total ..

That works OK if you have an existing bike.

If you're buying new it's much better to get a bike with everything on it to start with. You end up with a much better bike for less money.

maybe in Holland they sell that way , in the US bikes have long sold stripped to the basics and selling at a Lower Price Because Of it,

Then You buy the accesories individually .

Good luck... the markets in the US are Different than Europe.

Transportation bikes are following different Regulations . They have more, over there.

I couldn't find a stock bike outfitted the way I wanted. The one with Dynamo hub stock didn't have the rear Dynamo.

That's why I chose a build.

Why did you want two dynamos?

I omitted the word light. The one bike I found with a dynamo hub cheaped out and didn't have a rear light. I did not investigate if it was a 3w hub as it didn't quite fit and the color was boring. And it had the same igh I was trying to get away from.

That makes sense. I've seen the same where a bike has a dyno driven headlight but a battery tail light. For me, most of the reason for having the dyno hub is so that I don't have to think about batteries!

Same here! Light charging was causing me friction against choosing my bike!

I've been looking for a local dealer for a proper upright Dutch bike and discovered that Bicycle Belle in Somerville, MA carries Workcycles and Gazelle, so I'll be heading over there at some point this summer to try out a few bikes.

The hybrid that I use as my daily bike is really showing its limits lately for hauling stuff around (I carry video production equipment and groceries a lot, sometimes both at the same time!). I sure could use a double kickstand and one of those wheel stabilizers!

From pricing I've seen, it may actually be comparable to fly to Amsterdam and buy a bike there rather than purchase through a dealer. I'm keeping an eye on flight prices just in case. :)

The Breezer Uptown 8 LS meets all your criteria other than the coat guard, which is a $20 addition:
Breezer Bikes - Uptown 8 - LS - Bike Overview

And the MSRP of $819 is going to be substantially less than a true "Dutch" bike.

If your bike is working well, it is super easy to add a double kickstand and wheel stabilizer. I added this to my public bike for around $40 total. I spent a $10 or so to install. I added these to my new Soma Buena Vista. The setup was a bit different and I have a sturdier kickstand so these were around $60 since the shell stabilizer needed fender bolts. The stabilizers (velo Orange stocks them) on there own are around $12. It made a difference on my public bike, but got a little out of balance when I added the Dynamo. On the some, with the fender mounts, it is more stable.

I'd recommend these upgrades for any bike as they are easy to find after market.

Ichi bike in Des Moines sells Gazelles. Or they did a couple of years ago when the person I bought mine from bought it. I have a basic 3 speed gazelle - it's pretty sweet!

I seriously considered the Breezer uptown, but upgrading its rim brakes to hub brakes and a few other things it lacks negates the price difference.