Hi all, just wanted to drop in and tell a story. Yesterday I decide to take my Altra to work. It is roughly 20 miles over mostly flat terrain (a lot of it on A1A). This bike is made in The Netherlands and would be considered your typical "Dutch Bike" and weighs in at an all steel 45lbs. I checked the weather channel and they forecast scattered thunderstorms and a 20 - 30 mph headwind.
I think to myself "no way its gonna be that bad". I was wrong. It was that bad and then some. Dead in your face wind on a 3 spd of unknown vintage with a bolt upright riding position (on a Brooks B66 though) and 20 year old (at least) tires was maybe not one of my best decisions.

Time to work: 2 hrs 15 minutes (almost all in 1st gear only)

The guys at work saw how torched I was when I got there and took turns ringing the bell and snickering at my decision and the "Mary Poppins" bike as they called it. I was super late but so what, I was riding. A couple of people offered me a ride home but I decided I was gonna finish what I started and ride it home. It rained on and off all day and was raining a little when I take off for home.
Wind and rain be damned! I've got full fenders, drum brakes, Saddlebags and Sachs VT5000 hubs that I know have more than one gear in them. Visibility sucked as I headed over the Hillsboro bridge to A1A but screw it I can't stop now. I get out of Deerfield and as I make my way North the wind has died down a bit and is now from the West. Hi-Ho 2nd gear! The rain tapers off and I am left with an almost deserted road, the generator making its slight hum as it slowly nibbles at the sidewall. The 2.4W light slightly nudges the darkness aside. Up through Boca and on into Delray the Altra whispers quietly up the road.

Time home: 1 Hour 40 minutes (mostly 2nd Gear)

One of my more enjoyable rides and the only thing going 20 was the wind. Get out and ride!

whew! what an exhausting ride. When my in-laws lived in Florida I used to go down and ride my father-in-law's 28" British Bobby Raleigh 3 speed from 1951 complete with rod brakes and a total weight well over 40 lbs. I did a lot of miles on it and sometimes I could get that thing rolling pretty good but headwinds could really turn it into an unresponsive beast.

as a side note- your set up on this bike looks, how shall I say, interesting. How tall are you? What kind of inseam length do you have? And is that stem beyond the line of minimum insertion? I'm curious about your fit on this bike- especially for a 40 mile ride.

I love those bikes. So do the Dutch and Germans. However, they only ride an average of 3 to 7 miles per day. Americans who ride bikes regularly will do easily 3X that, and at much higher speeds. That's the main reason we don't see very many of those around. How do your knees feel, since you were pushing all that mass with crank arms that are probably around 165mm?

Did you gather your information about the cycling habits of "Americans" by polling your fellow club members and/or by reading BF and other enthusiast outlets? Or maybe only club cyclists and enthusiasts are Regular™ enuff to be considered worthy.

I'd rather have more Americans cycling 3-7 miles a day than using cars to cover the same distances.

Now THAT'S dedication!

I sure admire your bike! Looks like it might fit me too. Post some more pics of it, if it wouldn't be a bother!

That was my thought as well as I looked at the pic... The saddle position makes me squeamish...

This bike must have been built for someone around 6"5" as the standover height is right up there so to speak. I'm 6'3" and about a 32" inseam. I actually brought the seat up and back and tilted it more towards level than in the pic. I haven't measured the crank arms but the 165 estimate is probably darn close. As far as fit goes, I may pull the seat back a tad more but thats about it.

I thought the narrow pullback bars were a joke at first but when you're at the helm they feel perfectly natural.

As far as my knees go, honestly they feel pretty good. I will admit to not going to BMX tonight but not because of my knees. The stem is out there but not above the line.

3 to 7 miles? That makes sense as I went out the night before with it to pick up groceries as its maiden voyage and it was superb (about 5 miles round trip). Doh!

There are some pics in another thread if you search under "gait rigter" which is the shop that sold this bike in Zwolle, Netherlands. I'll try to put some more up tomorrow.

What's going on with the reaction arm on your front drum brake?

Seems like your arm clip is missing.

Right on, man. All this garbage about short European trips has some truth, but not enuf to be meaningful. I ran across some construction workers commuting from Brugge, Belgium, to Retranchement, Netherlands — something like 15 miles each way — on the kind of bike you now ply.

I ride a Breezer that's 32.5 pounds out of the box, 45 loaded, sixteen-to-twenty miles a day. No big. You're my new hero. The skinny-tire guys pass you by, but they also spend a lot of time fixin' flats and they stay home when there's "weather," in my experience.

Good Job! One suggestion for head winds....get a set of the clamp on aero bars. I have seen that done on Dutch bikes in the Netherlands. You still have the comfort of the upright position, but also have the option of going more aerodynamic when you hit a head wind. Also check the gearing on the bike and make sure it is suitable. The old 3 speed Raleighs came from the factory with very high gearing, the first change I have made on all of mine was to swap the cog for a 20t+.

Aaron

He is merely stating fact.

American, in case you haven't noticed are way more spread out than euros. Therefore, they have longer commutes.

I will second the clip on aerobars suggestion. Probably would have knocked 30 minutes off that commute from hell.

your bike rocks.. i like the style!

Thanks for all the posts, it's nice to see this bike had the same effect on others that it did on me. I hadn't even touched it but had already decided to buy it when I spotted it at a second-hand store.

K6: Good catch on the torque arm, the last person who had the wheel off didn't put it back on correctly. It now sits in its slot inside the left fork leg.

Regarding fit and stuff: The standover height is at 34 1/2 inches and the BB centerline is 12" off the ground.
Cranks measured out at 175mm. My Salsa Campeon is at 32 1/2 and 10 1/2 in comparison. I'm not sure on gearing but I will check it next time I have the rear wheel off (which by the way is a semi-long process)

As far as Aero bars go, I don't think I'll ever do it. Good idea but I can't see putting them on this bike. I just have to remember to not ride into 20 mph headwinds although I love the fenders and enclosed driveline. My feet would have been soaked on any of my other bikes.

It should be noted that my all time record commute time to work is 1 hour 5 minutes.
All time record home is 1 hour 2 minutes.

Both of these set about 1 year and 20 pounds ago. I'm about 270.
Juggler, where from in Michigan? Detroiter here.

Trying to put up a new pic but it's not loading. Will try again later.

How is the bike's mass relevant on a flat Dutch road? Or a flat road anywhere`?

It looks like your handlebars are high relative to your seat. And your seat looks a little low if the bike fits.

At constant velocity you get a free pass but it takes more force to accelerate. F=MA. I don’t find that weight is that big an issue on flat terrain but as soon as you get to grade you pay for mass.

It is a cool bike but FWIW this skinny-tire guy just finished up a week of riding in snow and single digit temps. I think that qualifies as "weather".

Awesome ride report!

This is calling for the mandatory's Huhenio wishlist from Electra.

Great ride report. Reminds me of the breakfast ride about a month ago, although mine was only half the distance and no rain. Very stiff breeze and temps in the low 40s.... ridden my my Raleigh DL-1 3-speed.

You can't compare riding something like that to a road bike of course. The weight does make a difference but I think it's more the geometry than the weight. You notice the weight but a non functioning geometry for it's use on the bike is what runs you down

I know that ride! Been on it too many times. Never learn tho. I had the same wind last commute, but only 5 miles of suffering.

Way to stick it out. Crack open a cold beverage of your choice and pretend I just bought it for you.

Nice story.

Darn Electra Amsterdam, nice freakin bike too. Just saw one at my LBS while I was out. One of the guys saw the Altra and remarked about the skirt guards then says, "check this out". Shiny new Amsterdam going together, the guards were metal too. Nice machine.

I'm trying to upload a better pic but for some reason it says "file upload failed" oh well there are some other pics in my other thread for those that might be interested. The seat is more up, back and level now than in the pic from earlier. I just put about another 10-15 miles on it today and got more of the story on it too.

This is a one owner bike but the old man that owned it died about 7 years ago. His wife is getting up there and is liquidating some of her old stuff. I picked it up from a guy who is helping her move her stuff. He says that the bike was originally bought in the 60's and was shipped over here around 1975. The guy used it as daily transportation and his wife drove their only car. His commute was about 3 or 4 miles each way.

Supposedly it has the original tires on it (yikes!). They are Vredestein Superiors. Is there any way to date these tires? It may give some clue as to the actual age of the machine if they are indeed original. I highly doubt that they are original but they are really old. The generator is wearing a nice layer of dried rubber dust and I doubt they will hold up much longer.

I'm putting more miles on it tonight as we have our holiday party. Luckily it is only 4 miles each way. If you see it out and about say hi.