i'm new to the forum and i think that in the us dutch bikes aren't very popular. also in italy isn't easy to find proper dutch bikes because they are expensive but don't look cool.
most of the city bikes or "holland style" you find in europeans shops are just strange mixture of cheap components.
the most famous dutch brands are: gazelle, batavus, sparta, cortina, in recent years azor.
many are now made of aluminum but it makes really no difference, are still heavy. the traditional models all have something in common:

-upright geometry (often with adjustable handlebar)
-28" wheels (good quality wheels)
-hub gears (up to 8 speed)
-closed chainguard
-roller brakes
-robust rear rack
-good quality paint
-fenders and rear skirt
-many accessories (soft grips, front dinamo light and rear battery light, bell, rack)

i like my gazelle, it's not a race bike and it's heavy, but has something like 15-20.000 miles and has always been stored outside and required nothing more than some tire changes. now i start to see the signs of the time, the bikes i have owned before would have fallen apart many times.

Gazelle Also has race bikes. 1988 in Dieren NL, Watched their use of production tooling to make them efficiently.

Lugged steel 531.









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I test rode an Azor Oma before I bought my workcycles FR8 and they are a heavy very comfortable bike to ride. Much like the old "boats" of Cadillacs .

Mike

yes, i think they also build a retro-looking sporty bike, called van stael. it is much lighter than traditional models and has all standard features (derailers, brakes..)

yes, they are around 22kgs, 28" with 700x37, i also think that the hub gear is less efficient than the traditional derailer during acelerations, not to mention the front dynamo hub when present.
i wonder how it feels to ride newer electric models with front suspensions
here a pics of the gazelle classic and the van stael

My daily commuter is a 40-45 year old Gazelle with an SA3 and rod brakes. I've ridden it for more than a year but the only problems I had with it were with the much newer parts like battery fed led lights. Modern Gazelles or Batavus' aren't build like that anymore, Azors are.

It's about 24 kilo's and that's not ideal in the mountains but it doesn't feel heavy to me. Efficiency is about so many other things, big steel wheels that want to keep rolling help maintain a steady pace, the head tube angle helps to keep a straight line, the upright posture makes you use your strongest muscles and helps not waisting energy with upper body movement, the diamond frame doesn't flex much, the SA3 has pretty low mechanical drag and and there's no dirt on the chain or a derailleur to cause friction either.

In the 10-25 km/h range for a non sweat commute on flat or mostly flat terrain it doesn't get much better.

i noticed that on the used market classics seems to hold value better than more modern gazelle. tht's why i bought aluminum.
still much better quality than commuter bikes i usually see here in italy.