Hi all,

My wife will be opening the next few months in a city and quite fancies a shopper/dutch style bike. A quick bit of googling reveals the Pashley Princess Sovereign as the sort of thing she is after.

I was wondering if there are any other alternatives worth looking at that are its equal or maybe better?

Bike will mainly be stored outside and will receive minimal to zero maintenance….

Will

I would suggest you have a read of this thread.

I think that the step through (ladies) version of the Gazelle Heavy Duty NL or the Batavus Personal Bike Plus are better choices: they are genuine dutch bikes designed and manufactured for hard use and longevity, rather than trading on a nostalgia for bygone days when the district nurse rode something like the Pashley.

As I understand it, three speed hubs are a lot less complex than and likely to be a lot more reliable/longer lasting than the Sturmey Archer 5 speed or Shimano 7 or 8 speed hubs. I believe it is possible to lubricate the Shimano and Sturmey Archer 3 speed hubs via the hollow axle, unlike the various 5, 7, and 8 speed hubs, and I’ve seen it suggested on the Cycling UK forum that half yearly lubrication of the hub should be sufficient (and should greatly prolong its service life).

I would give the nod to the Gazelle Heavy Duty over the Batavus Personal Bike Plus, although you might prefer the latter if you want 26″ wheels instead of the Gazelle’s 700c wheels.

These videos give some idea of Gazelle’s build quality and attention to detail, and I very much doubt Pashley can compete with that (or even try to do so).

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A03A1cFzsgI[/video]

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sosm2YiUeZ8[/video]

Look at the Elephant Bike for a cheaper, refurbished Pashley. https://elephantbike.co.uk/

My wife has one, she likes it but they weigh a ton so if it’ll be used anywhere hilly expect complaints.

Nothing delivers the same new bike smile as a Pashley. Yes, they’re heavy, but they roll along with a sense of elegance. Lovely. Unless there are hills around!

Batavus are superb, but again hefty built, and lack that certain something a Pashley delivers…..

Ikea bike? Some very clever design features and spec for the price.

My wife has one, she likes it but they weigh a ton so if it’ll be used anywhere hilly expect complaints.

It’s probably a classic example of cheap, light, strong: pick any two.

If you want lighter, but you still want the perfomance advantages/benefits of a dutch style bike, there are options like belt drive instead of the chaincase or a Hebie Chainglider etc., but inevitably there are ‘trade offs’. The Gazelle Heavy Duty NL is even heavier than the Pashley (23kg vs. 20kg), but there is a lighter Gazelle, the Esprit, which is 17kg. It doesn’t have the front rack or a stand but it still has an enclosed chaincase and hub dynamo lighting.

What slowster said. My Batavus Personal Bike lives outside most of the year and after 5 years it still hasn’t died. Just one squirt of roller-brake-grease in that time. And a rust-resistant chain upgrade. 🙂

Yes we have an Elephant bike here – so called because that’s how much it weighs. But they are ex-post office bikes not dutch style commuters.

My GF loves her pashley and it is nice to ride
I was a bit worried about the weight, but she manages fine on the hills
I now want a stylish bike for when we go on rides together

Mrs Boondock has a Batavus Mambo which we picked up in Holland whilst on holiday last year. It weighs a ton but is a really nice bike, and rides well on the flat.

Here’s a good blog about the Pashley in restrospect

If I was fixed on the retro-style then I’d choose the (contemporary) Batavus Old Dutch model over the Pashley simply from my personal experience with both Pashley design/builds vs Batavus. The Dutch quality is there with all the useful ‘extras’ such as stands, bells, locks etc fitted as not only standard items, but ‘high quality and fit for purpose’ items. I’d still change the cog/chainring ratios on the 3 speed as I have with the Personal. I find 3 is all you need on a relaxed bike like this, just the right ratio depending on where you live and ride.

Batavus Old Dutch 2018

Thanks for all the links and pointers.

At the moment we are looking for something second hand which is leading me to Pashley as I think I can pick one up for a decent price locally.

Seem to be a few of the other brands about too but mostly down south for collection/pick up only!

Where are you? I have a small Sparta that I’m happy to part with for very little funds. It’s not light, but has all the nice Dutch bits!

TiRed we are in Aberdeenshire soon to be Perthshire….

Always worth a search on Gumtree. Just enter ‘dutch bike’ and postcode search radius. Then double the radius 😉

My wife has an Old Dutch she bought after her old bike got nicked and she fancied a change from “junky bikes” – we brought it back 10 years ago and it’s lived outside ever since. It gets the chain oiled/adjusted occasionally and that’s about it but it’s as good now as the day she bought it.

Double thumbs up for Batavus and the refined Dutch bike*

* I do hate the pedal back brake though 😳

* I do hate the pedal back brake though

Choose roller-brakes

IMO:

Not at all ‘grabby’
Eminently compatible with ‘planning ahead’
Reliable in any weather
Gentle
Useful for slowing before stopping

😉

Love them really, although (joking apart) they do force me to begin braking well ahead of where I intend to stop when descending steep hills. And that little grease-port rubber bung. Where does it go to? Fridge-suck to the power of 10, that thing