Not as in ‘boy meets girl on bike’ (another topic), but as in boy or girl meets ‘not my usual bicycle’.

Introducing ‘Ilse’, the ‘Batavus Personal Bike’. When it became time to go car-free once more, I had to think practically. As luck would have it a very practical bike appeared on the used market at the right time. I took a punt, not really knowing if i would hate it.

So what is she like? First thing I note is she is so non-British (on account of being Dutch I suppose), so unfamiliar, that my whole riding style and experience has gone thru a paradigm shift of epic proportions. No exaggeration.

She is very surefooted, very slow uphill, ultra-steady on the flats, uber-fast downhill, insanely comfortable, insanely heavy (55lbs dry!) and now I added a USB-Werk thingie that charges USB gadgets (typically a smartphone) via the hub dynamo. She carries just about any weight/load with ne’ery a twitch or flex, has built in combo-locks (giant cable pulls out from inside the frame, which locks into the wheel shackle at back) for leave-and-shop joyeee, and a dyno-‘stemlight’ with auto light sensor option that actually passably lights my way at night time.

Loving the three speed simplicity and no-squeal brake-in-the-wet roller brakes. Add to that near-zero maintenance it all makes me grin like (more of ) a loon :-))) Thanks Batavus bikes for doing so much right! German charger, Dutch bike, can’t go wrong IMO .

Riding style is bolt upright, chin up like a leisurely toff, arms wide and airways open. It’s zen-like. Awesome. Probably awakened buried memories of first bike, Raleigh Tomahawk, just jump on and go without a thought or care, except this one isn’t a suicidal mission – the geometry is amazingly balanced.

Designed for hire-bike fleets in the Netherlands, this is proving a stonkingly hardy bike, surviving a year of outdoor life in Cornish weather while other bikes around have totally died.

The start of a beautiful thing…just need to get a 33t chainring up front for these hills. Overall a refined (if hefty beauty) for slow-paced solid fun and utility, also with a massive carrying capacity. So now can’t imagine a life without ilse. Neither the Kona hardtail. They each don’t seem to mind this unconventional menage a trois so i’m not one to rock the boat. And no, i never did care much what others thought of my bike’s style, although she does get many compliments, mostly from bearded men or unbearded ladies.

Forgot to say that this has become the one bike that I find try to find any excuse to ride. Weird 😯

Looks err acricultural 😕

Glad your happy 🙂

I want to harm it

Dutch bikes are so fit for purpose, it is impossible not to love them. I have a small ladies bike for town duties. Large permanent panniers, hub gears and brakes and a dynamo. It has its owb gravitational field, but is a errrrr stately ride.

If you were Dutch, tall, female… yes

OP ‘love afair’?

Like the love between man and chicken?

Some strong responses, but I’d prefer it to remain unharmed if possible, and you’d need an angle grinder or hydraulic cutters.

If you were Dutch, tall, female… yes

Not female or particularly tall, but it’s one-size stepthru frame is unisex and great for quick dismounts on beer and takeaway runs, or a ninja-smooth rolling disembark and doff of cap or swift-kick to terrier. I’m always wary of those who require a certain style of bicycle to establish their gender and/or prowess, just as i’m sure they themselves are wary of someone who doesn’t 😀

love between man and chicken?

More like a platonic affair with an emu.

Anyone else ride a ‘weird’ one? (not such a long shot for many Brit bikers, I grew up thinking bikes were supposed to be uncomfortable…)

“She”?

You’ve gone too far.

Do you also like small Pit ponies in basques OP?

Do you also like small Pit ponies in basques OP?

Now there’s a niche.

Forgot to say that this has become the one bike that I find try to find any excuse to ride. Weird

Not a weird as people who buy “enduro” bikes then ride them on flat smooth trails.

Your bike sound ideal for what you use it for.

You dont know bike love until you cut about town on a dawes kingpin.

Do you also like small Pit ponies in basques OP?

You are bestialists, it’s weird! Keep relationships with animals and bicycles platonic, please, for the good of the World.

Yes love ‘affair’ was a bit strong, and tongue in cheek, but platonic love is good, it makes us care for good things even if they are not conventionally attractive 🙂

PS Just fitted a new smaller Nexus chainring, all the Cornish rust and mud fell of with a quick wipe, split the rusty mutating old chain with a chisel and fitted a new one – and now the Hills are coming alive! Sweet jesus just one of these wheels feels heavier than my Kona frame, sus forks and brakes together. Looking fwd to some downhilling, maybe cooking breakfast on the roller brakes

is that old Kingpin or new? I do have an original Twenty and a Stowaway, jumpers for goalposts just get on and ride, people smile and laugh

My surprise affair was with my dads old bike, a steel framed Peugeot hybrid

Dependable, sturdy, maintenance free. It got stolen from my front garden, I was gutted. It had a rack on the back that I used for all sorts, including 2 bags of 25kg post mix. Wasn’t fun riding back from B&Q with that but it held up fine

Miss the bike quite a lot actually

Just back from visiting the family in holland, lots of my mums friends now have bikes like that, low instep aimed at older, less mobile people (although I have only seen ladies use them).

My Dutch mum (63), would not be seen dead on one!

But yep, generally Dutch bikes are great, my 11 and 13 year old loved riding around on grandmas bikes! Once they had mastered riding one of those very heavy beasts (that were far too big for them). Push back brakes and large wooden basket on the handle bars did not help.

Good on you op.
Felt the same way about a Kona Ute we had.
It would happily swallow shopping, kids, adults etc.
It once carried seven kids bikes, bungee’d on the back.
The novelty never seemed to wear off. I was constantly looking for excuses to ride that.
Replaced by a lesser workhoss now, but being able to grab a bike knowing that it had waterproofs, tools & plenty of room for luggage does make you stop & think before jumping in the car.

Takisawa, great to hear another ute rider, weirdly enough the Personal Bike replaced the Ute

couldn’t afford to keep it, my karma must be good as this was exactly 600 quid cheaper for me to buy and yet find it’s way more stable that the ute, also came with lock, rack, dynohub, lights etc all included.

The ute was a lot of fun and similar battle-cruiser feel, but a front wobble set in at moderate speed, and found it flexy under big loads – always felt the 29er was too high for load carrying and wished i’d gone with a Yuba Mundo. Anyhoo, money in pocket and a cargo bike for peanuts is a win-win.

What’s your new cargo contraption may I ask?

55lb and 3 gears, I bet you are glad you don’t actually live in Malvern

Hills no problem with the new gearing, (changed sprocket and front ring, but downhill is a mostly freewheel affair 🙂

Old kingpin.

Had a 20 stowaway too.

My son had a head on collision with one of those in the Netherlands last year. He was on a Ridley x-bow and needed his front wheel truing after. The Dutch bike was written off. The Ridley Dutch Bike Slayer (DBS) continued it’s journey home. Just sayin’ 🙂

I can only just get my hand around the main tube, or my head around the thought of breaking it, the gusset’s hooooge too…think you’re having a larf. Must’ve been one of those spindly lady Dutch bikes 🙂

Those things are great in their natural habitat (Continental Europe). The missus and I had huge fun haring about in Bruge on them. Riding down steps, trying to “send” the 3 inch kerb and so on. Would rather have a rigid SS with slicks for the UK though. I don’t know why.

Every time I go to the ‘Dam, the first thing I do on getting to Centraal is hire a Batavus Personal Bike, single speed and back pedal brake only.

Rarely do I enjoy riding a bike more.

.think you’re having a larf

I’m really not.

Broken dutch bike

“Dad – what’s a gusset?”

Gah, gutted, even tho that example looks kiddie sized (mines more 6 feet long) now I’m going to ride it like even more of a granny. Hang on thats not a ‘write off’ – it’s steel, can bend it back over some handy railings – job done.

Seriously, I did have doubts about the forces of physics acting on that loooong headtube…

At completely the other end of the spectrum my relatively recent and relatively unexpected love affair is with the track. Not urban fixie bullshit, but actual track bikes on the boards. My route into cycling being on mtb’s > 20 years ago this was something of a surprise but has completely reinvigorated my enthusiasm for riding bikes of all types.

You’re right, I think it had 24″ wheels so yours may have longer levers to bend it 🙂

I thought £50 Max for a frame of that apparent quality. Something similar happened to the forks of a Centerparcs bike a few years ago and they just chucked it on the pile of similarly damaged bikes. This one though – €275 for a new frame! I put them in touch with On One.