A few years ago I bought a bicycle – a 21 speed mountain bike type thing. I had tried a few similar bikes and liked the fit and ride of this one. It’s a great bike, and I amazed myself at being able to ride it up a steep hill at my crappy fitness level – the only thing that stopped me from reaching the summit was S pooping out on her bike in front of me. But I didn’t like riding it to work (I got to work sweaty and angry) and didn’t like riding it on weekends (I’d have sweaty helmet head, and whenever I got where I was going I had to bring my seat and light with me after locking my bike up two ways). Plus, that style of bike has the rider resting her weight on her wrists and girl parts. Overtime, riding the bike became a generally unpleasant experience. So – for the past year or so I haven’t touched the bike.
The thing is, S loves going for bike rides and would love it if we could go bike riding together. So I examined my options — I could try to retrofit my bike so it would have a more upright sitting posture, or I could find a bike that was built that way from the start. I surfed a bit and saw that the granny bike was alive and well, and going by the title Omafiets.
A couple of days ago I stopped off at curbside cycle, which predominantly stocks this type of bicycle (and was having a sale!), and took a couple of bikes for a test drive. I chose the Pashley Sovereign and the Batavus Fryslan – both 5 speeds to help me deal with small hills (vs the more common single speed or 3 speed). The Pashley has all you could ever want including a lovely Brooks sprung saddle. The Fryslan has a similar look, white tires, and a cheaper price tag. Reading cycling blogs online – people love their Pashley and Batavus bikes. Unfortunately, neither of the two I tried did anything for me. The upright posture was definitely an improvement, but neither had a sweet spot for me in those 5 gears. I hadn’t used a coaster brake in almost 40 years, so there was a learning curve with the Fryslan. The Pashley felt more familiar, but left me flat — which was a shame because I really wanted to like it.
There was one other bike they suggested, but I didn’t have time to try it out, so I went back today. It’s the Batavus Breukelen – and it’s a more modern looking version of the classic Omafiets. It has 7 speeds and drum brakes on both front and rear (like the Pashley)- so no coaster brake to get used to. I took it for a spin and it felt remarkably better. Just to be sure, I tried the Fryslan again. And to be doubly sure I tried the Breukelen again. Yep – definitely more to my liking. The fit was good (but the handlebars are narrower than the Fryslan – and felt almost too narrow, but I’m not sure if that was only in comparison), the ride was nice, and the gear ratios had more of a sweet spot for me.
So I bought it. They’re going to assemble a new one for me for pick up on Thursday. Let’s hope I can now make S’s dream of taking bike rides together a reality.
