The old Dutch bike, the “gold standard” of practicality and utility. It is unstoppable. Problem is, sometimes it feels a bit unstartable. Load it up and go into a headwind, and you feel like you are climbing Alpe d’Huez. Come to a busy junction and have to stop and restart, and you suddenly realize how
I’m a sucker for a French bike. I like the way they look. The style of mixte frame here is “berceau”, which is “cradle” in French, describing the way the top tube splits into two and descends down from the head tube and swoops directly toward the rear axle. This is unlike many “ladies” bikes
You gotta love an old bike. This can be interpreted any number of ways, such as: they’re great because you can maintain them yourself with rudimentary tools and a basic knowledge of bike mechanics. Spare parts are inexpensive and (usually) readily available at your local bike shop. These bikes last forever and are hard to
When a Bianchi comes up for sale, I pay attention. I think we all have certain bike brands we mindlessly search for, “just in case” something pops up, and for me that’s Bianchi. I didn’t know much about this specific model, but a mid-00s fat-tubed aluminum Bianchi has a “high floor”, meaning it’s gonna be
With this being my first dutch bike, I enter into a world of ultimate practicality, in what seems to be at the expense of weight and user-friendliness. There is nothing about this bike that is “quick release”: everything requires a lot of tools and some time to fix, at least when compared to a modern
What is a typical “refresh” on a bike, that I perform? First, I start taking the bike apart, “stripping” it, always with an eye on what’s missing, what’s broken and needs replacing, versus broken and needs fixing, and of course what is just fine the way it is. “If it ain’t broke…” Specific problem areas
When a nice little bike ends up available to you, that you can save from the skip, you don’t ask too many questions. As the saying goes, “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” It needed a bit of work, but I had the tools, ability, and time — a perfect match! The guy
There is no end to the interesting things you learn about yourself from your parents. For example, my father did not get rid of / recycle television sets. Or telephones. Or computer keyboards. (In hindsight, I should have saved some of those old bakelite rotary phones and put them on eBay. Oh well.) Apparently, there
After Denise’s recent foray into the “gravel bike” world with the acquisition of her 2022 Cinelli Zydeco, I thought it would be fun to make the city-smasher 1998 Klein hardtail mountain bike to be more gravel-friendly. I had long gotten rid of the knobbly off-road tyres, using very fat 2.2″ Maxxis “Holy Roller” street tyres,
In case the size of the frame wasn’t a giveaway, this one ain’t mine. Looking for a bike that can handle the mean city streets and luas tracks of Dublin, this was bought “sight unseen”, purely based on lust – and is there anything wrong with lusting after a beautiful Italian? Obviously, yes. One can