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Elisa Francesca
Guest
I'm still scouring the market for a bicycle that has all the comfort and safety features I want.
Two Saturdays ago I visited a dealer in the 16th Arrondissment who specializes in Dutch bikes. He
had several Giant bikes of the kind I'm interested in: Nexus 7 or 8 speed shifters or SRAM
DualDrives or Rohloff shifters, Roller brakes or roller-V-brake combinations, hub dynamo lights,
full chain-guards, skirt guards, luggage racks, front baskets, very low step-through, as light as
possible under the circumstances. Interestingly, these models of Giant were not on either of the two
catalogues 2003 or 2004 that I had taken home from previous research.
The dealer told me this was because this kind of model is not sold in France. People who live in
Paris intramuros want city-bikes, but don't want to spend more than a couple hundred because the
bikes are too easily stolen if they have to be parked in the street. Consequently the upmarket
city-bike has a poor sales performance here. It requires a garage with a private box, a suburban
configuration, but suburbanites seem to prefer VTTs, especially in hilly Essonne.
However, he told me he could procure me a "real" Dutch bike and showed me some catalogues, which I
have since followed up on the Internet. There are 4 main producers: www.union.nl www.sparta.nl
www.gazelle.nl www.batavus.nl
I fell in love with a bike by Union called the Oase. (Fortunately, it turns out bike specs in Dutch
are quite easy to understand.) According to this dealer, these true Dutch bikes are much better
quality than their mass-market equivalents by Giant or similar. He said the finishing was far better
and that they were more aesthetic and durable. He had no financial interest in maintaining this
since the cost of the bikes was very equivalent to the Giants he stocked and there would have to be
a special order.
Just wondering if anyone had experiences or comments to pass on these makes. I remember a thread
about marketing Batavus in the USA and how many posters opined that there wouldn't be much of a
market there either. Are there no Dutch in the forum?
Elisa Francesca Roselli Ile de France
Two Saturdays ago I visited a dealer in the 16th Arrondissment who specializes in Dutch bikes. He
had several Giant bikes of the kind I'm interested in: Nexus 7 or 8 speed shifters or SRAM
DualDrives or Rohloff shifters, Roller brakes or roller-V-brake combinations, hub dynamo lights,
full chain-guards, skirt guards, luggage racks, front baskets, very low step-through, as light as
possible under the circumstances. Interestingly, these models of Giant were not on either of the two
catalogues 2003 or 2004 that I had taken home from previous research.
The dealer told me this was because this kind of model is not sold in France. People who live in
Paris intramuros want city-bikes, but don't want to spend more than a couple hundred because the
bikes are too easily stolen if they have to be parked in the street. Consequently the upmarket
city-bike has a poor sales performance here. It requires a garage with a private box, a suburban
configuration, but suburbanites seem to prefer VTTs, especially in hilly Essonne.
However, he told me he could procure me a "real" Dutch bike and showed me some catalogues, which I
have since followed up on the Internet. There are 4 main producers: www.union.nl www.sparta.nl
www.gazelle.nl www.batavus.nl
I fell in love with a bike by Union called the Oase. (Fortunately, it turns out bike specs in Dutch
are quite easy to understand.) According to this dealer, these true Dutch bikes are much better
quality than their mass-market equivalents by Giant or similar. He said the finishing was far better
and that they were more aesthetic and durable. He had no financial interest in maintaining this
since the cost of the bikes was very equivalent to the Giants he stocked and there would have to be
a special order.
Just wondering if anyone had experiences or comments to pass on these makes. I remember a thread
about marketing Batavus in the USA and how many posters opined that there wouldn't be much of a
market there either. Are there no Dutch in the forum?
Elisa Francesca Roselli Ile de France