If I lived in the Netherlands, I’d get a Dutch city bike. It’s a great machine: You just hop on, and ride off in your street clothes. The upright position is comfortable for short distances even when wearing dress clothes, and the full chaincase protects the rider’s pants from the chain. The weight of 40-50 pounds is not a problem, since there are no hills in the Netherlands, and towns are very compact, so hardly anybody rides further than five miles. If you need to go further, you ride to the train station, lock up your bike, and hop on one of the many trains that will take you to your destination.
I live in Seattle, however, and I need a different bike. Like most North American cities, Seattle is spread out, and a typical errand for me involves riding 15-40 miles over hilly terrain. Considering that any ride around here is a workout, I prefer to ride in cycling clothes. Thus, the advantages of the Dutch city bike don’t apply, and its upright position and lack of gears are impractical for my distances and terrain. My ideal city bike is as fast and nimble as a racing bike, as my errands are pretty much the only “training” rides I can fit into my schedule. At the same time, I need a bike that offers excellent protection from Seattle’s infamous rain. I need a bike with lights, because my life continues after the sun sets. And I need a bike that can carry parcels of magazines and books to the post office on the way out and groceries on the way back, without the hassle of dividing the load into panniers.
Before you shake your head, let me assure you that this bike does exist. It is my friend’s 1947 city bike, made by the famous French constructeur Alex Singer. The frame is made from the same lightweight Reynolds 531 steel tubing that carried generations of professional racers to countless Tour de France victories. The 650B x 32 mm tires roll faster than most racing tires, yet offer better shock absorption and safety on urban roads, so the performance is assured. In the photo, you see how the front fender and mud flap extend almost all the way to the ground. This means your feet and chain remain dry and clean even when the roads are wet. The large front rack is custom-made from steel tubing. It is lightweight, yet sturdy enough to carry a large and/or heavy load without careful packing. The front load does not affect the bike’s handling when riding out of the saddle – very important when you start at a traffic light with cars all around you. When you are out of the saddle on a bike with a heavy rear load, your bike feels like a dog that is being wagged by its tail. (Of course, Alex Singer designed the front-end geometry for a front load – simply sticking a front rack on your mountain bike won’t work nearly as well.) The Singer is remarkably light, about 11.5 kilograms (25 pounds), fully equipped with racks, fenders, lights and even a pump. It has maintenance-free sealed bearings in hubs and bottom bracket, and even its derailleur pulleys are equipped with grease ports to facilitate maintenance. Its powerful cantilever brakes provide ample stopping power. If I were to order one today, I’d use a generator hub and mountain bike clipless pedals, but beyond that, there is little I would change.
Why can’t you buy a bike like this in every bike shop? Well, even in 1947, a custom bike, with custom racks and fully integrated fenders and lights, was tremendously expensive. Back then, a city bike like this was a real status symbol – more so than a racing bike – and builders took city bikes seriously. Lately, there has been a resurgence of custom builders in North America, and some of them can build you a bike almost like it.
----------
