Testing a Dutch Workcycle Oma

[darkemeralds]

It was bound to happen eventually: today I rode another bike to work.

Poor Clyde had to go into the shop for a pair of new shifters. Since this was warranty work, I took him to the Wrong For Me bike shop that sold him to me.

That shop has no loaner or rental program, presumably because their customers either own multiple bikes or don't ride daily. Clever Cycles, the Just Right For Me bike shop that I discovered last week, does rent bikes, and is a short walk from Wrong Bikes.

So to Clever Cycles I walked, and from Clever Cycles I rode away on a rented Dutch Workcycles Oma bicycle, in the glorious sunshine of April.




Doesn't she look like a Victorian lady with a bustle?

This is a serious car-replacement bike, an everyday bike. It's designed for work--for carrying groceries, kids, briefcases, flowers, small dogs, etc. It's designed to be ridden in good clothes, in bad weather, on city streets, day or night. You sit up straight. The handlebars are high and wide. All eight gears work perfectly. The chain and gears are completely encased, for low maintenance and no grease on your clothes.

The built-in headlight and taillight are powered by the bike's motion--no batteries!--and both are positioned so they won't be blocked by any load you might be carrying.

The Oma weighs a ton. It doesn't go fast. Everything on it is steel except the fine Brooks leather saddle and the serviceable rubber grips and pedals.

So what was it like to get this behemoth up the riverbank? To my surprise, it was somewhat less effort than on Clyde because, for one thing, shifting into low gear actually worked. This bike is made for load-bearing, and by the magic of good engineering it seems to transfer the energy of leg muscles to the wheels with tremendous efficiency. The trade-off is that it's not a speedy bike. At all.

I thought Clyde, my big red cruiser, made me stand out in Portland bike traffic, but riding a Dutch bike was like wearing a "not from around here" label. It's a completely not-American, not-sporting, not-recreational, not-fast, not-sexy bike. It's a Mercedes sedan of a bike. It will get you there in comfort, and it will do it for decades.

This isn't the bike for someone who has to store their bike upstairs or anywhere else "up". It was a significant effort just getting it up the four steps to my front porch last night. There was no way I could park it in the garage at work this morning because that parking is all vertical. (I locked it in the standing racks outside.) If I buy one of these, I'll have to park it in my back yard. Happily, Workcycles are built to live outdoors in Amsterdam.



Riding a Dutch Workcycle has made me feel very differently about riding bikes. It completely removes any sport-competitive-touring nuance and puts me squarely into "what if I were to give up my car?" territory. It is not an incidental bike. It's a bike for people who rideg a bike every day for every purpose, and never think of themselves as "cyclists".

I'm seriously considering making this my next bike.

Comments

[copracat]

What a great looking bike. I really love a bike that says 'ride me every day' and also 'I will totes protect your skirts from grease and getting stuck in the wheels'!

[darkemeralds]

I'm really amazed at what a different bike experience this is. I'm taking her back to the shop this morning and getting Clyde out of hock, so it will be interesting to compare.

[juliet]

Interesting review, thanks!

I use my bikes as workhorses -- the day-to-day bike is the self-build fixie. Which has some of the same practicalities you describe (low-maintenance, dynamo lights, mudguards, a rear rack) and lacks others (only one gear :) but lightweight so that's less important; road-bike frame but with bullhorn handlebars so I can look up more without losing brake control). A lot of the fixies you see in London are much more stripped-down & perhaps look better, but I am all about the *practical* bikes. (I love my tourer, for touring, but the drop bars don't suit me so well in city traffic.)

In other words: hurrah for bikes that fit into your life so well that they can just *be* your transport :)

[darkemeralds]

You built your own bike? Wow, that's impressive! I've read (on I Bike London and elsewhere) that bike theft is endemic in London, and I gather that many bike commuters there prefer a simple, stripped-down bike partly to prevent heartbreak--and bank-break--in the very likely event of it being stolen.

I honestly don't know how people manage in the city with drop bars. Seeing and being seen is everything in traffic. I like to sit up high. I think I'd feel terrified to ride with my head down when there are cars and trucks about.

I'm beginning to realize that an all-bike, no-car way of living may eventually call for more than one bike. I don't imagine myself doing serious bicycle touring in this life, but I can sure see not wanting to ride a heavy workhorse every day just to go to and from work.

[juliet]

I should note that I built it from frame upwards (i.e. I didn't make my own frame, although Dave Yates in the UK does run frame-building courses where you can do just that!). It's actually surprisingly straightforward -- bikes are fairly mechanically simple at bottom. And I simplified things further by making it a fixie, so I didn't have to fit the gears! Originally I got the frame together with a rear wheel already built & a bottom bracket fitted, but I've since had to replace both so now the only bit I didn't fit is the headset!

With drop bars you can in fact *see* perfectly well -- and you're not significantly less visible either (all other things being equal). The thing I don't like about it is that I get most braking power when riding actually on the drops; whereas in traffic mostly I'm riding on the hoods & that makes it harder to brake fast.

TBH if you're looking for one-bike-to-do-it-all, a decent quality hybrid may actually be your best bet. Get one with mudguards & a rack fitted & that sorts out the day-to-day weather & luggage thing; if you wind up wanting to carry large things you'd need a trailer[0] anyway. Flat bars so a fairly upright riding style (if less so than the Dutch bike), and significantly lighter with more gear choice (a good-quality bike should have good gears). It might need a bit more maintenance, but if you're competent to oil the chain & pump the tyres, an annual checkup by the local bike shop would be enough. (Which will doubtless compare favourably to the cost of a car's annual MOT or whatever the equivalent is in your locale!) I guess you'd have to try to fit a skirt-guard (they *are* available but are quite hard to come by) if that's important for you.

The Dutch bike is v cool, though :)

(Sorry, I have gone on at length! I like talking about bikes :) )

[0] I part-own (it's theoretically shared between 4 of us who all live with/v near each other) a bike trailer from Carry Freedom that can take up to 90 kg. It is seriously awesome & I would strongly recommend it to anyone wanting to be able to carry heavy loads by bike.

[darkemeralds]

Great point about a hybrid--though they lack the upright riding position that my neck prefers.

The trouble with kitting one all out with rack, fenders, basket, light, bell, mudguard, skirt-guard, etc., is that it doubles the price, and makes mechanics who work on that type of bike hate to work on it. It's essentially the problem I have with my current bike (well, that on top of its generally poor quality). True, the result would be lighter than a utility/Dutch bike, but not much less expensive.

At my point in life (I'm 54), heavy hauling will be done by paid professionals in delivery vehicles, but those Carry Freedom products are BEAUTIFUL!

[juliet]

Can you not get hybrids in the US that come with all/most of that kit? I know Trek in the UK do a (low-end but decent) hybrid for £300 which comes with a rack & mudguard fitted. Admittedly one does have to provide lights -- dynamos are still pretty rare unless you fit your own, sadly :(

(I confess that my experience with baskets has been universally bad -- damage to bike frame, lots of wobbliness, and won't actually take that much stuff. Maybe I have just encountered rubbish baskets!)

I am seriously horrified by any mechanic who complains about working on a bike that's fitted with, y'know, USEFUL STUFF. Grrr.

[darkemeralds]

I am seriously horrified by any mechanic who complains about working on a bike that's fitted with, y'know, USEFUL STUFF. Grrr.

Especially when they work for the shop that sold the useful stuff, and fitted it themselves in the first place.

What I have now is essentially a low-end but decent hybrid (well, cruiser-shaped, but hybrid tires) with those things that cost me about $700, and I can certainly keep it going for a good long while yet, which I'll probably do.

I must have totally lucked out with this basket. It's awesome.

[juliet]

Also, I live in London & can confirm that yes, theft is endemic. (always lock frame and both wheels to something solid, with two different types of lock -- and even that isn't a guarantee, just a minimisation of risk.)

Fixed-gear makes a lot of sense in all sorts of ways for courier types (lightweight, minimal maintenance, bombproof), and if you use a messenger bag anyway & don't mind getting mud up your back cos you're on the bike all day, rack & mudguards aren't exactly required either :)

[darkemeralds]

That's a LOT of lockage to have to carry around! I feel incredibly lucky to have a secure garage to park in during the workday, and even from there, bikes have been stolen. (Remind me again what all those ubiquitous security cameras are for...?)

Even with a rear fender, I get dirty riding around Portland in what is an almost identical climate to London's. It's a good bit of extra laundry, and means that I really can't wear a nicer coat because I can't afford the weekly drycleaning. I look forward to an effective, designed-for-the-bike mudguard.

[rivenwanderer]

My girlfriend picks up our co-op's farm share box once a week and brings it home on her Oma's front rack :) She really loves her bike (though she says she's considering getting a relatively lighter and zippier bike for situations where she knows she won't need to carry anything and wants to go up a lot of hills).

[darkemeralds]

I'm pretty sure that if I do buy an Omafiets, I'll keep my Globe cruiser for just that reason--and to have a spare bike.