Here's something different - a Dutch roadster made by Woudt's shop under the Zwaluw brand. The model is a "Nevada" roadster. This bike has 28 inch wheels with Sturmey Archer drum brakes front and rear. The rear hub is also a 3-speed. These Steelite Sturmey hubs date to 1991.
A helpful user at BikeForums identified this as a Zwaluw bike made by Woudt in Koog aan de Zaan, Netherlands.
He also identified the electro-pen registration number as being a registration out of Wormerveer, Netherlands.
This bike is newer than my others, but it was traditional in design, inexpensive and relatively local to me.
It caught my attention because after some additional looking, it turned out to be a true Made-in-Holland roadster and not a reproduction or knock-off.
It has the typical Dutch accessories: rack, lights, cargo straps, spoke guards, etc. It is a lugged, steel frame.
The pump is missing, and it appears to have been a single-ended type pump (there's only one pump boss and no sign there was ever a second one).
Overall, the condition is pretty good. I really like the subtle, blue-grey color.
So for projects, here is what remains:
- Finish up the 1957 Schwinn Traveler (almost done, just need to do shakedown ride/tweaking)
- 1951 New Hudson Silver Arrow (need to finish the wheels, clean, and assemble)
- 1991 Zwaluw Nevada (clean, and fully re-build)
At some point in the near future, my grandfather's 1936 Schwinn Henderson needs a clean and re-grease as well (periodic maintenance, but still needs doing).
I also need to start the transition from my warm weather shop in the garage to my cold weather shop in the house. There's a fair bit of cleaning and organizing to do when that happens.
I'm always interested in a classic Dutch roadster, but they don't appear often, even here in Portland. (Sure, you can get a modern overbuilt WorkCycles from Clever Cycles, but it's not the same thing.)
ReplyDeleteThe whole Dutch/Northern Europe city bike market is a fascinating beast. My friend had a Trek (!) step-thru roadster for the Dutch market in the 90's. It was doubly interesting as it was aluminum framed. I don't know why Trek couldn't just sell a few here. I wrote about it here:
https://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/the-wayfarer-saga-part-5-the-inaugural-ride/
I've always had a kind of peripherial interest in Dutch and northern European roadsters and city bikes. I once owned a Danish Raleigh Dawn Tourist (https://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/04/raleigh-dawn-tourist-bicycle.html). It was a Dawn Tourist, but with Danish import number and rod-drum brakes. It was a little small for me, so I sold it.
DeleteI saw this Dutch bike on Facebook Market for a good price and it was maybe a 40-minute drive away, so figured, why not? I probably could commute to work on it if I wanted to, and it's a lugged steel frame made in Holland.
I think that Trek pre-dated the resurgence of "city bikes" in the US. I started seeing more old-style, city bikes when I lived in the DC area in the late 2000s and early 2010s. It seems like in the 1990s, mountain bikes were all the rage, then hybrids in the early 2000s, and then retro bikes in late 2000s and 2010s. Now the fad is gravel bikes. Even 650b is now marketed as some new thing called "27.5". People over-complicate this stuff sometimes.
The Trek looks like a nice bike with a lighter frame that would be a lot of fun to ride, and probably a pretty good commuting bike. I've never seen one like that around here. Even this steel Dutch bike is unusual here. We have tons of marginal old 10-speeds and big box mountain bikes for sale around here. This one stuck out and I decided to punish myself with another project. Hopefully it comes out nicely in the end.