A European city bike , or simply city bike is a bicycle designed for frequent short, moderately paced rides through relatively flat urban areas. It is a form of utility bicycle commonly seen around the world, built to facilitate everyday riding in normal clothes in a variety of weather conditions.
Design and operation
Year-round, multi-purpose use
The European city bike is designed for everyday utility cycling with a range of loads, clothing, and road and weather conditions. The result is a bicycle optimized for daily personal short-distance transportation over relatively flat terrain. A traditional European city bike provides hop-on-and-go ability, with no "gearing-up" process.
"Stadsfiets" as a defining term
The Dutch term Stadsfiets , is a useful starting point for defining the nature of the design, as it has the full set of features commonly incorporated into a European city bike. The Dutch words fiets and stadsfiets mean bicycle and city bicycle , respectively. A stadsfiets is considered to be a fully-outfitted European city bike, distinguished by the following typical features: upright riding position, fully-enclosed chaincase, skirtguard, O-lock, hub gearing, dynamo hub, and built-in lights. German and Danish versions of the European city bike are similar, though there are differences.
The English roadster is similar in design, appearance, and intended use. The primary differences are that the continental bicycles tend to have a higher handlebar position for a more upright riding posture, and are more likely to have rod-actuated drum brakes. Because of Great Britain's cultural and trading influence in its former colonies, the roadster can still be seen in local production and use in many countries of the world.
Traditional vs. contemporary design
A traditional-styled European city bike includes a frame made of low-carbon high-tensile steel, black paint with chromed accessories, an opaque skirtguard, bottle dynamo, simple dynamo-powered lights, and either a single-speed or 3-speed internally geared hub.
Contemporary city bikes are increasingly found in many European cities, including Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Dutch and Danish-made city bikes often include such features as a clear skirt guard, colors other than black, aluminum alloy or chromoly steel frame, front suspension fork, suspension seatpost, Hub dynamo, dynamo lighting with motion-and-darkness detection, a 7- or 8-speed hub, adjustable kickstand, child seats, and a headlight integrated into the front fork. Newer German models, on the other hand, tend to incorporate a less is more philosophy.
Examples of European city bikes
The following bicycles provide most or all of the features are commonly found in Holland or Denmark on a city bike:
- Batavus, Crescendo model
- Gazelle, Orange model line
- Sparta, "Atlas Trendy N7" model
- Kildemoes, "Classic" model
- Taarnby, "City Shopper" model
- Trek Bicycle Corporation, L300 model and other "City/Trekking/Leisure" models.
While differing in many details, some American bicycle manufacturers have incorporated some features of traditional European city bikes in models such as the Electra Royal 8 , Breezer Uptown 8 , Biria Trekking Superlight 8 , and the Trek Gary Fisher Simple City 8 .
Suitability compared to hybrid or commuter bikes
The suitability and availability of fully outfitted city bikes depends on multiple factors, including local terrain, city density, car traffic, weather, and bicycle infrastructure. Traditional European city bikes are optimized for short-distance, frequent transportation over flat terrain in urban settings. However, such bikes are also used in hilly Switzerland, including Berne where 25% of daily trips are made by bicycle.
A fully outfitted European city bike or heavy utility roadster typically weighs 35–50 pounds (16–23 kg), compared with 14–22 pounds (6–10kg) for the average road racing bike and 22–29 pounds (10–13kg) for the typical modern mountain bike, touring bicycle, or hybrid city bike, commuter, or cross bike. A steel-frame European city bike with hub gear, chain case, and other features is heavier and more difficult to ride uphill than a road bike. A steel-frame bike is more cumbersome to carry and store, so it might not be the best choice for commuters needing to transport their bicycles on public transportation nor cyclists living or working in upper floor residences. Instead, European city bikes are often locked and stored outside businesses or residences, even during inclement weather. For easier carrying and storage, makers of European city bikes provide features similar to city bikes on folding bicycles.
In the United States, Americans living in cities or suburbs with many days of sunshine per year have traditionally used road racing bicycles, sport/touring bicycles, or mountain bikes for general commuting or utility purposes. For all-weather use, U.S. buyers tend to purchase substantially lighter machines than the traditional Stadsfiets or utility roadster, instead choosing hybrid city bikes or commuter bikes derived from road or mountain designs. The latter frequently employ lightweight frames and wide gear ranges for use on higher-speed roadways as well as steep terrain. To save weight, some hybrid city or commuter bikes do not usually possess many accessories, adding only fenders, a rack, and perhaps a partial chainguard, as well as front and rear lights. Their smaller bulk and lighter weight often permits them to be carried into offices and residences, an advantage in countries with extremely high rates of bicycle vandalism and theft (even of older or obsolete models with little monetary value).
Most European city bikes are designed to withstand year-round outdoor storage, even in frigid Scandinavia where daily bike usage remains high year round. Thus, European city bikes need not always be brought indoors and can be left outside, properly locked. To deter theft and vandalism, the European city bike has a tougher frame, non-quick-release seat and wheels, and a rear-wheel lock. To prevent theft or vandalism, it is ideal to bring the bike indoors, but this isn't always possible in dense cities with compact living quarters.
Lightweight variants
Much like the English sports roadster , a lighter-weight variant of the contemporary European city bike adheres to the same general approach to bike design and use, but saves weight and increases efficiency by using:
- Caliper brakes instead of hub brakes
- Derailleurs rather than hub gearing
- A battery-based lighting system rather than a hub dynamo system
- Carbon front fork
- Aluminum rims and hubs, with fewer spokes
- Light plastic or webbing skirt guard, or no skirtguard
- No suspended seat or fork
The lightweight European city bike is exemplified in Batavus's Jakima X-Light model, which is otherwise similar to the fully outfitted typical European city bike. This is sometimes marketed as a "sports" variant of the latter.
Typical features
Hub gearing
A hub gear is an important feature of a European city bike. A hub gear system provides greater ease-of-use and safety than a derailleur system, can provide a wide range of ratios, and requires little maintenance.
A geared hub requires only one shifter rather than two, thus is easier to use than the pair of derailleurs which provide a greater number of speeds to sporting bicycles that need them. A European city bike or roadster typically has 3, 5, 7, or 8 speeds. In a few high-end models, a Rohloff 14-speed geared hub is available. Batavus makes several models of full-featured city bikes that have a NuVinci hub with continuously variable drive ratio. The NuVinci has nearly the same range as an 8-speed hub (around 300%), selectable at any ratio within the range. With most bikes, the bicycle gearing may be scaled up or down as needed, for example by installing a smaller chainring in front and/or smaller sprocket in back to facilitate climbing.
Hub gearing permits the use of a fully enclosed chaincase, resulting in low maintenance. A hub gear has lower efficiency than a clean, properly adjusted derailleur system, but retains its efficiency without conscientious cleaning and adjustment. A hub gear system is heavier than a derailleur system. In a hub gear system, the main moving parts are enclosed, making repair more difficult than with a derailleur system. If a geared hub fails, it is sometimes more economical to replace the hub than attempt to repair it.
Angled-back handlebars
A European city
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