The Batavus Fryslan
Fryslan is the home of Batavus. The Fryslanders speak a different language than the rest of Holland and are famous for their stern work ethic, their amazing soccer team, and Batavus bicycles.
The classic omafiets is a bike often imitated but never replicated. It is an object of desire and one of the most iconic symbols of Holland. However, the omafiets was always designed for the flatter cities of Europe. They are found everywhere from Copenhagen to Munich to Llubjlana.
Companies like Workcycles have adapted the classic Dutch bike to North America by introducing seven and eight speed models. This makes sense to a certain extent but there comes a point where the correlation between weight and gears break down. In Europe, generally speaking, if you are going farther distances or up bigger hills, a greater number of gears are required, but so is a lighter frame and lighter parts. This is why Batavus makes bikes like the Breukelen.
However, the classic omafiets is an object of great desire. People simply want the classic steel frame. It’s iconic, its archetypical, its symbolic of all Dutch civility and sensibility. Yet it needed to be adapted as much as possible to (mild) hills, and commutes longer than the average 7km. And so, the Fryslan.
The Fryslan is a showstopper. It’s classic decals recall the Batavus of the 1950’s – recalling the companies long and enigmatic history. It’s whitewall tyres bring to mind the first Old Dutch bike of 1905. Yet, its five speed hub is adapted for the gentle hills but longer commutes of cities like Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, New York and LA. It’s a cosmopolitan adaptation of the classic omafiets for those who crave an authentic Dutch bike but live with greater urban sprawl or rolling hills.
I just ordered a Fryslan from Fourth Floor via Joe Bike in Portland, and I can’t wait to ride it. I love the look of an oma bike, and am looking forward to many a ride on it!
Woohoo! Have fun on your new bike, Janis!
My family (from The Netherlands)bought me a Fryslan bike from RainCityBike Vancouver BC Canada.
Ride my bike to work. And love it!
[...] Eeden, Batavus’ marketing manager, “we needed to design a bike as iconic as the classic Fryslan model yet significantly lighter.” With a price tag of only $600, the BuB is an affordable [...]
[...] a sale!), and took a couple of bikes for a test drive. I chose the Pashley Sovereign and the Batavus Fryslan – both 5 speeds to help me deal with small hills (vs the more common single speed or 3 [...]