Dutch Bike Co Weblog

Fall is here!  Which means, for those of us living here in Seattle, rain.  A lot of rain.  Driving rain.  Endless driving rain.  I’m pretty sure that last November it actually rained every day.  However, any experienced Northwestern cyclist can tell you that the best way to combat the crushing depression of the winter months (other than maybe buying a SAD lamp) is to keep riding your bike!  And what this means, is fenders. 

There are many different types of fenders.  Because I insist on riding completely impractical bikes, my only option are the clip on, or “fairly ineffective,” type of fenders.

These fenders are convenient because they simply clip on to the seat stays and fork blades of the bike, and don't need any eyelets or mounting hardware.  They’re inconvenient because they don’t really work very well, and as a result my bike is always dirty

and my feet are always wet and sad.

So, despite the more involved mounting process, full fenders are a better option.  They provide much greater coverage, which is great for your bike because it keeps it clean, prolonging the life of your components, and great for you because it keeps you more dry, prolonging the life of your ride.  A great example of full fenders are the ones that Fritz has on his bike.  Look at that clean bike!

And look at those happy feet!

“But wait!” you might say.  “I ride a racy road bike! I don’t have room for fenders! Or eyelets!”  Not to worry!  Both Fritz and myself have extensive experience putting together custom fenders to fit on even the most race-oriented carbon fiber speed machine.  There are several ways we can do this, but our most common method is to actually fabricate some mounts out of rack struts (thin, rectangular pieces of steel) and use these to clear the tight spaces in between the tires and brake calipers.  In the case of bikes without eyelets, we can use different types of clamps to keep the fender stays attached to the frame.

So why wait! Get some fenders! Keep your feet dry!

Just thought everyone might like to know what happens when Dutch Bike Chicago heads over to Dutch Bike Seattle. Watch until the end to see who forms the head.  Who is that guy?

Good grief, we're so close to opening customers are already trying to get around the construction fence out front! I'd like to thank all of our wonderful Seattle customers for waiting so patiently while we've been putting this beautiful new space together. While you might miss the “underground” ambiance of the old warehouse space, or the hilarious – if sometimes disturbing – antics of the regulars down at the boat launch, you'll have a wonderful time in the new shop. With a near-perfect double short americano in hand, I've already had some wonderfully relaxing mornings watching the increasingly large volume of bicycle traffic up and down Ballard Avenue in front of our gigantic glass front. In a few days, you'll be able to check out the new models from Linus or Civia – and of course Workcycles – out front, or take your coffee and wander towards the other end of the shop to take a look at some of the cool new parts and accessories populating all this new wall space.

So thanks again for waiting for us, Seattle, and in just a few days we'll be back in action; ready to tune your bikes, satisfy your practical bike cravings, and get you all wired on some great coffee.

If you've talked with any of us here at Dutch Bike in the past year, you've probably heard us talk about “the move.” While we're staying in the same area, we're moving the Seattle shop onto historic Ballard Avenue: the main street of one of Seattle's most interesting and vibrant neighborhoods. Ballard Ave perfectly balances the nightlife, boutiques, and restaurants we enjoy with the hardware, sheet metal, machining, and other light industrial businesses that keeps the neighborhood lively and living. Of course, because we could never forget our roots down by the boat launch in “scenic industrial Ballard,” we feel right at home in a building between a machine shop and 58 year old Ballard Hardware and Supply.

The building into which we're moving was for the first part of the century home to Kolstrand Manufacturing Co., a famous name in the Northwest marine industry. The Graham-Baba designed rebuild has maintained the old brick shell with even the remnants of the original “Kolstrand Mfg. Co.” paint intact while creating a polished and eminently usable retail and restaurant space inside.

Our designer and builder – David Lipe of 16D – has similarly reused much of the original wood and materials in the interior construction, including some beautiful and humorous touches that you'll just have to drop by to experience. Inside the shop we've also commissioned a mural by Ed Fotheringham, our friend responsible for our “flower girl” and “keg mover” posters.

In addition to Alex – the newest addition to the bike shop – we've got several great baristas (baristi for the language purists) warming up for the cafe component of the new shop. Your eyes do not deceive: the new Dutch Bike Seattle shop will be Seattle's first fully implemented bicycle cafe! We'll be brewing excellent and powerful coffee from local roaster Lighthouse, starting at six AM so you can start even your earliest morning rides with a bang. David has been updating the Flickr stream with the array of delicious snacks Julie has been designing for the shop, and the pictures will make you hungrier than anything I could write here. You'll also find made-to-order sandwiches, pastries from lauded local bakery Macrina, and some tasty – and surprisingly filling – cookies.

The finishing touches are going on the construction as I write this, and our grand opening is still on schedule for July 24^th. We'll be fully operational- tuning, repairing, upgrading, renting, and of course selling bicycles, and rolling out an expanded array of interesting accessories. With two expert mechanics our turnaround time for tune-ups and other in-depth maintenance will be close to the same you'd expect from your coffee orders. In fact, if you're ordering anything more complicated than an americano while you get your flat fixed, maybe we'll race you!

Welcome back, class!  Now that you've adjusted your Shimano Nexus hubs, we'll dive into the next most interesting operation on one of these bikes: rear wheel removal.  Mastering this will allow you to replace tires or tubes that are worn out or damaged beyond patching.  This will get a little more technical than the previous post, so it's very important to make sure you're comfortable using tools and that you have the time and energy to safely put everything back together.  Please read through the entire post before tearing apart your bike, and be sure you're comfortable performing all the operations described (especially tensioning the chain!).  Troubleshooting and adjusting your hub didn't require any tools, but this will, so get out that toolkit and polish up your:

1. 15mm open-end wrench or 15mm deep socket w/ driver
2. 10mm open-end wrench and 10mm socket w/ driver (you can substitute another 10mm wrench or a small adjustable if necessary)
3. Cable cutters (diagonal cutters or wire cutters can be substituted)
4. 2mm hex key/Allen wrench
5. Dental pick, sharpened spoke, sturdy ballpoint pen, small switchblade, or something else with a nice point to it
6. Tire levers (if you plan on replacing tubes or tires)

Now that your tools are prepared, set your bike on its center stand (or clamp the seatpost in a work stand if you're lucky enough to have one).

We will remove the rear wheel first because it's a more complex operation and many of the steps will be duplicated in removing the front.  As an overview, we're going to disconnect the brake, open the chain case, disconnect the shifter, disengage the chain tensioners, and remove the wheel.  Then we will reinstall the wheel, engage the tensioners, tension the chain and center the wheel, reconnect the shifter and brake, and close the chain case.

To disconnect the brake, first loosen the cable fixing nut several turns.  Pull or clip off the cable tip, and pull the cable out of the brake.

Now once we've removed the torque arm clamp bolt the brake will be completely disconnected.

After that, move back to the right side of the bike and open the chain case, starting by unhooking the tension wire running along the bottom of the case.

Once the wire is unhooked about 3/4 of the way down toward the front, unsnap and unclip the rear section as we did in the previous post.

Now loosen the axle nuts about three turns (Don't worry, the chain tensioners will hold the wheel in place) and yank the rear section of the chain case frame straight back and out of the bike.

Shift the bike into first gear, and poke the long end of the 2mm hex key into the tiny hole in the back of the cassette joint.

Pull downward on the wrench to give yourself some cable slack, and then use your pointy tool to pop the cable and cable stop out of the cassette joint.

Pull the cable housing out of the housing stop, being careful not to kink the cable.

Now that you've disconnected the brake and shifter cables from the hub, all that's left is removing the wheel itself!  Loosen the chain tensioners until the nuts are even with the end of the threaded section, and loosen the axle nuts until the colored non-turn washers (yellow on the right, brown on the left) can completely clear the frame.

Lift the chain carefully off the teeth of the cog and set it down on the plastic of the cassette joint.

Now you'll actually remove the wheel: pull it straight backward until both chain tensioners are loose enough that you can flip them downward so that they hang from the axle.

The wheel will now be free to slide forward and out of the dropouts, and you're free to replace tubes, change tires or just marvel at your accomplishment.

To reinstall the wheel, you will essentially be reversing most of the steps you've just completed.  Set the chain on the cassette joint -- next to the cog but not on it -- and then slide the wheel back into the dropouts.  This may take some wiggling, and possibly even some fiddling to make sure that the chain tensioners are inside the dropouts, and the non-turn washers (brown and yellow) are outside.  Gently pull the wheel as far back into the dropouts as possible, giving yourself enough slack to flip the tensioners back into place.  Now that the wheel is held in place by the tensioners, you'll be able to reattach the shifter and brake cables, the chain, and the chain case.

Set the chain back on the cog and carefully turn the cranks a few revolutions to make sure that the chain is fully set on the chainwheel (front gear) as well.  To reconnect the shifter cable to the cassette joint, first slide the cable housing end into the housing stop.

Now repeat the trick with the 2mm hex key to wind the cassette joint back to a point where you can slot the cable stop into its cradle, making sure that the cable sits cleanly along its channel.   Shift up and down the range a few times to make sure that everything is working smoothly, and also use this opportunity to check the adjustment of your hub (just like you learned to do in the last post!).

Pass the brake cable through the housing stop and into the cable stop, tightening it down at at its original setting.  Make sure the housing is fully inserted in the stop.  At this point you can crimp a cable end cap onto the cable, then test brake function by pulling hard on the brake lever. 

Slide the rear section of the chain case frame into place, carefully pushing both top and bottom ends into place in the main chain case frame.  Be sure that the chain tensioner is outside the chain case frame on the axle.

Now that everything on the axle is in place, you can tension the chain.  This step is going to be the most technical that you'll perform during the operation, so shake the kinks out of your hands and get ready!  Tighten down the axle nuts until the tabs of the non-turn washers are fully inserted into the dropouts, but not so tight that you can't shift the wheel.  Throughout this step, you'll be keeping the wheel centered in the frame by watching the distance between the (ideally fully inflated) tire and the chain stays.  Tighten the chain tensioner nuts evenly as you bring the wheel back toward its original position.  On Workcycles bikes (especially if you are using the original cog size), you'll frequently be able to find this spot by the indentations left by the non-turn washers in the frame powdercoat.

Ideal chain tension can be an art and a science, but the easiest gauge will be this: at the tightest spot in the rotation of the cranks (because there will be tight spots and loose spots) you should still be able to move the chain slightly (<1/4") up and down with your fingers.  You should NOT hear a crackling sound as you spin the pedals through the tight spots, and the chain should not be so loose as to hit the bottom of the chain case.

Once you've got the chain at a nice tension, double-check the centering of the wheel and then reattach the rear brake's torque-arm clamp on the chain stay.

Now you can tighten down the axle nuts!  Make sure these are solidly tight, really get your arm behind the wrench (unless you're some sort of giant burly guy, in which case you'll want to exercise some restraint).

Now that the wheel is reinstalled and the chain case frame is reassembled, most of what's left should be familiar from the last post: closing the chain case.  Gently (because these are fabric parts, after all...) slide the rear section of the cover over the frame, keeping the chain tensioner outside.  Pull the edges of the inside slit (between the wheel and the chain case) together and slide the prongs of the clip into their pockets inside the chain case.  Snap the snap on the outside, and hook the wire back and forth across the hooks on the underside (don't miss any!).

...And you're done.  Go for a ride!

It's a new year at Dutch Bike Co, with many big changes going on both here in Seattle and out in Chicago.  We're finalizing plans for the interior of our new Seattle shop space on Ballard Avenue, and they're looking great.  Despite the snowy weather and the temptation to hibernate, the boys in Chicago are developing some great ideas for the months to come.  Keep an eye on the blog for posts on all sorts of topics from all of us here at Dutch Bike Co.  We'll have information about upcoming rides, soirees, and maybe even a party or two in the style of the old days!

A few weeks ago our friend Mike Kleven came by and shot some gorgeous video of a Workcycles Opa coming together.  Now for the first time -- unless you've been hanging out in the shop -- you can see the mysterious, alchemical process by which a ragged transatlantic cardboard box is transformed into a beautiful bicycle.

The Dutch Bikes Classic from Michael Kleven on Vimeo.

    We hope you enjoyed this little peek into our Seattle shop, and a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the love that goes into each one of these bikes.

Hey, it's almost time. More bikes arrive this week. Did you know that Chicago has a 24 hr. Home Depot. Yup, you can buy hand tools and light bulbs at midnight. Sorry I don't have much time to blather on about how happy we are to be here, but here are some photos from my last days in Seattle and our new home in Chicago. Hope to see you sometime in the shop soon. Our hours will be 11 AM to 6 PM Saturday the 18th.