Maintenance

I've been riding a new Velorbis for about 6 weeks now, and I'm curious how other Dutch riders maintain their bikes. I know they're famous for being low-maintenance, but I don't think that's the same as zero-maintenance.

Do you carry a spare tube? I got a flat my first week of riding, and am a little anxious about having to get at the rear wheel again. Do you have tips for regular tuning or maintaining?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Duppie on February 12, 2010 at 7:18am

I don't currently have a Dutch bike, but I grew up in the Netherlands so I have plenty of "flat" experience. If you have a full chaincase, you definitely want to avoid taking off the rear wheel.

So the true 'Dutch' way of repairing a Dutch bike is:
1. Turn the bike upside down
2. Use the bike levers to take the tire off on the non-drive side
3. Take out the tube. You may want to start at the valve
4. Once the tube is removed, the tire should still be on the rim.
5. Pull the tube out as far as possible by pulling it close around the hub
6. Inflate the tube and look for the leak. You may have to move the tube around
7. Patch the leak.
8. Put the tube back on the rim. Start with the valve
9. Install the tire
10. Voila!

While this sounds complex it is actually a lot quicker than taking the wheel off. And by patching the tube instead of replacing it, you save some money, which makes any Dutch heart proud.

I tried to look for an online video that shows this, but didn't find any,

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