What Makes Aluminium Kozijnen Bikes So Popular?
January 29th, 2012
Dutch bikes, sometimes called city bikes or utility bikes, got their nickname for being all-weather, low maintenance commuter bikes for everyday use. A city bike is made for shorter travel than mountain bikes, but this does not make it any less useful, given that its main concern is utility. Some of the most popular utility bicycles are the ones used in the Netherlands, which use aluminium kozijnen, the local word for aluminium frames.
Crafting a good city bike is something the Dutch have long perfected, and this can be seen in the many practical features boasted by the bikes you typically find on the roads of the Netherlands. Aluminium is one of the most popular metals for various industries’ manufacturing sectors due to its excellent strength-to-weight ratio. Old bikes not made of aluminium were heavy and hard to carry up steps, making them unsuited to urban life; hence, aluminium began to be used.
As with all industries, a specific type range is followed as the template when designing a bicycle, so the average range for Dutch heights is followed in making Dutch bikes. There are many types of bikes, but the most popular ones for city dwellers are the ones where the spine may be held straight during the ride. If you happen to fall below the average height, you need not worry, since bike makers are now providing models for all shapes and sizes.
The speeds on utility bikes, then and even now, are usually not very high, because it is unneeded for city living. A good urban-dwelling bike does not need a lot of gears because of its purposes. Cities like Rome, which has quite a few hills, need bikes that have more than a few speeds, which is not usually the case for utility bikes.
There are a multitude of items used for the manufacture of bikes, all with varying compositions. Bike fenders need to be crafted out of tough, all-weather materials in order to protect other adjacent parts such as the tail lights. Depending on your needs and location, you may choose to get mudflaps as another feature on your model.
Taillights and headlamps on the classic Dutch bikes had to draw power from largish batteries or generators. Old bike generators had a great deal in common with motion-powered watches when it came to how they worked. Now with the use of LED technology, lighting systems for city bikes have become more efficient and durable.
The cool efficiency of German engineering is said to be clear in the clean lines, frame, and feature list of a great Dutch bike. One thing to be wary of if you do get a good bike is security: you need to make sure that your bike has the features necessary for preventing it. The wheels are another major consideration when you go looking for a good bike.
Companies such as the Kildemoes and Sparta company produce urban-use bikes designed after the Dutch template. To date, some American and Chinese bicycle manufacturers have recreated the features of Dutch bikes in more contemporary bike designs. Other contemporary or hybrid models are being used in European cities in Sweden, Switzerland, among others.
Unlike other bikes, there is little need to fuss over a Dutch bike. One of the primary advantages of the aluminium kozijnen bicycle over others is its low care requirements. While folding bikes are typically stored indoors, Dutch bikes are left chained out of doors, which is no problem given their robustness.
People from the Netherlands refer to urban bikes as Stadsfiets. Majority of the existing urban bicycles nowadays still depend on the classic Stadsfiets for their manufacturers’ inspiration, and many of the design elements are unmistakeable. Any good utility bike has the trifecta in its makeup: aluminium kozijnen, an upright seating style, and only 1 to 3 speeds for straightforward riding.