How/where can I get a Dutch-style city bike in NYC without breaking the bank?
Don’t do it. The trend makes sense in Amsterdam, where those bikes are a plenty, not here where they cost not a grand, but $3000. They are also heavy. You can “dutch-ify” your Panasonic road bike. Follow these steps- 1. Raise the handlebars to get an upright seated position. You can either change the stem (to something like a nitto technomic) or use a cruiser bar/Nitto North Road/Velo-Orange Porteur/Soma Arc bar. You also might be able to find something in a parts bin at a bike shop – check shops that work on older cruisers. 2. Buy or make a chainguard to keep your pants clean. Velo-Orange is selling them. You might also be able to pull one off an old cruiser bike and clamp it onto your frame. 3. I don’t find coaster or drum brakes to be more efficient, and they are heavier as well. YMMV, but remember: building a new wheel around the drum brake hub is more expensive than getting new brake pads. 4. Install full fenders to keep your butt and pants dry. 5. Might consider going to single-s
I picked up an American Electra Amsterdam new (all swag included) for about $500 – way less than the $3k that’s quoted upthread as the going price for imported Dutch bikes. I love it. My commute’s a little longer than yours, and I’m also no bike hipster. Bike hipsters will, of course, think you’re lame for riding such a bike (and an American version, no less!), but the Dutch-style combination of skirt guard, chain guard, internal gears (3 in the basic model, way less maintainance than derailleurs), fenders, rack, generator-powered lights, etc. is great for commuters and people who bike to run errands, rather than for exercise, lifestyle, or leisure. Sure, it’s upright and heavier than a racing bike, but for city commutes, you won’t be going that fast anyway: people with Nice Bikes would leave you in the dust on a 10 mile stretch of rural road, but in the city, you’re lucky if you go a bunch of blocks without hitting a light. And oh man, not having to worry about “pants you can bike in
