In this episode, Michelle and Alex FINALLY buy their bikes after moving to the Netherlands nearly one year ago. Learn what makes Dutch bikes so unique (omafiets), how to buy a bike in the Netherlands, and follow Michelle and Alex as they go on their first journey on a bike to… a bakery, of course!
Episode 69 (nice.) · Filmed on June 24, 2023 · Dordrecht, the Netherlands
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0:00 Introduction
0:47 Why did this take you so long?
1:22 Do we even know how to ride a bike?
1:44 What are we looking for in a bike?
2:48 How do you buy a bike in the Netherlands?
3:11 What was our experience like?
3:35 Bike reveal and riding around Dordrecht
4:04 OK, so what’s so special about Dutch bikes?
5:14 What we got vs. what we were looking for
6:11 More riding around Dordrecht
6:29 First destination: Banketbakkerij Brokking
7:54 Insurance and bike locks
8:22 How much did our bikes cost?
9:09 What’s it like biking in the Netherlands?
9:43 Wrap up
#expatlife #netherlands #bikinglife
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WHO IS BUNCHARTED?
We’re Michelle and Alex, a travel-obsessed American couple living abroad in the Netherlands.
In 2020, we quit our jobs to travel the world, and… yeah, that didn’t happen. So in 2022, we decided to make an even BIGGER change, packing up our lives (and our cats 🐈), moving from Austin, Texas, to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. Subscribe for new videos like this every week!
45 Comments
Take your bikes on the train to Winterswijk and experience the beauty and tranquility of the Achterhoek. Book a hotel or a B&B there for a few days. From there you can cycle daily through the hamlets with the many forests, meadows and sandy roads along farms and streams. Places where you sometimes don't see anyone. All a stone's throw from the center of town. You can even easily cross the border into Germany and experience how the landscape there is slightly different. You can visit the Mondriaan museum there. Afterwards you can go for a swim in the historic open-air swimming pool and then have something to eat or drink there or on one of the terraces around the square around the church of Winterswijk.
Hey it would be great to do like a road signs type of video, where you explain all the road signs this could mix well in your next bike video!
Yay finally! Congrats on the new bikes. I noticed there was no jasbeschermer on the bikes. I highly recommend getting one so you can cycle in flowy dresses and stuff.
good choice on what kind of bike you got's, usually a lock on the rear wheel is sufficient to keep it from getting stolen. im sure you both will get the ins and outs of dutch biking in no time…
Hi Alex, what kind of IT work you are doing? I work in the IT field and will be helpful to know what kind of IT work you are doing there. Thanks
The tip of your seat, tilt it between 1 and 2,5 degree down for comfort never up.
This will improve your posture and comfort no shifting from left to right to safe your privet parts.
Have fun riding around in the Netherlands.
Limburg is a very nice place to cycle if yo like hills and nature and good food.
And bike tips can be found on the world wide web.
You can bike to Gouda and visit the cheese market there at the beautiful Stadhuis in the middle of the city. 🙂
“That what she said!” 😂
"Winter hit hard"? What year is this??
I just got e-bike after 3 decades of riding regular bikes, due to medical problems. It is amazing if you struggle to do the distance for whatever reason, like a previously broken hip. I do recommend sticking with a regular bike for a long as possible, as you lose a lot of work-out on an e-bike.
Yes, they're a lot heavier and the risk of theft is quite high, but there are really good locks out there and if you park on a busy street, it is less likely to get stolen. If you decide on an e-bike, have a look at the Consumentenbond fiets test, where they tested over 500 models from all different brands, without any sponsorship so it is legit. I decided based on their test and I haven't regretted it yet.
Saucijzenbroodje comes from saucisse, the French word for sausage, and is different to worst (our word for sausage). The pastry is a French invention as well.
Little tip :. Try to bike with your tows on the peddels.
Next to the Oma Fiets (Grandmother Bike) you also have the Opoe fiets (Grandfather bike). They both have history here in the Netherlands.
Nobody here has recommended brabantse worstenbroodjes yet? Get brabantse worstenbroodjes!
Nice bikes! To get a real Dutch 'i live in the countryside but have to go to school in the big city' experience, you should go and cycle a very long, boring road through the pastures (preferably on a rainy and windy day) Have fun 😁
Those are definitely not “omafietsen”. You have normal Dutch bikes, no specific name. But the ones you have chosen do have some vintage design elements.
I’m surprised that you have “velgremmen/blokremmen”, those are terrible in the rain. “Trommelremmen” is the usual thing to have.
By the way, “omafietsen” are really only a thing in cities, mainly with students. They don’t have gears or handbrakes and are therefore cheap to maintain.
Just remove the round grey cover plate on the back wheel at 4:43. It is just meant for protection while on transport. Not meant to keep there while riding your fiets. Just pull it off. BTW; mooie fietsen.
There's a joke about bikes and locks
When someone's bike is stolen in (insert country of choice here) the person will complain that it was such an expensive bike and now they have to buy another one. In the Netherlands (and the big cities especially) when the bike get stolen, they'll complain that those were expensive locks and now they have to buy new locks!
also, sausijzebroodjes are great, but usually eaten warm/ heated 😀
Since you’re living in Dordrecht now, and want to experience and enjoy typical Dutch rural scenery with typical windmills, you should try cycling from Oud-Ablas along the river De Alblas to Bleskensgraaf, Molenaarsgraaf and so on. Could start (or end) at restaurant de Krom
in the netherlands we even have roadside assistance for cyclists.
CANCELLED!! You have to purchase a personal bike within two months after arriving in The Netherlands 🤡😛🙈 preferably two bikes per person 🫠🫠❤️
New, subscriber and follower! Looking at moving me and my family to the Netherlands, so I will be binging your videos! Hope to run into you guys once we move there!
you have to warm it up het sauzijsenbroodje
You could take the Blue Amigo to Rotterdam, and then cycle around at strand Nesselande in the afternoon. Altho cycling in Rotterdam can be a bit intimidating, the area at Nesselande is really nice to cycle around.
I see you bought bikes with a derailleur, instead of a gear hub. Do you plan on storing your bikes inside? Most Dutch bikes have a geared hub (Shimano nexus 3 or 7 speed), and a fully covered chain. This is not only to keep your trousers clean, also for low maintenance purposes. When biking in rain or leaving the bike outside all year long, the chain and gear system is better protected in that way. If it stays inside and you do not plan to ride in the rain, no big issue. Regarding the Saucijzen broodje, tip – eat it warm/hot. it tastes much better. A bakkerij can but it in the oven for you for a minute or so. In dordrecht, do go to villa Augustus and do a video on that. We lived (american wife and myself and kids) lived there for 9 years.
Not really a dutch bike, as in not made in the Netherlands.
you got a normal bike. A omafiets looks a little bit different. It mostly has no gears and a back brake (terugtraprem). And a mothersbike (mamafiets of moederfiets) is designed to bike with a kid on the front and one on the back. You have a little bit more space between your saddle and steer. And it has a extra stand (on both sides), so it won't fall if you are putting your kids in there seats.
Have fun with your bikes, they look great!
Ride back to Rotterdam, to see if you can cross the brienenoord bridge without electric bike haha its steeeep and AMAZING view !! Go when sun sets…
Cycling in nature is definitely recommended
The bike looks nice but in the end i dont think the quality is that good, you wil probably get some rusted parts and some ratteling sounds within 1 or 2 years. For your next bike go for a trusted dutch brand with higher quality for a simular price as Gazelle or Batavus. Enjoy the km's this summer.
You can go to the bridge over the Noord, parallel to the A15 highway. When you're on the bridge, you can look down (on the north side) and you will see a wharf. It's the wharf of Oceanco: they built superyachts there. Some 6 months ago, I crossed that bridge a few times and there was this (almost finished) yacht moored at the dock. I didn't know it at the time, but later I heard that it was Steven Spielberg's new superyacht. So, if you can find a source that gives info and updates on what they are building there, you can see some interesting boats.
Also nice: along the river Giessen
My biggest culture shock going to university were international students not being able to ride a bike.😂
In the Netherlands outside of big cities the only people not able to ride a bike are little children, and people with physical problems, so healthy young people not being able to ride a bike were new to me. I can't get used to it.
Good places to bike are zwolle, maastricht,arnhem and much more places
Dat is geen omafiets….
Heey, welcome to the bike culture
Some additional things to think about!!!!
Bikes, unlike cars, need much more checkups, every half year take them to the store and get them re-alligned. The dutch roads are somethimes filled with bumps or small onevencies and if you do not ride your bikes arrond them your bike can get quite a hit from whiles cycling
Hand breaks are not my thing, the system is quite complicated and you can not repair them yourselves.
Additionally, the cables connected to the handbreaks can get entangled with other bikes of you put your bikes in the "stallingen" and drunk student will ripp their bikes by force if they are entangled with your bikes thereby breking those connections
One thing to be quite focused on with bikes it the noise they make, often bikes will start to RATTLE, this means your bike's chains are getting less tense and the bike needs to be brought to the shop.
Taking your bikes with you to other cities I will not advice, if you are going into the small villages of small towns, taking your bikes with you could be a good idea but be aware that there are strikt rules to trains and bikes. Look the rules up before being faced with another train conducter who you have to convice you are new to the netherlands and you HAD NO IDEA
If you go to big or semi big cities often you can get an NS bike. These are amazing bikes that are only 6 euros per day but you do need to get an OVchipkaart and add the FREE NS BIKE option to your account.
Finally, buy a bike chain for additional locking of your bike to streetlights, trees or other weird stuff. Bikes are easily stolen of they are not also connected to something immovable. Especially in big cities
Happy biking
Have fun with them!
Only thing I would have suggested was going with an internal gear hub instead of derailleurs because they aren't as messy and the chain is more protected, less fragile when the bike is parked in crowded bike racks and require way less maintenance. Nice bikes to start off with though 🙂
go to amsterdam🙏🙏🙏
Are you guys planning on cycling in the winter? Because you choose a bike with derailleur. When the first snow falls in the Netherlands they dump tons of salt on the roads which will ruin your chain and derailleur. You then better choose an internal gear. But that wil make the bike heavier. Have fun cycling!! Greetings, a bike mechanic from the Netherlands.
They want a new bike…….. lol Sjeeeeeeez My current bike is one I found somewhere on the street.
It looks like you live very close to where I live 😊
Handy get some ‘fietstassen’ (panniers) for stuff to take on your trips or for groceries to take home.
400 euro for a new bike is a steal, however the reason of this price is largely in the quality of the materials: you will notice that the bike will rust much sooner {within a few months) and also the moving parts bend/break sooner than you thing, the difference in durability and quality between a 400 euro bike and a 900 euro bike is huge.
Having said that, when you have to leave your bike outside 24/7, that 400 euro bike probably is a better idea then the more expensive one…
Good thinking on what kind of bike to buy, goodchoice by the way. You ate a saucijzenbroodje. I think it was cold. Try a warm one next time, they taste a lot better. The same with a worstebroodje. Some things you have too eat warm. Good luck on your bike trips.
A 5 minute bike ride instead of a 20 minute walk is a perfect example of how to use a bike.