Electra Amsterdam anyone?

gzoladz

Hi all,

Has anybody had any experience with any model of the Electra Amsterdam range?

The following is on sale on CRC and I am pretty tempted as they do free delivery:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=20365

I am looking for an A to B bike with 3 hub gears and ideally coaster breaks, so this looks perfect for me.

Any advise?

Thanks,
Gustavo

kona

gzoladz wrote: »

Hi all,

Has anybody had any experience with any model of the Electra Amsterdam range?

The following is on sale on CRC and I am pretty tempted as they do free delivery:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=20365

I am looking for an A to B bike with 3 hub gears and ideally coaster breaks, so this looks perfect for me.

Any advise?

Thanks,
Gustavo

yes i built these up in a bike shop in vancouver last year, they are great bikes, the only thing id advize is, that you really need a mechanic to set it up as there are some fiddely bits, iwas doing Electra cruisers and haros all day, and for me it took 40mins to build it, it has ALOT of extras to go on.

the gears wont work when set up as per shimano, you have to align the hub slightley off.

you need to remove the locknut on the headset to fit the front light, the wire for the dynamo is a bollix to get through the stem and hooked up.

Also there is a procedure to building it as, once you put one thing on, it will be in the way of another.

The only criticism i have is that the BB, Headset and brakes are not the best for what you are paying, hubs aint great too, Id ALWAYS pull the hubs, headset and BB out on the buils to grease them properly as they are just coated to stop rust. There is issues with the coaster brake that shimano use, also you will probably have trouble finding sombody familiar with the parts.

The most annoying thing is removing the packaging from the rear mudgard, you have to dissassemble it to get it right.


having said all that, the are great when assembled right.

gzoladz

Thanks! That is excelent advise.

BostonB

Why coaster brakes?
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/coaster-brakes.html

gzoladz

BostonB wrote: »

Why coaster brakes?

I like being able to control everything with the legs.

Also, I want this bike just to go from A to B and will be using it a lot to carry stuff and shopping so it will be an advantage not having to use my hands to stop.

Like everything, there are pros and cons.

Lumen

gzoladz wrote: »

Also, I want this bike just to go from A to B and will be using it a lot to carry stuff and shopping so it will be an advantage not having to use my hands to stop.

Do you mean carrying stuff/shopping with your hands whilst riding? Have you perhaps overlooked the steering aspect?

gzoladz

Lumen wrote: »

Have you perhaps overlooked the steering aspect?

LOL - Please let me know if I do need to answer this