72andsunny

I was looking to buy a Dutch bike, but it appears I can fly to Holland, buy one, and fly back for about the same cost as purchasing one here. So I came across Lekker. Anyone ride one? I'm looking more for a cruising around town, pub crawling, beach cruising sort of thing, rather than real commuting.

Thanks!

fietsbob

You mean an Opa bike? grandpa.. Oma , geandma ... you will see many there .. several brands

Lekker
An originally Dutch or Afrikaans (South African) word.
It used to be used only for food, as in tasty.
But now in slang it also means sexy or hot.
Often used to describe an attractive boy or girl.
It might also be used just as a replacement of cool or sweet. In this case, it is often followed by teh word man.
Probalably got adapted into the modern English language because of the South Africans. Who hae more interactions with the British and American that the Netherlands has.

As in tasty: That pizza was pretty damn lekker.
As in sexy/hot: Did you check ou that guy in the shoe store? He is so lekker.
As in cool/sweet: -Guess what? Iw on the first prize! - Lekker man!
#lekkerding
#sexy
#hot
#sweet
#cool

acidfast7

When speaking German, I always use Schmackhaft rather than Lecker.

It always impresses hosts

Stadjer

It's etymology is from licking, but now it's about anything good to the senses and not just taste and smell, any or all of the senses including the eyes. The weather can be lekker, just as it's seperate elements like the sun, the wind and even the rain, often sarcastic or ironic due to the local climate, but not necessarily and 'lekker weer' as in 'nice weather' is very common. A chair or a couch can be lekker as in comfortable, and clothes can fit lekker, but you can also sit or be seated lekker, and to sleep lekker means having a good sleep.. Other tyical activities in the bed are certainly supposed to be lekker and that's probably why lekker as a description of attractiveness is easily quite rude or a bit too direct. A guitar or bass riff or a beat can be lekker, just like a whole song and a voice can be lekker too, allthough that might also have a meaning that gets closer to the sensuality/sexuality in a voice. You can dance lekker as in enjoying yourself, but someone can also dance in way it looks lekker, and then it means 'hot'. A swim can be lekker, a shower usually is, a bath, but a car can drive lekker too, as in good sensory feedback or it revs lekker, has a lekker lot of torque or corners lekker. You can play a match lekker, even if you lost but not when you have been strugglling with your own technique or timing, a hit, a pass, a catch, a tackle, a shot, a touch can be lekker, if you hit a baseball lekker you know and everybody knows immediately because it sounds lekker. Things can run lekker as in smooth, basically anything mechanical, but also work and you can have worked lekker. This is also when it's often used sarcastically or ironically, often as an adverbium as in lekker important (sarcastic) or lekker crowded. So basically it means all kinds of good but directly or indirectly related to the personal experience through the senses and is often associated with comfort, ease and relaxation. Come to think of it, every language should have it's own word for lekker.

So a bikeride can be lekker, like in nice weather and a smooth ride, but if you go 'lekker fietsen' it's usually a recreational ride and not a commute. A bike itself can be lekker too, as in the ride position feels comfortable, it runs nice and light or the handling feels good. So it's understandable why they chose lekker as brand name. But the problem is that it's probably the most used word in Dutch, so when I tried to search for Dutch reviews or tests of these bikes, the query 'lekker' and 'fietsen' (bicycles or the verb riding a bike) I got the homepage of the brand and an awful lot of hits about a nice bikeride through nice weather on nice roads on any nice bike, or a bikeride to anything that is nice like a meal in a restaurant. The brand is not very searchable in Dutch.

Clearly it's not aimed at the Dutch market and the bikes aren't very Dutch. They are made in Australia, they are build light, they are not very upright, they don't have a full chaincase, they don't have drum or coaster brakes, they don't all have full fenders, racks and lighting. They are probably not build for Dutch (ab)use either. I don't see them around much either, I see about a 1000 bikes every day and don't notice all brands of course, but I can only remember having seen a Lekker once. If you want a real Dutch bike with old fashioned durability buy an Azor, it will last, if you want a less durable but certainly sturdy and still very Dutch bike Gazelle, Batavus and Sparta are good options too. If it's just about the geometry look for something cheaper from American or English brands who use 'Dutch bike' for the upright geometry, but Lekker seems reasonably priced too. Gazelle is usually marketed in the US as high end, which is not entirely justified anymore. A normal 3-speed Gazelle costs about 650 euro's here including VAT, so with customs and shipping (and with VAT deducted?) it should be well under a 1000 dollars. Sparta is a bit cheaper, Azor not much more expensive but a lot better, lekker durable and lekker sturdy as the Dutch would say.

72andsunny

Thanks for all that. And I mean that. I'm very tempted to order one of these: https://www.amsterdam-bicycle.com/sh...esign-bicycle/ but the wife wants to go to the Netherlands in the next couple of years, and it's like getting a free trip if I pick it up there. Of course, I'd probably have to buy one for her, then the kids can't exactly leave the country without bicycles, can they?

fietsbob

VAT is refunded , sent to your home address, through the post, after you return , so get the forms stamped as you board the plane through the departure gate..

Stadjer

No, an Azor will probably last much longer than you but you don't want them looking forward to inheriting one.

A few points you might want to consider
-100 dollars for delivery in the USA at that website seems like a good deal considering the weight, size and customs. It's probably because they don't have to charge for VAT (BTW in Dutch, 21%) when exporting. If you export them yourself you will probably have to deal with the bureaucracy part to not pay both VAT and customs.
- Azor does things it's own way and don't let themselves be rushed into growth, so you have to consider delivery times, if you want to pick them up in the Netherlands you'll have to order well in advance, or order them there and have them delivered a couple of months later.
- The Schouwen on the picture does not have a full chaincase, but a chain glider, this offers less protection to the chain and touches the chain. A full chaincase offers advantages to the Dutch because they tend not to do any maintenance, store bikes outside and ride trough rain, mud and on salted roads, but they are usually a pain when changing the tyre. There is a (cheap) tool to spread the stays so you can pull a tyre through but those can't be used with aluminium frames, only steel.
- Basically you pay for just the sum of it's parts you choose and there's a lot to choose from, about the only limitation is fat tyre frames and tyre related parts can't be mixed with the normal tyre frames and fenders. So I'd fully customize. Here's the brochure, https://www.azor.nl/bestanden/documenten/155-19azorfolderwebsite.pdf
It's needlessly complicated for Dutch speakers too (lekker gecompliceerd), but it gives an impression of the possibilities and all the (fat tyre) frame types.
- Frame sizing for upright bikes is a bit different from road bikes and mountain bikes in relation to height and inseam.

noglider 

Wow, I love that Azor catalog!

72andsunny

phile

nice looking bike but far from the traditional dutch bike unless you count the saddle which seems to be exact same saddle you find in the discount bins in all bike shops here.