Gazelle Miss Grace?
 

Does anyone ride a Gazelle Miss Grace (non electric?) I'm trying to find out what its max weight capacity is and how sturdy it feels. The frame is aluminium and it's described as a utility bike.

It's a reasonably common utility bike here in the Netherlands. A friend of mine rides one and I sometimes see them in the city being ridden by moms and school girls, the latter often carrying friends on the front.

How heavy a load do you want to carry?

Being able to carry the weight of a full grown man sounds great.

Realistically I'd like to be able to carry at least 10-20kg of groceries (cat litter is 10kg + 3kg box of fruit/potatoes + milk), maybe a Christmas tree on the back when it's Christmas.

Visited the home office in 88 .. lovely location just east of a Park.



https://www.gazellebikes.com/en-gb/models/miss-grace





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My bike need is not immediate. I likely won't be getting one until next year, I'm investigating options.

I've seen teenage girls in the Netherlands riding with friends on the front or back, some of them must be riding the Miss Grace. That's actually why I'm interested in one: I'm a little under 5'2 and many Dutch upright bikes feel large on me. I was looking at the Heavy Duty and the Miss Grace, and I like the colours Miss Grace comes in. And I know it's kinda cheesy, but I like the little badge on it that says sparkly things. It has a rear coaster brake as well, which I like so I have one hand free for signalling or eating ice cream.

The other one I was looking at was the Pashley Princess, but it only comes in black or hunter green. It's very appealing though.

The traditional bikes are a bit different .. the grand father , Opa ___ & grand mother. Oma , have a hundred years of history on them..

Yes, but the omafietsen tend to come in black, and I want a lovely colour.

However there's the Gazelle classic - is this an example of an omafiets? I like that it's steel.

https://flyingdutchman.bike/product/gazelle-classic/

as i understand that miss grace has 28" wheels ( 635 iso).
that wheel size is probably not suitable for someone 5'2".
the seat tube looks rather long for said size person.
it doesnt even come with a real rack.

as for the pashey princess, it does have 26" wheel...and the smallest frame size proby small enough to fit u...but the optional rear rack looks weakly.

did you notice they came in alternate colors?

the seat tubes are shorter..

Trek had a bike styled like that a few years ago..

I'm currently in Asia, where I got a small folder for coronavirus. I got a folder so I can pack it up easily when I leave.
However I'm researching the bike I'll use in London. I'll mostly be using it to go 2-4 miles on more or less flat ground. I love the folder, but I suspect I'll need some kind of minimal gearing and bigger tires, because London is pretty flat but not totally flat. I might also cycle in a part of Devon which gently slopes (the route I'd cycle there goes gradually from an elevation of 20ft to 138ft over 2 miles, the bulk of it is through a park with a cycle path). So I'm looking for something that has a full chainguard for weather and some gears, though I actually think 3 is enough.

@fietsbob yes that's why I linked to the Classic. I'd need to fit a front rack on it though because that's where I'd like to put my handbag/valuables.
The Pashley can be fitted with a rear child rack so it's not super flimsy, but I suspect you're right, I would only be able to transport an entire adult. I'm partial to the Pashley, but the Gazelle looks sturdier. I

Bromptons, made in London are very popular, there & around the globe//

their front bag system is the best..

Looks like a fun and versatile bike. The main thing I'd look into is the theft situation in London, as in, would a new bike survive there for very long?

@fietsbob I have a (Taiwanese) folder and I'm specifically looking into a 'regular' bigger wheeled Dutch-style bike rather than another folder. I'm also looking to keep the cost <£1000 and Bromptons are expensive. The Pashley Princess Sovereign is about the upper end of my budget. I'm looking into bikes that will need as little care as possible even in winter and rainy weather, which is why the cheaper Gazelles are appealing. I'm taken by Bobbin bikes, but uncertain about the caliper brakes. But they're pretty popular and affordable.
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​​​​​​@gresp15c I'll be bringing the bike in or it will eventually be stolen or dismantled for sure. Lifting the weight up and down stairs isn't an issue for me.

i actually think a folding bike is better at transporting grocery, due to the small wheel size.

my Dahon boardwalk with a large metal basket in the back can carry a ton of groceries.
and the lower enter of mass, due to small 20" wheel size, means the extra cargo does not effect handling.

my oma has big wheels, so the cargo is very high. you can feel it is no good.

Having a folding bike and a bike like miss grace or oma seems redundant to me.

Thanks for the perspective, MTB Addict . I'm certainly happy carrying groceries here on my folding bike: today I carried home 3 durians, grapes, a box of soy milk and yogurt strapped to my rear rack. I'm happy with my folder, but I can feel the bumpiness when the surface is bumpy/cobbled, and again I'm not sure about the caliper brakes if I'm using it in snow conditions.

But honestly I also like the way a traditional upright bike looks, so I probably will end up getting one anyway.

So ultimately, my desire to get a non-folding bicycle is mostly aesthetic (hence not wanting a black one: my preferences are light blue, à la Brigitte Bardot in And God Created Woman, or red, like the bike I had when I was little), but I will at least need it to be useful for my daily life. That's also why I have a budget of £1000 on it: I don't necessarily need it, but I would very much like one.

We shall wait for the report.. post Brexit NL & other EU products will be Imports & have Duty added..

Gazelle, was A part of the TI Reynolds group when I visited , but things have changed in those many years..

Have you looked at the Workcycles Gr8? Besides being one of the most comfortable Dutch bikes around it is available in any color combo you can imagine.
My wife is Swedish so her's is:
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a0581ccd3c.jpg
Workcycles Gr8

That is an older photo from when it was brand new. She has a basket on the front carrier and a crate on the back that she carries stuff in.

Don't forget Dutch teenage girls don't really care about their bikes, a tradtional rear rack is not a problem, but a front rack will suffer from more than doubling the specified load. It won't just snap but it will wear out and get wobbly that way. But 30 kg should be no problem for a Gazelle front rack if that is the axl mounted and sturdy version. You might want to check Azor, they are more reliable, durable and tend to be more sturdy than modern Gazelles, since they overengineer and hand build like Gazelle used to do. They're roughly in the same price range, but you can basically pick a frame and put on or leave off anything that fits, and have any colour(s) you want. They have the old fashioned style rear racks which will hold an adult Dutch male, front racks are often frame mounted and not to the axle so I guess you have to stay closer to the max load specified. They still do steel too.

But modern Gazelles like the heavy duty or miss grace aren't flimsy or unreliable, they just won't last a 100 years anymore. Nor is the 'classic', which is a typical oma in the ladies version. That's what I don't like about it, the 'classic' hasn't got the classic build quality and is therefore overpriced.

CrankyOne and Stadjer, thanks, those bikes seem great. They're on the upper end of what my price range, but it seems worthwhile for a relatively immortal bike that can carry everything.

@bonjourpanda Worcycles and Azor are somehow related, I don't know how exactly but I believe Workcycles has it's bikes or at least many parts manufactured by the Azor factory. I think the regular way to order an Azor in the Netherlands is to go to one of the bikeshops that has the brand and go through all the options there and the bikeshop handles the rather complicated ordering. Workcycles might do something similar internationally and without a physical shop.

I would be very surprised if it uses the archaic 700B size. On their website I see the ETRTO 50-622 size which is standard 700C.