Small Retail: A practical ride

The bicycles at the Dutch Bike Co. near the 14th Avenue Northwest boat ramp in Ballard are anything but sporty -- and that's the point.

With model names such as Opa (Dutch for grandfather) and Oma (for grandmother), the bikes are heavy (weighing at least 40 pounds), slow and clunky (with locks, chain guards and mud flaps built in).

But, according to co-owners Stephan Schier and David Schmidt, the bikes are steadily gaining a following in the United States, thanks in part to their business, one of only a handful to carry them here. There's enough demand that the pair plan to open a second shop in Chicago later this year.

In the United States, "bicycles mean exercise, not transportation," Schier said. By contrast, their Dutch bicycles are sold for their utility.

"It might take 10 minutes longer to get to your destination on an Opa or an Oma, but you can skip the shower," Schier said. "Nobody needs to be bent over and sweaty."

The bicycles can usually be distinguished by their swept back, old-fashioned style handlebars (you sit upright, not forward) and covered chains (skirts and fancy clothes will not get ripped). They usually have eight speeds. One model -- the Bakfiets -- has a wooden box up front large enough to carry a child or two.

The shop, which looks out at the ship canal between Lake Union and Fishermen's Terminal, occupies a former propeller shop. In one corner, a full-time bike mechanic works on both European and "normal" bikes.

In fact, Schmidt and Schier say the market for maintaining the Dutch bikes is very limited, in part because crucial parts such as the chain and brakes are covered. Just this week, the first bike the company had ever sold was in for a tune-up. There was not very much to do.

Schmidt, a former Seattle bike messenger, opened the store in May 2007 after visiting Amsterdam, Netherlands, and being struck by the bicycles there, which he thought contrasted sharply with the "elitist cycle culture" he was familiar with. He ordered a container of the bikes before even setting up the shop. He said he had a "gut feeling" that the bikes would sell here.

Schier, who met Schmidt while both were working in the high-rise window-washing business, started showing up and soon joined as a partner.

The two men said they have sold "hundreds" of the bikes and that sales have posted a steady increase. About 70 percent of the store's bikes are shipped, fully assembled except for pedals and handlebars, in a crate to customers outside Seattle. It costs between $330 and $365 to ship the bikes in the U.S., on top of the $1,589 cost of an Oma or Opa.

Increasingly, though, as more Seattleites see the bikes on the road, they are coming in to buy them.

The company also has a fleet of Dutch bikes that it rents out by the hour or the day. One bike, which can fit seven, is particularly popular.

On their Web site, the two men recount:

"One day Dave called Stephan and said, 'I'm doing it. I'm ordering the CoBi. I ordered a CoBi-7. ...' Pretty bold ... Stephan thought: Dave is purchasing a 500 lb. bike which seats seven. 'Dave? Where are you going to park it?'

"Well, now we have one and it changes the laws of the universe. Motorists suddenly park their cars, jump out and join us. Pedestrians wave hello, laugh and point. Children, well, children, let's just say they go nuts. Whimsy on wheels."

IF YOU GO

Dutch Bike Co.

4421 Shilshole Ave. N.W.

206-789-1678

dutchbikeseattle.com

Hours: Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m.;

Saturday-Sunday,

11 a.m.-6 p.m.