This is a pretty good shot of the chainguard in its useful glory.
On July 4th, 2010, my useful chainguard was rendered completely dead when my son's bicycle fell over in the wind and took a chunk of wheel stay out of the frame and smashed my poor innocent guard to bits.
You say "Adrienne, you can get a new one". I sigh and reply "I wish", in response. I tried to get a new one several months ago through my LBS, but Batavus sent the wrong one (blue, wrong size, incorrect mounting points, no hardware...)! When I emailed Batavus last year about obtaining replacement parts like the chainguard, they wouldn't sell me any of the parts that are impossible to get off the shelf in the USA. Seattle Bike Supply, the group that sold my LBS the bicycle will not get parts for it because after selling the bike to me, they decided to not become Batavus distributors.
So, dear readers, I need your help (again). Who out there knows how to get me a new chainguard? I have money to spend and am feeling creative. Are you a fabricator? I have the original chainguard as a template and I think the Bat would look pretty good with a nice metal piece. Anyone out there know someone at Batavus who could send me the part (they have them, just not for me : |)?
Ideas? Anyone?
50% of the reason I purchased my bicycle was because of its various guards. Without my chainguard, my bicycle is naked and my clothes are going to get wrecked (I have to stand very close to the frame at stops to keep it stable when I have Declan on the back and I need my hands for something).
See if you can locate a dealer in NL. I was able to source some Shimano hubs and parts that are not available in the US from WorkCycles in Amsterdam, great people and very easy to deal with. I am pretty sure he doesn't sell Batavus but might be able to point you in the right direction. Another possibility is to see if you can get a chain guard from a Torker or Redline, they are quite often based on the Batavus designs.
ReplyDeleteOr as you suggested find an artist type that works in metals. I have built a couple out of aluminum and with the proper tools it is not difficult, especially if you have a pattern to work from.
Aaron
Oh no! I live in fear of something like that happening to my Bat.mMaybe you could try ordering from overseas? My first step would be to email Littlehampton Dutch Bike Co., where I bought my bike, and see if they could act as a liason. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI don't understand "took a chunk of wheel stay out of the frame". Is his bike a tank? Are your wheel stays plastic? Is it still ridable?
ReplyDeleteI assume the chain guard is plastic. If so duct tape it for the time being. All is not lost.
Looking at the Flickr. images, it looks like a fairly normal chain guard that we sell in our shop- - perhaps not perfect but close. Could you take a picture from the back, so we can se how it's mounted around the chainwheel?
ReplyDeleteI certainly can, Andy. I will do so tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteAs to Trisha and Old Fool and someone else I can not remember right now, Blogger has lost your comments! Grrrrrr! Here are the responses-
Trisha-I have nursed this guard for almost 2 years. It has become gradually more and more broken over time. If you have parts like this on your Batavus, look into getting them replaced now, 'cause it ain't easy. Thanks for the link!
Old Fool- I thought of you about 10 seconds after disentangling Cameron's bicycle from mine: ) It is a huge, steel framed bike that got blown down into mine by a 35MPH gust of wind. The handlebar, whose end cap is missing, gouged the paint, made a surprisingly stout rut in the aluminum tube and shattered 2 of the the 3 supports of the guard. It was way beyond duct tape : )
I'm definitely not an expert, but I suspect that either Velo Orange could help or maybe try the good people at Clever Cycles in Portland? I don't think they sell Batavus bikes, but they do sell many other Dutch-style bicycles and may have some sourcing capabilities.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried getting in touch with 4th Floor Distribution? They love'em some Batavus. Something could be worked out.
ReplyDeleteThat is being Pig Headed and Stupid of Batavus not to send you a Chain Guard because your Distributor stopped Selling their Bikes. You would think they would be glad to Sell you a Chainguard,It is not Major Machinery we are Talking about here.
ReplyDeleteIt would be possible to Fashion something out of a Piece of Aluminum Sheeting cut to Size and Painted in the appropriate Colour but you will have to Look for some Fabricator of Metal and then someone to Cut it to size. Then bend all the Sharp edges inward on themselves so as not to get cut when Cleaning Bicycle.
Looks like the pretty standard SKS chainboard would fit on that quite readily.
ReplyDeleteThat type of chainguard looks similar to the ones found on Torker bikes.
ReplyDeleteTorkers are distributed by SBS. Try giving Clever Cycles in Portland a call, they have an actual "Chainguard" section on their website, which is a rare sight in the US. A third option is to check Velo Orange as they have some nice metal chainguards and may have a suggestion.
Hebie as well as Horn make chainguards for triple front chainrings. Maybe someone can send you one from Europe, they shouldn’t be hard to find here. To get the right size you have to find out how many teeth the big chainring has.
ReplyDeleteNico
Eva- Clever Cycles may have what I need in the Hebie, but I need to take some pictures of my mounting system to see if they are compatible
ReplyDeleteKlaus- Been there. I didn't get much response from my email. Big companies and distributors prefer to deal with businesses over individuals.
Lhomme- I tend to agree, but see above.
Mr.C- you would think.
Tom- I am looking into Clever Cycles to see if that will work
Nico- hopefully I'll find one here
I was going to suggest Fourth Floor Distribution as well. I love those guys. But if you tried them by email and they are often slow to reply to email did you try Curbside or any of the other Canadian shops that carry Batavus. Also Josef at Flying Pigeon LA carries Batavus though not like the one you have but you could ask him.
ReplyDeleteI was going to suggest Clever Cycles, but... :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck. I've been looking for chainguards myself. There isn't a lot of availability here in the States. Mrs Dibbly & I are going to ride over to Clever this weekend. Maybe they have more than what is on their web site.