Zieleman, Presto or Brands Bikes out there

[JYvdK]

Hi,

Just wanted to ask if any of the members here have one or more of the following bikes in their collection and could hopefully posts some pics for reference/ ideas....Thanks!!!

Looking for images of your Amsterdam build

- Zieleman
- Presto
- Brands

RIH, Peka Reus etc welcome too!!! Thanks!

 

[sodejuzeg]

Re: Any Zieleman, Presto or Brands Bikes out there?

You already have seen some of my bikes I posted on pedalroom and my Reus in your own Reus thread but this is my golden Zieleman

Hope the pic does not becomes to big on here

 

[JYvdK]

Re: Any Zieleman, Presto or Brands Bikes out there?

Thanks!

That's Stunning!!

I am making a personal archive , so i can get inspiration for my next project..

 

[sodejuzeg]

Re: Any Zieleman, Presto or Brands Bikes out there?

And because this seems to work out I can show you my newer red one as well.

 

[JYvdK]

Re: Any Zieleman, Presto or Brands Bikes out there?

Wow! I will come and see them next time I'm in Amsterdam!!

My friend Pierre Heuvel from Cafe Heuvel , hoek Prinsengracht/ Spiegelstraat was an amateur racer, he had a Purple-ish Zieleman build by Ko and a Brands, red with yellow decals, which I think was a Gazelle frame built up and then branded by Brands..

 

[sodejuzeg]

Re: Any Zieleman, Presto or Brands Bikes out there?

Wow! I will come and see them next time I'm in Amsterdam!!

My friend Pierre Heuvel from Cafe Heuvel , hoek Prinsengracht/ Spiegelstraat was an amateur racer, he had a Purple-ish Zieleman build by Ko and a Brands, red with yellow decals, which I think was a Gazelle frame built up and then branded by Brands..

You're very very welcome.

You don't see the old Zielemans very often but it appears that the ones you see zoom by occasionally are kept very well by the owners

I had a pretty cobaltblue Brands with white decals and a white shimano gruppo in the eighties apparently build by some Italian builder and branded by Brands.
He sold nice bikes but unfortunatly did not build them himself like Presto or Zieleman did.

 

[JYvdK]

Re: Any Zieleman, Presto or Brands Bikes out there?

Yes, he did not build his own frames although I remember reading somewhere that the builder Van de Klundert did build some frames, but mostly imported Italian frames, then Gazelle; I will get one at some point to add to my collection, as they are becoming pretty rare...

 

[Johnsqual]

Re: Any Zieleman, Presto or Brands Bikes out there?

Hey, some lovely bikes in this post already. I have a more general question: what do you think it is that makes
Dutch bikes distinctive and stand out from others? I have the feeling that each country has a certain set of characteristics
that make its bikes special, but don't know enough about Dutch bikes to say what it would be.

Other examples of the sort of thing I mean:

British bikes: Fancy lug work and unusual construction (Hetchins curly stays, the flying gate, Bates bent forks etc etc)
Belgian bikes: pioneered early adoption of Japanese tubes and components
Italian bikes: flashy paintwork and clean minimal lines, plus many innovations
French bikes: making racing bikes accessible and affordable; classic tourers (Singer etc)

The thing I find Dutch bikes have in common is their clean, stylish paintwork. But maybe there are other things too.

Johnny

 

[JYvdK]

Re: Any Zieleman, Presto or Brands Bikes out there?

I can't speak for everybody, the following is just my personal opinion as to why I like Dutch bikes....

I am a big fan of Dutch Bikes because well.. I am Dutch and I have had them all my life..

I particularly like '' Amsterdam Bikes'' as its my home town and because of their craftsmanship and attention to detail ....not to mention nostalgia from my childhood... looking into the window of the RIH and Presto shop on my street..

In the Seventies you would go into one of the shops, RIH, Zieleman, Presto, etc, meet the builder himself, get measured on a bike sizing jig and off they went and build you a fantastic frame!!!

They would also discuss the paintwork, components etc....a great experience overall..at a price though..

As you say they are very clean rides, and in my opinion their characteristics are; very fast, sturdy and beautifully crafted!!!

 

[Elev12k]

Re: Any Zieleman, Presto or Brands Bikes out there?

Typical Dutch traits are agile critrium geometry, sturdy construction for poor innercity roads (often the case in criteriums), pragmatic no frills attitude showing in finishing and detaling and ussually pragmatic component specs too. The frames from the masterbuilders are one off tools for competition. Much skill and expertise went into them.