This was originally published at our sister site, Commute by Bike. As the bike is a step through design and fits in well with trying to get more women on bicycles, I’ll be cross posting the review on both sites.

When the Batavus BUB rolled into my bike shop a good amount of thoughts rolled into my head with it.  It looked heavy, was it? Where were the hand brakes or gears?  Could I take it down my 4.5 mile daily …

Batavus BUB

A quick introduction was posted over at CommuteByBike.com to introduce the Batavus BUB I had teased about a couple weeks ago.  The BUB is a watered down version of most Batavus bikes.  It’s for the person wanting a true city bike but not all the bells and whistles like full chain guard and generator lights.

We are fortunate enough to be one of the first bike testers for the prototype Batavus BUB.  The bike we had in for review …

A small sneak preview of the Batavus BUB that is in for review. Also check out CommuteByBike.com to learn more about the Dutch style of riding.

A very well talked about bike at Interbike in the upright, euro style, bikes was the Batavus BUB, or Batavus Utility Bike.  The bike has a “paper clip” look to it but holds all the function and design that we know of Batavus.

From Bespoke :
The Batavus BUB is the classic omafiets-meets-Rem Koolhaus. Expressively modern, the Batavus BUB (Batavus Utility Bike) deconstructs the classic Batavus omafiets while constructing a more cosmopolitan – yet equally iconic – iteration of the classic Batavus …

There’s a take on women’s designed product the basics are shorter top tube because women (most women) have longer legs and a shorter upper body.   The shorter top tube and over all length of the bike allows for easier reach to handlebars, better fitting for someone with those long legs.

Masi has a take that those shorter tubes and steeper angles change the feel of the bike.   Instead they have simply made a couple of their key models smaller, changed colors …

Recently going out on a limb I pulled in a Gary Fisher Simple City 3W into our Trek Concept store in Charlotte, NC. We have been selling a lot of life style hybrids, cruisers and comfort bikes. I thought the Simple City really fit that niche and added character that the other bikes could have, but had to be purchased and added on.