Riding the Pilen: a Multitude of Impressions

Since the Pilen give-away contest is happening before a final review will be published, I wanted to write up a separate post about its ride quality. It's funny that even though I should know better, I am still fooled into thinking that I "know" a bike based on the way it looks, and this was the case here. "A swan frame," I thought, "this will be just like my Austrian bike." But the Pilen is a completely different bicycle. Moreover, my impression of its ride quality differs from others' impressions, which apparently may be a factor of my size. But let me start from the beginning.

As described before, the bicycle is a 56/58cm frame with 700Cx50mm tires, which makes it a pretty large bicycle for a person my size. Since I am barely tall enough to ride it, I have the saddle almost all the way down. I also lowered the handlebars as much as I could. The bars are flared out quite a bit - almost placing the hands in a mountain bike style position - and having them set high felt unnatural. In the position shown, the saddle and handlebars feel more or less fine, though personally I prefer bars that are more swept back.

What I like best about the Pilen is its remarkable stability. Traditional Dutch bikes tend to have a light front end, which can make the steering feel difficult to control for those who are not used to it. Though I love the ride quality of Dutch bikes, I too remember being taken aback by the light steering when I first tried them. In comparison, the Pilen is extremely well balanced. It is a very easy bike to control and it handles predictably. I keep switching between the Pilen and my vintage Gazelle, and the Gazelle always feels shaky after the Pilen.

The wide, cushy Schwalbe Big Apple tires offer another advantage. Potholes or road shock of any kind are a non-issue; the bike just rolls over uneven terrain and I don't feel a thing.

The surprising downside for me when riding the Pilen, is my experience with speed and acceleration. I am finding this hard to put into words, but let me try: When I attempt to ride the bike at the speed I am accustomed to, it is as if I feel a resistance. I have to push harder in order to keep it going fast, and this puts a strain on my legs. My first thought was that the gearing must be too high, because it feels better to start it in 1st gear, whereas on my other 3-speeds I am fine starting in 2nd. However, as soon as I accelerate, not only do I quickly find it necessary to switch into 2nd, then 3rd gear, but I also soon begin to max out the 3rd gear. This makes no sense, because the Shimano hub used on the Pilen is not spaced any closer than the 3-speed hubs I use on my other bikes; I should not be running out of gears. Even more odd is that I feel the strain in my legs regardless of what gear I am in and how fast I am going. According to the Co-Habitant's computer, I did manage to get the Pilen up to 17mph. But this was more effortful than on my other upright 3-speed bikes.

I shared these impressions with Todd of Clever Cycles - who is one of the North American retailers stocking these bikes and therefore has experience with them. Todd suggested it was possible that the bike is "overbuilt" for me - meaning that the tubing and the wheels are specced with a rider larger and heavier than me in mind. Though I have heard the "overbuilt" theory before (mainly when it comes to Surly bikes - which also seem to be best enjoyed by heavier riders), to be honest I found the idea improbable. I thought it was more likely that I needed to keep playing with the saddle and handlebar positions, or change the rear cog after all.

Then something happened to suggest that Todd may be on to something: A woman who is taller and heavier than me was over for a visit, and she wanted to try the Pilen. She did, and she absolutely loved it. She called it zippy and fast. She asked me what I thought of the bike, and I told her my honest impressions, but her impressions were totally different. She is not a stronger cyclist than I am. But the Pilens's size seemed just right for her and she looked a lot more natural on the bike than I do. She has tried a lot of other bikes at this point, including several Dutch bikes and the Rivendell Betty Foy, so she does have a solid basis for comparison. She preferred the Pilen's ride quality to all of these.

Now I was seriously intrigued. I asked the Co-Habitant to ride the Pilen. He is just over 6' tall and weighs over 200lb. He raised the saddle and took the bike for a spin. He loved it and wanted to keep riding it. He thought it was nimble and a bit faster than his Pashley Roadster. He loved the cushy tires. He could not relate to my feedback at all and did not sense anything odd about the gearing.

Next I took the Pilen over to "cycler," of Biking in Heels. She and I are roughly the same height and weight. She loved the looks of the bike (as do I), but found the ride quality odd. Without my having said anything in advance, she had similar things to say about the gearing feeling too closely spaced as I have expressed above. She also found the "cockpit" configuration to feel unnatural compared to her own upright bikes (a Raleigh Sports and several DL-1s).

At this point, I am not sure what to conclude, or whether it is even appropriate to make any conclusions. I've tried to describe things as they are. It seems likely that the bike is indeed built with taller and heavier riders in mind, and that it handles differently for those riders. I cannot say via direct experience, as I can't magically enlarge myself and try it both ways. The two heavier persons who have test-ridden the Pilen in my presence were enthusiastic with their feedback, and witnessing this makes it clear that sometimes it is a matter of matching up the right bike with the right owner. Your thoughts on this are welcome. Have you felt that some bikes were overbuilt or underbuilt for your body type?