An omafiets is the name of a traditional and popular form of roadster bicycle

Roadster (bicycle)

A roadster, aka English roadster, is a type of utility bicycle once common in Britain and still very common in Asia, Africa, Denmark and the Netherlands, however, during the past several years, traditionally styled roadster bicycles have gained considerable popularity in the United States and...

 used in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. In Frisia

Frisia

Frisia is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the North Sea, i.e. the German Bight. Frisia is the traditional homeland of the Frisians, a Germanic people who speak Frisian, a language group closely related to the English language...

 these bicycles are also called widdofyts (Frisian

Frisian language

The Frisian languages are a closely related group of Germanic languages, spoken by about 500,000 members of Frisian ethnic groups, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. The Frisian languages are the second closest related living European languages to...

 for "widow's bike"). Outside of the Netherlands these bikes are sometimes referred to as Dutch bikes.

Traditionally an omafiets bicycle is painted black and has a step-through frame

Step-through frame

A step-through frame is a type of bicycle frame, often used for utility bicycles, with a low or absent top tube or cross-bar....

 of steel construction making the bike quite heavy by today's standards. The frame and handlebars give the rider a riding position which is very upright and the bikes have a single-speed gear. Its wheels are 28 x 1 1/2 (ISO 635

ISO 5775

ISO 5775 is an international standard for labeling the size of bicycle tires and rims. The system used was originally developed by the European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation . It is designed to make tire sizing consistent and clear. It replaces overlapping informal systems that ambiguously...

), and they have black painted mudguards, with white-blazoning on the rear one, and a skirt guard

Skirt guard

A skirt guard or coatguard is a device fitted over the rear wheel of a bicycle to prevent a long skirt, coat or other trailing clothes or luggage catching in the wheel, or in the gap between the rim and the brakes....

 to prevent skirts and dresses becoming entangled in the rear wheel or its spokes. For brakes omafiets have either a coaster brake or rod-actuated rim or drum-brakes, though they originally came with a front spoon-brake.

The step-through frame and skirt guard highlight the fact that the omafiets was originally designed for practical use for women whose dresses or skirts required such features, however both sexes can be found riding omafiets bicycles.

Today's variations on the traditional omafiets bicycles mean that such bikes may also come painted in other, often brighter, colours, may have aluminium frames, drum-brakes, and multiple gear ratios in a hub gear

Hub gear

A hub gear, internal-gear hub, or just gear hub is a gear ratio changing system commonly used on bicycles that is implemented with planetary or epicyclic gears. The gears and lubricants are sealed within the hub-shell of the bicycle's rear wheel, as opposed to derailleur gears, where the gears and...

ing system. However, they all conform to the same basic look and dimensions as the traditional omafiets bicycles.

The Opafiets

A similar type of bicycle is still popular in Holland called the opafiets (Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 for "grandpa's bike") or stadfiets ("city bike")'. This generally has the same characteristics as the omafiets but has a "diamond" or "gents'" frame and is the same as the gentleman's English roadster

Roadster (bicycle)

A roadster, aka English roadster, is a type of utility bicycle once common in Britain and still very common in Asia, Africa, Denmark and the Netherlands, however, during the past several years, traditionally styled roadster bicycles have gained considerable popularity in the United States and...

.

External links

• www.rijwiel.net - Vintage Dutch Bicycles.
• www.dutchbikeguide.com- Dutch bike guide for the USA
• Civilized Riding – Interactive feature – NYTimes.com