Beautiful Bicycles: Velorbis Studine

Posted by Dottie at 21:28 bike reviews Add comments
Dec 062009

Today I met a new beauty in town, the Velorbis Studine at Copenhagen Cyclery, a “younger” and more affordable version of the Velorbis Classic bikes (which I reviewed here). The differences are subtle – fewer gears, painted rims and no lights or leather grips.

Designed in Denmark and handmade in Germany, these stylish steel bikes are chic and cheeky at once. The Studine aka Student comes in three colors (red, green, black) and four sizes (51 and 56 cm for step-through, 54 and 59 cm for diamond frame). If cream-colored Schwalbe tires are not luscious enough, these ones are coupled with powder-coated rims to match the frames. The classy and comfortable Brooks B67 sprung saddle tops the design off perfectly.

A three-speed Sturmey Archer hub makes changing gears easy, even when the bike is stopped. The internal hub combined with the Sturmey Archer drum brakes (protected from the elements), fenders and chainguard makes the Studine an all-weather, every day bike. The Studine can carry a fair amount of cargo, with a sturdy integrated rear rack and handlebars that beg for a wicker basket.

As with the other Velorbis city bikes, the Studine is lighter and more nimble than bikes like the Workcycles Azor, Gazelle or Batavus. The seating position is directly upright – I almost felt like I was standing up while on the saddle pedaling. This contrasts with both my Dutch bike, on which I lean back a bit, and my mixte, on which I lean forward.

The Studine also comes in a diamond frame, like the one below. The hunter green goes well with brown canvas and leather.

The beauty of the Velorbis Studine really shines when paired with its price tag: $1,295. The price is competitive for this type of city bike. The closest bicycles in terms of style, quality and price I know of are the Pashley Princess Classic and the ANT Boston Roadster (a higher price but very high quality and made in the U.S.). What type of bicycle one ends up liking the most is pure personal preference, so I always suggest that people shop around and try out as many different bikes as possible.

While I prefer my Workcycles Azor Oma for workhorse daily use, I certainly can imagine myself riding away on this fiery beauty.  Sometimes I feel like a bright red bicycle is the one thing missing from my life :)

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  • http://sheridesabike.com Karen

    A red bike is life changing.

    • http://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com dottie

      Yes, you would know!

  • Jeff

    I was just admiring the green studen yesterday…

    • http://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com dottie

      They have the Leikier, too. Did you see that? :)

      • Jeff

        Yes! It’s interesting, but the fork looks awfully heavy compared to what’s on my beautiful Pedersen ;-)

  • http://lovelybike.blogspot.com Lovely Bicycle!

    The styling on that bicycle is pretty sweet and you look great riding it! I especially love Velorbis’s rear rack design, so nice.

    It seems that the angle of the seat tube is even steeper than on my Pashley though. I am not sure why they would do that on a relaxed city bike – The leaned-back seat tube makes for a more comfortable ride.

    • Giffen

      Steep seat tubes are like a disease!!! And seemingly they have infected the entire industry. I just don’t understand it. :(

      • http://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com dottie

        I enjoyed the steep tube angle because I felt like a dainty bird perched atop a beautiful branch – chirp chirp chirp. (Rarely do I feel dainty.) This is the almost-like-standing-up feeling I referred to above. Granted, I have no idea how it would feel after several miles – the weakness of having only a meeting with Ms. Studine. I did wonder how much more my legs would have to work in this position, with no handlebars to lean over to support my upper body.

        (I would definitely push back and point up the saddle.)

  • Tom

    What a great looking bike! The riser handlebars are an usual shape, but it works. Someone should tell that bike shop that the panniers on the green bike are backwards though.

    • http://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com dottie

      Good catch. I’m sure a rider would figure it out soon after her heels started banging on them.

  • http://knickerbockerholding.blogspot.com/ Neighbourtease

    Fun! When I looked at the Velorbis website the woman modeling the bikes looks so unbelievably awkward to me — so it’s nice to see you on the bike to get a better idea of how it might look being ridden by a (stylish) normal person.

    I agree with Lovely Bicycle about the seat tube angle. Wow! I can see why you felt like you were standing up! That standing thing kind of reminds me of the posture some people end up with when they get an extra long stem and raise their handlebars on their comfort bikes or MTBs. Lots of people around here (NYC) seem to be doing that now but they don’t look very comfortable to me. Did you feel stable?

    • http://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com dottie

      I can’t stand a bike with way too much seat post exposed – it is almost raunchy. Ha. Maybe that’s just me. I felt perfectly stable on the Velorbis.

      • http://lovelybike.blogspot.com Lovely Bicycle!

        I don’t like too much seatpost exposed either, especially on an upright, non-sporty bicycle. The proportions begin to look off with too much post and it’s less elegant.

  • http://lululetty.blogspot.com maria

    Oh, my!! These bikes are works of art!! The red one is just the sort of bike I dream about!!

  • http://bikesovercars.blogspot.com/ Zweiradler

    I don’t know if this seating position is a good idea. Your description reminded me of this: http://preview.tinyurl.com/y9doxwj

    Nico

  • philippe

    Velorbis are beautiful bikes, but I don’t understand their love affair with sturmey archer. Fit this bike with a nexus 8 please ! And add a real closed chaincase.

    And where’s the dynohub ?!

    I’d love to love that one, but it’s actualy rather dispointing, IMO, for 1200+$.

    (Oh, the basil panniers on the green diamond frame should face the other way…)

    • http://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com dottie

      The dynohub was left off to keep the price down. The more expensive Velorbis bikes have them. I also prefer Shimano, but Pashley uses Sturmey Archer, too, so there must be something to ‘em.

    • http://proletarianmachines.wordpress.com dukiebiddle

      “Oh, the basil panniers on the green diamond frame should face the other way…” Ha! Good catch.

      As for the desire for a Nexus 8 and dynamo hub for around $1200, I think they’d have to make the frame out of aluminum or balsa wood to bring the price down to that neighborhood.

    • http://www.blogger.com/profile/13903377050982678550 somervillain

      agreed on the chaincase. there was an importer of velorbis here in massachusetts, but he quickly learned that full chaincases are despised by most american bike shops for the ordeal they create when doing simple repairs such as replacing a punctured tube. given that, he started having velorbis spec their US-bound bikes with the “simpler” one-sided chain guards. i’ve also notices that most other US importers of dutch/european bikes have done the same. it’s hard to find a new dutch bike in the US with a genuine *full* chaincase. shame, really. i’ve found that the two-piece plastic chaincases such as on my 1980s union are actually quite simple to take on and off compared to the vinyl or all-steel ones.

      • http://proletarianmachines.wordpress.com dukiebiddle

        From the web page, it appears that none of the Velorbis bicycle have an enclosed chaincase. I’m not sure that I would ever want to deal with a closed chaincase, at least the complicated vinyl or all-steel ones.

    • Jeff

      The first person who rides it will catch the pannier problem – literally, with their heels…

  • http://myhyggelig.blogspot.com sigrid

    swoon….♡♡♡

  • http://petticoatsandhighheels.com/ Liset

    I love the red bike! Gorgeous! Although the sadle looks kind of uncomfortable :p

  • bongobike

    Stunning bike! And yeah, how could that bike shop put those panniers on that bike backwards?!

  • http://www.bikecommuters.com/2009/05/26/so-many-bikes-biking-the-drive/ E A

    a red bike!

    I love it!

    santa… hint hint. ;-)

  • http://pigsinblankies.blogspot.com/ Anne

    what an absolutely gorgeous bike. it is way too expensive for a real struggling college student however. =[

    • http://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com dottie

      Something to aspire to ;) I was about to say that I never could have afforded my current bikes as a college student, either. But then I remembered that I bought a used Saturn for $7,000 when I was in college. Yipes – add on insurance and gas and that was such a bad idea, especially since I usually took the free bus. (Of course, there was a payment plan.)

  • http://whatwouldanerdwear.blogspot.com What Would a Nerd Wear

    what a gorgeous bike!! though i’m not sure i like the painted rims…the green is pretty gorgeous.

  • http://fortworthology.com Kevin Buchanan

    That’s a gorgeous bike (both of them, actually). I wish it was easier to get the great European bikes down here in Texas, though I do love my Breezer Uptown 8.

    • http://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com dottie

      All the Euro bike shops I know would be happy to deliver, although I know it’s hard to buy a bike without a test ride first.

      Breezers are great bikes!

  • http://cyclingisgoodforyou.blogspot.com anna

    Lovely headbadge!!! I’m certainly into color coordination too :) . However, the saddle position looks a bit weird.

    • bongobike

      The saddle on the red bike is too far forward and level. It should be pushed back and the nose pointed up a bit so your butt won’t slide forward while you ride.

      • http://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com dottie

        Agreed, an easy fix. For the interested, I talked about saddle positioning here.

  • donna

    Electra bikes have a new model out too called the Ticino which is really styling imo. I’d love to know what you think of it.

  • http://dancinggypsies.blogspot.com/ ms. elle

    OMG! Salivating over that bike! Hot! Hot! Hot!

  • http://www.quaintliving.com/ alice

    Oh wow! It is a beaut!

  • http://www.fullhandsx3.blogspot.com sara

    I love red shoes. Whenever I wear red shoes, I maintain that I can never be in a bad mood. I think this would extend to riding that gorgeous red bicycle…

    • http://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com dottie

      I agree! I’ve always had a soft spot for “ruby slippers,” what with my name and all :)

  • http://doohickie.wordpress.com Doohickie

    That’s a little too much red all at once.

    Looks okay in the green though.

    • http://letsgorideabike.wordpress.com dottie

      Blasphemy!!! ;)

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  • http://www.bikebythesea.com/ Christa

    Beautiful! My local dutch bike shop doesn’t carry Velobris. I want to test one!

  • http://www.flickr.com Flowers

    This is a best bike

    flowers

  • http://www.digthedirt.com ChickDigtheDirt

    That is one hot ride! I really want a bike and am looking around- so happy you gals exist!

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