Choco Ladies

Bicycle history

The Velorbis Choco ladies  bicycle belongs to a category of classic bicycles that has many different names. This type of classic bicycle is called everything from a sit-up-and-beg bicycle, balloon bicycle, a vintage bicycle and a retro style bicycle, to an 'Omafiets' - (Granny bike in Dutch). Here in Copenhagen, Denmark we call it a ’bedstemor cykel’, which is the Danish word for Granny bike or Omafiets. In some countries the most common term is a commuter bike, utility bike or an upright bike. The most popular European term is the 'Dutch Bike´ or 'Dutch style bicycle'; a generic term used to describe typically a two-wheeled, utilitarian bicycle, with mudguards or fenders, a rear carrier or rack, relaxed loop frame or geometry, an upright seating position and generally an ‘old-time’ look reminiscent of the early 20th century. It is a style of bike you will find all over Northern Europe, from bicycle friendly cities such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam, to Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm and Oslo.

Balloon tyres
The Choco ladies  is equipped with comfortable balloon tyres. These tyres were fashionable in the first half of the last century and were developed to counteract poor road conditions. Fat Frank tyres by the German tyre producer Schwalbe by far outperform the balloon tyres from way back then. In fact Balloon bikes equipped with Fat Frank broad tyres roll easily and are completely effortless to steer. The Balloon bike concept such as Velorbis Scrap Deluxe not only makes commuting on bikes more comfortable, it makes it easy and relaxed. Velorbis chose to use Fat Frank balloon tyres because the pneumatic cushioning of these special wide tyres naturally absorbs bumps and ensures a smoother riding experience at all times. To ensure maximum comfort keep tyre pressure between 3 & 4 bars at all times. By ensuring that your bicycle’s tyres are inflated to their recommended tyre pressure levels, you extend the life of your tyres and you improve your road comfort and safety.

Enclosed Hub Gears & Brakes
Enclosing the gears and brakes protects you and your bicycle from all types of weather, hence they involve much lower maintenance than the gear derailleur systems and rim brakes found on most bikes. Another advantage of internal gears and brakes is that they are very simple on the outside and as all our bicycles also come with a chain guard. This is a much cleaner option allowing you to ride in normal chic clothing you choose rather than having to wear specialist cycle gear.

Upright bike comfort
Velorbis Choco ladies retro style bicycle comes with a traditionally lugged and brazed hand built ‘loop shaped’ frame, which ensures a relaxed and ultra posture-friendly cycling experience at all times - widely referred to as sit-up-and-beg style. Our extra long head tube and stem gives a high vantage point from which you can view the traffic, as well as making it easy to look behind you and soak in all of the sights and sounds of your surroundings as you cycle past.

Design flexibility
Another characteristic feature of Velorbis is our flexibility in equipping bicycles with either freewheel hubs with handle bar drum brake systems, which are popular worldwide, or coaster brakes/pedal brake hubs which are predominantly associated with Danish and Dutch style bicycles from Denmark, Holland.

Lightweight bicycle
Traditional classic style commuter bicycles tend to be heavier than carbon frame bikes, racing bikes mountain bikes, etc. We have produced our traditionally lugged and brazed hand built frames from the highest quality German-made steel tubes, Also our strong Danish-made rear carrier is made from light weight steel. These initiatives therefore reduce the overall weight of our bicycles to stunning 18,0 kg (36 lbs), making them a perfect fit for navigating through traffic jams, lifting on and off trains or down steps, etc.

Fully equipped
All our classic bicycle models are fully equipped as standard, which means that they come with integrated frame lock, mudguards, mud flap, coat or skirt guard (if possible), chain guard, enclosed hub driven lights, double kick stand, large ding dong bell, brake system on both wheels and a robust rear carrier. Such bicycles can be easily and seamlessly integrated into your everyday routine, whether you use it for commuting, shopping picking up your kids or simply arriving in style to meet your friends for a coffee at the local café.

Built to last
Velorbis believe in quality in everything we do and all our bicycles are 100% made in Europe (Germany and Denmark). All of our low maintenance bicycles are specially designed and built to resist the tough Danish weather where snow, frost and salt constantly threaten to attack every single component of your bicycle. To prevent rust damage, we have equipped our bicycles with zinc-plated mud guards and rear carriers. We have powder coated our German made steel frames twice and applied a thick layer of clear coating on top to prevent scratches and rust. The handle bars, stems, seat posts, spokes, nipples and other nuts and bolts are all crafted from stainless steel. The rims are either stainless steel or powder coated alloy, depending on the bicycle model. The pedal arms are made of alloy and our crank wheel is powder coated steel.

We therefore mean it when we say that our bicycles are ‘built on more than 100 years of Danish cycling culture’.