European city bike

A European city bike (ECB), or simply city-bike, is a bicycle designed for frequent short, moderately paced rides through relatively flat urban areas. It is a form of utility bicycle commonly seen around the world, built to facilitate everyday riding in normal clothes in a variety of weather conditions.

City bikes may be individually owned or operated as part of a public bike sharing scheme.

The European city bike is designed for everyday utility cycling with a range of loads, clothing, and road and weather conditions. The result is a bicycle optimized for daily personal short-distance transportation over relatively flat terrain. A traditional European city bike provides hop-on-and-go ability, with no "gearing-up" process.

Generally as they are more suitable for urban environments, they focus more on comfort and practicality instead of speed or efficiency. They normally have a slightly curved, roughly planar aligned and elevated handlebar, providing users a straight sitting position. They have fewer gears and they often are heavier than road bicycles. They might have the top central frame bar diagonally aligned for allowing easy mounting in and out and they might have a back or front frame for transport of items. The saddle is typically larger compared with other bicycles and the majority is provided with chain and tires protections against oil or dirt.

The Dutch term Stadsfiets is a useful starting point for defining the nature of the design, as it has the full set of features commonly incorporated into a European city bike. The Dutch words fiets and stadsfiets mean bicycle and city bicycle, respectively. A stadsfiets is considered to be a fully outfitted European city bike, distinguished by the following typical features: upright riding position, fully enclosed chaincase, skirtguard, O-lock, hub gearing, dynamo hub, manually operated small warning bell, and built-in lights.

German and Dutch versions of the European city bike are similar, though there are differences.

The English roadster is similar in design, appearance, and intended use. The primary differences are that the continental bicycles tend to have a higher handlebar position for a more upright riding posture, and are more likely to have rod-actuated drum brakes. Because of Great Britain's cultural and trading influence in its former colonies, the roadster can still be seen in local production and use in many countries of the world.

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Wikipedia