Test Stadler Dynabike Urban Jet: With a steel frame and narrow tires, the single-speeder from Stadler ensures stylish everyday mobility. Velomotion sat on it and judged: everything was great, just a bit long here and there.
Old steel racing bikes are very popular with young city dwellers. The filigree, sometimes brightly painted machines are quite robust with simple technology and strong pipes, and where the paint from the 80s is a bit brittle, you no longer have to be too careful with the U-lock. Only: Since they have been trendy for a few years, the old hits have become rare - or can only be obtained for quite a lot of money. It so happens that various manufacturers are now offering new steel bikes in the well-known slim look, and at attractive prices. Perhaps the best offer comes from Stadler, the large specialist retail chain that, with 20 locations, is never very far away. Their Dynabike Urban Jet single speed bike is being offered for less than 200 euros, which sounds pretty tempting - so Velomotion took a closer look at the bike.
Stadler Dynabike Urban Jet: Classic look with a modern touch
Let's start with the look: It's a great success with a gray-black metallic paint, complemented by mint-colored rims and narrow rings on the frame and fork. So the wheel looks more discreet than a classic racer - and maybe a little more contemporary. However, the fact that the foils of the decorative stickers stand out clearly from the paint shows that the manufacturer had to follow strict savings specifications. Except for the hubs and brakes, all attachments are matt black, which looks good; So overall I like the bike.
Stadler Dynabike Urban Jet: single speed or fixie
As I said, there isn't a lot of technology on a classic racer - neither complicated shift brake levers nor disc brakes, and certainly not something as exotic as carbon. The Dynabike even lacks gears; It is designed as a single speeder or "fixie": The rear wheel hub has a thread on both sides so that two sprockets can be mounted. From the factory, these are a freewheel ring and a rigid sprocket; to change from one to the other, you have to pull out the 15 mm open-end wrench and turn the wheel. Riding with a fixed gear is cool, but it takes some getting used to – if you stop pedaling as usual, you will get a violent kick against the rear foot, since the drive always rotates with the rear wheel. On the other hand, over time you get used to a very soft, “round” pedaling motion.
At the same time, doing without the gears requires a long dropout plus a tensioning device for the chain, delivered here in solid sheet metal quality. Apart from the fact that the axle stub protrudes quite far beyond the hexagon nut on the right and left, everything is perfectly fine, looks stable and shouldn't wear out too quickly. The bottom bracket consists of a cartridge with plastic bearing shells and black aluminum cranks; a chain guard is missing, so you should use a pants clip or something like that if possible.
Stadler Dynabike Urban Jet: Solid equipment without major blunders
The brakes are still missing, which are up-to-date and work well in combination with the aluminum levers, even if the simple rubber pads fastened with hexagon nuts are rather hard. But such subtleties are only noticeable to those in the know. The tires, which are just 23 mm wide, are not very contemporary and should make for a rather bumpy ride in everyday urban life. However, there is enough room under the brakes that 28s or even 30s should fit in. A set of smooth-running tires is the only tuning tip for this bike, which is pleasantly manoeuvrable through everyday life - if you like it sporty. With the long, horizontally positioned Ahead stem, the sitting position is quite stretched, just as you are used to from a racing bike (or not). After all, it's fairly easy to fit a shorter or steeper stem - available from Stadler for around 20 euros.
If you practice a bit, you can do cool standing attempts at red traffic lights with the rigid gait; After that you don't get going quite as quickly - with 44 teeth at the front and 16 at the rear, the wheel has a rather long gear ratio and is designed for higher sustained speeds. If larger sprockets are fitted at the rear, the chain may no longer be long enough; when changing the primary translation, the specialist should do it. Or of course the specialist. If you dare, you can have this person cut threads in the flat dropouts at the back; then the bike could be equipped with fixed mudguards.
But maybe that's just too cumbersome for a 199-euro bike - without modifications, the inexpensive single-speeder is also very pleasant to ride. At 11,6 kilos including pedals, the bike is also quite light, especially compared to the bicycles usually used in everyday life. So it's worth grabbing - you certainly won't get a classic racing bike of appealing quality for the price.
