De geschiedenis van Batavus fietsen

For those who follow the bicycle brands that the Pro Tour cyclists ride, will have noticed that the Dutch brand Batavus has not been represented for a while. This historic brand that has been founded in 1904 has stopped sponsoring since 2012 as well as the production of racing bicycles, so that Batavus has also ended up in the list of bicycle brands that have disappeared from the cycling peloton.

pictures from a Batavus catalog of 1988

The last Pro Tour team that Batavus sponsored was Vacance Soleil in 2010 with Bobbie Traksel, Johnny Hoogerland, Bjorn Leukemans, Marco Marcato and Wout Poels, among others. Many cycling enthusiasts will undoubtedly remember the mythical victory of Bobbie Traksel in a storm-ravaged Kuurne Brussels Kuurne.

The start of Batavus

The history of Batavus starts in 1904 when Andries Gaastra opens a shop in Heerenveen specialised in sewing machines and watches. Barely 2 years later, he expands his activities with the sale of Presto bicycles that he has imported directly from Germany.

It immediately turned out to be a success and Gaastra soon launched its own brand Batavus. In addition to Batavus, there is also the Batafus brand, both brands will continue to exist side by side until 1923 when Batafus is scrapped.

With the world crisis in the 1930s, production was seriously on a low level, causing Gaastra to look for additional activities that he found in, among other things, ice skating and the moped. In 1936 Batavus releases its first model, but due to the fact that a driver's license is required, this proves to be unsuccessful.

A Batavus Conforte moped from 1967

The outbreak of WWII is also a hard blow for the economy with hardly any demand for bicycles and mopeds, so that Gaastra decides to temporarily close the factory.

Fortunately, the long difficult years of Batavus come to an end in the 2nd half of the 1940s after the end of the 2nd World War. The will of the population to forget these miserable years as quickly as possible is enormous and the economy is getting a big boost. The production of bicycles rises to a peak, which gives Gaastra the idea of building a newer, larger factory.

The old Batavus factory

The latter became a fact in 1956. Batavus then employs 350 people and the factory has the most modern machinery. In the 1970s, Batavus was even the largest and most important bicycle manufacturer in the Netherlands, with an annual production of 70,000 mopeds and 250,000 bicycles.

After that it goes downhill again and in 1986 Gazelle even goes bankrupt. Fortunately, without suffering for the employees, because the company is taken over by the Atag Cycle Group. At the end of the 1990s, Gazelle once again changes ownership and has since become part of the Accel Group, which also owns the Koga brand.

The first Batavus pro teams

From 1966 Batavus starts sponsoring professional cycling teams. Success is not long in coming with victories in De Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and stages in the Tour de France and the Vuelta.

The Batavus Televizier team in 1966 - photo by Anefo http://proxy.handle.net/10648/aaf083ce-d0b4-102d-bcf8-003048976d84, CC0, Koppeling

In 1975 a 1st world title is won on the road with Tineke Fopma who is part of the Dutch amateur team. The highlight for Batavus, however, is the period between 1986 and 1992, when Batavus is the main sponsor of the Dutch Cycling Union KNWU. Monique Knol, Leontien van Moorsel and Erik Dekker won both world titles and Olympic medals.