CHASING POTATOES – Chasse Patate bike shop

Do you live on the 4th floor in the city, but would rather shower alone than with your bike? Or do you like to go through the mud with your steel rose, but have less time to clean it? Then stop by the country’s first bike wash, ’Chasse Patate’In the Amsterdam Pijp. In just half an hour, owner Jeroen Buitenhuis thoroughly ‘cleaned’ your bike there. On behalf of Cycling Destination, Jens Olde Kalter visited this beautiful shop in the capital. Was it worth the label Cycling Destination Approved? Read it yourself.

Text and photos: Jens Olde Kalter

Cleaning in the Pijp

From a corner building in the Amsterdam ‘Pijp, right opposite the Okura Hotel, a fat airbrush with two cyclists on it blasts towards you through a shop window; ‘FIETSWASSERETTE ‘CHASSE PATATE’, or ‘hopeless venture’ in cycling jargon. ‘Come in!’ shouts and gestures founder Jeroen Buitenhuis. He stands behind a thick coffee bar with an equally thick coffee machine. To the right stands a row of racing bicycles gleaming in a rack. They are from‘Maats Cycling Culture’, The hip bike shop located further down Woustraat. They apparently take great care of their bicycles by selling them to ‘Chasse Patate’. ‘Bakkie koffie?’, asks Buitenhuis, who can thus pass on the bike to the twin brother of Formula 1 driver Robert Doornbos. He was originally in the recruitment department. But since he discovered the road bike six years ago and became completely addicted to it, he wanted to do something with it soon. What exactly he wanted to do – having lived at 4,000 feet with the associated water pressure – he already knew after just a few rides. He was certainly not the only one who got a bit of a headache from having to shower after every ride with his bike.

Luck with the Amstel Gold Race and the Fiets Elfstedentocht

Supported by his girlfriend Floor—do this, because you like this—he dared to take the step. Although only twenty-four years old, Floor knew the value of chasing dreams like no one else. She had been seriously ill for years and had not long to live. She gave Jeroen a bottle of champagne; ‘for when you open up and I’m not there anymore.’ On New Year’s Day 2021, Floor died. On March 29 of this year, she would have turned 29. A beautiful day to open the business—and her bottle of bubbly.

Timing is everything

With word-of-mouth advertising and some enthusiastic friends who share their cleaning routine on Instagram with satisfaction, it’s starting to take off.
‘I was lucky with the timing’, says Buitenhuis, referring to the Amstel Gold Race which is coming up and where half-cycling Amsterdam will take part. ‘People wanted to ride up the hills with a clean chain and cassette. Fortunately, it was also still windy, at least for me, because afterwards they came back again. Not only with their bike and a kilo of mud, but also with their mates plus their bike that could use a quick ride.’

All happiness is welcome

Two months later, he is fortunate again. On the early morning of June 6, almost everyone who travels to Friesland by bike for the Elfstedentocht is blown away by horizontal rain from start to finish. Many would not make the finish line. But whether or not they get a ‘cross’, the bike (and the participant) looks after the finish like they had just won gold at the national championships. And so the Amsterdammers among them once again find their way to ‘Chasse Patate’.

Target group

Six months after its opening, it has six hundred unique customers. Who are these people who also come to the shop for a wash, outside of the Amstel Gold Race and the bike Elfstedentocht? Only bike geeks without the luxury of a garden or ground floor? ‘No’, says Buitenhuis. ‘How many times have you not taken your bike to the bike shop for a quick fix or repair, only to end up paying 200 euros but then getting it back with a pitch black chain. That’s just annoying. Because apart from a clean chain (and cassette) looking neat, it just runs much more smoothly.’
Besides the convenience of outsourcing a cleaning job, there are also those (like the author) who immediately call their wife when they drive erratically. Something Buitenhuis laughs about. ‘For that category (the lazybones or the man with two left hands, ed.) the prospect of a professional who gets to the bottom of the problem is downright reassuring.’

Sail Instructor 

Of course, Buitenhuis himself doesn’t have any problems with a second left hand. For years he has been an instructor at a sailing school where he is responsible for ten boats – including maintenance. He is therefore also in the workshop, which is located at the back of the building. Cleaning, brushing, rust removal and spraying. For € 17.50 you get a bike (a city bike is also available) waxed and washed. For € 35.00 you get a thorough service where the wheels are cleaned separately, the chain and cassette are cleaned and all other parts are waxed. To be honest, after a good half hour my bike shines like the ‘rims’ of a new Hummer. And it rides much smoother as well.

Business model

Although Buitenhuis clearly enjoys cleaning my bike, he has no intention of staying in the workshop in his cap and trousers forever. He wants to expand because not only in Amsterdam are people with left-handed hands living on the 4th floor. Utrecht He is next in line. After that, three more locations need to be added to eventually conquer five cities in five years. Not a crazy idea with six hundred unique customers in half a year. ‘Yes, that sounds good,’ says Buitenhuis. ’And that for an ‘impossible venture.‘’

Around the ‘Chasse’

If you already have a clean bike, then a ride from Fietswasserette Chasse Patate is a must-do! Here’s a nice tip!

Cycling Destination Approved

At Cycling Destination, we visit the most beautiful places around the world. Because as a platform we want to help you plan your next adventure, we introduce the label ‘Cycling Destination Approved’. What does this mean? Cycling Destination Approved are restaurants, hotels, or other points in a location where we would gladly take you there. A place where we would also like to go ourselves and where you can expect quality. The most important points:

• Places where cyclists are welcome. Where you can safely store your bike and where you won't be stared at in a group.
• High quality for the right price (so not necessarily cheap)
• Nice coffee, especially at a restaurant
• Good service

Of course, Fietswasserette Chasse Patate was immediately awarded the Cycling Destination Approved label. Well deserved! Do you know of any other places that could fit into this category? Drop them in the comments and we’ll investigate!