---
title: "Restoring a 1978 Batavus Champion — Vintage Bike Rebuild"
language: en
topics: ["Durable", "bike", "creating"]
full_article_url: https://willem.com/en/2016-09-03_batavus-champion-bike-from-1978/
---
# Restoring a 1978 Batavus Champion — Vintage Bike Rebuild

*Found in a shed, stripped to the frame, rebuilt with modern parts — the bike that started it all.*

> Willem's first bike project: a rusted 1978 Batavus Champion found in a shed and rebuilt from the frame up. New wheels, new drivetrain, new cables — but the same Dutch steel frame that was built to last.

The Batavus Champion was a popular Dutch bike in the late 1970s — a steel frame built for daily commuting in a country where bikes are transportation, not sport. Willem found one in a shed, rusted but structurally sound.



The restoration: strip everything off the frame, sand away the rust, paint removal, new wheels with modern hubs, new cables, new brake pads, a fresh saddle. The frame itself — heavy Dutch steel — needed nothing but cleaning. It was built to outlast its components.

This project set the pattern for everything that followed: the commuter bike build, the cargo bike, the Gates Carbon Drive upgrade. It starts with understanding the machine, then building it the way you want.

From Willem's [cycling as craft collection](https://willem.com/en/cycling-as-craft-building-riding-and-repairing-bikes/).