Comments on: Fietsfabriek Colleagues Bankrupt

By: wessel

wessel — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:43:38 +0000

Henry,

Good questions!

80% of our bikes are personalized in colours and steel with name and logo’s. We have 12 basic modells. Who can do this?

This is our world. We love cycles and we love clients! Communication on wheels! Our clients are smiling when they ride their bikes!

See the new Heineken bike: http://www.flickr.com/photos/defietsfabriek/5869284582/in/set-72157627042407078

The organisation is structured and we are working on new modells! Production take handmade place in Turky and Tjechie. Michael is helping us.
We have 73 dealers in Holland and 8 outside.

Look to the new childbakfiets! Who has it?http://www.flickr.com/photos/defietsfabriek/5860581489/in/set-72157626899010107

New logostyle first impressions: http://www.flickr.com/photos/defietsfabriek/6017363948/in/set-72157627042407078

Something new is comming in the electric segment! We are working on new designs. Come to the fietsvak in february!

see many bikes we sold the last months: http://www.flickr.com/photos/defietsfabriek/sets/

Youre welcome in Amsterdam noord: aanbeeldstraat 10F to see what we do! All questions are welcome: wessel@defietsfabriek.nl or 06 54 935 671

regards Wessel

By: wessel berkman

wessel berkman — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:52:16 +0000

…well the Fietsfabriek is still alive!

we built already more than 10.000 bakfietsen for hip parents who want to have a special bike (instead of a mass production product)

Our specialty is customizing your dreams in a bakfiets: choose out of 38 colors and your name in steel in the frame of the bike!!!

Look: http://www.defietsfabriek.nl for the complete collection

Good marks stay alive!

Welcome in the shop

regards Wessel

By: henry

henry — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:00:21 +0000

Wessel,
Good luck Fietsfabriek.

Each year there are several more entrants into the bakfiets and unique city/transport bike market so it gets steadily more difficult for a small manufacturer such as Fietsfabriek or Workcycles to distinguish themselves.

I just looked at your site but there you still have the familiar models. Are there new (I assume NOT Michael Kemper designed) bikes in the pipeline? Will they still be made in Turkey?

By: wessel berkman

wessel berkman — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 17:29:38 +0000

stop the stories!

De Fietsfabriek is still alive!

We’re building and selling nice personalized (the real personalisation!!)bikes for our proud customers with good quality!!

Come and look to the new models (so you dont have to wait till others make bad copies of it….

questions?: mail to w.berkman@brownpapercompany.nl

regards, the fietsfabriek team

By: Carlos Labraña A.

Carlos Labraña A. — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:17:32 +0000

i know from peter fietsfabriek Berlin, that the guys from fietsfabriek usa order now bikes from Berlin. Peter has now own model frame is made by van Raam. 10 x better than the old quality from fietsfabriek netherlands. i know that michael kemper also deliver some fietsfabriek models direct to dealers in the netherlands. he has own production with some guys working only on transportbikes. its funny that now all fietsfabriek cargobikes are made in germany

By: henry

henry — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:37:29 +0000

Jen,
A NY friend had passed along a link to Rolling Orange so I was aware of them. I guessed they were the dealer Fietsfabriek had talked about but wasn’t sure.

It’s not true that only the retail part of FF is bankrupt. Actually the entire company is except for the framebuilding facility in Turkey. Unfortunately for them all of the parts were sourced and the bikes assembled in Holland so I’m not sure how much the frame shop will help them until they can buy parts and build bikes again. It only complicates matters that Michael Kemper, their bike designer, is one of the creditors to be paid from the bankruptcy and is speaking out against them. Thus they have a factory in Turkey but might not be able to sell the bikes they’re tooled up to build. Even if they do manage to restructure and continue doing business it’s going to be a steep and rough road ahead.

I imagine Rolling Orange will (at least temporarily) fill in their line with more models from Batavus… and yes, perhaps from Workcycles too.

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:30:44 +0000

Ironically, a new store Rolling Orange) selling Fietsfabriek just opened in Brooklyn (Carroll Gardens). Lovely people; young, energetic and passionate. They said it was just the retail arm that went bankrupt –not the factory. Right now, they seem to stock cargo bikes and the Oma/Opa fiets from FF, and a couple of Batavus models. It’s a great space in a neighborhood where this style of bicycle should do very well, and they said interest has been phenomenal.

In general, I found their bikes to be fun and stylish though my own esthetic preferences lean more in the classic, minimalist direction. It’s probably true that FF has a younger appeal…certainly if the customers in Rolling Orange this weekend were any indications! And if so, it’s great to have a line of high-quality bikes that appeal to this demographic, though I note the quality control issues referenced above.

By: David Wilson

David Wilson — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 21:01:24 +0000

Great article Henry, thanks for that! You were giving FF much the benefit of the doubt when we spoke a month or so ago. The shop in Den Haag is still open, so hopefully a transition to new ownership will happen. I also hope the US retailers and other franchisees can rebound somehow through FF or other avenues. It would be sad to lose any outlets for transport bikes in the US at this time. And I think you are correct, it’s the other worldly distractions that are the real competition.

By: henry

henry — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:52:06 +0000

Frits,
Thanks for the explanation. When I wrote that I wasn’t so familiar with the workings of a bankruptcy I should have more specifically referred to under what conditions a firm in this situation will be allowed to continue after restructuring, and what that restructuring would entail.

When painted in the appropriate colors the WorkCycles Fr8 bike variants overlaps nicely with a few of the Fietsfabriek bikes. A couple batches of fun ones (matte oxide red and mint green amongst others) are on the way and ordering custom colors is no problem.

If and when it’s time for a third Amsterdam WorkCycles south will indeed be the direction of choice. I hear there might soon be a few spaces available in and around the 1e Jacob van Campenstraat

Deals on FF bike overhauls? We considered that but their bikes are already quite labor intensive to repair and getting the message out to FF customers tactfully is a challenge. It’s a good direction but needs some development.

By: alexis

alexis — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:11:03 +0000

Poor FF! The bikes are nice to look at but the components and finishing is suspect and inconsistent…and I can say this from having to work on a number of them. My favourites are the Kemper designed ones with the bucket over the 20″ front wheel. I expect we will see more customers at least for repairs and mods. When I moved to A’dam 2 years ago I was considering working for De Fietsfabriek…so I’m glad I went for Workcycles.

My suggestions Henry;
-Get more colourful frames ordered?
-New store in De Pijp?
-Offer a deal on FF bikes overhauls.

Good day!