Last Saturday morning two masked men ran into our Veemarkt shop, put a gun to my head, waved a knife in my face, and moments later ran off with a few hundred euro in cash. I was alone since Wesley had just ridden a bakfiets full of trash off to the recycling center down the road. There wasn’t much I could do aside from stand still and subtly try to stay away from the knife the punk repeatedly threatened to slash me with without provoking him to actually do so. Several times he screamed at me “Where’s the cash?! Where’s the register?!” but it was obvious that his pistol wielding buddy had already cased the joint. He ran right upstairs to the correct drawer in the correct desk before I said a word.

It took me a moment to even realize what was going on. Is this a joke? Is a guy in a ski mask really pointing a pistol at my forehead? After a few seconds the neurons connected. Yes, that gun looks real enough. The big kitchen knife is certainly real. No I don’t have any prankster buddies with Moroccan-Amsterdam accents. And they’re yelling at me that it’s a robbery.

I’ve never been threatened so directly and dangerously before but I can easily imagine that different people could react in many ways. One might just be paralyzed from the fear. Or spurred into risky hero-action by the rush of adrenaline. I managed to keep it together. I just stood there quietly and tried to catalog as many characteristics of the two men as I could remember. I have a very good visual memory. I don’t mean to imply it’s easy under such stressful circumstances but I managed to get the following down:

Robber 1

Robber 2

Since customers don’t normally go upstairs Tom immediately recalled a suspicious incident a month or two ago: A young guy came in asking for change. Despite firmly telling him to stay downstairs he followed the employee upstairs, apparently to see where the cash is kept. When you run a couple retail shops all sorts of strange things happen but this one caught Tom’s attention for several reasons:

After last week’s robbery our descriptions of this character matched well, obviously given the limitations of what one can identify on a man wearing a woolen ski mask, a heavy sweatshirt with the hood over his head and baggy jeans.

When the men ran out (pistol guy falling and bumping down the stairs on his ass) I scrambled to find a phone and dial 1-1-2 as quickly as possible. I was running as soon as their backs were turned. Of course I later realized that one of the phones was actually sitting on the workbench within arm’s reach of where I’d been cornered. Oops, a ten second delay in calling the police. Phone in hand I ran outside hoping to see which direction they went. They were no longer visible but that in itself is an answer since there’s only one direction one could run and be out of sight within about 15 seconds. I assume they had a vehicle waiting around the corner and my vehicle prejudice says it was probably a scooter, but I didn’t actually hear or see anything to confirm that.

Reaching the police through the emergency line was frustrating though in retrospect it probably took less than a minute. The dispatcher couldn’t seem to understand why I wanted the police to come to the Veemarkt while another address (the billing address for the phone) was shown on her screen. But once they had the right address the police were there within a couple minutes. A better part of the day was then spent talking to the police, waiting for the forensics team to collect fingerprints and other samples, and then viewing a suspect through a one-way mirror. It was all pretty much like we see in movies and on TV except the criminals weren’t so polished and there was no dramatic music to make it more exciting.

This isn’t Workcycles’ first criminal incident this year. In fact it’s at least our third in just the last few months and it’s getting rather annoying to say the least:

A couple months ago and actually the last time I spent a Saturday at our Veemarkt shop a rather normal looking, well-dressed woman talked to an employee about Cargobikes, rode off on a test ride and never came back. Upon inspection we discovered that the wallet she’d left behind was filled with nothing but fake cards and small change.

We’ve also recently had two incidents at the Lijnbaansgracht shop that we can only guess were botched or failed robbery attempts. One unfortunately resulted in a fight between an employee and one of the perps, apparently instigated as a diversion.

So it’s clearly time for some changes to make it safer for everybody except the criminals. In the grand scheme the material losses are annoying but minimal. The risk of an employee, customer, family member (my kids are often in the shops) or bystander getting hurt has to be minimized.

Change number one: Eliminate cash from Workcycles’ stores.
In the Netherlands this is not so difficult. The locals already pay for most things with debit cards instead of cash. Tourists almost always have credit cards. The only significant challenge is the rentals, for which we’ve always taken a cash deposit. That’s always been an annoyance but neither the debit card nor the Dutch credit card system allow reserving deposits or making refunds. We now have an alternative credit card system that we can employ for deposits but many Dutch simply don’t have credit cards. Whatever. We’ll figure it out and then make sure that even semi-literate cretins can see that there’s no cash to take here. It’ll make our bookkeeping a good deal simpler too.

Change number two: Surveillance cameras in our shops.
I’ve always been opposed to such things but it’s both a good deterrent and would have helped the police in each of the cases above. Of course I mean REAL cameras and recording systems, not the ubiquitous fake cameras with red LED light one buys for a few euro on the Internet. Then we’ll somehow make it very clear that there are cameras. Yuck, but we need it.

Change number three: Silent alarms.
After last Saturday’s robbery I thought through the incident about 75,000 times finally coming to the conclusion that, under the circumstances, I couldn’t have done anything much differently or significantly better. I wish I could have remembered even more, noted the perp’s shoes for example but that doesn’t make much difference anyway. What I really missed was a way to silently alert the police that I was in danger, and in most of the incidents we’ve had the criminals were around longer than it took the police to reach us. I tinkered unsuccessfully with my iPhone to find a way to make an emergency call from my back pocket. That would be handy but does such an app exist? Even if it does we can’t count on every employee always having a certain type of mobile phone in their pocket. No, much better would be “panic buttons” discretely located in various places. Considering that one push of the button brings the police some care would have to be taken to ensure that they don’t get touched accidentally.

Meanwhile the police are apparently working on the case and have two potential suspects. I’ve complained about the Amsterdam police in these pages before but it’s clear that they do take the matter very seriously when weapons are involved. I’m OK and relieved not only of several hundred euro, but also that nobody was hurt.

It’s our seventh annual, world-famous WorkCycles Oktoberfietsfeest* (“october bike, beer and BBQ party”). As usual we’ll have live music, yummy food, plentiful drink, balloon animal making, absurdly generous lottery/raffle, child friendliness, and a general relaxed atmosphere. Yep, we missed last year but we promise to make up for it this time!

*”Oktoberfietsfeest” translates approximately to “Traditional, Bavarian inspired, beer and wine soaked, sausage devouring, autumnal bicycle party”. We take full credit for inventing it and imitators will be mercilessly ridiculed for their lack of creativity.

The important questions:

Speaking of winning bikes… Sign up for another chance to win a (different) Workcycles bike by voting for Workcycles as “Best Bike Shop in Amsterdam” for the 2nd year in a row. Maybe it seems arrogant but we really believe that we’re the best of the 250 choices in Amsterdam and do our best every day to keep improving. VOTE HERE (question #48) and just skip the other 49 if you don’t care which is the best canine friendly, organic coffeeshop in A’dam.

Check out some previous Oktoberfietsfeesten:
WorkCycles Oktoberfietsfeest 2008: Photo journal
A shiny day for Workcycles Oktoberfietsfeest

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

- Henry and the Workcycles crew

[Show as slideshow]

In promoting cycling for transportation worldwide most of the discussion and action tends to focus on getting adults on bikes, particularly for that very American concept of “commuting” a considerable distance from home to work. Here in the Netherlands cycling for transportation just means generally getting around by bicycle. It’s mostly short distances since people tend to live much closer to work or school. Few would consider cycling greater distances unless it’s just for fun; Urbanites would instead take a train and country folk would most likely drive.

Here cyclists are mostly created from birth, both by example and by teaching kids to ride bikes at a very young age. Below is our story of our son P1 who now at the tender age of 2 1/2 is quite comfortable on a real pedal bike without “training wheels”. With a sample of one it’s certainly not scientifically proven but friends and customers have also had success with the same methods. So without further ado, here’s a timeline of P1′s development as a cyclist (so far). Please note that not all of the pictures show P1 at the age the activity actually begun:

1. One month: Riding as passenger in the bakfiets

It’s debatable whether feeling the motions of cycling from a very early age contribute toward one’s inclination toward cycling, or their development of balance months later. But P1 visibly enjoyed riding in the bike, watching the sights and sky go by. As young as four or five months old we were taking him on longer cycling trips, for example along the Amstel river as in the photo above. The bike is our very popular Cargobike Long.

2. Eight months: Riding as passenger up front on normal bike

We normally state nine months as the time to begin carrying a child in the front seat. P1 was already highly mobile and had been sitting securely for quite some time at eight months so we started a little earlier. Again it’s debatable how much this relatively passive activity contributes to the later development of cycling skills but my educated guess is that riding in the front seat of a parent’s bike is so much like cycling that there must be some learning involved. Kids are like sponges for knowledge and skills and here they’re seeing and feeling the world from exactly the same perspective as the cyclist; the dynamics of cycling, the sights of the city, the interactions with other road users. They even learn how to use the bike’s controls; P1 began pulling on the brake levers, twisting the shifter and ringing the bell within a year or so. Sometimes it’s terribly cute but other times it’s a little annoying to have a signal turn green only to find yourself in the bike’s heaviest gear with a little hand pulling the front brake lever as hard as possible.

3. Always: Generally having a lot of freedom

It seems that the Dutch or at least Amsterdammers give their kids a lot of freedom to play and explore. We often travel with our kids and elsewhere people are amazed or shocked to see a little one crawling around while we rest along a hiking trail, climbing big kid’s structures at a playground, or pushing a little shopping cart though the supermarket. Are they well behaved and playing safely because we’ve allowed them the freedom to learn, or are we just lucky to have a couple well behaved kids? Perhaps mostly the latter but really I cannot say. It is clear though that the local kids are given more space than kids elsewhere, and spend much less time strapped into strollers and the back seats of cars. To my untrained eye these 2-5 year olds seem more physically mature, at least with respect to the activities we see such as riding bikes and kick scooters, and climbing in playgrounds.

4. 12 months: Riding a baby bakfiets

I bought this tiny, antique, wooden bakfiets two years ago on Queen’s Day for €5.00. Since then my son and countless other kids have enjoyed it. P1 began riding it about when he began walking thus about a year old. It’s really tiny and maneuverable and that makes a big difference; Kids have to feel comfortable with these “toys”. I really believe that the ergonomics influence their experience and learning curve considerably. The lesson: Get little vehicles that fit and work properly and that are light enough for the child to have fun with. If necessary tinker a little to lower a seat so so your child get her feet on the ground, or shorten a handlebar because the manufacturer didn’t bother to do so. Most of the little bikes and trikes our kids use have been modified in some simple ways.

After a few months P1 would tear around the bikes at Workcycles Jordaan shop on the little bakfiets, skidding the rear wheel or intentionally flipping it, giggling as he rolled across the floor. Probably once or twice he hurt himself enough to cry but I honestly cannot remember it.

5. 18 months: Riding a Micro Mini scooter

P1′s first experience in riding a wheeled vehicle requiring balance was with the Micro Mini Scooter. The box says ages three and up but that must just be to please the lawyers of the firm’s American distributor. Even much younger kids love riding these little kick scooters. At a year and a half P1 made his first tentative steps around the shop (with the handlebar at about eye level) and gradually developed his skills on it. A few months later he would speed through the store, surfing through the parked bikes. What’s great about the Micro Mini is that it’s a three wheeler with the behavior of a two wheeler. At rest it stands up so a child can easily begin pushing around on it. But it steers by leaning with very natural dynamics so to really ride it one must develop the same balance skills as cycling. It also folds up to carry in a bike basket or backpack and weighs approximately nothing.

6. 25 months: Riding a balance bike

Once P1 was comfortable on the kick scooter I figured he could also ride a balance bike. He wanted to try it but even the smallest model (the Micro G Bike) was too tall for him at 18-19 months. I made the mistake of encouraging him to try anyway but then he fell off several times, got frustrated and refused to go near it for the following half year. Even lowering it my installing smaller wheels and dressing it up as a motorcycle (like many little boys he’s fascinated with motorcycles) didn’t help:

Then one day at about 25 months old he just stepped over the G-Bike and pushed off. Already having months of experience on both the little bakfiets and the kick scooter it was only a few minutes before he was gliding through the shop this time.

P1 became inseparable from his balance bike which has been really handy for mom and dad. He rides it to the store, to the park, and the whole day alongside us as we go about our business in the city. Rarely do we need to carry him. He’s much faster on the bike than Kyoko walking with P2 in the stroller or on our backs so he stops and rides up and down steps or practices other tricks while mom catches up. We’ve even dropped him into the local skate/BMX bike bowl to copy the tricks he sees the big kids doing.

7. 32 months: Riding a real bike without pedals (without training wheels)
He only did this for a few hours and I didn’t think to take a picture. To ease the transition from balance bike to bigger and heavier “real” bike I removed the pedals and let P1 ride around for an afternoon. He knew exactly what was going on and was totally psyched to ride his “real BMX bike”. Not only did this help P1 get used to the bike, it also gave me an opportunity to adjust the handlebars and saddle for him. Even at their lowest adjustments both saddle and handlebar were too high. I shortened the seat post and cut a couple centimeters off the top of the seat tube to lower the saddle. The handlebar was far too high so I fashioned an adapter to clamp it at the crossbar instead of at the normal spot. I would have just replaced the handlebar with a lower one but this stem has strange dimensions.

Note that this bike never had nor will have “training wheels”. That’s because training wheels actually hinder the process of learning to ride a bike.

A little about the bike itself:
I did quite a bit of research into the available kid’s bikes with 12″ wheels before buying. Almost of the bikes in this size are really awful; badly “designed”, crudely made and shockingly heavy with terrible bearings, covered in tasteless graphics. In fact the only decent 12″ bike I found was this Specialized Hot Rock 12. It has an aluminium frame, rims and handlebar, good quality tires and fairly tasteful graphics. By no means is it perfect. The cheap, steel cranks are much too wide forcing P1 to pedal like a duck (if a duck could pedal, that is) and the handlebar and stem are too tall and have nonstandard dimensions. It weighs 7kg without the training wheels which we never used. That seems light for us but really isn’t light for a 12kg rider. For comparison sake his Micro G-Bike weighs just 2kg.

8. 32 months: Riding a real bike

A few days later we brought the “real BMX bike” to the Vondelpark, this time with the pedals installed. P1 wasn’t so happy about this development so first we flipped the bike upside down and made a game of “pedal”… “brake”… “pedal”… “brake”. That was fun so then we did the same with him on the bike, me supporting the bike from the saddle while he pedaled and braked his way around the park. I gradually held the bike more and more lightly and after a few minutes he continued pedaling (and balancing) alone. After all P1 had long since developed the skills to ride the bike.

The following weekend P1 did a few laps around the big Westerpark and really became more relaxed on his bike. Though kids learn to ride young here it’s still rather strange to see such a small child riding a bike. Thus P1 gets an incredible number of stares, “awwww look, how cute”s, and “How did you do that? My child is four and still can’t ride a two-wheeler.”s

So now P1 can ride a bike but actually he still prefers his balance bike. Each day when we head out together I ask him which bike he wants and he always chooses the G-Bike. Why? Because it’s smaller and lighter and more fun. P1 can toss it around, try doing wheelies, carry it up steps, fall off it painlessly. That little bike is to him what a BMX or trials bike is to a big kid. And I’m very happy about that; I’ve had the proud papa moments of seeing my 2 year old ride a real bike yet we can still go about the city with his much lighter and easier to carry (in the basket of my own bike for example) balance bike.

I wish you the same success making your own little ones into happy cyclists!

A couple weeks ago Matt Ransford sent me the image that inspired this post about the connection between transport bikes and colonial rulers. Accompanying the image above Matt writes:

“I’ve got another one for you, this time from Shanghai. It’s not as impressive in the photo as it was in person, but this U-lock had to have been at least 1-inch thick rebar. The removeable bar is hooked at one end and locked in the can at the other. The lock itself is a simple padlock, but it’s at the far end of that can so that you can’t get any leverage if you try to get in there with bolt cutters. Pretty impressively brute DIY solution.

Matt”

I’ll add that it’s all the more impressive because such a lock can be made (and probably was made) entirely from scrap parts (the fire extinguisher can being the best part). That’s good design, as opposed to most of the pointless bike crap invented by professional designers.

Just a couple days later Erwin van Doorne, also in Shanghai, sent me the above picture of his bike having a flat repaired. Translation of his Dutch explanation:

” Occasionally I get a flat tire (there is sometimes a lot of glass and metal on the road here) but for a couple kwai they patch your tire.

zài jiàn,
Erwin”

The bike is a Workcycles Transport 2-Tube and it’s outfitted as Dutch as can be, right down to the Bobike child seat and Dutch milk crate on the front carrier. The frame is 70cm huge so it’s a fair guess that Erwin would have trouble finding a bike to fit his 200cm or so frame in China.

Note that the bike mechanics are patching the tube with the wheel in place, just like we do in the Netherlands… but most of the western world seems to be unaware of. I particularly like their little, portable workbench to keep the tube and glue clean during the patching process.

Thanks Matt and Erwin!

I’ll admit to finding the current worldwide rage for “fixies” rather amusing but then again I was stripping my friends’ and colleagues’ bikes down to minimalist, fixed-wheel, rat bikes fifteen years ago. So I do understand the aesthetic and beauty of simplicity. And I raced on the track for years and still “train” (for what goal I forget) weekly at the indoor Amsterdam Velodrome during the winter.

Besides I’d much rather see a million pretentious or wanna-be fixed-gear bikes than a million horrid, generic, silver hybrids with suspension forks… even last year’s ugly hybrids dressed up this year as considerably cuter “city bikes” with too short, plastic fenders, cosmetic racks and painted some apparently politically correct color like “sand” or teal green. Indeed if that’s the bike industry’s idea of a utilitarian bike I’d rather just ride a flat black, 20 year old steel Bianchi road bike stripped down to one gear and one brake… which in fact was my daily ride for a decade in California. I still have that bike but now it’s an extra bike since we live on the fourth floor, it’s not built for outdoor life and it’s also not a particularly practical way to carry little kids.

But I digress. Though Workcycles’ focus is heavy duty city and transport bicycles our workshops repair and modify all types of bikes. Even fixed gear bikes sometimes, and not just giant Dutch cargo trikes which also happen to have fixed wheels. We weren’t voted “Best Bike Shops in Amsterdam” (out of about 250) for nothin’. This particular fixed-gear modification I found to be interesting in a very typically Dutch (i.e. practical) way.

“Dave” visits us periodically for parts and service, almost always with dog in tow. Last week he came in with a broken chain as a result of his dog’s leash getting caught between chain and chainring. Bummer. We discussed the repair and Dave asked whether it would be possible to move the drivetrain over to the left side of the bike since his dog runs on the right side. He’d get more “fred marks” on his left leg but he and dog would be safer. I looked the bike over. It had a proper fixed-gear hub with a reverse thread lockring and a symmetrical bottom bracket axle so sure, it should work just fine assuming he’s not going to be cranking away like a track sprinter. It did turn out that the bottom bracket was trashed and had to be replaced with something shorter than what we normally use on city bikes but we found a perfect fit in my personal collection of random parts. A few hours later Dave was back on the road with a strange looking but more practical bike. I find it a down to earth example in the current rarified a-fixie-nado atmosphere of NJS track parts, collectors item keirin frames, precious colorway coordination curation and stupid wheel combinations.

Thanks for the use of your photo Dave.

There are few things more fun than cycling with your kids, especially when they’re in front of you so you can talk as you ride. A baby giggles, gurgles and squeals at all of the sights and probably the dynamics of cycling as well. With a toddler the communication is obviously more intellectually stimulating. P1 (2.5 yrs old): “Papa, papa… Taxi, blue Land Rover jeep winch, two motorcycle! Thaaaat’s funny. No helmet racing bicycle! Playground! Slide. Go to plaaaayyyyy ground!!! Plaaaaaayyyyy ground!!!!” Still, nowhere is P1 more motivated to articulate complete concepts than on the bike. I expect the same will be true for P2, except probably with girl topics instead of our current mini gearhead talk.

Both P1 and P2 began riding in the Cargobike at about a month old (in a Maxi Cosi secured in the box) and then moved to sitting on the bench at about nine months old. P1 absolutely loved watching the world go by from the Maxi-Cosi and even at just a few months old was happy (or sleeping) for rides up to a couple hours long. P2 on the other hand, just didn’t like riding until she could sit up. Of course she still went in the bike almost daily for errands, to the daycare, to friends etc but we didn’t even bother to try a longer ride with her. It was clear it would just be too frustrating.

P2 (10mo old) began to enjoy cycling about a month ago when she began to sit either in the child seat behind the handlebars of our Fr8, or on the bench of the Cargobike. She sits in the same support seat we used for P1 (the shell of a Bobike Mini), mounted on the right side of the bench. Now, she’s clearly enjoying herself, smiling, squealing and waving her arms as we ride. It’s also a lot more convenient not having to bring the Maxi-Cosi along and it’s freed up lots of room in the box for other stuff: P1′s tiny bicycle, picnic gear, or perhaps everything the family needs for a few days on the road.

With P2 now enjoying the ride and the spring weather appearing it’s time to get back to the long bike rides through the countryside we so enjoy. Last year we did a number of quite long rides with P1, even bike touring a hilly area of France with him between my arms. But having two kids makes everything more complicated so first a little mini-tour to refine what we need to bring along, figure out how far we can ride and how much we have to stop and just plain old see whether it’s still fun. So last weekend I escaped my usual Saturday shop duties for a weekend family bike tour.

We figured 50km to be a reasonable distance and there are fortunately interesting routes and destinations in practically every direction. The weather in these parts is notoriously fickle at this time of year so going much further would be akin to asking the gods for a day of force 5 headwinds blowing a steady rain into our faces for the return trip. A bakfiets is probably only marginally more aerodynamic than a barn door and it doesn’t fit in the train for a shortcut home so we played it safe. Lage Vuursche, a village in the “Utrechtse Heuvelrug” (a wooded area with some small hills in the middle of the Netherlands) was chosen as destination, a hotel reservation for Saturday night made and the bikes checked over thoroughly. I would ride the Cargobike with the two kids and most of our stuff. Kyoko would ride our Fr8 city bike with just the snacks (lots of them!) in the bin on the front carrier. Coincidentally I found a clean sheet of eggcrate foam just big enough to line the floor of the bakfiets box. A little trimming and it fit perfectly. P1 was on hand to test our “instant bed” and approved… immediately taking a nap in the box.

The gods smiled upon our plans and blessed us with a beautiful Saturday and a forecast of a rainy but warm Sunday. I can live with that. A nice big breakfast, comfy clothes on, everybody smeared with the first sunscreen of the year and off we began our little adventure. With a warm day ahead we didn’t want the bakfiets canopy greenhousing the kids so I wrapped it up with a small tie-down strap and stowed it under the bench. Not bringing a rain canopy in the beginning April would be very dumb! Loading up the bikes I couldn’t help but note the sheer volume of stuff we were bringing: We filled the bakfiets box and the bin on the Fr8. In retrospect I shouldn’t have been surprised; It was mostly just clothes, raingear and other light, soft items just loosely packed in bags instead of being tightly stuffed into panniers. We brought a small sleeping bag along for possible picnics, to wrap the kids in if it got cold or for napping in the bak. And anyway we are packing for a family of four, mostly in one bike.

It wasn’t long before the first stop was necessary: An unhappy P2 turned out to be a hat that’d flopped over her eyes. P1 wanted his sunglasses, which he mostly wears pushed back on top of his head.

Riding with little ones you just have to accept and enjoy LOTS of stops. First major stop was for a snack and playtime along the Waver river. Here we also had a lovely talk with an older couple heading the other direction on their own weekend tour. Yes, bike touring is very popular in the Netherlands, particularly amongst those of the “empty nest” age group.

Scrutinize this picture carefully; It’s the only one with me in it. A great thing about this area is that we can ride almost endlessly on such paths. We’re only about 10km from Amsterdam but you wouldn’t know it from the scene.

An hour or so later it was lunch (and play) time. We stopped at a great little cafe along a river in the village of Baambrugge. P1 enjoyed until it dawned on him that we wouldn’t be going canoeing like those who glided past: “Caaaaanooooooo!! Caaaaanooooooo riiiiide!!!!” and so he screamed, writhing and kicking while I secured him in the bakfiets again. This is the main reason the bakfiets has harnesses, more so than protection in the unlikely case of a crash. Of course he calmed down again after a few minutes but continues to ask about going canoeing. I’m stalling by telling him he needs to first learn to swim.

Another hour or two further (I don’t keep track of such things nor do we have computers on any of our bikes) we escaped the paved world entirely, riding on smooth dirt paths through a nature preserve. Here P1 points out the obvious to us.

Probably already six hours “on the road” at this point the kids are looking pretty fried. No more hamming it up for the camera.

And a little while later they’re both lights out. P2 can rest her head against the clothes we’ve stuffed behind her head but P1 is doing the nodding thing, waking himself up. We rearrange some baggage, make a little nest with the sleeping bag and plop him in there. We’re less than 10km from Lage Vuursche, entirely on these perfect dirt paths so the danger factor is exceedingly low.

The mostly elderly guests at our rather posh hotel didn’t seem to know what to make of this bike riding family with two free-range tikes. I think we scared them away from this patio. Interestingly, even in the Netherlands, even in an area extremely popular amongst cyclists… there was no bike rack at all at the hotel and we seemed to be the only guests who’d arrived by bike. Lacking any more obvious option we just parked the bikes on the patio and nobody complained.

Sunday morning was cooler, foggy and wet but not really raining; perfect cycling weather in my book. Still it was cool enough to better have the kids out of the wind so the canopy went up, and stayed up the whole day. In case you’re wondering the black tape on the canopy window covers a couple little holes caused by the two times the bike was tossed over into the canal by the wind.

The website for Lage Vuusche mentions the Castle Drakensteyn. Not reading the description carefully I promised P1 that we’d visit the castle this morning. But despite Drakensteyn being just a few hundred meters from our hotel there was not a sign to be found anywhere, never mind an entrance for visitors. There’s just a big, imposing fence and lots of high-tech security gear surrounding the grounds. I asked a woman working at the hotel and she replied “Which castle? There are many castles in Holland… Oh sorry, I’m not from around here.” A couple of local women outside were more helpful. They informed me, clearly amused by my question, that Drakensteyn is the summer home of Queen Beatrix. It was further just refurbished and will soon become the permanent residence of (soon to be king and queen) Alexander and Maxima. None of my Dutch colleagues or friends seemed to know this either so I don’t feel like such an idiot. (And according to Frits below, this isn’t even correct.)

Anyhow the promise of a castle visit remained and the ladies told me of another castle, called “Groeneveld” less than 10km through the woods. They were sure you could visit. It was in the opposite direction from home but a promise is a promise and it seemed a worthy destination as well. So off we headed for Kasteel Groeneveld. It was a beautiful ride and only took about half an hour. Upon arriving the kids were of course…

…asleep. With the canopy up they sleep better because the corner of the canopy works perfectly to nestle their heads into. Unless we lived in a desert or tropical climate I couldn’t fathom not having this canopy.

So we did actually go to a castle (thus fulfilling the promise!) but the kids unfortunately slept through it. It’s probably just as well since this castle was also “closed”, with no signs of opening times or anything. At least we could get up close and I got to take a nice photo.

Oh, in case you’re wondering what bike Kyoko was riding here she is, snacking in front of the castle. It’s just my current daily ride: a Fr8 with a random collection of parts I’ve been testing. It’s now a three speed with drum brakes front and rear. A Nu Vinci infinitely variable hub and the latest Shimano roller brakes will be installed soon for their long term test. The bin on the front carrier is cut away because there’s usually a child seat behind the handlebars and bin (fixed to frame) would otherwise interfere with the footrests (that turn with the handlebar). A couple strips of duct tape keep the bags from falling out the back this weekend. Nope, you don’t need a special bike to go touring and I know lots of folks here who’ve done far more ambitious rides on far more basic bikes.

When the kids woke up a while later it was play, snack and coffee time again. Here P1 demonstrates why a rock-solid parking stand (and strong spokes) are important. He climbs up, sits on the rack and insists we ride like this just like he sees the big kids and adults do all the time. No, not yet kid – certainly not on a bike without any foot/skirt guards over the rear wheel.

About halfway home (different route, even more nature reserves) we encountered an odd obstacle for the Netherlands. This gate was locked with a padlock. Usually these are just secured with a latch since (I assumed) they’re to prevent large animals from passing through. A standard size bike can be squeezed through the chicane with a little maneuvering but not a 2.5 meter long 40+ kg bakfiets. Fortunately a very sweet older couple helped us lift the bakfiets over the gate (without the kids inside!). The gate at the other side of this area just had a latch as usual.

The ride through this nature reserve (first image above in this post) was worth the little hassle though. It’s a very beautiful marshland. The rest of the ride home was equally scenic and peaceful: a warm lunch at a village cafe, a good playground to let the kids work off some steam and dinner at a favorite restaurant in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. Finally we rode home with full tummies as it was getting dark and quite cold. The sleeping bag came out again to cover up the kids who of course fell asleep for the last leg.

It was a great trip and many handy lessons were learned for future editions. But the basic format of touring from home with the kids in the bakfiets and Kyoko on a simple city bike works perfectly. The distance of 50-60km seems about right. Much further would just take too long with all the stops required. Hopefully we can choose a new direction and get out for such a ride each month or so while it’s warm.

Workcycles rider Matt Ransford sent this photo from Hong Kong. He added that there aren’t many bikes to be seen in Hong Kong but those you see look like they’ve been around for a long time and they all have rod operated brakes. Thanks for passing that along Matt!

I seem to recall Hong Kong being David Byrne’s pick for World’s Worst Cycling City.

This delivery bike, with its big basket type front carrier affixed to the frame is just like old English delivery bikes. This, of course, was way back when it was still commonplace for tradespeople and delivery boys in the UK to move their goods about by bicycle. This connection is no great surprise given that Hong Kong was a British colony until recently.

An English Gundle Model U trade bike. Photo by Sprocket316 on Flickr.

This colonial (work)bike connection is actually rather consistent, if limited to the colonizing countries that exported bikes and cycling: England and the Netherlands. Perhaps there are other examples (Italian style bikes in Libya? French “porteur” bikes in Tunisia?) but I’m not familiar with them.

In India all of the city bikes and delivery bikes follow the styles of English bikes from about the 1950′s. There are apparently many classic Dutch bikes in Indonesia that can hardly even be found in the Netherlands anymore. I wrote about beautiful, old Dutch bikes in Indonesia here. In Indonesian rickshaws the driver sits in back and passengers sit up front over the two wheeled axle, just like a traditional Dutch bakfiets.

Indonesian rickshaws by Elrentaplats on Flickr.

Current production Workcycles heavy-duty bakfiets. Photo by me.

How Indian and Chinese rickshaws and cargo tricycles ended up with the passengers or load in the rear is unclear to me, since English carrier tricycles usually also had their loads up front and riders behind.. Perhaps they began by modifying standard bicycles, in which case it’s somewhat easier to add a two wheeled rear end than front end. Alternatively maybe these places already had a tradition of foot powered rickshaws so the obvious progression was to put a bicycle in front. Does anybody have some insights here?

Rickshaw loaded up with lots of some sort of container, I assume empty. Photo by Luren J. on Flickr.

Chinese cargo trike, today as family vehicle. Photo by Tom Resink of Workcycles.

Kids Lodge golf cart kiddy bus train. Photo from Algemene Dagblad.

All is not perfect in the land of bicycles, tulips, cheese and more bicycles. In the middle of hyper bicycle friendly Netherlands sits Houten which was actually planned and built as the ideal bicycling town. Amongst probably many other honors Houten was as recently as 2008 awarded the prize of Best Bicycling City. In Houten auto traffic is directed all the way around the city on a ring road with limited access to the interior city. Bicyclists, on the other hand, enjoy a network of wide bike paths throughout the town.

Meanwhile “Kids Lodge” after school daycare center in Houten has introduced a novel concept: They bought ten old golf carts to ferry the kids from their elementary schools to the daycare. Behind the golf carts they’re towing trailers, also loaded with kids. Their explanation: It takes too long to drive the kids all the way around the city in buses so instead they ride directly through the city on the bike paths with their golf cart trains. Why not use special bikes such as the KDV Workcycles sells to dozens of other daycare centers in the Netherlands? “We’d rather cycle but that’s not possible with so many kids. Too dangerous.” Dangerous? We’ve hundreds of KDV’s in daily service throughout the country and have yet to hear of even a blister or pinched finger. Too many kids? The KDV carries eight kids, about as many as each golf cart plus trailer rig. Maybe “We got a great deal on the decommissioned golf carts. ” and “We’re too lazy to pedal.” are more likely explanations?


Kids being silly in a KDV in Delft, NL. Photo by me.

Now, in all fairness, I suppose the golf cart trains are at least more eco friendly than driving the kids around in buses but c’mon folks… you’re in Houten of all places! Houten is a whopping 4km from edge to edge and Kids Lodge is approximately in the middle of it. You can’t ride a flat loop of a couple kilometers to pick up the kids?

What’s ruffling some feathers though is that they’re driving these golf cart kiddy trains on the bike paths. Not surprisingly the Fietsersbond (Dutch cyclists’ union) isn’t happy with Kids Lodge’s creativity. See this article in the Algemene Dagblad for the story in Dutch. Perhaps you’re thinking that it’s strange that these motorized vehicles much bigger than bikes would even be allowed on the bike paths. But actually Dutch “fietspaden” (bike paths and lanes) are not exclusively for the use of bicyclists. Also allowed are vehicles legally classified as “snorfietsen” (in principle slow, motor-assisted bicycles limited to 25km/hr), as well as several types of small vehicles for disabled and elderly people. At least that was the original intention when the laws were created. It seems that nobody could imagine that anybody but an old lady would wan to ride a moped without a helmet and be able to ride and park it anywhere.

Recently this loophole in the law has been exploited, primarily by the scooter manufacturers who make supposed reduced speed models that are registered as “snorfietsen” and may be ridden without helmets on the bike paths. They’re called “snorscooters” Unlike the snorfietsen the laws are based on these are much bigger and have no (even vestigial) pedals. In fact, aside from a little, blue registration plate they’re indistinguishable from the normal, fast scooters that are driven on the roads. Once in the hands of their new (mostly young) owner the speed limiter is quickly removed and the motor often hot-rodded to increase the maximum speed to several times the legal limit. The police, apparently preoccupied with evicting squatters and harassing various ethnic groups, don’t enforce either the speed limits on the bike paths or the specifications of scooters. As a result snorscooters have exploded in popularity and generic, franchise-looking scooter stores are popping up throughout the city.

Yet another speeding scooter. Image by Flickr user “Aardewerk”.

At least in Amsterdam these “snorscooters” have come to be almost unanimously hated by bicyclists… so much so that it’s drowned out the occasional badmouthing of bohemian/yuppie/self-righteous/name your stereotype bakfiets moms. Not only are scooters noisy and polluting (most still have two-stroke engines), many of their riders behave amazingly badly. Practically every cyclist will complain about the incessant horn tooting and close calls of scooter riders weaving their way through bicycle traffic. Many, including myself, have numerous stories of actually getting cut off, screamed at or bumped off the road by scooter riders. I’ve actually had this happen while riding my baby and toddler to the daycare center.

Women who ride bicycles are cooler anyway. Photo by Flickr user “Mishari Alreshaid”.

Recent research by the Fietsersbond demonstrated that 94% of the snorfietsen on Amsterdam bike paths are exceeding the 25km/hr speed limit. Amazingly the AVERAGE speed of snorfietsen on the bike paths was 37km/hr, 50% higher than the legal speed limit. Snorscooters with their little, blue plates were measured at almost 60km/hr. Now that’s a little strange for a vehicle governed to 25km/hr in a city with no hills. My own seat of the pants feeling is that it doesn’t seem far from what I see daily.

There are so many complaints that a debate is currently raging about what vehicles should be allowed to ride on the bike paths here. The cyclist’s collective perspective is clear: Kill the “snorfiets” category or at least redefine it so that it’s really only for motorized vehicles that can’t go faster than 25km/hr. I heartily agree. I doubt many cyclists have an issue with elderly folks in their electric scootmobiles or the few tiny “Canta” cars that putt-putt and park wherever their owners wish to point them. Scooter riders, though, must put helmets on and go back to the road where they belong!

And if Kids Lodge insists upon transporting kids with their ridiculous golf car trains, please have them at least do so on the roads so that they slow some motorists down instead of making a farce of the bicycle lanes.

A proposal for this bike design showed up in my email a while back and I let it hang around, figuring it’d somehow fit into a post, eventually. Just to be clear I periodically receive concepts and proposals for all sorts of bike-related stuff. Actually I get proposals for other things too but I won’t bore you with the details of how I’m going to get rich by helping out the heir of a certain deceased African despot.

Some of the bike proposals that have landed in my mail:

But after seeing the “Cuddlebike” a few times the idea began to grow on me. Admittedly one does have to first be able to look past the miniature size and crude construction of the yellow prototype. Wouldn’t that actually be fun to ride though (in a normal size of course)? With a long enough seat and treadles perhaps three of four people could ride it together. Perhaps it would be handy for blind or mobility challenged riders.

Then I found the little mpeg video in the mail showing a much more developed looking version of the Cuddlebike. Kinda neat.

Interested? Then contact its inventor who claims, incidentally, that the Cuddlebike is patented. He’s looking for a manufacturer to take the product further.

Kristian Brömme
ak [DOT] broemme [AT ]hotmail [DOT] com

An introduction to the introduction from editor Henry:

About a week has passed since this post first went online and as of this moment there are 109 comments, quite a few of them rather extensive, a couple mildly angry or at least indignant. A few people have expressed dismay that I would publish such a piece, even if I didn’t write it myself. Another has requested that I add something to the introduction to further qualify the post below. That last request seems the most appropriate approach and what I’ll try to do now.

Interestingly though the post is widely criticized and has even apparently sparked offline discussions in coffee shops (both flattering and a little scary) nobody has suggested that I remove it. This is good since that would be quite a disappointment to all those who’ve invested time in writing, editing, commenting, discussing and even writing their own blog posts about this post. So now I have to actually figure out what it is that really needs to be said to further qualify this post.

That the post is, in retrospect, a grand faux pas is an understatement. But every now and then I just do that: I make a weird misjudgment and stick my foot deeply in my mouth. As one miffed commenter noted it doesn’t matter so much that it’s a guest post; It is my blog and I determine its content. Fair enough.

But what is exactly the problem? I’ve reread the post and slogged through the comments several times. I see two basic issues:

1. Several commenters dispute Josh’s experiences and opinions about two of the bikes discussed: the Bullitt and the Metrofiets. The Metrofiets I’ve only seen in photos so for the sake of discussing the post I’ll focus on the Bullitt which I’m familiar with.

Concerning the Bullitt I had already added from the beginning an editor’s comment that Josh’s opinion about aluminium being an unsuitable frame material was unsubstantiated and probably unjustified. Nonetheless a discussion raged about whether aluminium is a suitable material for such a bike, something I found rather silly.

Yet for all the defense it’s received here the Bullitt IS, in all fairness, a quirky bike. I’ve ridden several of them, loaded and unloaded (as well as being a noted bike designer who’s ridden a LOT of bikes) so I’m not in the dark here. Aside from the still underground CETMA the Bullitt really has no competitors in the world of light, sporty Long John type bikes. Structurally and conceptually it’s brilliant: light and apparently quite tough. But come on folks, please accept that it’s got its quirks too: The steering geometry is far from ideal and the ergonomics are strange. By no means is either factor a deal killer; After a little while you get used to the handing and forget it was ever a problem. You either adapt to the bike’s sitting position or swap out a few parts to make it fit better. My own bike designs have their own quirks and I really don’t mind hearing about them either.

I suspect that any criticism of a bike with such a cult following as the Bullitt will deliver some angry fans to your doorstep but Josh unfortunately digressed too far into opinion instead of more objectively addressing the bike’s virtues, faults and eccentricities. Interestingly, Josh’s Metrofiets critique stuck more closely to his own experiences but was also met with resistance.

2. Interesting material but in the wrong place: I believe the crux of the issue is that posting critical reviews on the forum of a person or company playing in that very field is just tricky business. It isn’t impossible: I do it regularly and somehow seem to find shelter in a steadily more developed mix of obvious irony, humor, absurdity, self-reflection and hard-core objective criticism that’s just difficult to argue with honestly. And, yep, sometimes I just plain old shoot myself in the foot. That I accept as a necessary consequence of keeping Bakfiets en Meer, and by extension Workcycles honest and real. There’s no fluff here folks and I’m not a professional writer.

But that’s all much more difficult to keep straight in a guest post. Josh has a lot of experience and insights and a lot to say. I was game to let him take a crack at a post and I take full responsibility for the results. But then as he notes in one of the now 110 comments below, he’s more comfortable working with metal than with words. And I have only so many hours for blogging. I do also run a company, have a wife and two little kids and like to ride my racing bike fast with my friends when possible.

We’ve discussed this experience offline and Josh seems game for another try… ahem yes, with a somewhat different approach. We’ll see how it goes.

Regards,
Henry

An introduction from editor Henry (the original introduction that is):

Over the years I’ve offered several colleagues the opportunity to do a “guest post” but maybe only once before has somebody gone for it. I’ll begin this one with an introduction and preface:

I didn’t write the post below nor do I necessarily even agree with some of the things Josh wrote. It’s an opinion piece. Nonetheless I found it an interesting and discussion provoking read and after somewhat too many hours editing chose to publish it. Even though it’s written by somebody completely independent of Workcycles, I founded Workcycles and this is my blog. So no, I can’t really avoid taking some heat for the criticism of colleagues’ bikes but I can live with that.

I’ve known Josh Boisclair for six or seven years now. He’s worked for two of our dealers, visited us in Amsterdam a couple times and spent a week or two “learning” in the Workcycles workshops. Realistically he was learning much more about Dutch culture and cycling than about building Dutch bikes because he’s one of those few, gifted mechanic types who doesn’t really need to be shown how something as simple as a bike works. With a couple hints about what to be looking for he’ll figure out the rest. Josh has spotted and solved a couple of our production irregularities from afar.

Such characters don’t generally come without their eccentricities and Josh is no exception. Perhaps Josh’s tick is that he’s brutally, sometimes painfully honest. If he sees that something’s been poorly designed or made… he’ll say it regardless of the political ramifications. If he digs something you’ll hear that too. He doesn’t kiss ass and that makes a great barometer for the thick-skinned. And I suppose that’s why you get to enjoy Josh’s take on cargo bikes ca. 2011; If he didn’t like my own bikes he’d have explained exactly why and then there wouldn’t really be any point in me publishing such unflattering stuff on my own blog.

The other tick is a rather humorous tendency toward conspiracy theory or at least a belief rooted in the misconception that everybody has innate technical understanding. Thus one who sells something that’s less than “as good as they can be reasonably expected to produce” is quickly categorized as dishonest, rather than possibly naive or disinterested.

So my dear colleagues apologies in advance for any bruised egos that result from the report below. I didn’t write it but I do trust both the technical understanding and honesty of its source. Put your hardhats on and have a fun ride!

Regards,
Henry

Photo courtesy of Oscar Mulder at My Dutch Bike. Photographer unknown and almost certainly no longer amongst the living.

Bicycles that carry stuff have been around for over 100 years. The Long John, of the 1930′s is still in limited production. The Dutch Bergreijer company was one of many firms experimenting with various styles of cargo-carrying bicycles at the turn of the last century. There is however, a relatively recent “revival” of cargo bicycles in the last few years. Bicycles in general have been gaining popularity. Americans like “stuff” so now more and more of us are looking for ways to carry our stuff by bicycle. Of course this isn’t really new at all: Elsewhere in the world people have been carrying stuff by bicycle for over a century. What has changed though, is the way we buy things, and how we gather information-(often misinterpreted as learning) about things.

There have always been inferior designs of machinery, low quality products, salespeople completely disconnected from what they are selling, and marketing scams. Now all these things can reach many more people much more quickly. The way we buy things and gather information has changed. We may look at pictures and read about products on the internet, all without ever actually seeing or touching the product in question. In general, there is a growing disconnection from all things material, a growing frenzy of confusion and deception… all leading toward a growing market for Crap. What follows is my brief review of this phenomenon regarding the recent cargo bike revolution in American cities.

I have been a professional bicycle mechanic for 15 years. One of the companies I worked for was The Dutch Bicycle Company (now called “The DBC”, not to be confused with “Dutch Bike” Seattle and Chicago ). We were one of the first to import the van Andel (Bakfiets.nl) Bakfietsen and Workcycles “stadsfietsen”. This was my introduction to “real” bicycles: bicycles for every day life. I moved with the company to Boston and witnessed the company’s shift from importing quality bicycles into poorly trying to reinvent the wheel with their own city bike. By this time I had ridden many bikes extensively: the Monark Long John and Truck, Long and Short version Bakfiets, Sorte Jernhest rear-steer trikes, and all of the imported city bikes from Workcycles, Velorbis and Sogreni.

I left and rode my fixed-gear bike with a BOB trailer to California. (Ed: Yes, Josh actually RODE his fixie across the USA with a trailer, folks) Here I worked in a few more shops and was introduced to the Bilenky cargo bike, and the Xtracycle. I performed probably 50 or so Xtracycle conversions, and thoroughly learned the limits of that concept. Many were very scary to ride! Surly came out with the Big Dummy, an improvement on the longtail idea, and now all the big names make such bikes. Even Bikes Not Bombs performs sketchy extended rear end conversions for developing countries.

Now I work at My Dutch Bike in San Francisco and have come full circle. Many “new” designs have popped up in the last two or three years and I’ve been able to test the Larry vs. Harry Bullitt, the Portland-built Metrofiets, the Double Dutch Birota (which is also called a number of other names under different “brands”), the Human Powered Machines cargo bike made in Eugene, a Puma/Biomega prototype at Interbike, the Fr8 by Workcycles, the Gazelle Cabby, as well as a number of local, hand-made bikes of varying quality and functionality. I’ve even designed and built my own cargo bike for my girlfriend and I to use for transporting gardening supplies, welding tanks and other bikes.

My goal here is just to provide a real, “blue-collar” review of the cargo bicycles I’ve personally ridden, and some meaningful information about others I either admire or despise.

Photo from Workcycles.

van Andel Bakfiets (Bakfiets.nl/Workcycles)
This is the cargo bike that I have the most experience with. My girlfriend and I rode a short one back in Florida daily. Since real-world bicycle use is almost non-existent in Florida, the bike got tons of attention and positive comments. It introduced me to the endless capabilities of bicycles. Before this bike, all I ever had to carry things was a BOB trailer. So the Bakfiets really enlightened me to the ease and comfort of carrying 100 plus pounds regularly.

Since then, I have lived in Boston with the same bike, and now live in California and sell the Bakfiets at My Dutch Bike in San Francisco. The frames have since been modified slightly: a larger main tube in place of the old gusset along the bottom. The rear rack is also changed slightly, though it’s function is the same. These bikes represent a very aesthetically pleasing way to efficiently manufacture a strong, durable cargo frame. The stock gearing is 38 x 22, so 1st gear is a very small 23 inches, adequate for the majority of people in the Bay Area. Even after importing fees, taxes, euro to dollar conversion, and customs, the bikes are selling at a reasonable price. If you add up the parts, and consider the frame, paint, box, ball joints, 2 oversized cartridge headsets, really long steering tube, steering rod, alloy double-wall rims, 13 gauge stainless spokes, dynamo hub, LED lights…the list goes on: the bike clearly costs what the sum of its parts add up to. One thing I do miss is the internal electrical wire routing of the older frames. Not sure exactly why this stopped, although the wire is still adequately protected with plastic sheathing. Could one build a lighter-weight version of this bike and still have the same load capacity? Sure, but it would take twice as long for the factory to make resulting in a utility bike costing more than most are willing to pay. Azor/van Andel/Workcycles have engineered a perfect blend of practicality, affordability, features, and quality into a bicycle.

Photo by Claudio Olivares.

Larry vs. Harry Bullitt:
This Danish bike is interesting. I like are the look, the colours, and the general idea of building a faster, lighter, sportier cargo hauler. There are a few messengers here in SF riding these around in very flashy custom colours. The bike IS very light, although the cargo platform is too narrow. Also, I am curious why they didn’t make it with a lower step-through. Perhaps because the market for these bikes is amongst experienced riders. Here is great video highlighting the Larry vs. Harry Bullitt in Copenhagen. Also visible are Sorte Jerhest rear steer trikes.

What I don’t like about the Bullitt are the ergonomics, the steering geometry, aluminum frame, exposed drivetrain, inability to mount a rear rack, lack of wheel lock eyelets, and the smallish cargo area. The steering column should be taller and threaded for use with a 1 1/8” quill stem. The frame should be chro-moly steel, like the Cetma Cargo bike and others, and the top tube should be lower. Aluminum is not nearly as strong as steel and is soft. To make a frame that won’t break, the tubes have to be thick and large, resulting in a very stiff ride. If the frame flexes enough, over a long period of time, stress fractures are inevitable. Even a small dent in a tube starts to crack after a little while. Aluminum is just not a material for a long-lasting cargo bike. I am very interested to see how and when these bikes start breaking.

(Ed: Josh, I disagree on this one. I suspect the Bullitt is so overbuilt that it’ll take a lot of use and abuse before even fatigue and crack propagation kills any. And besides it just wouldn’t be the same bike in skinny steel tubes. The fatness is very much part of the bike’s charm.)

Photo by Metrofiets.

Metrofiets Portland Manifest Cargo bike w/ Box:
I absolutely love what Metrofiets is doing in Portland. They join a handful of other cargo bike builders there, amongst them Joe Bike and Tom LaBonty. As much of a fan I am of the Metrofiets ideal, I was not impressed with their bike though. It rode like a wet noodle with gobs of lateral flex even without a load. The steering feel was very heavy and stiff since instead of heim joints they use bolts with a plastic sleeve, and the front wheel is large at 24 inches. The bike itself was huge and seemed just as heavy as the van Andel Bakfiets yet it included no rear carrier. The Metrofiets box, while nicely made, was small… especially for such a big bike. I’m also not a fan of disk brakes on a bike for everyday use in the real world, nor an exposed drive chain.

As a metal worker, it bothers me to see welds ground down to be smooth yet still having pinholes visible even through thick powdercoat. More time could be spent cleaning them up. The parking stand was also not very functional at all. It sure was pretty but style shouldn’t interfere so much with function. It was rusting where it touches the ground, the paint having been scraped off and the steel being worn down. The hinges were rusting and squeaking as well.

I talked with Metrofiets over the phone and was assured all these issues were being taken care of in the new “production version” of their frames. I was told that this particular bike was made to be lightweight for the cargo bike race. Well, it wasn’t that light, and I am not sure how long that main tube can flex so much without bending or breaking. I mean, there was no weight at all in the bike and I felt like I was riding a leaf spring. The production bikes will still have disk brake mounts, but they can build you whatever you want. I prefer Sachs drum, Sturmey 90mm drum, and Shimano IM70 rollerbrakes. Hydraulic disks are very powerful, able to stop on a dime as your pinky accidentally hits the brake lever on a bump. But the cost is too high both for the actual parts and also the extra fabrication. Maintanance and repair costs are aso higher and not so easy for the average joe just trying to get around town. Even more importantly: Is such a chassis structurally and dynamically up the task of violently stopping 500-600 lb total? I don’t doubt these bikes will get better and I wish them the best of luck. Their colours are very nice as well as their cargo bay rails and detailing. I look forward to testing one of their newer frames.

Photo by Workcycles.

Monark/Velorbis Long John:
This bike is tough, industrial and classic. It looks like it was designed a long time ago because it was. It has a very low trail steering design, which caters well for heavy loads, but unloaded takes a little getting used to. They cost quite a bit of money for the level of craftsmanship and components used. The rear rack is insanely sturdy. I would love to own a vintage Long John one day, but the reintroduced ones are dated. There are better options available these days.

Photo by Workcycles.

Biomega/Puma Cargo Bike:
I don’t have much good to say about this bike other than that the handling is pretty good and that the steering linkage has decent heim joints. Further, the aluminum frame rides harshly and the stupidly-long-reach threadless stem isn’t height adjustable. There are no rear carrier mounts, crappy V-brakes, crappy wheels, crappy derailleur gears, unneccesarily high stand-over/step-through height, a regular kickstand, all for an extremely small and useless cargo area. Not worth your money or another word.

Photo by Workcycles.

Chinese Cargo Bikes (Birota, Double Dutch, Zeitbikes… )
I started working with steel a few years ago, welding, brazing, cutting, bending, building, etc. Needless to say, I’ve learned a ton about various types, kinds, and grades of steel and what it all means in the real world. To sum it up, whatever “metal” they’re using to build these bikes is soft, weak, and full of impurities. I know this first hand: You can cut through a Chinese bakfiets with a dull hacksaw blade installed backwards in about 30 seconds. Then, you will notice that the inside of the frame tube has a thick coat of bright orange rust, even though the bike is brand spanking new. If you try to weld the two halves back together, good luck: all the impurities burn off and instead of getting a nice puddle of molten steel to weld with you get a gaping hole since all that wasn’t steel just went into your lungs if you weren’t wearing a respirator. So is it even necessary to go further and waste time talking about the shitty components installed on the frames? Or the thoughtless “design” of the frames? The amount these bikes are selling for will not last, but these bikes will always be available, and some schmuck will want to make money for nothing. Flying Pigeon bikes are still made and still sell, because you can get them for about $200, much less in China. Expect prices of the Chinese cargo bikes to drop to $300 – 600 within in the next few years. Meanwhile, the CEOs of these companies are buying their retirement retreats in Florida.

Photo by Wojofoto, and a great capture it is!

Gazelle Cabby:
Great for family duties. Also good when you have an oversized vehicle in a one-car garage since the cargo bay folds up. The swoopy lines suggest the designers had fun with this bike and those lines are not entirely functionless. If you like the modern look, than you might like this bike. There is lots of plastic though, and the sub $3,000 price comes with a price: frame is made in China. The Cabby differs from the Chinese cargo bike knock-offs however: it’s TIG welded to a good standard. The frames are also very straight, and I have yet to see rust on a brand-new Gazelle. (Ed: Plenty of quality frames are made in China too, including those of many of the megabuck carbon fiber bikes.)

Photo by Joshua Muir, Frances Cycles

Francis Small Haul:
If I were to give awards for cargo bicycle design, the gold medal would go to Joshua Muir of Frances Cycles in Santa Cruz for his Small Haul. It’s obviously not for everyone nor for heavy cargo but it’s definitely useful and absolutely beautiful! The number of connections and amount of detail in the steel frame make it totally impractical as a production bike but that is part of the charm of this small cargo bike. Muir is clearly an talented craftsman, and his Small Haul is one of the handful of truly innovative modern designs. This is the bike I’m most excited about riding one day.

Photo by Workcycles.

Workcycles Fr8, Universal Frame:
The design, craftsmanship, and detail execution on this bike are superb. Very few production bikes have the useful. little details properly executed, in such an elegant and practical package. This may be the “Heaviest Duty” regular format bicycle (without extended steering) available. Flex is nonexistent until you have more than 200 pounds on it plus yourself, suggesting its carrying capacity must be somewhere around 350-400 pounds plus 200 pound rider. The TIG welding is above average for a production bike as well as the overall frame alignment and placement/fitment of all attachments.

I don’t think any proper “city/utility” bike is as modular or interchangeable as the Fr8. Sure, there are lighter-duty bikes which may be slightly more suitable for some people carrying lighter loads less frequently, but this bike is called the Fr8 for a reason.

The Fr8 successfully blends the best elements of the traditional Dutch transportfiets, and the traditional baker’s bike, deli bike or truck bike (whatever you want to call a bike with a smaller front wheel and low front rack with a single steering column) and adds modern materials and components, insane modularity, vastly improved ergonomics, significantly increasing the bike’s versatility over anything previously made.

Photo from Steven Vance’s Flickr photostream.

Yuba Mundo:
This design, like the Xtracycle, and various other extend-a-bikes seems a passing fad. I mostly see people carrying two children on the back platform, or groceries, sometimes a large ladder or box,… plus an additional “counter-weight” on the other side. The drive chain needs to be very long, necessitating rollers and/or varying kinds of tensioning /anti-derailment devices further adding drag, wear, and things to go wrong. I have yet to find any “old” photos of bikes with this design. If anyone finds any, please share them and let me know! Otherwise I’ll regard them as nothing more than a 10 to 20 year-long fad in bicycle design.

One day about a year ago I was stupefied when somebody came into the shop carrying two bikes, one on either side of their Xtracycle rear end. The customer carried one bike into the shop for service, and I assumed both because, why carry two right? When I asked about the other bike, carried four miles on their Xtracycle, they said it wasn’t being dropped off, but was counter-weight to balance the repair bike. “well what is your counter weight now” I asked since they just dropped off one bike for repair. “no need, I’m just going to ghost ride it home.” “OK, I thought, why didn’t you just ghost ride the repair to the shop?” Actually I didn’t really say that last question out load since I then realized that some people just like to be seen riding their bike(s).

CONCLUSIONS
When buying a cargo bicycle or ANY piece of heavy-use machinery, go with something that has stood the test of time. Any “brand-new” design or company will be hit or miss, mostly miss. To a certain extent you generally get what you pay for except with the cheap, Chinese “cargo bikes”: in that case you’re just getting screwed.

Family transport:
Carrying multiple children distances under 20 miles is still best with either the van Andel Short Bakfiets or Joebike Shuttlebug. Second place comes the Long Bakfiets or the Workcycles Fr8, since these can actually carry three or more children. Compared to the US hand-built bikes these bikes have more real world useful features like a built in lock, good parking stand, hub brakes, enclosed chain, etc. For longer distances and/or “sport riding” with children the Francis Small Haul looks great.

Cargo transport:
For carrying cargo, there are plenty of options dependent on your needs: Bilenky or Borracho “Filibus” type cargo bikes, the Cetma Cargo or HPM Long Haul, the Workcycles Fr8… However an actual vintage Dutch Transportfiets would gain you some retro-groutch/bike snob/cool points.