My daughter (3) sleeps quite comfortably in the bottom of the box. Usually, though not always, with blankets underneath. It’s quite safe and as Henry says, the seat belts are more for keeping them under control than actually strapped in.

Some pillows and blankets in the box would make the ride more comfortable and prevent bonking heads in case of bumps or unintended actions.

What do bakfiets riders do when their onboard passengers want to sleep?

The reason I ask is that I have two small children who I believe would absolutely love a bakfiets. I like the idea too and am particularily keen on taking them out on day trips in a bakfiets. This would invariably mean them falling asleep as some point along the trip and looking at the ‘bak’ part of a bakfiets, it doesn’t seem to be particularly conducive to onboard naps.

I would prefer my children to be buckled in while they nap leading to my question:

What do parents with a bakfiets and small children do when the inevitable happens and the latter start falling asleep?

Let them doze sitting upright leading to the inevitable head roll?
Use a cushion to try and minimise the offending head roll?
Simply unbuckle them and let them sleep on the floor of the bak?

Any advice would be appreciated as I prefer the handling characteristics of a two wheeled family bike although as far as I can ascertain, a three wheeled family trike such as the Winther Kangaroo has a substantial advantage in that the seats recline allowing for a good onboard sleep and hence happier and less irritable children.

Henry, could you point me in the direction of this on Clever Cycles website, I can’t find it.

Thanks.

So, yes, for the serious fabricator, such a project is possible. But for the normal person who justb wants to ride the bike fiting the Rohloff would cost several thousant Euro and require a very skilled and patient mechanic to perform the research and modifications. The warranty on the bike would, of course, also be voided by all of this.

Fitting a Schlumpf Mountain Drive and accepting that you mightl occasionally destroy the rear hub innards would be much simpler and cheaper.

-Henry

You wrote, it’s not possible to fit a Rohloff speed hub on a Cargobike. Could explain, why ?

regards

Laurent (Paris)

You might not realize that lived the first 35 years of my life in the states: New York, Bay Area CA, Colorado, VT… so I’m quite familiar with the concepts of hills and scary auto traffic. Usually one can avoid the serious hills in most cities (unless your destination is on top of one). But I’m still hesitant about recommending a bike of this format for such a place because some people are smart and responsible, and others are just stupid and irresponsible; They’ll point their bakfiets, kids and all, down a steep SF hill and then blame me for the inevitable results.

Todd at Clever Cycles has written quite a bit about his (considerable) experiences riding the Bakfiets Cargobike in hillier terrain. His conclusion is essentially that putting much more powerful brakes on this type of bike (also other long-wheelbase, front-loader bikes) doesn’t solve the problem. A stronger front brake introduces the danger of skidding the front wheel. A stronger rear brake would be better but brings its own weight transfer limitations. That’s why they chose not to offer the Stoke Monkey for the Bakfiets Cargobike.

Dan