Comments on: Today’s Headlines

By: Richard Wilson

Richard Wilson — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:24:04 +0000

We’ve got a growing number of bakfiets cargobikes here in Portland – several dozen at least now. It’s unusual to go more than a couple days without seeing one rolling through our neighborhood. The local Portland dealer Clever Cycles (http://www.clevercycles.com) can hardly keep them in stock as the containers come in from Amsterdam!

I’ve had one for about a year and with a rain cover for the kids you can use them year ’round. Current price on a bakfiets is closer to $3000 with the weak dollar, but that’s given the utility, durability – the bikes are built to live outside in them elements and can last for decades – and car replacement possibilities that’s a steal. No parking, no insurance, no maintenance… We hardly use our car for anything except getting out of town on the weekends anymore.

Check out my blog above for more info on day-to-day life with cargobikes in a US city (link above).

By: ddartley

ddartley — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:12:14 +0000

I too dream of such cargo bikes becoming much more available here in NYC and the US. Seems like the kind of thing that at first glance, onlookers would scoff at, and then an instant later, realize, “hey, that actually makes all the sense in the world.”

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:18:18 +0000

Anne, I agree with you that those Europe-style cargo bikes, or bakfiets, as the Dutch call them, look a lot safer and more fun for family rides than bike trailers.

And when the kids aren’t riding in the box, you can use it for carrying groceries, furniture, a barbecue grill for picnics, or community-garden supplies.

Bear in mind, however, that they are crazy expensive (about 1000 euros, or $1400, not including shipping), don’t fit in a small elevator, and are practically impossible to carry up stairs. If you don’t have a garage or yard space, I guess you could leave it chained on the sidewalk. Would you dare park one like a Vespa or motorcycle on the roadway? I might!

By: Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:15:13 +0000

I’m a big fan of these:

http://www.streetsblog.org/2006/10/03/danish-bike-cargo/

By: Mike K.

Mike K. — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:10:06 +0000

That particular style of cargo trikes are called Christiania Bikes. http://www.christianiabikes.com/english/uk_main.htm
I’d like to get one, but they don’t sell them in the US.

The closest that I’ve found which is available in NYC is Cycles Maximus Cargo Trike: http://www.cyclesmaximus.com/cargotrike.htm

Also, check out the Bakfiets: http://www.bakfiets.nl/eng/models_cargo_bike_long.php

It would be great if these bikes were easily available in NYC. I bet they would sell very well and you’d have a lot more people riding for transportation. Unfortunately, it’s pretty difficult to get these bikes and there’s not a lot of choice available here.

By: Anne (www.sustainableflatbush.org)

Anne (www.sustainableflatbush.org) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:02:20 +0000

as documented on Streetfilms, when i was in Portland i saw lots of parents “chauffeuring” their kids around in bike trailers (seems to be a slowly growing trend here too). but this option looks safer to me, with the kids in the front, not to mention its potential as a “soccer mom mini-van”.

the question is, which nyc bike shop will be the first to start selling cargo bikes? we need to amass a fleet before next year’s Park(ing) Day!

By: ddartley

ddartley — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:21:05 +0000

The Copenhagen SUV sure beats what I saw on my commute this morning: three tiny tots in the backseat of a black livery car (no adult in the front passenger seat) heading towards school. Well, at least there were three, not just one. Great parenting–poisoning their own kids’ air.