Hello everyone and welcome to Issue #31 of Cargobike Culture.
My Christmas season was full of cargobike cheer. My wonderful wife got me this amazing Urban Arrow Christmas tree decoration. It’s made of glass and I have no idea how someone made it.
I also received this charming Christmas card which was made by Danish brand vissevasse.
Did you get any cargobike themed paraphernalia? Let me know in the comments!
2024’s International Cargobike Festival
At the end of 2023, I headed over to Amsterdam for the latest ICBF. It was a really interesting few days, and I have much to report.
Plywood cargobikes
Wooden bicycles aren’t anything new, but are always cool. However I’ve never seen a wooden cargobike before.
Made by German company Rethink, the bike is made from 18mm birch plywood, and finished with an epoxy coating. They recommend you don’t keep it outside in the rain for days and days, but it should hold up well to some water. They’ll also sell you an unfinished version so you can treat it with a product of your choice!
It’s certainly interesting. Prices start at €4999!
Bakfiets.nl does something new
I’ve often wondered what the good folks at bakfiets.nl were up to whilst the rest of the industry grew up around them. They’re the original family cargobike brand, bringing the idea of a child carrying box bike to the Netherlands in the 90s.
The bikes had changed a bit since then, and they offer electric versions (of which our own cargobike is). But really, they’ve not innovated a lot, at least publically.
That was until 2022 when they launched the Shepard.
I was glad they were doing something new and were showing that they were ready to compete in today’s cargobike market. The new EPS foam box addressed some safety concerns, and the aluminium frame brought the overall weight down too.
But the design was….interesting? I didn’t like it (and still don’t). It was their answer to the popularity, and perceived safety of the Lovens and Urban Arrows and I think they missed the mark.
However, the original design, with the wooden box, I love. And finally they’re updating it. They brought it to show off some of the new optional features.
Firstly, customers will be able to order these fetching steel panels in the matching frame colour. I don’t think they’ll offer much extra protection in daily use, but they look great.
They’ve updated the frame design (and used the same design as the Shephard) which now has two bars at the bottom. This allowed them to accommodate Bafang motors, aswell as Shimano units. The second bar will also hopefully add some rigidity. Mine gets pretty wobbly with a heavy load in the front.
You’ll also be able to add these paint matched top bars to the box. I really like these. I think they look great and add some useful protection to the delicate top edge of the wooden box.
Probably the most important update to the offering though is a new box design.
The current box hasn’t changed since the 1990s and it shows. Kids sit on the box, rather than in it. I’ve never felt unsafe carrying my kid in it, but I live in Utrecht. If I was cycling around a normal city, I’d want my child sitting deeper in the box.
Look at any modern cargobike, and that’s what they all offer. It’s what Bakfiets.nl tried to address with the Shephard, and now they’re trying with the original model too.
The seat in the new design is a lot deeper. Curiously though, they’re only going to offering this as an option, not the default.
I’m not sure why, maybe they’ve got a warehouse full of old boxes? Maybe the old accessories (rain covers etc) won’t fit? Maybe it’s more expensive to make? Adopting the new box size universally seems like the right option to me, especially if you’re trying to compete internationally against Urban Arrow etc, but I’m sure they have their reasons.
Tenways’s new cargobike
E-bike maker Tenways is launching a cargobike. I had a good look at it, and it seems competitive. They’re aiming for a €5000 starting price, and offer a 950w battery which is twice the density of the competition.
For me though, it raises the question of how are manufactures going to compete when they’re all offering very similar products.
There isn’t much separating this new Tenways model from a Lovens, or an Urban Arrow, or Carqon, or a Dolly. The market for family cargobikes is getting pretty crowded.
Folding cargobikes
From Hamburg based startup Avnson comes the Urbanox folding cargobike.
I probably won’t be a huge seller, but for those who want the benefits of cargobike life, but don’t have room to store one, I love that it exists.
And you can even get it on a train!?
What an amazing combination, trains and cargobikes.
More reading for you all
Finally, Jos and Tom who organise the conference launched their new cargobike publication Carrier.
It’s full of stories from people across the cargobike spectrum including a great piece on Brazil’s unique cargobike culture(🥸). You can read it online here..
We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with the story behind Cannondale’s new cargobike, the Wonderwagon. See you all then!