bakfiets.co.uk |

So it appears that there’s a new Cargo Bike supplier in the USA – Doubledutchbikes . All of a sudden, there are comments about them on lots of sites…

At some point recently, someone called “chuck” comments on homegrownevolution that “Hi all, for all of you whom are thinking about getting your self a BAKFIETS,there are a view options out there, forget about importing them as you will be blown away by the import duties, freight charges and custom clearing costs. I have been looking around and have been comparing a view models out there and finally decided to go with a model from doubledutchbikes located in NYC, they simple had the best deal out there, I have been riding mine for about 4 weeks now and am very happy with my bike!, cant wait for the summer to kick in, Central park here I come!”

On April 6th, someone called Daniel comments on Mark Stosberg’s site that he “just bought mine here in NYC for $2100 shipped from the Netherlands and am loving it!…”. On the 21st Daniel says “I found mine on www.doubledutchbikes.com I have investigated and compared others before I decided to go with mine as it simply is the best buck for your money, These guys import these into the US so there is no hassle with import duties, freight charges and what not.” Mark replies that he is “afraid you’ve bought a cheap Chinese model (one that someone recently posted here to import directly from China for $1000). You can see photos of these kinds of bikes falling apart after a year of use in Amsterdam. The hinge in the middle (which makes them easier to ship, not ride) seems particularly like a bad idea. See a sagging hinge here “. Daniel replies on the 22nd that “seen these bikes you are referring too as well when I was looking into these bicycles and they indeed look pretty bad, thanks god these bikes are not the same as the one I bought as mine looks solid and still in top shape wile leaving it outside for over 4 months now, I ride it to work every day and so far I am extremely happy with mine :-) I will keep you posted on its state!”

On April 20th, Daniel posts “Also check out www.doubledutchbikes.com for cargo bikes” on Treehugger. Same day but on CICLE, helpfully, he tells a poster that they can “can try http://www.doubledutchbikes.com,, they are located in NY but deliver all over the US.”

On April 21st, onAustin Bike Blog Daniel tells us that “[he] would like promote doubledutchbikes as these guys have already imported the Bakfiets into the US so you dont have to deal with a $500 freight and import bill!.” On the same site, he says “Thank you for mentioning doubledutchbikes. A little more history on our Bicycles to clarify our position and product. We are an importer of the bakfiets, I am a native Dutchman whom moved to NYC 2 years ago, Sometime last year I noticed the “make NYC more bicycle friendly”movement here in the city and the idea of introducing a Dutch tradition started to form. At 1st we have looked into manufacturing these Bicyces here in the US but after a lot of research, talking to manufacturers and comparing other US made bicycles we came to realization that in order for us to succeed and position our selves on the lower end of the price scale we needed to find alternative sources in order to keep our production costs under control wile not giving in on quality!. After intensive research, building and testing demo models, many trips to our production sources and extensive teamwork we have managed to produce and introduce a high quality Bicycle which hold its own and would encourage anyone to give us a fair judgment after testing and riding our bakfiets.”

So I guess Daniel is the importer, but as you can see, Daniel was somewhat unclear as to whether he got his bike from doubledutchbikes.com or whether he is doubledutchbikes.com. Fortunately for us, he posts on Henry Workcycles blog:

On April 20th, he (posting as dkolk, but later as daniel) suggests to commenters that “Hi all, try http://www.doubledutchbikes.com as they have already imported these into the US which takes care of the freight issue.” Henry responds that “The bikes shown on your site are sold in the Netherlands under various names including Bakfietsgigant, Bakfietsweb, Couleurs, Redy Kangaroo, Hollandia, Trendonline, Tricycleweb. Over here they sell for 400-600 Euro” and goes on to detail the problems that he’s seen with the bikes, that leads him to conclude that they are “just really, really terrible” (read the whole comment). On the 23rd, daniel responds that he “med up with the manufacturer of the so called “Chinese models” and have been working closely with them to re design and fine tune these bicycles” and that “The 2009 models are nothing like the 2007 models”. Henry responds that development work is appropriate as “from value perspective it would  seem necessary since your bikes are about three times as expensive as the Dutch versions from the same manufacturer” (elsewhere Henry has mentioned that clones can be bought for $100 from the manufacturer). Daniel concludes the discussion on the 23rd stating that he “did assess what type of improvements needed to be made, to name a view I did for instance found out that their click and fold system needed improvement as well as the steering mechanism which I re designed, further more I have added a reverse break and upgraded the gearing hub, on top of this all I have strengthened the base steel frame and treated the boxes with a double primed ultra coat layer to make them weather proof” and that “Of course we will replace and or handle any miss fortune experienced by our customers but I can proudly state that we have not have received any complaints up to this day which states my previous quote that we have build a solid and a quality Bicycle”.

So lets have a look at the clones. Henry mentions “Bakfietsgigant, Bakfietsweb, Couleurs, Redy Kangaroo, Hollandia, Trendonline, Tricycleweb”

Here’s the same model from bakfietsweb and tricycleweb:

Remember its lovely hinge?

Ooh look, the doubledutch has the same feature!

And here is the bakfietsgigant version:

Here’s the  doubledutchbikes trike:

Here is the bakfietsweb/tricycleweb version:

Here is the Coloeurs trike.

Here’s the Hollandia trike:

The Redy Kangaroo is below, and it’s the trike that Trendonline sell.

So, are these bikes similar, or “kinda close related”? Helpfully, there are a bunch more photos of Daniel’s bike on his page. I guess if I was being cynical, I’d guess that if you could take $100 package and turn it into a $1800 package, you’d be excited to post about your product a lot. To my eyes, the photos are so similar that the logos appear to have been photoshopped onto the same picture. If I was to display a little more charity, I’d guess that shipping and assembly cost, and that if some of that price differential has been spent on improvements, you could turn it into a viable bike. Certainly improvements on the chinese bikes are required.

I’ve had to reflect before posting this. I appreciate, this post comes across snippy; it’s not meant to. If Daniel at DoubleDutchBikes really has done the development work to transform the bakfietsweb type bikes into something viable, he’ll hopefully value the opportunity to make clear the differences, because as it stands, the photos look identical other than the stickers. I’ve posted this despite my reservations because, as long-time readers will recall, I came very, very close to buying one of these bikes. If you guys think only someone who knows nothing about bikes would buy one, maybe you haven’t experienced the impaired judgement that a new baby and the need to transport it brings. I see these bakfakes discussed regularly on parenting forums, and seeing the rotting ones, I know how distraught I would have felt if I’d spent my already depleted funds on one of these to move my precious cargo around. Credit to Henry Workcycles for the info on the clones and for the photos of the chinese copies.  Comments really welcome.

Posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 11:30 am in the category:Spotted. Comment RSS 2.0 feed. Comment it , or trackback this post.