Jonathan Fulford and Mark Record drove up to London Green Cycles on Saturday the 4th Feb 2023 and picked up ChiCycle’s Community Bakfiets Long Cargo Bike. On its arrival back to Chichester, it was taken for test rides on Centurion Way.

The ChiCycle Bakfiets is intended to support community events and also allow local people to try easily out and borrow a Dutch style bakfeits Cargo Bike.

Although a deposit may be required, we intend to loan out the ChiCycle Bakfiets on a not for profit basis when used to support community events.

If individuals wish to borrow the ChiCycle Bakfiets to try it out or move heavy stuff, ChiCycle would appreciate a suggested donation of £25.00 per day or £100.00 per week to cover the bikes maintenance and upkeep costs.

Philip Maber is busy converting a boat trailer he has to carry the ChiCycle Bakfiets. This will allow us to easily drop off or pick up the bike from remote events or if it needs to be recovered if it has a mechanical issue.

The build quality and finish of the bike is fantastic. It is surprisingly easy to ride if you can pretend to yourself that it is an ordinary bicycle. However, we wanted something that is a bold statement that bikes can be used as a practical form of transport to usefully move cargo. It has a huge cargo carrying capacity of 80kg! It can carry up to 4 children on two benches!

ChiCycle members had long discussions about the merits of electric assist before buying the Bakfiets. We eventually decided it was more realistic to go for a traditional pedal only powered for simplicity and ease of maintenance. People thinking of trying out our Bakfiets to see if it is a good way to move a young family should bear in mind that an electric assist version will handle in a very similar fashion but is much easier to ride up hills. Unless families are planning to have lots of kids, shorter versions of Bakfiets may be a more appropriate purchase. However, it people enjoy trying out the ChiCycle Bakfiets, they will have a good idea afterwards if they would prefer electric assist or shorter versions of this type of bike. London Green Cycles is a good place to visit if people do decide they do want to buy one of these Bakfiets. They offer a worthwhile hire before you by opportunity so you can be sure you end up with a suitable cargo bike.