Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
We have e cargo bikes doing deliveries round here
Agree on NL.Common in NL to do the school run with toddlers (until they're big enough to ride their own bikes).
The cost of not running a car, or second car, quickly covers the cost.
Cargo bikes are rarely seen outside of supermarkets but are widely used. Family activities in the summer, taking doggies out of the city for a good walk, deliveries and I've even met folks touring on them. In fact, pretty much anything that a car would be used for in shortish distances.
It would be common for a family to purchase one when the first child comes along (if not before) and sell it on when the youngest gets their own bike. Those bikes typically pass through many hands. The new "list" price is not the average price paid.
A reason that they're not more popular in NL is the lack of storage space.
Is it their limited appeal in the market? Build costs? Need for extra-tough frames and components etc.?
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to own one, but I remember years ago seeing a CC thread about the Dutch cargo bikes used to take kids to school etc. and the cost ran into multiple thousands of pounds. I think it was these ones - https://www.bakfiets.com/
Have prices come down at all over the years or are cargo bikes always going to be that bit more expensive than traditional bikes do think?