By Porter Lang
Put the box between you and the front wheel. That is the whole idea of a bakfiets, and it explains most of the things about it that surprise a new rider.
The word
Bakfiets is Dutch for “box bike”. The blog This Mom Bikes, written by a family cyclist, says it generally means a front-loading, wheelbarrow-shaped cargo bike, often with two wheels, and notes that the same style is called a long-John in Denmark. Wikipedia says the term is the Dutch word for cargo bikes in general, but that traditionally it refers mainly to cargo tricycles with two front wheels. The Cargo Bike Festival, a trade event, says it first referred to three-wheeled carriers and later came to cover two-wheelers too. Three sources, three scopes. When you read a listing, check which kind it means.
Why it steers oddly
The handlebars sit behind the box and the front wheel sits in front of it, so they cannot be joined by a normal fork. This Mom Bikes says the handlebars connect to a metal rod that runs between the steering tube and the front wheel. It calls that linkage steering and says it surprises many new riders, though many people ride these bikes every day.
Tarran, a bike retailer, describes two systems. Rod steering is low maintenance, with a mechanical feel and slight play, but it takes up room under the platform and often limits the steering angle to under 40 degrees. Cable steering swaps the rod for fine steel cables, which it says reportedly allows angles up to 90 degrees in dual-cable setups and a tighter turning circle, at the cost of periodic cable-tension checks. The retailer sells such bikes, so its page is promotional. Our reading: the two systems are a trade between turning room and upkeep, and a test ride will tell you which you prefer.
Why the box sits low
Tarran, a bike retailer, says a smaller front wheel, commonly 20 inches, paired with a larger rear wheel puts the load close to the ground and lowers the centre of mass.
Where it came from, according to three sources
The Cargo Bike Festival says the current Dutch wave probably began in Denmark. A wooden tray added to the Danish Long John made the two-wheeled bakfiets, it says, which let parents carry two children side by side. Three-wheeled designs followed, it says, and the Danish Christiania has been common since its design in 1976.
Tarran says the first versions appeared in Denmark in the early twentieth century, for tradespeople and couriers hauling heavy parcels over cobbles.
The Dutch had cargo bikes already
The Cargo Bike Festival, a trade event, says that in the 1920s cargo bikes were common among farmers, craftsmen, postmen and vendors in the Netherlands, and that the current Dutch family bakfiets probably came later, via the Danish tray.
One Dutch maker’s page
Bakfiets.nl, a producer, says its bikes are made in Hoogeveen, with a box of waterproof plywood, FSC-certified wood, a three-layer powder coat and a four-legged stand that lets children get in safely. It calls itself “The Original Cargo Bike!” and says its bike is the safest way to carry children on a bike according to ADAC. The page does not link to ADAC, and it gives no founding date. It is the company’s claim, and we did not check it.
Dates in order
- 1920s: Dutch carrier bikes common, according to the Cargo Bike Festival.
Quick answers
What does bakfiets mean? According to the family cycling blog This Mom Bikes and to Wikipedia, bakfiets is Dutch for “box bike”, a cargo bike with a box usually in front of the rider.
How does a bakfiets steer? This Mom Bikes says the handlebars connect to the front wheel through a metal rod, not directly through the fork. That is called linkage steering.
Where did the modern bakfiets come from? The Cargo Bike Festival says the current Dutch wave probably began in Denmark, where a wooden tray added to the Danish Long John created the two-wheeled bakfiets.
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