bakfiets

plural bakfietsen · plural bakfietses · alternative bakfiet

1. cyclingA bicycle or tricycle with a long wheelbase between the front wheel and handlebars holding a large box, originally used solely to transport goods but now also commonly for carrying young children.

   Utility bikes are the pickup trucks of the cycling world. […] Imported from the Netherlands, the Bakfiets brand is like a pedal-powered minivan for soccer moms.

   2007 November 5, Paul Tolme, “A Minivan With Real Pedal Power”, in Newsweek, page 65

   3 more examples

   Still commonly used and manufactured today, the bakfiets typically consists of a frame with a longer wheelbase and a large cargo container positioned either between the wheels or over the front wheel.

   2013, Alex Newson, “The cargo bike”, in Fifty Bicycles That Changed the World, Octopus, →ISBN

   Imported bakfietsen have some major advantages: Huge cargo capacity (you can easily carry a reclining adult, or two or more children plus a week of groceries in the box).

   2015, Raleigh Briggs, Robyn Jasko, Elly Blue, The Urban Homesteader, Microcosm Publishing, →ISBN, page 94

   Despite a rise of car ownership in the early twentieth century, the bakfiets maintained its role in urban delivery, and soon proved useful for transporting children as well—that is, until the arrival of motorized trucks, vans, and buses, and a corresponding increase in the size of goods being transported.

   2018, Melissa Bruntlett, Chris Bruntlett, Building the Cycling City, Island Press, →ISBN, page 110

   Synonyms: box bike, cargo bike, carrier cycle, cycletruck, freight bicycle, freight tricycle