Home Real Estate The Car-Replacement Bicycle (the bakfiets)

The Car-Replacement Bicycle (the bakfiets)

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The Car-Replacement Bicycle (the bakfiets)

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When we were moving back to Canada, we knew we’d need a car, but we couldn’t afford one after the move. Thankfully, we found an electric bakfiets, and not only did it take the place of a car, it also saved us thousands of dollars in the process.

Watch my videos first (and without ads) on Nebula, which you can get free by signing up to Curiosity Stream: only US$14.79 for the first year

Thanks to Modacity for the photo used in the thumbnail:

Thanks to @Propel for providing some of the footage used in this video. If you’d like to purchase an electric bike or bakfiets in New York or LA, check them out:

Thanks also to nrbi who provided footage of a cargo bakfiets in action in Toronto:

Patreon:
Twitter:
Reddit:
One-time donations:

NJB Live (my bicycle livestream channel):


References & further reading:

Short history of the cargo bike
The cargo bike: Undervalued all-rounder with promising future

Belading DC_2 per bakfiets. Vliegtuig PH_AKJ Jan van Gent, op Schiphol, onteigend door Duitsers mei 1940

Een bakfiets van warenhuis Metz & Co., Keizersgracht 455, in een rijwielstalling.

Bakfiets met kinderzitjes

Een bakfiets van A.P. de Zwart Czn., Stadhouderskade 61.

Met Floriadepark; Europaboulevard

Linksvoor Nieuwe Achtergracht 29-31 en daarachter de voormalige brood- en meelfabriek Nieuwe Prinsengracht 55-57

Op de voorgrond de Nieuwe Prinsengracht, gezien vanaf het dak van gebouw Ceres.

De toegang aan de zuidzijde van de Coentunnel.

Overzicht straat – Frederik Hendrikstraat

Welcome to AutoShare

What is 5-Year Cost to Own?
Kelley Blue Book

What Is the Total Cost of Owning a Car?

Kinder- und Warentransport-Pedelec, von Urban Arrow, 2019 in Frankfurt am Main (modified)
By Bigral – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

Waste receptacles or dumpsters bearing the “BFI Canada” logo (a division of IESI-BFC Ltd.) Photo taken at Calgary, Alberta, Canada (modified)
By User:Seerig – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,


Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:48 The Bakfiets
1:31 Mikey likes it!
2:18 The history of the cargo bike
2:55 The modern electric bakfiets
3:40 The bakfietsmoeder
4:13 Bakfiets as a second car
4:48 The money talk
6:14 Curiosity Stream & Nebula ad
6:27 The stuff we hauled
7:10 Commercial bakfietsen
7:57 The twitters
8:49 But the streets aren’t safe
10:00 Bakfietsmoeders of the world … UNITE!
10:35 Patreon shout-out

#bakfiets #cargobikes #carryshitolympics

source

26 COMMENTS

  1. YouTube descriptions have a character limit, so I'm posting this here: thanks to the following orange-pilled Twitter users who contributed photos of their bakfiets hauls:

    @AM_Drost
    @Akilou_Q
    @AmericanFietser
    @Archidux
    @BIKABOUT
    @BikeBikeYYC
    @BikeGillian
    @BrianShannon123
    @CJ_Malesky
    @CREVITN
    @CargoBikeDaddy
    @CargorooBike
    @CycleCalm
    @DIsaac8
    @DaveLikesBikes
    @Davevdbwpg
    @DougSchickler
    @FBorgal
    @Gaspard_PO
    @Gerannosaurus
    @IhmistenK
    @JRogers202
    @JeppeButhler
    @JerppaM
    @JohannSchnei
    @Jono_Kenyon
    @KipBurgess
    @LenaGReynolds
    @LorenParry
    @Luciensheppy
    @MattSwoon
    @MichaLaeuft
    @MikeCword
    @NikitaCunskis
    @Ollie_Cycles
    @ProfAnneLaura
    @RemoteLongitude
    @San_person
    @VelotaffeurN
    @WHands80
    @ZacheryEllis
    @ZealousRanter
    @_JeLuF_
    @aizpurunen
    @ajaycapers
    @alikulovz
    @alongthepike
    @bafe
    @bakfietsdc
    @bike4climate
    @bikey_mike
    @bromptonymous
    @brroubrro
    @brroubrrou
    @cargobk
    @casmatix
    @christine_gotth
    @ckuosman
    @corineterlouw
    @ct_degroot
    @cwood1855
    @drdagly
    @eigengott
    @electricfelix
    @elles80333252
    @etataurov
    @fyxl
    @genepedia
    @geodarcy
    @geologiser
    @gjmf
    @hansthetruth
    @hfxcargo
    @hiavata13
    @ianwalkerwpg
    @ievalange
    @ilyanep
    @ipickmynose
    @irenecrisologo
    @jbuckca
    @jeffnovich
    @johne_erhardt
    @josh_orita
    @justinvanriel
    @jwetz
    @matiasavallone
    @maurakdudley
    @mikoyne
    @mpusto
    @mrwulf
    @noneck
    @oli_obk
    @optimal_taxer
    @pekkatahkola
    @peteretlewolff
    @philboutelle
    @plepe
    @quixoticgeek
    @rikahlberg
    @robertorfischer
    @roule_galette
    @samoli
    @sdwilsh
    @squeed
    @stejormur
    @suicicoo
    @sustainawave
    @thehobbet1
    @tomroes
    @torrinswanson
    @twowheelsjosh
    @tzed250
    @vocame
    @wevegotwheels
    @wittenbrinck
    @zacdevries

  2. In my country (Hungary – a wery poor country compared to other european country) you literally get laughed or even mocked, if you use a bike like this one. I am happy, not every countries mentility is retarded like mine.

  3. In Spain there is still too much to do, cities like Madrid are not safe enough for bikers. Some people is trying to change this situation but mayors from right parties don't beleive in bikes as solution to traffic jams or even polution ☹

  4. I would love to see a comparison of trailers and bakfiets.
    Trailers are a lot cheaper and one has the option of leaving at somewhere (e.g. at the daycare), cycle with just a normal bike to work and let the other adult pick up the trailer with their bike. Child trailers can also be converted to strollers once at the destination

    (Disclaimer: we own a trailer but not a bakfiets 😉 )

  5. Just a few days ago, I saw a woman here in Florida with a bakfiets – child happily riding in the bin. I was very excited to see it. While we have many cyclists and recreational bike riders, any type of cargo/bin bike is a rarity. I personally would love to have one.

  6. ok i live in a suburb and im legally not aloud to drive i think im going to get an E-bike with the charging pedals im wondering if i can still get around on the highway and stuff is it the right way to go? i really dont want to rely on my friends to help me

  7. The ‘power to weight ratio’ alone makes this a superb eco+ concept in electric assist format. Add to that the carbon saved due to their longevity of service and it’s a winner all-round.

  8. In Indonesia, we have these tricycle taxis called "becak" (pronounced as beh-chuck) where the driver sits in the back and 2 adults sit in the passenger space in front. As a kid, my grandma would bring me with her to various plazas and wet markets by hailing one of these tricycle taxis. Seeing the thumbnail on your video immediately reminded me of the becak and I just thought I should share that with you. If you do a Google image search for "Indonesian becak", you can see what these tricycle taxis look like. As a kid, I remember how much I enjoyed being able to see the world (and life in general) pass by slowly on those becak trips.

  9. Americans watching this be like: oh look, Europe's still stuck in world War 1 times with everyone there not knowing what a car is or air conditioning. Look at starved and how skinny they all are.

  10. I remember being bewildered by the idea of navigating the world as a child.
    Until the age of 9, my world was a sleepy village of 500 people.
    Despite its best efforts to drape itself in the sprawling garments of North American infrastructure,
    it was… 'walkable'. Less so for the kids that attended the local school from the neighboring village about 10 miles away.
    The sidewalks were often overgrown and poorly maintained, some of the slabs had sunk so far into the earth you'd have a ramp on one end and a trip hazard on the other.
    This village is a prime candidate to receive a Dollar General, but only after I moved had the 'rash' spread to my hometown.
    A local gas station served residents before this. It was and is still accessible by the forlorn sidewalks, the Dollar General that had recently appeared is not.
    Anyways, whenever the family and I drove out to one of the larger cities to do our shopping, my parents would sometimes ask me what city we were in. From the back seat I could see only the shop signs. I would get the answer wrong every time.

  11. Cars/trucks and Bakfiets sharing the same space must make for the most unsafe mode of child transport ever invented. What were they thinking? Crazy, but everyone just shrugs and thinks they're a great idea. I cringe when I see them. One ton of metal is so much safer.

  12. my biggest question as an american right now is what does the future of walkable cities look like in the states? will cities finally wake up and start changing or will we become static in our ways?

  13. This is super cool and I'm glad a lot of people have adopted this type of transportation. However, I don't think its practical in some places. Here in Salt Lake City, I feel like everything is too spread out and there are too many hills for this to be my main form of transportation.

  14. Great video! I live in Amsterdam myself and indeed, you see these bikes everywhere. The electrical revolution is real. More and more bike lanes are being constructed that connect distant parts or even other cities (so called 'snelfietspaden', high speed bike lanes), as it has become easier to go longer distances. Most pollution and noise in cities is generated by motorized traffic, and these bikes are both clean and quiet. They also need less parking space, which is at a premium in densely populated NL, and any car replaced by a bike makes the streets safer. I really can't think of anything negative about them.

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