I came across the
Fietsfabriek store in Rotterdam when I was wandering around one day. The Fietsfabriek specializes in custom designed transport bicycles and tricycles. The have stores all over the Netherlands. I even saw a store in Berlin and they have recently opened
shop in Chicago in the states.
What caught my eye the most at the store were all of the fun bike designs. This is a multicolored mini high wheeler.
This bakfiets was made to look a bit like a car.
They had a very cool bicycle workstand. I've never seen one quite like this. You walk under the arching beam to work on one side of the bik
This was some sort of advertsing bike. I think you cover the circular metal frames with posters of some sort. I suspect the wind may cause some problems.
This is a line up of there normal men's and women's bikes bult for sturdiness and hauling capability.
Finally, they had a wicked tall bike on display with ape hangers and art panels.
Update: Today there was a
nice article in the Expatica about De Fietsfabriek and their expansion to other countries.
I came across an article in a TU Delft magazine showcasing the Vrachtfiets (cargo bicycle) and contacted the students (Louis, Onno, and Aurora) behind the project to see what they were up to. They kindly met with me and told me about their design. The are envisioning a small, human powered vehicle that students could use to move things around the city. Delft has a large student population and practically none of them own a car, but they do have to move from house to house, move project materials, and large quanities of beer. Onno specifically stated that he wanted a cargo bike capable of hauling something as large as a couch. Large bakfiets have traditionally beened used to do this kind of transportation in the Netherlands but they are in dire need of a modern design overhaul. They have been practically the same since before the world wars. They are bulkly and heavy, don't have proper gearing and handle like a monstrosity even when the box isn't filled with cargo.
The Vrachtfiets is a nice modernized design of the bakfiets where you an potentially use the power from two people at once. It is made from lightweight materials and components with modern vehicle suspension and drivetrain ideas incorporated. They plan to rent it out to students who need to move things around the city once their protoype has all the bugs worked out and hopefully open up to a larger market in the future.
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