Omschrijving
Beautifully hand-crafted, antique Dutch trading ‘bakfiets’ cargo bike for sale.
A business-in-a-box on wheels, a glorious theatrical prop, an item of foyer art or a marketing widget for a special product – its up to you how you employ this bike, lovingly known as ‘Baby’.
Bought in Amsterdam in early 2015 as an empty box, cycled home and expertly rebuilt using cabinet-making techniques, this bike is unique for many reasons.
Used as the base for a successful street-food business in 2015, Baby is now for sale to the right new owner.
The original ply box was removed and replaced with a handmade FSC-sourced sapele hardwood box, with brass-hinged lids finished in leather closures. Aside from the highly-polished box, the entire frame, running gear and saddle are original and are classics in Dutch design.
It has been fitted for operation as a street-food business with 4x cast-iron Italian burner rings, sitting within a stainless steel ventilated and insulated box. A gas safety certificate has been obtained for public use and is easily updated. Gas is supplied by one or two 3.6kg propane bottles with quick-fit connectors.
A removable canopy has been added, which houses a 120 watt, 12 volt solar panel and a pull-out 1.4x2.0m waterproof and shade awning with folding legs.
The panel supplies a concealed 12 volt battery via a charge controller. The battery is linked to 3x 12 volt power outlets, supplying charge for lighting, phone charging and potentially a wireless card payment machine, water pumps or other low-voltage appliance. Alternatively an inverter could be run from the battery to supply 240Vac appliances.
It’s a highly ecological way to trade, and this has created a huge amount of interest in the last trading season. The bike has instant visual impact, and it’s still very rare to see these bikes in the UK, especially in this kind of condition and with the fittings with which Baby has been furnished.
Also in the hidden compartment is an amplifier which feeds two underbody speakers, via a flush-fitted headphone jack input. A fire extinguisher sits in a compartment next to the gas bottles, for local authority regulations.
It’s an original fixed axle, single-speed bike, so it can be pedalled forward or backwards. Brake is a motorcycle-style drum in the rear wheel, operated by a handbrake lever. Total weight is probably in the region of 150+kg, with the chassis designed for moving up to 400kg on Holland’s streets. Its not fast, but it glides along beautifully.
Could be re-purposed for just about any business that sells! Its been put to work here selling soups, bread, sorbets, Turkish street food, hot chocolate, as a mobile bar and a pop-up gourmet burger joint. We’ve seen them selling almost anything in Europe, so imagination is the key!
If this business on wheels is your sort of thing, then you should get in touch. You can buy a copy of this bike online from the far-east for £3,500, but the quality is a world apart.
Baby comes with a lifetime frame guarantee from the manufacturer in Amsterdam, and she’s made to last way more than one lifetime!
Fitted as a coffee trike, these retail at over £8,000 in the UK. Baby is for sale for the reasonable price of £3,500 ono.
For a trading business that can be earning its keep immediately, this is a bargain.
Happy to provide answers to questions about the bike and set-up.