What are cargo bikes?

Cargo bikes are bicycles specially built to carry goods, people’s stuff, children, adults, or a combination of all of these. Even dogs... or cats. They’ve come a long way since the traditional ‘butchers boys’ bikes which basically had a tray with a box in front of the handlebars.

Nowadays cargo bikes they can replace cars for many local journeys, and can have three wheels or even four. They can be purely pedal-powered, or can have electric motors to assist your knees. They can be nippy and slimline like the Dutch Bakfiets, or vast containers like the Danish Christiania. They can look a lot like a normal bike but simply longer, like the American Yuba; or they can be wide and low like the go-kart-like Brox.

Or, you can customise your own ‘normal’ bike to be far more practical by adding a big basket, roomy panniers, or a trailer – all removable, flexible, and good value for money.