I’ve now had my Xtracycle Free Radical Conversion of my Trek 7200 for over a month, using it to shuttle my kids as a bicycle mini-van and do grocery shopping including transporting a 20 pound bag of dog for with a week’s worth of food for my family. In that time, I also test rode a Bakfiets, the Dutch cargo bike, at Clever Cycles while visiting Portland taking my wife for a spin in the neighborhood.
While my exposure to both cargo bikes has been brief, I’ve had some time to reflect on the positives and negatives of each to aid in making choice for those considering a cargo bike.
Bakfiet vs Xtracycle: Who will be the winner?
Over view of the general designs
The two cargo bike options use very different design concepts to arrive at very useful end products.
The Bakfiets is based on the Danish Long John design, placing a large box in front of the rider and an wheel extended out in front of the box. The frame is unified and based on a traditional Dutch bike platform with very relaxed geometry and standard features like a rear rack, fenders, and chain guard box making it very easy to ride in dressier cloths.
Available as a unified frame or conversion kit for standard bikes, the Xtracycle design focuses on lengthening the bike behind the rider to create cargo capacity with larger rear racks. The basic kit includes large side bags and a long top board. Additional accessories are available to allow the bike to carry larger or longer cargo and fenders, locks, and chain guards are not necessarily standard components.
Availability, Advantage: Xtracycle
One of the two major downsides to the Bakfiets is that as an import or custom bike bike, relatively few bike shops carry them. If you are not lucky enough to have one of these shops in your town, you have to either travel to test them out or just order one and hope it works for you. Shipping on these are not cheap either, running in the $500 range just for delivery.
The Xtracycle Free Radical Conversion kit on the other hand can be purchased an many more shops throughout the U.S. as well as directly from Xtracycle and dozens of online stores and nearly any bike shop should be able to handle installation. Ordering online directly from Xtracycle means a delivery fee of less than $50 and possibly free delivery from other online vendors. The kit itself will install on most 26″ and 700c wheel bikes making it very versatile and easily adapted to whatever bike is at hand.
Price, Advantage: Xtracycle
The other major downside to the Bakfiets is it’s relatively high price for a utility bike. Priced at $3000 for an import and starting at $2500 for a U.S. made custom build version, it is not an impulse purchase for most. Add to that the $500 delivery fee, and we are talking about a real commitment. I’d say the only up side to this is that with limited availability and a high quality, durable build, the Bakfiets is likely to retain its value much more than most other bikes.
Xtrcycle FreeRadical kit installed and ready to ride
With its Free Radical Conversion kit priced at about $500, the Xtracycle offers a low cost way to get into a cargo bike providing you already have a bike to convert. Even if you are buying a separate bike new, it can work well with a low cost hybrid or mountain bike. If you want a unified frame for strength and ride quality, the price advantage is less striking with the everyday Radish priced at $1200 and the heavy duty Surly Big Dummy Longtail coming in at $2000. Still, at hundreds of dollars less on the high side, the advantage here easily tips to the Xtracycle.
Component Spec, Advantage: Usually a draw to slightly Xtracycle depending on bike selected for conversion
The Bakfiets is spec’d like any good respectable Dutch bike: 8 speed internal gear hub, drum brakes, heavy duty, high spoke count wheels. This setup provides a very durable, low maintenance bike, however it does limit you to the type of brakes and shifting system shipped with the bike. Most urban, on-road users will find this to be more than sufficient. One other thing that is not a bad thing but should be noted is the spec’ing of different size front and rear wheels. With a 20″ front and 26″ rear, the rider will need to take two different sized tubes if packing a spare for flat tires.
The Xtracycle’s spec’ing is entirely dependent on the base bike when using the Free Radical kit. This means it may be better or worse than the Bakfiets, however the Radish and Big Dummy Longtail are spec’d with comparable, if not as low maintenance, components. The biggest advantage the Xtracycle has here is the ability to accept a large variety of component options. You can go traditional derailleur or internal hub, cantilever or disk brakes, 26″ or 700c wheels, drop bars or flats. The Xtracycle also is designed with the option to be built up as a true mountain bike, giving you real off-road capability. This does require the Xtracycle user to make these decisions, opening up the possibility of poor choices like low spoke count wheels and frames of inappropriate strength. So, know what you are doing or use the advice of your local bike shop if you are going this route.
Ability to carry stuff, Advantage: Draw depending on cargo type
Both bikes use different design concepts to get to the same place, so I would say you need to think about what you are going to be carrying when making a decision. The Bakfiets has a large wood tub, so it will excel with bulky items like furniture or lots of loose items like mulch or gravel. It also has the advantage of allowing you to see your load while you ride so if something is coming loose you can fix it before it goes overboard. The inclusion of the rear rack also provides a place to attach panniers or other cargo for additional hauling capacity.
The Xtracycle does not have the same capacity for bulky loads, but it does excel with longer loads like a roll of carpet or even another bike with the addition of the Wideloader and LongLoader accessories.
I would say for day to day cargo like groceries both designs will handle your needs equally well. If you move into more specialize cargo, choose you design based on cargo type.
Ability to carry people, Advantage: Bakfiets
Bakfiets The Dutch Minivan
With a large seating space, fold down seat, seat belt, and optional rain cover, the Bakfiets is out of the box ready to carry one adult or 2 kids comfortably and securely. The only down side is the slightly awkward exiting an adult must make due to the low center of gravity. The low center of gravity does however provide a more stable ride for passengers.
The Xtracycle is a little sketchier out of the box hauling people. Without standard handle bars or foot rests, it is more difficult for a passenger to ride in comfort on the back. They must also sit with most of their weight on the front half of the rack or ride quality suffers greatly. Fortunately, Xtracycle now sells a stoker bar and Footsies to address this and many Xtracycle owners have come up with their own innovative solutions.
Ride quality, Advantage: Xtracycle
I found the Bakfiets to handle fairly unloaded and very well loaded. The Xtracycle on the other hand handles superbly unloaded and well loaded. Neither design was bad at handling their conceived purpose, however I have to title in favor of the Xtracycle. Its ability to handle loads and also ride surprisingly fast (I think faster than before the conversion) has impressed me. Unloaded, the Xtracycle is quick, stable, and a joy to ride. On the other hand, I don’t think I’d enjoy riding a Bakfiets solely for transportation. Its design means handling cargo well at the expense of ride quality unloaded. I feel as if I’d always want to have an extra non-cargo bike around for general transportation. If I only had one bike, I would be happy with my Xtracycle/Trek 7200 as my sole steed.
Weight, Advantage: Xtracycle
OK, so these are utility bikes and weight really shouldn’t be a major consideration, but I think if you can make something of equal use lighter, why not do it? The standard full Xtracycle Free Radical Conversion kit weighs in at around 10 pounds. Add that to a 30ish pound hybrid or mountain bike or mid 20ish pound touring bike, and you have a very usable cargo bike weighing in at around 40 pounds. It is impossible to find any weight information on Bakfiets, but my own experience leads me to believe they are at least over 50 pounds.
Overall winner: Xtracycle
The Reining Champ
In terms of hauling cargo, I think both the Bakfiets and the Xtracycle excel as cargo bikes and should both be under serious consideration for those looking to go car free. In the end, price, availability, and ride quality as well as the greater adaptability tip the decision in favor of the Xtracycle in this utility bike mano-a-mano.
on Oct 17th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Ease of use: Advantage Bakfiets.
Throw your stuff/kids into the cargo bay and go ahead. No hassle with panniers, bags, belts and straps.
Maintenance requirements: Advantage Bakfiets.
Closed chain case, internal hub and drum brake out of the box. No need to clean and adjust chain, derailer and brakepads. Women-friendly…. *duck and cover*
Coolness factor: Advantage Bakfiets.
The Xtracycle is just a long conventional bike.
on Oct 26th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
It should be “Bakfiets vs. Xtracycle”. Fiets means bicycle in Dutch, and the “s” has nothing to do with it being plural. I keep seeing it being referred to as a Bakfiet in English, and I’m a big enough grammar nerd to bring it up.
on Oct 27th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Noted, and spelling corrected. oops!
on Dec 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
[...] now to deliver packages by mountain bikes with trailers. Hmmm, sounds like they need to discover Bakfiets or Xtracycle, but what a step in the right direction, eh? They also did this great video to supplement the [...]
on Mar 18th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
You can add Portland’s Metrofiets to the mix!
http://austinontwowheels.org/2009/03/18/metrofiets-handmade-utility-bikes-from-portland-oregon/
on Apr 21st, 2009 at 10:20 pm
I would like promote doubledutchbikes as these guys have already imported the Bakfiets into the US so you dont have to deal with a $500 freight and import bill!.
As far as a winner my vote will go to the Bakfiets as they simple have a larger surface to haul stuff.
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 7:48 am
Thanks for letting us know about Double Dutch Bikes. It looks like they build their bikes in New Jersey which adds them to the list of US Bakfiets builders like Metrofiets and Center for Appropriate Transportation. The prices are great, but my only gripe would be the equipping of their bikes with 3 speed internal hubs. My experience is that this is woefully in sufficient for hauling cargo in all but the flattest cities.
The link to Double Dutch Bikes is http://doubledutchbikes.com/index.php/en/home.html.
on Apr 27th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
They don’t look USA made to me. They look like the same chinese clones that bakfietsweb et al sell.
http://measured-response.com/bakfiets/?p=8
There are a load of photos of the bakfietsweb bikes rotting on flickr thanks to henry workcycles.
on Apr 27th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
DrMekon,
We got a post on another story from DoubleDutchBikes. They are an American company, but import their bakfiets. They did not say from where.
We listed the American builders of Bakfiets here: http://austinontwowheels.org/2009/04/22/sources-for-bakfiets-growing/
on Oct 25th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I second the “easy to load/unload” point for Bakfietsen. No bungies, just dump and go!
Also standing-stability should be addressed. What good is a bike that holds 200lbs of stuff if its always tipping over for lack of a good kickstand? Bakfietsen have a Larry-Craig grade “wide stance”, that will never, ever tip over.
It would be humorous to graft an Extracycle Hindpart onto a Bakfiets.
Add Joebike to the list of American Bakfiets builders.
on Oct 25th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Dave,
I agree the standard kickstand on the Xtracycle is insufficient for heavier loads, but they do make the double footed Kickback for much more stability.
Joebike is great, but his bikes are made in China, not the U.S.
on Nov 10th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Cetmacargo.com
on May 28th, 2010 at 10:03 am
You can also carry a bike right on the wideloader with Xtracycle’s Tray Bien or a modified roof rack tray. Like this.
Bakfietsen might be somewhat more capable cargo bikes, but Xtracycles win on cost-effectiveness and ease of storage.
on May 28th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Mauricio,
Now that I’ve logged many more miles on both long tail bikes and bakfiets, my preference is leaning more towards the bakfiets. Yes, they are more expensive, but they really are a more legitimate car replacement than long tails, especially if you have kids. (Compared to the cost of car ownership, bakfiets are still a steal.)
does fold up it’s box making storage easier, and bakfiets can carry other bikes too.
Don’t get me wrong. I think they’re both great options. If you have an everyday other bike, the bakfiets definitely gives you more hauling capacity and options. If you are only going to have one bike or are on a tight budget and you want to carry cargo, long tail is the way to go.
on Jun 23rd, 2010 at 11:51 am
I do have to agree that the Bakfiets is a better car replacement, owing to much easier loading. But having room for only one cargo bike myself, I still prefer my Dummy’s singletrack capabilities…