OK, so we try to be advertising-free, but of course we also try to support the local cargo bike dealers in Chicago when we can, since they can sell people the stuff they need to ride around on a cargo bike with kids. And it's worth mentioning that now, after a longish break without a Bakfiets or Onderwater dealer, Chicago will be getting one again.
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| Bakfiets cargobike long |
We just spoke to Jon at JC Lind Bike Company. It is official now that they will be a dealer for Bakfiets, Workcycles, Onderwater and possibly some other brands in Chicago starting late this fall, in addition to the Gazelle, Pilen, Christiania, Winther, Yuba, JC Lind and Linus cycles they have in stock. These new additions are excellent quality bikes and they fill some niches that nothing else available in Chicago can do.
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| JC Lind World Headquarters on Wells St, Chicago |
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| Onderwater Tandemtransporter |
If you have a particular bike (or possibly accessory) that you'd like to have shipped from Holland, JC Lind is preparing an order now for a container. This doesn't happen every day, so
get in touch with Jon and
put in your order by Thanksgiving. I'm not sure but this may also be an opportunity to discuss special ordering adaptive bikes with him. Don't forget to consider the Bakfiets trike in addition to the Cargobike, and the huge Onderwater XL that could seat 5 of you on one tandem.
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| The XL Onderwater and the regular |
Jon Lind also showed us the new Yuba Boda Boda, a dopey name for a slightly shorter and narrower version of the Mundo longtail with a swoopy cruiser looking frame and bamboo wooden parts. It seems as well made as its larger cousin but obviously doesn't hold as much. Maybe it's a stylish cargo carrier?
Rapid Transit just got a shipment of Brompton folding bikes that will sell quickly, especially now that Brompton is at capacity and the special order wait time has increased a bit. Check them out now if you have a particular preference in mind while they have a good selection in stock. We keep nagging them to look into kid carrying options for that bike - you can join us and help nag if you'd like.
They also recently began carrying the Weehoo I-go bike trailer, which many people seem to like a lot. Have a look, if for some reason carrying kids and grownup on the same bike doesn't work well for you. Like many, they also carry longtails from Kona and Xtracycle.
Copenhagen Cyclery is the other place in town with box type cargo bikes, carrying Bullitt, Velorbis and an old fashioned Long John or two.
Blue City Cycles is a Yuba dealer too and right next to the best dumpling house in town.
Do you worry that Jon is overextending himself by carrying this number of expensive European bikes? They need to be paid for long before they're sold and bringing in a large number of $3000 bikes just before winter can't be a sure bet.
ReplyDeleteGood question, but I don't know.
ReplyDeleteVery cool that Chicago folks have these options.
ReplyDeleteGotta defend the Boda Boda name though-- comes from the existing name of these types of bikes in Africa, bodaboda taxis in Kenya and Uganda. Love that Yuba referenced these bikes in naming their mid-tail cargo bike!
See the explanation of "boda-boda" translating to "border-to-border" here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boda-boda
And "Yuba" is Japanese or Chinese tofu skin, as used to make mock goose. How this or boda-boda is relevant to a corporation based in Quackenbrück, Germany, is a mystery. I like the Mundo more; less styling. The roadster we had in a post last week might be more typically boda-boda than the Yuba Boda Boda. The Mamachari probably more Yuba.
ReplyDeleteWe are absolutely lucky to have so many choices in Chicago. We really wanted to give a little shout to anyone thinking of trying to get one of the bikes he is carrying now while he is taking orders. Sara- where do folks in New Haven go to get their cargo bikes? ( We still have the crate our bakfiets arrived in lo these five years ago)
Ooooo! We were admiring the Onderwaters in Amsterdam recently. Not very practical with our downstairs bike storage, but very neat. We saw this one out and about:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/fletzet/7937560224/
Hmm. I just get a "sign in to Yahoo" page from that link. It's true that an Onderwater is a bit heavy to lug up and down stairs, but it's easier than a Bakfiets!...
ReplyDelete