A.N.T. Basket Bike

We use a De Fietsfabriek 995 bakfiets, with Clarijs XXL panniers. Using a big bag and some bungies as a makeshift tarp, we’ve managed to fit a months worth of shopping in one load. The box is rated to 80lbs. I have no idea how heavy a month shop is (we live pretty simple), but the bike felt fine.

I have a Croozer trailer too, and that was great for shopping. Better than it was for hauling a kid, if I am honest.

Big wheel, little wheel, gigantor head tube with all the weight on the front is going to result in an “interesting handling bike.” When Bakfiets hit the shores, it was all, “dutch bikes, dutch bikes!; but ok they handle very differently.”

Note: no diss to anyone working on bikes or designs or Bakfiets, but the progression of xtracycles to longtails works on many levels. I’m not convinced that a “front-loader” is the best way; especially with mixed wheel sizes. Of course, that also depends on what you’re doing. Bakfiets are intended to get your groceries, not commute.

A basket that holds a large grocery bag plus a bag of diapers and a large messenger bag is enough to bring home 5 days worth of groceries for a family of three. If I have the child seat on the bike, (that prevents me from using a rear rack) it can hold an extra bag if needed.

decent front racks or baskets are still hard to come by unless you go custom. Having a special bike just for grocery hauling pretty much mandates a garage for storing the bike so the bike has to be able to double duty, both a speed all weather commute, and cargo hauling. I’m pretty sure the 20inch front wheel is going to be a liability but otherwise, the bike looks like a decent solution.

A surly nice rack on a specialized centrum globe with alfine looks like an even better solution though.

I use my commuter (and only) bike with an old Burly (used ~20 years ago to haul kids) as a grocery-getter. Best solution? Not with more resources, but it’s what I’ve got. Some day a long tail.

What would steering be like in that ANT with 4 bags of food in the basket?

Most frequently, my Ortlieb panniers half-filled with work stuff plus one giant backpack (regular or messenger) can hold a week of groceries for us—but we get our veggies delivered and I ride past PCC on my way home so I frequently stop and shop for that loaf of bread or jar of peanut butter.

I use a Townie 7 for a leisurely trip to the corner fruit stand, mexican market or Trader Joe’s. I’ve got a back rack with two Novara ‘Round Town baskets that holds about 2-3 bags of groceries. Its super low gear makes it feasable to climbe some of the tougher San Diego hills even with groceries on the back. I’ve even strapped a pizza across the rack with a bungee cord when I made a food run for a soccer match.

I guess using a bakfiets for commuting is pretty silly when I have a slick-shod Kona in tha garage, but it means I can take my boy to toddler groups and keep him dry. Not had any problems with the Big Apple shod 20” on the front, and the handling is fun. The whole sit up and beg, elegance over exertion thing works for me, even if I let the bike down.

On the long bike side of things, my missus would really like a pack max duo, but I fear it would inevitably lead to another little bottom populating the second seat.

Photo

That seems a great solution for cargo. Like the old butcher bikes or Schwinn cycle trucks. Easier to store than a long-tail and maneuver in tight spaces (I’d guess, note that I own neither a longtail nor one of these). Also, note that the basket is attached to the frame, not the fork. With proper geometry this will handle just fine. Plus, this has more of a chance (I don’t know for sure) of fitting on a bus rack than a longtail or bike+trailer. A Seattle local is building one for himself, see: Cargo Bike

Byron, are you serious? Doubting that an Ant Bike Mike bike isn’t going to handle well?

The dude was into practical bikes back when most of us were sporting lime-green and pink lycra trying to decide if those funky 8spd brake lever/shifters were just a fad.

Fat Chance. Independent Fabrications. And now A.N.T. Mike’s been around and made more than a few amazing bikes. You can bet that if he puts his name on it, the bike handles just like it’s supposed to.

I’m dedicated Xtracycle owner (actually we own three! and one Azor), but if I could talk my way into this (or any one of three or four other of his designs), I’d be there in a second! I commute 12 miles every day on the X. I’m sure this beautiful basket bike would handle that just fine… and be the go-to rig anytime you need a real load. I was drooling over his bikes at NAHBS and I continue to drool now.

You’re missing the most important implementation of Mike’s cargo bike: The Redbones BBQ “Rib Rider” delivery service. Behold! RedBones

I talked to one of the delivery guys a few months ago, and he said the Rider handled pretty well fully loaded, unless the order was just for a gross of extra sauce. Apparently if a couple of dozen gallons of the vinegar sauce get it into their collective mind to move sideways when you hit a snowbank, you’re kinda screwed.

I use a pair of Nashbar Townie grocery panniers, with extra bungees connecting them to the opposite side of the rack if I pick up heavier stuff (beer, milk).

I have also hauled pizza on my rear rack with a cargo net…

I am very much like Tomas. I use a old Burley for groceries and the farmers market.

@ Tim K,

Remember that Bike Hugger was the only one to find the whippiness of an xTracycle a concern and note that stand-over height was potentially dangerous with Bettie 1.0 and expressed many other concerns.

I’m not at all questioning the designer’s cred, I’m just observing that big wheel/little wheel is a potential issue, under load. Bag of bread, no problem. For most uses xTracycle is great, but it’s still a trailer and thus the design evolution to longtails (but those also suffer from portability).

Part of what we do here is offer contrarian views, less conventional wisdom, and definitely questions. Example where the cargo crowd playah hated the Ute with it’s road wheels; and we’re like, “damn awesome” bike. And it totally sold out, before hitting the sales floors.

Standover height is still an issue with Bettie 2.0, btw.

Finally, a standard daily seller for distributors are the old factory trikes … and that basket is in the back.

I just converted a 20 year old Kona into an xtracycle, and it has exceeded my wildest expectations. Great bike for shopping, dropping the kid at school, etc. I would commute on it in a heartbeat (about 8 miles from Brooklyn to mid-town Manhattan) but worry about parking it on the street here. Hard to lock down all the accessories. So I’ve got a daily commuter and mostly use the xtracycle on weekends and dedicated shopping trips.

Maybe all cargo bikes should endure the 60 lb bale of hay test!

A nice looking bike.

A couple of points re potential handling problems.

Mike has based his design on the carrier bike or “butcher’s bike” as mentioned by an earlier poster. This is not a freak, but a design which was pumped out of the English Midlands in the tens, if not hundreds of thousands during the course of the 20th century. Time Capsule Usually pedalled by underpaid teens, the carrier bike can be pretty fun to ride, and its low CofG encourages exuberance. I wonder how many callow youths were sacked for terrorizing pedestrians on their daily rounds?

Admittedly, Mike’s version misses the traditional extra frame tube and the bracing tubes to the basket. On the other hand, his material will be stiffer than the “gas pipe” frames of the originals! Also, their baskets and bracing tubes were traditionally bolted on, allowing the bikes to be knocked down for shipping around the Empire (working in an inner city bikeshop in New Zealand, I regularly worked on British-made carrier bikes, unfortunately, mostly for shops which used them as static displays).

One thing for sure, the ANT will handle better with a load than my German roadster to which I’ve added a home made porteur rack. With 10 kilos (22lb) of spuds on the front and another 10 of veges on the back, the tall, skinny, roadster requires a firm hand! Still, it gets the job done, just like millions of roadsters before it. The first time I saw a Chinese scrap merchant pedalling along on his “Er Shi Ba” (literally, “28” - a heavy roadster) with a dead washing machine on the carrier I realized that handling “problems” are all relative.

@Michael,

Thanks for your comments and see this Pashley Delibike I photographed in Boise.