Description
Two kids on a bike the length of a normal bike
Most cargo bikes ask you to find storage for something the best part of two metres long. That is fine if you have a garage. Round here, people mostly have a hallway, a side return, or a shared stairwell.
The Bike43 Short is 173 cm, which is a normal bike with a slightly longer back end, and it will still carry two children. It is the answer for anyone who wants to do the school run by bike but has looked at a full longtail and thought, realistically, where on earth would I keep that.
It turns into a bigger bike later
This is the clever bit. The Short and the Mid are the same frame. Changing the rear dropouts moves you between the two, adding or removing 15 cm of tail. So if you buy a Short for two kids and a third comes along, or you just want a spare seat for a friend, the bike grows with you instead of being sold on at a loss.
Which to start with? The Short if you like the shorter bike, space is tight and you have one or two kids. The Mid if you have the room and the budget: it is a better size for two, with the more powerful motor options, and it is still pretty short.
The Magic Footbox
Bike43 patented a footbox that tucks the first child’s feet safely in under the saddle, away from the pedals. It is what lets a bike this short carry two kids at all, and it takes 15 cm out of the length compared with doing it the usual way.
Built like it is replacing a car
What we like most about the Bike43s is how the kid accommodation works, and how stable they are with kids on the back.
Belgian designed and built, in a workshop that employs people with disabilities to help build the bikes, with a low step through frame, a heavy duty double kickstand, hub gears that will not drop a chain, and a suspension fork as standard. The Bosch Smart System brings the eBike Flow app, an electronic lock, a proper alarm and location tracking, which matters a lot when you are leaving a £4,000 bike outside a school.
The frame uses interface plates so it can take different motors in future, so it isn’t out of date the moment Bosch updates the range.
Specification
| Carries | Up to 2 children, plus rider |
| Length | 173 cm |
| Maximum gross weight | 170 kg, including rider, bike and everything on it |
| Load split | Up to 70 kg on the rear, up to 20 kg on the front carrier |
| Motor | Bosch Performance Line, Smart System, 75 Nm |
| Battery | Bosch PowerTube 540 Wh |
| Display | Bosch Purion 200 |
| Gears | Shimano Nexus Inter-5E hub gear, chain drive |
| Brakes | Shimano 2 piston hydraulic discs, 180 mm rotors |
| Fork | SR Suntour Mobie 34 CGO, 80 mm travel |
| Tyres | CST Brooklyn Pro 20 x 2.44 inch |
| Converts to | Bike43 Mid, by changing the rear dropouts |
Options
- Gates belt drive instead of chain: £350. Ask us about current availability
- Footbox and rear carrier: £170
Popular accessories
- Pivotable bench kit, bars plus front and rear cushions: £410
- Rear junior seat, up to 35 kg, with foot support and belt: £100
- Rear child seat, up to 22 kg, footbox compatible: £60
- Front “stem” child seat, up to 15 kg: £60
- Front basket: £100. Front bag: £115
- Maxi Cosi holder: £85. Thermal child seat cover: £70
Ordering and Cycle to Work
We order these in rather than keeping a row of them in the shop, so give us a ring on 020 8347 5534 or drop us an email and we will confirm the current lead time, colour options and the exact build. Available through all the usual Cycle to Work schemes.
We are at 143 Crouch Hill, N8 9QH. Come and ride one up the hill outside the shop.
