I was tempted to play Paul Revere on my ride in this morning, calling out the news to all as I passed!
After a long process- we probably started at the end of May, and here three months later, the final result of all that agonizing, emailing and skyping is about to be revealed!
We're getting 12 bakfietsen. 10 long and 2 short. We have 5 FR8's coming, and 9 GR8's and a special order Opafiets. It was hard for us to predict what the market is/ will be, so we perhaps were a little cautious on the FR8's and GR8's. Unlike the Bakfietsen, those can actually be shipped on pallets, so if all else fails, we can get more mid-year.
People have been very excited about all these bikes, so I hope I under-ordered and will need to place another order soon. The whole import process is a bit scary, but so far it's gone pretty smoothly, hopefully this last stage will go smoothly as well. I'll post photos as soon as things arrive-
check out @Bikingheels twitter for updates and instagrams of the big reveal!
Wow! Transportation cycles big time! Looks like you are about to be fully open; congrats!
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I do hope they sell well. It's a tough call. I saw them from time to time when we lived in the Netherlands, and they were mostly used to transport kids. People carried everything on bikes, including extension ladders and lumber, but those examples were on regular bikes. A certain amount of skill involved, which I don't seem to possess.
ReplyDeleteFantastic!
ReplyDelete"I hope I under-ordered" and I hope you did as well - and either way, I want an UPDATE!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! I don;t understand why they make importing such a daunting task! But, i am glad you got through it!
ReplyDeleteNow a fortnight later, and hopefully the reason for no updates is that you are busy selling lots of lovely cycles!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'd love an update, as you are doing what I've dreamed of doing here in England - opening a bike shop devoted to 'real' bikes. I'd like to team it with a coffee shop, so it would be a focal point for cyclists. But even running 'just' a bike shop would be fantastic!
When I left the Netherlands for the US in 1997, the bakfiets was still a thing of the past. Now it has become the Dutch Green SUV soccermom/dad all-over-the-place mode of transportation. This thing can be an awesome hit! Just look at how infectious the bike mania is spreading. Certainly the Commonwealth of Massachusetts lagged behind other states for a while, but we're catching on, catching up, and catching that cycle fever. Contagious Congratulations!
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