It didn't feel right to blog about getting the kids about on a cargo bike without talking a bit about the bike that got me into cycling the kids around this way in the first place. In 2007, I was lucky enough to find a barely used ex-demo De FietsFabriek 995 for sale a couple of miles away from where I live. I tested it, loved it and bought it. It was a fantastic deal and at the time I thought small issues, such as not being able to touch the floor when I was on it, could be resolved. The 995 is a beautifully smooth bike to ride and takes no effort at all; it just rolls which meant we were able to have some fantastic long summer rides without me needing to get too fit. Seth loved going in it too, and with the cover on he could sleep and his head wouldn't loll around, although it did get pretty hot in there. We could pick up his friends and just have fun riding about. At the park, rather than the having fun in the play area, most of our time was spent letting kids take turns on a go in the bike.
It did have small problems: the rain cover leaked, and it was a bit twitchy on wet leaves and slippery conditions. Other than that, it was a great bike. The biggest problem for me was the frame size. I tried a number of tweaks to get the bike to fit, such as using a flipped Brompton seatpin extender, but it still didn't fit, and after coming off with Seth in the front (he was fine), I decided it was too risky and I had to find an alternative. However, I loved this bike, if I found out they were making a smaller version, I'd pick one up tomorrow!
