I’m not so much into cargo bikes. And yet, I maintain them two days a week at a cargo bike shop. But the Bullitt by Larry vs. Harry, a Danish brand, is an exception. (In Dutch)
The first time I saw a Bullitt, I knew that if I ever bought a cargo bike, it would be one like this. The Bullitt is so different from all the other cargo bikes I know. Most cargo bikes I’ve seen are clunky and heavy. The Bullitt looks light and fast. And from experience, I know it is. It rides very differently than, say, a cargo bike from Urban Arrow or Bakfiets.nl.
I’d been saving for a full-suspension mountain bike frame for a while, but somehow I couldn’t reach my target amount. Suddenly, through my work, I received a large box of parts that came off a Bullitt. The owner wanted to replace his Bullitt’s derailleur and chain drivetrain with a Rohloff hub with a belt drive and told me I could have the spare parts, including the rear wheel, derailleurs, brakes, and various bits and pieces for free. The amount I’d saved for the mountain bike frame was close to the price of a Bullitt frame.
For a while now, I’ve been renting a garage near the train station in Cuijk, my hometown in the Netherlands, where I maintain bicycles. I regularly have to transport items like scrap metal, paper, and trash, as well as deliveries like tires and other larger parts that don’t fit in panniers. A cargo bike seemed like a good solution. I prefer to do everything by bike, including things like that.
Through my work, I was able to buy the frame at cost price. But which one? The Bullitts all have a theme, and I like several of them. There’s the Bollocks, inspired by the Sex Pistols’ LP “Never Mind the Bollocks,” and the Clockwork Orange, based on the Anthony Burgess book and Stanley Kubrick’s film of the same name. But there are already a few of those driving around Nijmegen, where I work, and the surrounding area. There’s also the Major Tom, the name of a character, an astronaut, created by David Bowie that appears in several of his songs. I like both the orange-red color and the lettering, and I haven’t seen one driving around yet. The choice was made.
I’ve built up a Bullitt bike several times at work, but then it was a complete bike. This time it’s different: it doesn’t come with a front wheel, handlebars, or stem. I’d also like SRAM GripShift shifters instead of the Shimano ones that came in the parts box. So I still need to find a few things. I’m going to spoke the front wheel myself. I enjoy spoked wheels, and in my case, it’s much cheaper than buying a pre-assembled wheel. I’ve found the GripShift shifters on Marktplaats.
Because it’s a bare frame, with only the bare essentials, it doesn’t have anything in the space where the goods need to be transported. Initially, I thought about putting an aluminum box on it. I thought that would look nice, but it might also be heavy. I saw stackable plastic boxes in various sizes on Marktplaats for very little money.
I ordered three boxes from a company specializing in these types of containers: two low-profile containers and one high-profile container. I’ll attach one of the low-profile containers to the bottom. The high-profile container will then sit on top of that, and the other low-profile container will serve as a lid. I’ll put advertising stickers on the sides. I’ll hold the containers in place with thick rubber bands. Easy and inexpensive. For now, I’ll just drive around and see how it goes. I can always make something else later.
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