Thanks for the suggestion, [MENTION=200073]acidfast7[/MENTION]! I hadn't seen these before.

Thanks for the tips, [MENTION=179437]CrankyOne[/MENTION]! And that's a great blog. I'm digging in now.

I like your style, [MENTION=36008]Leisesturm[/MENTION]. Donations accepted.

Yeah, living at the top of a three floor walk-up pretty much precludes me from getting one of these. I'm on a very crowded street in Brooklyn, and there really wouldn't be a practical place to keep it. Otherwise, I love the idea.

Having brought back numerous bikes on airlines and having had dozens shipped, including 5 bakfiets, I can probably put all of your fears to rest.

Shipped: Most shops or manufacturers will charge $50 - $200 for packing & shipping. Import duties range from $20 to $90 (supposedly 11% but often less). On a $1,000 bicycle the VAT will be $200 of that which you will not pay so in effect the end cost at your door will be about the price of the bicycle on the shop floor or perhaps 5% more.

Airline: Most airline ticket classes allow 1 'sporting good' as 1 piece of checked luggage and bicycles count for this. Arriving in the US you have up to about $800 in duty free exemption for items purchased outside the US. A bicycle up to maybe $1,500 will often be waived through at no additional charge though I once had to pay $20 for the excess. Note that VAT is not counted so the value of a bike purchased for $1,000 is actually $800.

Bringing a bicycle back on an airline obviously varies by airline and status. Ryanair makes you pay for every extra. Delta, United, Air France, KLM, Icelandic, and most others will give you at least one piece of checked luggage for which the bicycle can count. So, if you carry on your suitcase then your bicycle goes for free for most people.

This works well for a bicycle, but a bit more difficult for a bakfiets. The trick with a bakfiets is to have the box shipped and carry the bike on the plane (and don't forget to deduct the value of the box from the value of the bike you're bringing back).

I certainly wouldn't call them "questionable popularity in it's country of origin" (which could be either Denmark or Netherlands as Christiania and Bakfiets.NL came out at about the same time). If you sit on just about any corner in Amsterdam or Copenhagen (or Utrecht, Rotterdam, etc.) you'll likely see one about every 2 or 3 minutes (along with 50-100 regular bicycles). They are heavier and a bit more difficult to maneuver so many people do prefer a regular bike and most people who own a bakfiets also have a regular bike and only use the bakfiets when hauling stuff. If you go to a kindergarten or primary school then maybe 1 in 20 parents will be picking up their children in a bakfiets with most of the rest on regular bicycles.

Expensive depends. How much does it cost compared to owning a car? Or, how much does it cost to drive a car. If a bakfiets saves you 1,000 miles per year then how long until it pays for itself? In my case my bakfiets replaces about 800 miles per year of car driving (roughly 20 4-mile trips) at about $1 per mile so $800 per year or maybe a 3 year payback. It was payed for long ago. A friend purchased a bakfiets about two years ago which allowed he and his wife to sell one of their cars so he figured he'd paid for it in about 1 week.

As to usefulness... The majority that I see are used for hauling cargo, not kids. People use them for grocery shopping, trips to the hardware store, and they are extremely popular with delivery companies.

Very few airlines, and none that I have experienced, will take an oversized bicycle such as a bakfiets as a free checked piece of luggage. Most have extra charges for any bicycle, which must meet be boxed and be under maximum size and weight (usually about 44 - 66lbs) requirements, excess charges for anything oversized and/or overweight can be quite steep. Lucky you if you found an airline that ignores that revenue source.

And of course you are ignoring the cost in time and money involved in flying to Europe to pick up a bike, as well as the hassle and cost of schleping the various bulky boxes to and from the airport at both departure and arrival cities. BTW do the various bakfiet bicycles minus the cargo box break down to fit into a standard size bicycle shipping box that can be easily carried on public transit, taxi, or personal auto, let alone "free" as a piece of checked luggage on an airline?

Anyone can guess what the savings could be if willing to poo-poo the hassles involved by personally importing a bakfiets in pieces, as well as ignoring a lack of service and warranty. Still waiting to see an actual quote from a European bakfiets dealer for total price of U.S. delivery that is cheaper than the current U.S. dealer retail price for a delivered bakfiets at the few places in the U.S. that sell them.

As previously posted the savings allegedly realized from bakfiet use replacing a motor vehicle are gross exaggerations unless an individual previously owned the car to drive only short distances and nothing else, 800 miles/year to use your example

Also using a fabricated $1/mile rate as the cost for driving each additional mile of an already owned vehicle leads to an inflated savings figure, though it is useful for exaggerating the alleged savings from bakfiet use. Don't forget the cost of the real estate/apartment sq. footage needed to store such an oversize heavy rig in dense urban areas like NYC.

Delivery company use and what you see in use in NL are not really the issue of the OP's situation.

Bakfiets make a lot of sense for commercial deliveries, but for a family to have a bike dedicated just to grocery runs or hauling stuff seems like overkill when a trailer is a lot more versatile and folds up when you're not using it. From a kid hauling perspective, a trailer means that kids are behind rather than in front of you which is a drawback, but not nearly as much as being implied. Sure, the kids' view towards the front is somewhat impeded but it's not like they can't see anything and they are certainly capable of turning their heads so they can see out the sides.

When our kids were young enough to ride in the trailer, we usually put half a dozen little picture books in the pockets along with whatever small toys they were into. They were in their own little worlds and really didn't pay that much attention to what was going on outside the trailer. More often than not, they were asleep within 10 minutes. The real bonus with that type of trailer (a Burley) and others is that it doubled as a stroller so it was also very useful once you got to where you were going. The rain canopy was always available, you just rolled down the clear flaps in the front and back and snapped them into place. With a bakfiets it sounds like it's quite a bit more hassle.

We spent $400 on the Burley 15 years ago and it seemed like a small fortune to us at the time. It's more than we've spent on any single bike purchase. We still have it and use it for cargo hauling but most of the time it's folded up hanging in the garage. It folds flat so it'll fit easily into the trunk of a small car which may not have much value from a European perspective, but for us that was a big plus.

Would the OP want to use a trailer on busy urban streets? That's a legitimate question. A bakfiets might feel safer which is important but it's probably more psychological than real. A trailer like a Burley is actually pretty visible and though it's not as tall as a person on a bike, there's a person on a bike right in front of it. I can't really imagine any situations where a driver would see a Bakfiets and not a bike pulling a trailer.

Your point that it's not a useful thing for the masses is true but not terribly relevant. As you and @woodycooks (the original poster) pointed out, it doesn't work for her. I mentioned the type as a point of interest, in case it helps her. (Are we sure woodycocks is a woman?) She said she's glad to know about it, even though she can't use it, so I hope you don't mind my mentioning these things. They are useful to a handful of people, and knowing about them doesn't cost thousands of dollars.

And for what it's worth, it's a Dutch word. The singular is bakfiets (and ends in an 's'), and the plural is bakfietsen and doesn't end in an 's'. Dutch is weird to English speakers.

Might be a benefit to have the kids in a trailer behind you. Most of the bad things that happen on the road (cars pulling out in front of you, car doors opening, cars turning into you, etc) happen from the front rather than the rear.

I have no reason to believe that isn't true. My statement was based on the belief I have that most parents would prefer to have their kids where they can easily see and interact with them. It might actually be safer to have the kids behind you so they don't become a distraction. And in the US at least, kids under a certain size have to ride in the back seat of a car so it's not like both parent and child aren't used to that arrangement.

Still, if I were to be honest, I'd rather have the kids in front. The preference isn't strong enough that I would choose a bakfiets over a trailer, but it's a preference nonetheless.

I'm actually a man, but don't let that stop anyone.

Nomad Cycle in Queens is selling Yuba bikes, starting at $1,000.

Not that I have one, or really that much of a hankering, but for a North American source at $1600 CAD...... These guys are in Toronto. It apparently comes with the canopy.

Personally, I've used a bike trailer until now, and now use a Burley Kazoo for the 3yo, while the 5yo bikes (school is 2.5km away)

Wike Box Bike | Wike Bicycle Trailers - The Walk and Bike Company

of course [MENTION=438647]woodycooks[/MENTION]. do come back and post on whatever you end up deciding on and how you like it!

there are a lot of posts here as to what to get and what not to get and why but i really think it's an individual thing/preference and you should test ride all the bikey-kid things you can possibly test and use *your own* experience to make a decision. being in NYC, there are lots of shops (especially in brooklyn!) and this should be easier than in most other places

Late to the thread, but I thought I'd add a couple of thoughts:
(1) For cargo carrying with a rear seat, take a look at the Easyfit XL adapter, which allows you to have rear panniers along wih a Yepp Maxi or Junior seat: Home / Bicycle Seat / GMG Yepp Bicycle Seat / GMG Yepp Parts / GMG Easyfit/Junior Parts / Gmg Adaptor Easyfit Carrier Xl It would put the weight fairly far back but may affect handling less than a front rack.
(2) I recommend ordering kids seats from Holland Bike Shop; even with shipping they are substantially less than U.S. dealers
(3) Get a double kickstand for ease of loading. I recommend the Ursus Jumbo.

Thanks @mel2012! I'll check 'em out.