Oops I did it again!
 

OK don't SHOUT at me! I know it's got those weird big wheels & the only thing that folds is the hood, but I just had to have this
And, yes! I did do an "If you can't beat 'em, Join 'em!" I sniped it.

Plan to spend 3 days with my GF & camping gear, riding it back from the seller, with a Vintage Show in the middle.

Up to my jewels in mud @ Glastonbury Festival! Mud plugging ride on Strida5 (& mate on GoBike) later, if it slows to less than monsoon rains! LOL! :p

Handsome piece. :thumb:

Are they quick-release wheels ? :lol:

I'm Indonesian, and I know I speak for the majority that we'd gladly trade our becaks for your Bromptons and Raleighs. Well, most of us, ranggapanji probably excepted.

Please do post pics and journal of your feat. You'll soon become an Indonesian legend. You're already my hero for even contemplating the trip.

i am shouting now. kidding aside that's a nice one. are they hard to pedal when fully occupied ? anyone tried or ridden this kind of bike ? you need a real garage to park it.

I arr jeelouz

Fantastic! All the ones I rode in India had the seats on the back, and cost less than that brand new. I'd love one

That's a wonderful looking vehicle, but I suspect it might be a pain to ride. I hope you enjoy it and perform many mighty feats of riding on it.

Google Maps says you have a trip of about 277 miles a ahead of you. If that is right, and I'm guessing your home location from some sort of folk memory that tells me you live in Swansea, you will do well to ride that home in three days.

It is fixed gear. If you think fixed gear bike is difficult to pedal, It is 10 times harder.
The good thing is you don't need to maintain balance except when take a turn with high speed.

Cool!

Even better!

Better yet! Do you and the lovely lady plan to take turns pedaling?

You done good! Just don't get hit by a truck, I mean lorry, lest it gets folded after all.

I have ridden this type of bike lots in Chiapas, carrying heavly loads of water, coconuts, passengers, etc. It is fine as long as the road is flat.
Be prepared to push very hard up even the smallest hills (esp. when loaded)
In Malaysia, it is common for the rickshaw drivers to ask you to dismount just to pedal over a small bridge!

Thanks for the positive comments, just going to get my first look at it this morning,
I'm told it has no gears
The lady of the house is not a cyclist so she didn't know if it's a fixie
The 3 day holiday is looking a bit dodgy for several reasons
Just took Glenda, my GF to Glastonbury with "The Noisettes" (pronounced Noise-Ettes) where we enjoyed a great time (on full pay :thumb: ) saw Tom Jones, Madness & Echo & The Bunnymen, as she is self-employed, she now cannot come next weekend & work & see her kids
It is starting to look like I too will be working this weekend. Grrr! Rock n Roll!
Having checked the route, the A14 is a seriously dangerous trunk route (even for a bicycle)
the alternatives are very narrow & hilly, too dangerous to be pushing a rickshaw up the many hills & the brakes need some attention.

BTW EvilV, the bus company I work for is based about 40 miles from the seller, I was never intending to ride it 277 miles in 3 days! Faint!!!! :lol:

So I'm having to scale my epic ride down a bit, possibly pick it up today, give it a good check lube etc (it hasn't been ridden in at least 7 years) then do a few shorter rides & try to ride it to the vintage rally (if it is safe to leave it there un-attended) If I don't have to work, I'll give kids rides for donations to charity.

I aim to add electric assist at a later date so that I can use it for weddings, proms etc I also need to make a transparent wrap around curtain/windscreen to keep my poor victims dry in our unsettled weather.

I'll keep you all posted.

Safe riding!

Fantastic stuff Chop! Good luck with this rarity! You could start a business in central London! Much more stylish than the regular ones used there!

Fantastic!!!

OK Guys & Gals, here's an update :-

I picked my Becak up yesterday, in a trailer, it would have been suicide to try to ride it home with almost no brakes & along narrow but extremely busy roads with lots of heavy trucks. We would probably have died, either on the first hill or under the wheels of a fast moving truck! :eek:

The rims & spokes seem quite new and it has a freewheel (don't know if it had one originally)
There are no brakes on the front wheels and only very dodgy looking rubber blocks which are forced up under the rim by pushing the lever, in front of the seat, down. (see pics)
Think I'll fit drum or band brakes on the front wheels.

I rode it about 1/2 mile last night, when I had to ride down the hill (our road is un-made & a cul-de-sac) it was interesting, verging on terrifying!!!!!!
It gave one of our neighbours a good laugh as I passed him, looking a bit worried, betting each other whether it would stop before I plowed into the fence at the bottom of our road!

I asked the seller how he got the Becak back from Indonesia, the answer shocked & annoyed me, they bought it in a car boot sale! And knew, next to, nothing about it. Don't think they paid very much for it.
Why can't I find bargains like that?

So I advise you all to avoid the Essex/Suffolk border at lunchtime as I'm taking it out for a few miles , solo, before dragging my poor long-suffering GF out for an evening 'adventure'.

I enclose a pic of the 'number plate' anyone got any ideas where it's from?

In case this is my last post, it was nice knowing you all!!!!!!! :p

Safe riding! (well got to be safer than me! :roflmao2:)

From the ride height and fender design, it's likely to have come from Yogyakarta.
Here's a Becak Yogya identification guide:
http://issuu.com/matatita/docs/becak
If you go several pages towards the front, there's another article on becak, including manufacturer contact and pricing.
The traditional-style like yours go for up to GBP150, and the modern more streamlined one with 5 speeds go for GBP120. GBP2.50 buys you custom fender paintjob.
A 2-year registration is 63p.

The latest number plates begin with YB. Yours, hmm... could be an older style? Can't help there, sorry!
"Satu Hati" appears to be the becak co-op name, this is #1 of the lot. And "Kiki" is likely to be the owner's name.

Can I post this thread to an Indonesian cycling forum? People from Yogyakarta should be able to help more.

LOL - enjoy it, and if you don't post any more, we'll know to scan the obit columns of the Welsh newspapers so we can send flowers.

It looks an amazing machine, but the rear brake looks like something invented around 1878. Reminds me of the 'spoon' brakes they had on penny farthings.

What was it like to pedal? Looks like it would need a fair bit of input power to get it going along smartly. I suspect the electric assist idea would be a good addition and there is plenty of scope for battery storage. Here's an idea for upgrading the brakes.... You could chuck it off the back in an emergency when tearing downhill with your wedding party aboard.

http://www.freefoto.com/images/2026/...Anchor_web.jpg

Thanks for the interesting link! And yes, by all means post this thread, if it helps me get more info, that would be great!

P.S. went to the pub on it this afternoon, (see pics including barmaid trying it for size) but GF suddenly had an awful lot to do as soon as I mentioned our 'adventure' LOL! So we didn't go out at all! :lol:

I heard my name mentioned here. thank you, joseff.
this "thing" is difficult yet fun to ride. here in Indonesia, we have a variety of becak designs. for example, becak from Jogja, like yours, is different from the ones from Malang or Surabaya, for example. becaks from East Java are tend to have long wheelbase. I never comprehend why.
from the fender design, I'd say yours is from Central Java, from Semarang or Surakarta maybe.
in some regions of Sumatra, the rider (or driver, if you prefer that) sits on the right side of the vehicle, so it's more like a sidecar.
becaks are not legal in Jakarta, unfortunately. but again, if you want to trade becaks with track bike frames, we'll be gladly not to refuse.

Passenger ones are illegal. Many are (thinly) disguised as cargo models and are still around. But you guys wouldn't be interested, they're more utilitarian and not as pretty as the Jogja ones.

Thank you all for all the information.
I finally got my Girlfriend & her 13 year old daughter to ride in my Becak but going over a humpback bridge needed a super-human effort to reach the top without them getting out.
We visited a local Carnival where I parked with the Steam Traction Engine, there are also pics giving a friend's kids a ride around the village.
I'm amazed that I haven't lost pounds peddling this thing, and on a very hot & sticky GoBike ride up a lot of hills breathing in zillions of insects, YUK!

Safe & sweaty riding! :thumb:

aha. that's why they equip it with fixed gears. helps you a lot in ascends.
in some hilly region they even fit it with ridiculously low gearing, like 40/22 or so.