We were great fans of the Donky cargo bike when it was launched about a decade ago – a cargo bike with a price tag as small as its wheels and dimensions narrow enough to allow storage in a hallway. Unfortunately it was produced in tiny numbers. Perhaps for the UK market it was ahead of its time.
The good news is that with cargo bike sales on the up, the Donky Bike concept has risen from the ashes in the form of the Big Billy.
About the same length as a Brompton, the Big Billy is designed to fit on trains, not feel big when using this country’s shared use paths and carry 60kg of cargo. It’s little but with a big capacity.
According to the team behind the Big Billy, it was important that the bike be British built: “We wanted to build a cargo bike in the UK, we couldn’t find anyone to make it for us, so we decided to build it ourselves. If you build in the Far East you get an Aluminium frame, we like steel for a cargo bike frame..it also meant that we could build it in the UK, there are metal fabricators in the UK….and that’s true, but to find one to make a low cost bicycle well that proved tricky…so we designed a bicycle frame whose tubes could be laser cut cut in numbers and cleverly (we think so anyway) make a kit of parts that we could weld together relatively quickly…(it still takes too long), so what you get is a no BS, steel frame, designed, produced, welded and painted completely in Bristol“.
Electric motor retrofit
You can buy your Big Billy as a pedal powered bicycle for £1200 and ride it like the work horse it is, but if you end up feeling like a pack mule, you can fit a mid mounted motor straight on. The company builds the bike from the start with components, frame fittings, wiring channels and strong hub gearing to make the retro fit a breeze.
Insurance for electric bikes
ETA Cycle Insurance covers all road-legal electric bicycles, ebikes and pedelecs as standard. If the output of your electric bike does not exceed 250 W/15.5 mph, it can be covered under our electric bike insurance at no additional cost. Every ETA cycle insurance policy includes the following as standard:
- Theft, accidental damage & vandalism
- Battery theft cover
- Cycle Rescue (breakdown cover for your electric bicycle and you)
- No devaluation of your bike no matter its age
- £2m third party PLUS £20,000 personal accident cover
- Shed and garage storage
- Low standard excess
- Any rider covered to use your bike
The ethical choice
The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance , breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.
The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK’s most ethical provider.
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