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@thebrenthamtaffy Thank you so much - that's really useful!
Sounds exactly like what I'm after.
Hopefully soon I'll be in a position to have a look and try for myself/ourselves and make a decision on a purchase.
gridds-
gridds, there is a downside and that is cost. The Douze worked out to be the most expensive out of all the options we looked at. If money isn't an issue then you could also consider a power-assist model which would really help with pulling away at lights and give more confidence pulling out at junctions etc. Bosch & Shimano do great systems, but expect another £1,000 vs. standard! Good luck with it all!
Ta!
Tim
thebrenthamtaffy
gridds,
We have the Douze F1 as on their website. Spec is step-through rear frame, medium front end, Alfine 8 and full canopy for our little man. Chose this over Bakfiets Short and Bullitt. Bought from LGC who were super-helpful and we managed to test all 3 around where we live (they may have stopped offering this though). Needed a bike that both me and my wife will happily ride and is used to drop our boy off at child care and then if I'm riding I head straight into work on it (6-7 miles total each way).
I wanted the Bullitt, but my wife hated riding it and was never comfortable on it, she loved the Bakfiets until she rode the Douze that won her over. For transporting the nipper it's perfect and handle like a dream. It is SO easy to ride. The cable steering enables tight manoeuvres (for a cargo bike!) through traffic and going around switchback turns on underpasses without any foot-down action. The tight turning circle is also useful for manoeuvring through doorways and parking up in a tight space too.
It's not as sporty/stretched as the Bullitt, but in the right gear with decent legs you can still fly along on this beast with a BIG grin on your face. I must say the Alfine 8 gears annoy the hell out of me as you need to lift a bit of pedal pressure off to change so you just can't stomp your way through the gear changes... :)
We're in Ealing, West London if you wanted a look/ride...
Ta!
Tim