Bike 43, the Brussels-based company that makes long-tail bikes, will triple its production in its second year of operation. The aim is to produce 10 000 bikes over the next three years. To do so, it raised 1 million euros from investors. “The funds are exclusively dedicated to working capital for the stock of bicycle components.”

Two new entrepreneurs, Thibaut Dehem and Miguel Van Damme, contributed 400 000 euros to buy the business to set up the previous Luxembourg-based company in Brussels. The company also benefited from a 500 000 euros loan from finances.brussels and a 100 000 euros credit from the Credal cooperative.

With this recapitalization, the company claims to have become profitable and expects thus to triple its production in 2023. Currently, ten workers from the sheltered workshop Travie are assembling the bikes in Anderlecht, along the canal. The entry-level price is around 5 000 euros, with the most expensive models costing up to 6 000 euros.

Up to three children

Engineer and Bike 43-founder Etienne Richelle designed a prototype of his long-tail bike back in 2011. Five years ago, he launched the bike, which can carry up to three children and is easy to rig up with accessories.

Richelle designed the prototype for his wife, who did not have a driving license, to take the children to school. At the time, this type of long-tail bike, unlike the cargo bike, was not very common. The only company offering it was the French-Californian company Yuba.

Meanwhile, the ‘family bike’, marketed as a sustainable alternative to the car, is available at bike shops across Europe, even though competition has meanwhile become tougher with, for example, the rise of a manufacturer like Taiwan’s Tern. The company did not reveal any turnover of sales figures but says it is already profitable.

European bike

Currently, Bike 43 – pronounced as ‘Bike fo(u)r three’ – sells half of its bikes in Belgium and the other half elsewhere in Europe. These are mainly France, Germany, and the UK. It has also dealers in Austria, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.

The company points out that about 80% of the 150 parts of the bike come from Europe, such as the frame, which comes from Hungary, the saddle (from Italy), and the wheels, which come from Brittany. The bike can be equipped with a Bosch or Shimano motor.