International Cargo Bike Festival 2017

We sat down with Jorrit Kreek,
Founder of Urban Arrow, a Dutch
cargo bike company based in Amsterdam,
The Netherlands. The company
has been around for a decade and
has seen tremendous growth and interest
in cargo bikes. Jorrit gives us an
insider’s perspective on Urban Arrow
and cargo bikes in general.
Can you tell us about why you started
Urban Arrow?
A couple of years ago there seemed to be a
clear distinction between cargo bikes for
families and cargo bikes for businesses. We
took an inventory of all the cargo bikes and
found a major gap in the market: a sleek,
modern, upright cargo bike that works for
women, men, families and businesses. We
called our new brand Urban Arrow because
the bikes are meant to be used in cities
and they are fast like an arrow
thanks to the pedal assist.
What kind of customers do you have?
We focus on families with children and
businesses. It is so much fun to drive your
kids around on a cargo bike. The children
love it and so do the parents. Although
most of our bikes are bought by families,
we’re seeing a huge increase in small
businesses customers. Our bikes are all
electric-assist and modular, so depending
on the business’ needs you can customize
the frame and the “box.” We’ve worked all
types of delivery and courier businesses,
like UPS and Stuart (UK), or start-up home
delivery services. My personal favorite is
the CycloPlombier, a plumber in Paris who
rides his Urban Arrow all over the city fixing
leaky sinks and toilets. We also just finished
a fleet of customized extra-large cargo
bikes for Dutch supermarket-giant Albert
Heijn for their home delivery service. I love
seeing the creativity in all these different
businesses.
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