Spotted by a friend

I found out – Forever bicycles good and bad. A friend took these pictures on the street in Beijing. Intrigued I looked up the brand, as we were impressed by the design and the apparently sturdy quality.

 

Turned out the brand is Chinese and well-known. Shanghai Forever is one of Chinese oldest bicycle manufacturers whose brand is one of the most popular among the Chinese bicycling community. Founded in 1940, the bike quickly became a Shanghai staple before expanding into the rest of the country.
In 2001, the Zhonglu Group purchased the Forever brand to develop ‘Green’ and environmental friendly products. The brand is known for their creativity and stable approach to building bikes at a cost effective price.

Their website: https://www.forever-bicycle.com/sy
The website is pretty well-done. But of the 208 different bikes shown, no trace of that one.

Contact???

I used the contact listed on the website to enquire. Bad luck, as so often Chinese websites are not updated and don’t have a valid contact. Pretty sad for such a company.
So, will.yang@forever-bicycle.com did not work.
What could be the reason? Make a choice:

– the bike is a fake Forever
– Will was doing the website but left the building long time ago
– Will does not read English
– the company does not give a damn
– this is China!

Cargo bikes

Those bikes are mostly called “cargo bikes or cargocycles” and come in a variety of models. As far as I know you find quite a number in The Netherlands and Belgium.
See here more details:

Carry Kids On Bikes
Source: https://cargocycles.com.au/carry-kids-on-bikes/

Front mounted child seats
There are a couple of options for front mounting a child seat, and probably the simplest is a seat that attaches to the top of the handlebars – however, the added weight on the steering and much higher center of gravity can affect the handling of the bike.
Better options are front seats that attach to the top tube and steerer of the bike (which requires a level top tube), or to a bar that mounts between the seat post and head stem.

In our experience front mounted seats are best suited to smaller passengers. As they are situated under your chin as you ride, height becomes an issue. Some riders also need to resort to pedaling with their knees splayed out which can be uncomfortable on longer journeys. The big benefit of a front mounted seat is you and your child are able to interact easily, and they often participate in the riding experience (holding the handlebars, ringing the bell etc.). They are a great introduction or stepping stone for shorter journeys and will help your little ones get used to being a passenger on a bike.