Safety defects

Babboe cargo bikes: recall and sales ban

A cargo bike of the Babboe Curve type

(Bild: Achim Wagner - stock.adobe.com)

The sale of the popular Babboe cargo bikes has been banned by the authorities until further notice. "The safety of the cargo bikes is insufficiently guaranteed", explained the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) on Friday. Trade in Austria is also affected.

The Dutch company must also recall the bikes of eight models: Babboe City/ City-E/ City Mountain; Babboe Curve/ Curve-E/ Curve Mountain; Babboe Big/ Big-E; Babboe Dog/ Dog-E; Babboe Max-E; Babboe Mini-E/ Mini Mountain; Babboe Pro Trike/ Trike-E/ Trike XL; Babboe Carve-E/ Carve Mountain.

Reports of broken bicycle frames
The Dutch TV station RTL had initially reported on serious safety deficiencies. There had been numerous reports of bicycle frames breaking without any external influence. The authorities accuse the company of not reporting the defects. The cause of the defects had also not been sufficiently investigated and no measures had been taken. It is currently investigating whether criminal investigations should be initiated.

Authority: "Risk of serious injuries"
According to the authority, there is a high risk of the frame breaking on the bikes that have now been recalled. "This can lead to very serious injuries. For example, if children fall out of the crate while cycling. Especially in heavy traffic." The authority advises customers to stop using Babboe bikes for the time being.