The recall of a number of Babboe cargo bicycle models was officially made in Ireland today after a previous warning not to use the bicycles.
11 of the company’s cargo bike models and e-bike versions are subject to the full recall, while 18 are subject to the inspection warning.
One Babboe user based in Ireland said that they had filled in the online form a couple of weeks ago and were contacted today by a courier picking up their old bike. They have chosen the option to get a Raleigh Stride in exchange but don’t know when they will receive the new bike at this point.
A number of others had contacted IrishCycle.com in the last week or two, not knowing what to do, expressing issues with trying to register their bike for recall or inspection via an international recall site, but an Ireland-focused recall site is now online.
A notice of CCPC.ie, the website of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, said Babboe is recalling CITY, CITY E, MINI, MINI E, Pro Trike, Pro Trike-E, Pro Trike XL, City Mountain (produced before 2020), Slim Mountain, Transporter and Transporter E cargo bikes.
The notice added: “In addition, the following Babboe cargo bike models will be inspected and, if necessary, repaired: Curve / Curve Mountain, Big, Dog, Mini Mountain, City Mountain (Post 2020), Carve Mountain, Go Mountain, Flow Mountain, Curve-E, Big-E, Dog-E, Max-E, Carve-E, Go-E, Flow-E, Pro Bike-E and Pro Bike Midmotor.”
Owners of the above-mentioned bicycles can visit checkyourcargobikeireland.com for details on the recall.
The official recall today follows a safety notice issued on the CCPC’s website in March and, before that, a recall in the Netherlands, where Babboe is based.
The action by the Dutch consumer agency was sparked by an investigation by Dutch news outlet RTL. A former Babboe employee told RTL: “I have often seen emails from customers stating that there has been an accident.” Another is quoted as stating: “I’m surprised there have been no deaths yet.”
Babboe is a budget cargo bike brand owned by the Accell Group, which also owns Raleigh, Batavus, Lapierre, Haibike, Winora, Ghost, and Koga. The warning and recall do not affect cargo bikes made by other manufacturers in the wider group of companies.
Their compensation offer is a joke. We bought a babboe City in 2019 for €950 and they have offered us just €84 because they haven’t kept proper records on their frame numbers. All for a problem of their creation and having left us with an unusable bike for nearly six months. I’d be interested to hear about the experience of others and if anyone is considering legal action of some sort.