Because of the sheer variety of roles our bicycles perform, they have to be pretty impressive. Indeed, they can be listed as: waterproof, secure, lockable, stable, rugged, quick and manoeuvrable. They are even (mildly) aerodynamic!

The inventor of such a machine could be none other than Mike Burrows, more famous for designing the svelte Lotus time-trial bike with which Chris Boardman won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics. He also made some of the best early recumbent bikes; hence the move to a load carrying machine (it’s called an ‘8-freight’) might appear a little out of character!

The 8-foot wheel base and aluminium construction give the bike a very smooth ride, enabling cakes and computers to be moved without concern. It is also thin - at no point wider than the handlebars - and so can make use of cycle routes to avoid traffic. We are great proponents of this bike and now operate the largest fleet of 8-freights in the world.

The design of the attached aluminium box can only be blamed on us but the expert metalwork is done by Steelcraft in Soham.

For a peek at other freight bikes and how they are used around the globe, visit www.workbike.org.