Gazelle – Makki
An icon among electric cargo bikes
Navigating a heavy cargo bike with multiple kids, groceries and numerous items more isn’t an easy task. It was time to stir up the market. Gazelle & VanBerlo joined forces to create Makki. An IF award winning, iconic, electric cargo bike with a focus on comfort and safety.
Designed for and with families
Makki was designed with the input of parents and children. Prior to our ideation, Gazelle & VanBerlo hit the streets together with users and their cargo bikes to see and experience the challenges users face. We joined them in doing groceries, picking up the kids, parking our cargo bikes in central Amsterdam and pushing them out of the mud in rural areas.
Easy go
A traditional cargo bike is – simply put – a plain wooden box, which can be difficult for users to steady, load, get of the stand and get going. No more. To comfortably transport children or heavy groceries, the new Gazelle Makki is designed as a steady, lightweight bike. Fitted with a sturdy stand and a cut-out in the box, Makki makes it easy for kids to climb into the box by themselves and for users to get moving.
Comfort designed with today’s safety features
After multiple sketch sessions, several rounds of prototyping and validation with end users, the team concluded on a box design with the right functionality where it is needed: Its impact-resistant, double-walled bottom section acts as a bumper, whilst its upper part made of light weight foam with high walls for shoulder and head protection and prominent entry make it a joy for children to be transported in. Gazelle Makki ticks all the boxes of safety and comfort.
Iconic bike & box
Makki’s iconic design is characterized by an integrated, iconic frame. The line applied in the design reinforces the bikes dynamic character: friendly, unique and powerful. By integrating the box with the rest of the bike a visual unity was created; coherent form details make the bike a perfect Gazelle fit.
