I don’t know about you, but often we have wanted a basket that was slightly bigger than a Wald 137 but not as big as a Wald 139. Which is why we were stoked when we heard that Manivelle were releasing a basket that was just that! And It’s made in France!

For those unfamiliar with Manivelle, they are French frame builders, Thomas, and Silvan, based in Strasbourg, crafting custom bikes for long distances, whether it is on road or on singletracks. They build no more than 2 bikes a month, this maintains their passion for framebuilding and means every build is a truly personal project for everyone involved.

Perhaps you remember seeing their Concours de Machines build in 2021? When Silvin reached out looking for custom bags for this project we jumped at the chance. This is how we got to know Manivelle, but we since found out we have a lot in common; their roots are in cycle touring, just like us, and they also share our enthusiasm for highly crafted, locally made things.

Europe's first bike basket is clever, smart and super versatile. A true modern classic.

But frame building isn't the only thing Manivelle excel at...

They are also engineers who love to design products. They were drawn to the bike basket for one simple reason, there wasn’t a made in Europe bike basket.

Twenty kilometers from their workshop in Strasbourg is a factory, Caddie. For almost 100 years Caddie have been mastering the art of bending and welding tubes, primarily making shopping trollies. There’s a high chance that at some point you have pushed a Caddie trolly around a supermarket or airport. Silvan is quick to points out the obvious; ‘a trolly is basically a huge basket with wheels’, so on a whim, they decided to call them up! What followed was multiple calls, eventually all the way up to CEO, an exclusive contract and Europe’s first bike basket was born.

Their situation was unique, usually you develop a product and then find someone with the capacity to produce it, but instead the basket was designed with Caddie’s capabilities as a core element and involved a lot of dialogue between Silvan and Thomas and the engineers at Caddie. The result is a very smart, very clever, modern classic in a very practical size.

We were so impressed that it was a no-brainer from us to take the time to tweak our Alakazam Basket Bag pattern to fit the Manivelle Basket.

What do we love about the Manivelle Basket?

Made from ultra strong zinc plated steel, the Manivelle Basket is available in Silver and Black, with or without hardware. A practical size that sits in between the Wald 137 and 139, it’s also not as tall as either Wald, giving it a slender profile and smart proportions.

Without hardware, the basket is easily cable tied or Voile Strapped to your favourite front rack. If you don’t have a front rack, or you just want to take advantage of the clever design of the Manivelle hardware, the with-hardware version attaches the basket to your fork crown and the legs to fork mounts or, and this is where it get’s really cool, your axle.

We think this design is really impressive for its versatility, and because the hardware doesn’t attach to your bars like the Wald, your basket sits low over your wheel for a super smart fit.

And it’s made in Europe! A real winner in our eyes.

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