Front Bike Basket: 11 of the Best Stylish Baskets

There’s no denying it. The Portland Design is titchy. The manufacturers claim that the basket handles a “five burritos, three chinchillas or an extra layer of clothing”.

Hardly acres of space.

However, if your primary mission is nipping down the high street or chucking in the odd bottle of milk, then we’d say the dimensions are perfect.

After all, the Portland is small, but perfectly formed. Its aluminium build is satisfyingly low-weight, and once you’ve got your head around the finicky installation system, it’s robust enough to stay put.

Credit is also due for the clever U-Lock carrier. Built into the front bar, it’s a thoughtful, and unique feature that saves you scratching your frame or maxing out a backpack. A sign of that the American design team have put in the miles. As is the fact that the Portland is suitable for both standard, and drop handle bars.

Overall, a big surprise in a little package. Just don’t buy any beer kegs while you’re out.

With Public Bikes’ Removable Metal Basket, the clue’s in the name.

A spring-loaded mechanism allows for incredibly quick removal – and as Public are quick to stress, no clothes will be harmed with WD-40 at any point in the process.

A comfortable carry handle boosts the all-around ease of use. Fill it the brim in the greengrocer aisles and clip straight back on for the ride home. Be warned, though. The wide grid design means we can envisage a few stray tomatoes slipping through the gaps.

Otherwise, the metal build is sweetly utilitarian. As an added bonus, the Public can be fitted to the front or rear racks of your bike. Reviewers have mentioned that they’d like to see an anti-theft mechanism, but it’s likely the only people this would deter is shoppers looking for a speedy release.

Unfortunately, it’s only currently available for cyclists based in the US.

Want to haul that set of dumbbells you bought off e-Bay? Or that big bag of cement your mate was clearing out?

Basil have the basket for you.

The German manufacturer’s offering to the market is satisfyingly no-frills. It’s a plastic crate that offers a 40L capacity – more than enough room for some hefty cross-town hauling.

The Crate features a quick click mechanism; it can be easily removed when full. A sweet relief for when carting heavy loads.

The Crate also comes in a variety of colour ways. While the original black matte finish is downright practical, the pink and green will add a poppy flash of colour to your ride.

A quick warning, though. The Basil is designed to work with the MIK accessories range, meaning that if your bike doesn’t have these already integrated, you’ll have to buy an additional adapter plate.

This shouldn’t deter you from a beautifully useful product.

Looks can be deceiving – and Zukka’s offering is a case in point.

On first glance, the basket looks to be straight out of the workshop of a master craftsman. Just one glance at those chunky leather buckles and plaited wood and you can almost smell the polish..

The Zukka, though, is actually the product of some space-age “artificial weaving technology”. And that wicker that looked so earthy? High-quality imitation plastic.

A disappointment for traditionalists, maybe, but it’s perfect for cyclists searching for a fusion of style and substance. Even those beautiful buckles seem to keep the basket in place with only the most minimal of movement. You’ll be able to leave it in the rain without the peril of mould or mildew.

We’d recommend it as a very happy marriage of form and function.

Every ride is unique, so why can’t our accessories be? This is Public’s thinking. The adjustable leg system on their Front Wire Basket means you can adapt it not only to your bike, but to the route you’re planning to log on Strava.

At its most basic, the Public’s legs extend so that they can be attached either to the eyelet or fork axle of your wheel. The handlebar clamps are also much longer than usual. These give you a larger wheel clearance and make the Wire Basket extremely versatile.

Versatility does have its limits. Public are keen to remind buyers that this doesn’t mean you can overload your basket. Weight on the handlebars will change the way your bike handles, often making it twitchier and harder to ride. Even the most innovative basket can’t counter this, and riders must practise caution.

Trek know a thing or two about build quality, so it’s no surprise that has received universally positive reviews. The Electra is an imitation wicker basket with an glowing spec sheet: 11lb load capacity, steel and a lightweight build.

It does come with a hefty price tag, but compared to the painfully high cost of fuel, you could argue its a bargain. Well, almost.

The Electra is fitted with a bolt-on, not quick release attachment. And although this makes it trickier to install, it’ll work in your favour. Once installed, you’ll have a sturdy accessory that shouldn’t budge, no matter pot-holed your local cycle paths are.

We’re also fans of the Electra for its roomy dimensions. New owners sweetly claim that it’s a particular pleasure to load up for a day trip to the beach. Towels, a bottle of sun cream and some sandwiches, the Electra will take it all.

Cheese and crackers, salt and vinegar – some thing are just natural pairs. And if you’ve just bought an elegant Dutch bike, chances are you’ll be looking for the perfect accessory to compliment it. You could always test out other material – plastic might last far longer – but there’s something magic about a classic wicker basket sat atop one of those sweeping frames.

This model speaks the language of academia. It’s easy to imagine it loaded with overdue library books, as its owner careers to campus. It’s one of the only true wicker models on this list. And so each basket is a unique creation, right down to the look of the weave.

The traditional styling does have drawbacks. For starters, it’s a weighty 2kg before it’s even been filled up. Secondly, there’s the question of damp. It might be a heritage piece, but it won’t last to be an heirloom if you leave on your bike out in the rain.

Trek’s Electra Front Basket is so sugar-sweet it’s almost edible. A baby pink design with a charming honeycomb metalwork, it’ll make toting around your odds and ends pleasure. Especially if those ‘odds’ are – as in the case of one American shopper – a tasty “box of cupcakes”.

Of course, if the build quality isn’t great, the Trek’s offering could turn sickly fast. Thankfully, it meets the typical high standards we’ve come to expect from Trek. The construction is steel, meaning it won’t rust beneath that lovely pink glaze.

It can also be attached to a range of bikes, from your classic Dutch ride all the way to fixies with drop bars.

At a kilogram in weight, it will add some heft to your bike, but clearly, the emphasis here is on style and not performance. If pink’s not really your thing, it comes a soft teal, or tan as well as a classic grey.