Discussion
As part of my continuing n+1 diversification strategy, cargo bikes are now on my radar. My justification to Mrs John is that it will be handy for going to the local shop, butcher etc.
I've only just started looking, so would appreciate any feedback anyone has from actually using one. Currently looking at the Kona Ute, but wondering if something with a flat deck or box in front of the handlebars would be more useful, such as a Bullitt bike
I've only just started looking, so would appreciate any feedback anyone has from actually using one. Currently looking at the Kona Ute, but wondering if something with a flat deck or box in front of the handlebars would be more useful, such as a Bullitt bike
Hey, We've had one for nearly 2 years now. We have an Xtracycle Edgerunner which we bought second hand. It was originally modified by the previous owner to have an 11 Speed Alfine hub as they liked the fact that you could change gear when stationary and then pull away in a low gear with a heavy load. We have one car and the bike, but during the summer months we try and use the bike as much as we can for shorter journeys (to the shop, the beach, the park, the library etc) and I actually love it. I go for the bike over the car as it's quick, fun to ride and obviously you don't have to pay for parking and can just pull up at your destination. We have the cargo deck seat with the side bags and it's great for a decent sized shopping trip and/or hauling our 2 kids around on (they're 5), although I have taken both children AND both of their bikes for a trip too.
After a year of ownership I added a 250w Electric kit to it as the hills were getting a bit of a struggle and it was taking the joy out of it a bit! I bought the kit on the Cycle to Work scheme. It's a basic battery and front wheel motor and we just use ours with a throttle. It's really transformed the bike as obviously it's made the hard bits much easier.
Ours rides like a 'normal bike' although it is obviously very long. It's a mullet bike and so has a 26" front wheel and a 24" rear which helps lower the centre of gravity for the load. I think that the newer cargo bikes that have been designed as ebikes certainly will be better. Perhaps see if you can test ride one? Where are you based, i'd be welcome to let you take a run on mine if you're ever around the Portsmouth area.
After a year of ownership I added a 250w Electric kit to it as the hills were getting a bit of a struggle and it was taking the joy out of it a bit! I bought the kit on the Cycle to Work scheme. It's a basic battery and front wheel motor and we just use ours with a throttle. It's really transformed the bike as obviously it's made the hard bits much easier.
Ours rides like a 'normal bike' although it is obviously very long. It's a mullet bike and so has a 26" front wheel and a 24" rear which helps lower the centre of gravity for the load. I think that the newer cargo bikes that have been designed as ebikes certainly will be better. Perhaps see if you can test ride one? Where are you based, i'd be welcome to let you take a run on mine if you're ever around the Portsmouth area.
We've got a Winther Kangaroo, something like this:
https://www.powertothepedal.bike/product-page/wint...
We got it second hand for £800, it has an 8 speed Nexus hub, and is not power assisted. Leg power only.
The kids love it, and it's good to have them in front of you rather than in a trailer on the back. The wife was going to use it for the school run, but she's f
king lazy so doesn't bother. It now gets used by me for the odd school run, and for trips to the allotment.
If the wife had been more disciplined, she would have become fitter and stronger as the kids got bigger, and therefore would have been able to get it up the moderate hills on the way to school. She didn't, so now can't really use it as the kids are too heavy. At 4 and 6.
Whether this would have been any different if it was powered is unknown. I suspect she still wouldn't be arsed to get out of the house a few minutes earlier to get to school if it was powered. As it is, it's a relatively expensive garage ornament.
We may have had an argument or two about it.
https://www.powertothepedal.bike/product-page/wint...
We got it second hand for £800, it has an 8 speed Nexus hub, and is not power assisted. Leg power only.
The kids love it, and it's good to have them in front of you rather than in a trailer on the back. The wife was going to use it for the school run, but she's f
king lazy so doesn't bother. It now gets used by me for the odd school run, and for trips to the allotment.If the wife had been more disciplined, she would have become fitter and stronger as the kids got bigger, and therefore would have been able to get it up the moderate hills on the way to school. She didn't, so now can't really use it as the kids are too heavy. At 4 and 6.
Whether this would have been any different if it was powered is unknown. I suspect she still wouldn't be arsed to get out of the house a few minutes earlier to get to school if it was powered. As it is, it's a relatively expensive garage ornament.
We may have had an argument or two about it.
Here in Cambridge, the Dutch Bakfiets are quite popular - can be used for cargo or kids. Quite pricey though! But I guess they fit the Cambridge hipster profile.
https://www.leftfieldbikes.com/shop/recreation/bak...
https://www.leftfieldbikes.com/shop/recreation/bak...
louiebaby said:
The wife was going to use it for the school run, but she's fking lazy so doesn't bother. It now gets used by me for the odd school run, and for trips to the allotment.
If the wife had been more disciplined, she would have become fitter and stronger as the kids got bigger, and therefore would have been able to get it up the moderate hills on the way to school. She didn't, so now can't really use it as the kids are too heavy. At 4 and 6.
Whether this would have been any different if it was powered is unknown. I suspect she still wouldn't be arsed to get out of the house a few minutes earlier to get to school if it was powered. As it is, it's a relatively expensive garage ornament.
We may have had an argument or two about it.
It's good that you're not bitter about it. Festering resentment can be unhealthy for a marriage.king lazy so doesn't bother. It now gets used by me for the odd school run, and for trips to the allotment.If the wife had been more disciplined, she would have become fitter and stronger as the kids got bigger, and therefore would have been able to get it up the moderate hills on the way to school. She didn't, so now can't really use it as the kids are too heavy. At 4 and 6.
Whether this would have been any different if it was powered is unknown. I suspect she still wouldn't be arsed to get out of the house a few minutes earlier to get to school if it was powered. As it is, it's a relatively expensive garage ornament.
We may have had an argument or two about it.
The longest journey we've done is probably from our house out to Chichester and back which according to Strava is around 45km with 300m of climbing. The battery was pretty much depleted after this trip. I'll quite often go out on it for a whole day with the kids and we'll just cruise about and stop lots of places along the way. It's a big bike with lots of storage so you can just load up and have a decent heavy chain to lock it up (what's an extra few kilos?!).
One thing I would suggest is to think about how and where you are going to store the bike at home. Our bike is too big to go in our small bike shed and so it actually lives in the lounge. This means that getting it out to use it is a little bit of a faff. I think that in order to get the most out of it and genuinely use it as a car replacement then it needs to be at least as convenient to use as your car. We have thought about installing an anchor point on the drive and putting a cover on it so that it's always there ready to go.
I love ours and think it's great, but as Louiebaby has mentioned, you need to get in the mindset of using it as the more you do it the easier it becomes. My wife was a bit slow to get using it, but since we got the motor she's probably used it more than me!
One thing I would suggest is to think about how and where you are going to store the bike at home. Our bike is too big to go in our small bike shed and so it actually lives in the lounge. This means that getting it out to use it is a little bit of a faff. I think that in order to get the most out of it and genuinely use it as a car replacement then it needs to be at least as convenient to use as your car. We have thought about installing an anchor point on the drive and putting a cover on it so that it's always there ready to go.
I love ours and think it's great, but as Louiebaby has mentioned, you need to get in the mindset of using it as the more you do it the easier it becomes. My wife was a bit slow to get using it, but since we got the motor she's probably used it more than me!
Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated. I've got lots of storage in the garage so no issues there - the other bikes live in a room in the house but this would be too big.
As much as this is a practical bike (or so I tell myself...) and therefore less indulgent than something made of carbon, I had no idea they would be quite this expensive - up to £4k for some of them!
Food for thought this weekend
As much as this is a practical bike (or so I tell myself...) and therefore less indulgent than something made of carbon, I had no idea they would be quite this expensive - up to £4k for some of them!
Food for thought this weekend
www.cycleofgood.com/elephant-bike
Do your environmental bit too, apparently the Post Office were going to put 60,000 unwanted post bikes into landfill, now most of them go over to Africa, with some left to sell to the likes of us.
Do your environmental bit too, apparently the Post Office were going to put 60,000 unwanted post bikes into landfill, now most of them go over to Africa, with some left to sell to the likes of us.
Edited by straight dad on Saturday 24th August 19:08
straight dad said:
www.cycleofgood.com/elephant-bike
Do your environmental bit too, apparently the Post Office were going to put 60,000 unwanted post bikes into landfill, now most of them go over to Africa, with some left to sell to the likes of us.
I used to work at a sorting office that had a couple of those bikes (that weren't used for deliveries), that lay about until 2013-ish before going back to the main mail centre. Not sure what eventually happened to them.Do your environmental bit too, apparently the Post Office were going to put 60,000 unwanted post bikes into landfill, now most of them go over to Africa, with some left to sell to the likes of us.
Edited by straight dad on Saturday 24th August 19:08
I'm not paying for something I could have had for free
john_1983 said:
I used to work at a sorting office that had a couple of those bikes (that weren't used for deliveries), that lay about until 2013-ish before going back to the main mail centre. Not sure what eventually happened to them.
I'm not paying for something I could have had for free
"Not sure what eventually happened to them?"I'm not paying for something I could have had for free
Maybe a charity took them of the Post Offices hands, sent some to Africa and kept some to sell to the likes of us!
eCargos look to have taken off in Berlin, as a sort of eco-SUV
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/25/carg...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/25/carg...
Loads of my friends (and my son’s schoolmates) use these https://www.urbanarrow.com/ bikes. We don’t have a bakfiets simply because our school is 100m from home 
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