Cargo bike

We first saw the Urban Cargo at Eurobike 2008 and we've wanted to try one out ever since. Now we have and it turns out to be a very comfortable and capable town machine with some nice touches. It's not all good news though: the expensive spec didn't really enthrall us and the cargo system needs a bit of work. As such it's hard to recommend the bike as tested here, the derailleur option looks a much better bet.

Bullitt Bluebird 71 cargo bike - there were lots of load lugger at the show, but the Bullitts added an extra layer of style to the whole process

Bullitt passenger bike - coming soon to a street near you, hopefully

Load bikes are the new rock'n'roll apparently. More people want an alternative to their cars and, dare I say it, bikie types might want something more practical than another urban fixer. Current players on the scene are the Surly Big Dummy, the Yuba Mundo and Kona's Ute, with the Extracycle conversion kit as the joker in the pack. The Dummy and Mundo are probably better suited to shifting big loads than the Ute, but don't assume that Ute is merely a fashion item.