[quiff]

Talk to me about cargo bikes! Following cargo related comments in the live blog today, I thought I’d spin it off into a forum thread for people to share experiences of cargo bikes. Front-loaders, long-tails, electric and acoustic, all welcome.         

Topic

[quiff]

Thanks again. Plucked up the

Thanks again. Plucked up the courage to sort it, and it was indeed a doddle to adjust. Now running smoothly!

[Rendel Harris]

No particular reason except I

No particular reason except I thought cargo bike fans might enjoy it, an old picture I came across yesterday of two ladies enjoying a ride on a cargo bike through London in 1927.

[andystow]

Steve K wrote:

Steve K wrote:

andystow wrote:

You could fit a cheap bike computer to the back where she can see it, and maybe even add a bell she can ring.

I get my children (who are a bit older – 12 and 10) to signal for me.

Have you taught them the two most important signals for expressing your dissatisfaction with someone’s driving?

[Steve K]

andystow wrote:

You could fit a cheap bike computer to the back where she can see it, and maybe even add a bell she can ring.

I get my children (who are a bit older – 12 and 10) to signal for me.

[andystow]

You could fit a cheap bike

You could fit a cheap bike computer to the back where she can see it, and maybe even add a bell she can ring.

[quiff]

Yes! She graduated from a

Yes! She graduated from a Hamax child seat on a normal bike to this overnight, so is luxuriating in the extra space (and I’m loving her lower centre of gravity!) She was a bit unnerved at first (and if I’m honest, so was I ) by not being strapped in, and I need to add some foot stirrups to give her something else to brace against (we had a firm but not emergency stop yesterday that sent her sliding into my back!) but she’s loving it. She also loves peering round at the speedo to tell me how fast I’m going.    

[Steve K]

Most importantly, is your kid

Most importantly, is your kid enjoying it?

 

[Creakingcrank]

Agree it’s annoying, but even

Agree it’s annoying, but even if the bike was assembled correctly, it’s not unusual for gear cables to go out of tune in the first few miles, as everything beds in. Best to adress it now, as hub gears don’t like being being run maladjusted. You’ll probably find you don’t need to touch it again for years* after that.

(*Obviously, everyone should maintain their bike more regularly than that!)

[quiff]

Thanks for the advice. It

Thanks for the advice. It feels like something that can be adjusted / will bed in rather than a catastophic issue, but is it too much to ask that something this expensive just works from new?! 

[Creakingcrank]

Looks great! Adjusting a

Looks great! Adjusting a Nexus 8 usually just involves putting it in 4th and twiddling the cable barrel at the shifter until the two yellow marks on the hub actuator thingy line up. For what it’s worth, I’ve always had better results using a trigger shifter for Nexus hubs, rather than the standard twist grip. And despite Shimano’s claims to the contrary, mine have never liked shifting under load.

[quiff]

Finally, 2 months after

Finally, 2 months after receiving the bike, got hold of the seating accessories and managed to use it as intended. Tern have redesigned the seating, so that slim seatpad and backrest you can see set me back £105! Unfortunately the Nexus gear hub seems to be slipping which, from a quick google, seems not uncommon. Unfortunate because I bought remotely, so taking it back for inspection / adjustment etc is not straightforward.    

[Steve K]

quiff wrote:

WANTED: Tern Madpad. Don’t suppose anyone has an unwanted Tern Clubhouse Madpad do they (i.e. the combined seatpad and backrest which can be used in conjunction with the Clubhouse Mini enclosure to seat what Tern call a “big kid”)? Seems to be on back order everywhere without an estimated availability date.   

There are fairly active Tern Facebook groups (I’m on the GSD one!) so might be worth asking on there.

[andystow]

Pigeontoes wrote:

I have a Burley Travoy trailer as well. If you don’t need to transport kids it is a great option. Quickly attaches to any bike and folds down for storage. A big advantage is that you can take it into shops with you. It means that if a supermarket has the handheld self scanners, you can do 1 touch shopping from the supermarket shelf to the fridge/cupboard at home. You also don’t have to worry about the security of your shopping if you are going to multiple shops. 

Also use it for trips to the tip. Amazing how much you can carry using a few bungees. 

Did you get Burley’s expensive bags for shopping into? If so, how do you like them? I haven’t pulled the trigger on those yet, I’ve just been lashing reusable shopping bags onto the trailer, but it’s a couple minutes of extra faff.

[quiff]

WANTED: Tern Madpad. Don’t

WANTED: Tern Madpad. Don’t suppose anyone has an unwanted Tern Clubhouse Madpad do they (i.e. the combined seatpad and backrest which can be used in conjunction with the Clubhouse Mini enclosure to seat what Tern call a “big kid”)? Seems to be on back order everywhere without an estimated availability date.   

[Pigeontoes]

I have a Burley Travoy

I have a Burley Travoy trailer as well. If you don’t need to transport kids it is a great option. Quickly attaches to any bike and folds down for storage. A big advantage is that you can take it into shops with you. It means that if a supermarket has the handheld self scanners, you can do 1 touch shopping from the supermarket shelf to the fridge/cupboard at home. You also don’t have to worry about the security of your shopping if you are going to multiple shops. 

Also use it for trips to the tip. Amazing how much you can carry using a few bungees. 

[Author]

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