[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

[Steve K]

I’ve bitten the bullet and

I’ve bitten the bullet and will be picking up a Tern GSD next month.  Just need to tell the wife…

[quiff]

Yeah, I figured it was more

Yeah, I figured it was more about wanting to be independent. I should crack on then if I might only have 3 years of use left! 

[Creakingcrank]

In my experience, the

In my experience, the physical size of the children wasn’t really the issue. You can carry an adult in a Bakfiets easily. But at a certain age, my kids wanted to be on their own bikes, rather than being carted around. That probably was when they were about seven or eight, but every child is different I guess.

[quiff]

When do kids tend to outgrow

When do kids tend to outgrow the different types of bike? I’ve read that box bikes have less longevity for kiddy carrying, but also spoke to a Tern owner this morning who said their 7 year old was outgrowing it (despite it being rated, weight wise, for an adult) which was a bit concerning. I have one 4 year old.         

[quiff]

Rich_cb wrote:

Rich_cb wrote:

There are a fair few Cardiff bike paths which would be impassable on a front loader but can be done on the GSD.

I found some of these today around Gabalfa / Heath. I haven’t felt the need to use Cardiff’s paths much historically but, as I start to explore traffic free routes for family rides, there is some awfully unfriendly infrastructure. Found some slalom gates that I think even the Tern might struggle with.   

[duncanap]

I would definitely recommend

I would definitely recommend looking at the hase pino, they do a kit to put kid sized pedals on the front so your child can participate. But unlike a traditional tandem there is a freewheel on the stokers chainset, so they can rest when they need to.

[duncanap]

I wouldlike to mention the

I wouldlike to mention the Hase Pino, its a super versatile tandem where the stoker is on the front in a recumbant position. If you are riding it on your own the you can simply bungy stuff onto the front seat. I have ridden with full sizedbales of hay for example. We have a human powered version, but they come with electric motors if required. Really handles well, descending is a hoot.

We put a blue tooth speaker in the pocket on the back of the seat, and I pick my teenage son up from school on it regularly.

https://totallytandem.com/gear-reviews/hase-pino/

[Owd Big 'Ead]

quiff wrote:

quiff wrote:

I’m definitely keen on trying a Bullitt as a comparison, and fortunately there is somewhere nearby that I can do that. If I was buying a car I could test a number of brands on one industrial estate, but cargo bikes not so much. Were your Bullitts electric or mechanical? What made you switch to the UA?

My first Bullitt, a Clockwork Orange was mechanical, yet I still used it daily for literally everything, commuting, leisure rides, shopping, going to the tip, 50 mile round trips going to see the family. Pretty much everything apart from MTBing 

Followed that with an E-Bullitt, a Lizard King, a bright green beauty. It was pretty much everything I needed in a utility bike, until I started couriering again as a side hustle and more parcels needed to be carried more often, so I upgraded to an Urban Arrow, which are absolute monsters in comparison to the Bullitts and carry far more both in terms of weight moved, but also volume too.

From a business perspective Urban Arrows work much better as they are very easy to lease, rather than some kind of hire purchase agreement or outright purchase for the Bullitts.

 

[HoarseMann]

The Helios is a great bike,

The Helios is a great bike, but probably only worth considering if you will do some longer tandem rides with an adult or when your kids get older.

Plus points is it will fit on a roof bike carrier and can take a Brompton luggage mount on the front. I had a large Brompton T-bag, which was great.

I nearly went for a Yuba Mundo Classic, only did a car park test ride, but I really liked it. Not as compact as the GSD though and your centre of gravity will be higher with the larger wheels, so a bit more of a handful to keep upright when stopped.

[andystow]

I really have n+1 desire for

I really have n+1 desire for a bakfiets style cargo bike. I like to have my stuff in front of me where I can see it, probably from having experienced a rear pannier falling off a couple of times, and once some beer disappearing somehow from a pannier basket as I rode. However, I don’t have the garage space unless we go down to one car. We’re in suburbia, and although I normally bike commute in all weather, we do sometimes need two cars.

I currently use a Burley Travoy trailer and a huge front bag on the Brompton for easy shopping trips. I can hold the contents of a fairly full grocery cart with this combination. But I would look so much cooler piloting an Urban Arrow.

[andystow]

Also handy for dropping off
Also handy for dropping off my wife’s e-bike for service.

[quiff]

Thanks Dave. Also found your

Thanks Dave. Also found your vid review useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNc6ffkdmJs

[quiff]

Thanks, that’s a good watch

Thanks, that’s a good watch

[Creakingcrank]

Post Bakfiets we had a Thorn

Post Bakfiets we had a Thorn child-back tandem. Initially fitted with kiddy cranks until youngest was tall enough to fit without.

Your turbo boost comment made me laugh. We had a code word for extra power (“Bogies”, based on a children’s TV skit from the time). I think it helped, but honestly I might only have been encouraging myself. The tandem was great for cycling holidays etc., but couldn’t carry any more cargo than a normal bike. The Helios is much more versatile I think.

[quiff]

JustTryingToGetFromAtoB wrote

JustTryingToGetFromAtoB wrote:

I currently have Tern envy, a family near me use it for the school run and shopping.

To illustrate what I meant in the live blog comments about ‘needing’ versus ‘wanting’ a cargo bike, our school run will be either 0.5 miles or 0.8 miles, depending on which preference we get, and we currently have our shopping delivered… Maybe mine is just Tern envy too 

[Author]

Replies