Cargo Bikes

Cargo Bikes / Winter Cycling / Xtracycles — No Comments
4
Mar 2012
by mark

Weather canopy options for cargo bikes

A weather canopy for your children can make a big difference in your child’s comfort on the bike during rainy, cold or windy conditions.

The most iconic canopy option is the weather canopy for a bakfiets:

father, daughter and sleep dog on first trip to Abington

However, if you have a longtail cargo bike like an XtraCycle or Yuba Mundo, there are some DIY options worth knowing about, with detailed instructions available online.

I love the look the Covered Bike Wagon canopy by co-blogger Larry Clarkberg:

bike canopy side view

You can read more about how he made the covered bike wagon canopy and he can answer questions about it in the comments. His variation with solar panels is also worth a look:

solar bicycle

There’s more about this project at My Solar Bicycle. Most recently I spotted this solution for sun and rain production for a Yuba Mundo:

It’s not quite iconic but it gets the job done, and instructions are available online.

You can also read more about the differences between the bakfiets, Xtracycles and the Yuba Mundo.

Cargo Bikes / Electric Bikes — No Comments
3
Mar 2012
by mark

Electric Yuba Mundo as school bus

Here’s a great little video about one dad who uses an electric Yuba Mundo as a “school bus” to take his two kids to school:

I’ve used my own electric Yuba Mundo to take two children to school before as well:

Missed the bus.

More about that experience is my previous posted called Missed the Bus.

Cargo Bikes — No Comments
2
Mar 2012
by mark

Taking the kids out to dinner

Tonight my wife rode our two kids out to dinner in the bakfiets. The 9 month old baby rides in a rear-facing car seat, while the 4 year old sits on the bench seat. The target restaurant was in a mall parking lot off a busy road, about 3 miles away. However, with a bit of research and experimentation, we found a back way into the mall that is only a bit further and is much lower traffic. We even got to see a rabbit!

I rode along on our electric Yuba Mundo with the requisite parenting gear. The trip was a great way to combine some exercise, family time and transportation.

Cargo Bikes / Electric Bikes / Uncategorized — 7 Comments
1
Mar 2012
by mark

Big Dummy vs Yuba Mundo vs Bakfiets

Cargo bikes are increasingly viable as car-replacement vehicles, but there are some significant differences between the options to choose from. The Surly Big Dummy is lighter, while Workcycle’s bakfiets puts kids front and center with a large box for cargo up front. Yuba’s elMundo is one way to add electric assist to the equation.

I have not had my own car for a decade. Instead my family replaces a second car with a number of bikes and other gear. Our bikes include WorkCycles bakfiets, an electric Yuba Mundo and a Surly Big Dummy. Here’s how they compare with each other based on our experiece riding each as part of our regular routines.

The basic details about each are readily available online, and won’t be repeated here, although the photos below will give you a sense of each.

Bakfiets

100 mile radius potluck at the park

Electric Yuba Mundo

Electric Yuba Mundo with Bikes-at-Work trailer

Big Dummy

First ride with my new custom Big Dummy. More to come...

Continue reading →
Cargo Bikes / DIY / Electric Bikes / Xtracycles — 7 Comments
4
Oct 2011
by larry

Aqua-Xtracycle, the Amphibious Bicycle

boating mode: the boat carries the bike

boating mode: the boat carries the bike

biking mode: the bike carries the boat

biking mode: the bike carries the boat

The Aqua-Xtracycle is a do-it-yourself amphibious electric cargo bike. This video shows how it works, and the photo gallery below shows a bit of our development process. In a future post I’ll describe how you can make your own Aqua-Xtracycle.

Continue reading →
Cargo Bikes / Electric Bikes — 7 Comments
14
Sep 2011
by don

Electric cargo bike, made in China

If you have been following my blog about electric cargo bikes for a while, you know that I often make predictions about where the market for these bikes will go.  Over time, many of my predictions have come to pass, but usually later or on a smaller scale than I had anticipated.  For example, I wrote this almost a year ago:

I know what cargo biking will look like when it enters the mainstream, and I bet you do, too.  We’ll see stores like Wal-Mart and Costco selling electric cargo bikes for about half the price of today’s models.  They will be made in China, and probably designed there as well.  When that day comes, I won’t know whether to cheer or cry…

That was one of my most audacious predictions, and one that I didn’t expect to happen any time soon.  But let’s check where we are one year later.  Available at Wal-Mart?  Yes, but not electric cargo bikes, just electric bikes in their traditional form, priced between $400 and $800.  Still, an electric bike for $400?  That’s just unbelievable.  Or maybe crazy – the bike has mixed reviews from customers on Amazon.

ODK Utility Bicycle

But as far as I can tell it’s not manufactured in China, and surely not designed there, so that part of my vision hasn’t arrived yet.

Or has it?

Continue reading →
Cargo Bikes / Electric Bikes / Long-distance Travel / Urban Planning — 2 Comments
21
May 2011
by larry

I Flooded the Mississippi

Thankfully the news media is keeping quiet about this or I could be in big trouble: I flooded the Mississippi earlier this month. I’m also responsible in some small part for the Arkansas killer tornados last month. I may even be implicated in the Japanese earthquakes earlier this year, though the evidence for that is not so clear. But certainly without a doubt (as I confessed in a previous post) I share with BP responsibility for the gulf oil spill last year. How did I manage to cause such massive death and destruction? Simply by living my life as usual, getting around by car. I feel a little bit guilty about it actually. But what can I do?

Continue reading →
Cargo Bikes / Electric Bikes — 9 Comments
13
Mar 2011
by don

Transport+ update: Available. Invisible.

It has been 7 months since I posted my first article mentioning the Trek Transport+.  After a very long fall and winter, the bike appears to be available to order.  Trek has removed the “available late fall” qualification from their web site, and dealers in my area would be happy to take my order.  With a price tag of $2809.99, it’s a little more expensive than the aggressive target of $2679 that was originally announced.  It’s also $100 or $200 more than its competitors, the Yuba el Mundo and the Kona Electric Ute, but definitely worth considering for features like the BionX motor and integrated lighting (see my original article for further details).

However, my enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that I have never seen this bike, and it’s unlikely that I will in the near future.  I’ve inquired at my local Trek dealers (there are quite a few in my area), and they don’t have any Transport+ bikes to show.  They can’t tell me when or if they will see one.

Reviews of the Transport+ are rare on the web as well.  The most complete review I found was from Bike Radar.  The author loaded the bike and rode it for 6 weeks in a variety of conditions, so that review answered many of my questions.

If I were to review the bike myself, I would concentrate a little more on hill-climbing, braking, and range.  I’d also check out the handling of the bike with loads that are carried a little farther to the rear than comparable bikes (including my own Rans Hammer Truck).  But unless I can make special arrangements with Trek or a local dealer, that opportunity doesn’t look likely in the foreseeable future.

I’m both excited and frustrated with this state of affairs.  For now, I’ll turn to my readers.  If you have any experience with the Transport+, let us know what you think in the comments below.

Cargo Bikes — No Comments
26
Feb 2011
by mark

Electric Cargo Bike as Grocery Getter

Grocery Trip

  • Two 45 Gallon Totes by Sterlite + the Go Getter bag provide 340 liters of hauling volume
  • Up to 300 lbs of cargo reasonably hauled (in addition to the rider)
  • Bar mitts keep hands warm without bulky gloves or mittens
  • Schwable Winter Marathon carbide-studded tires for traction on ice
  • Electric system provides up to 20 mph of assist reliably for 20 continous miles (longer if you pedal more)
  • Much less effort getting up hills, even with a load.
  • Bright front and rear LED lights are powered by pedaling if battery fails
  • Super-stable double-sided kickstand
  • Recharges overnight in the garage for pennies

We’re able to haul more stuff further, faster, with less effort and greater comfort than ever before (like loads of recycled computers, or two children and camping gear). Compared to the alternative of having a second car, the system more than pays for itself.

My electric Yuba Mundo was built and sold by Cycle 9. Trailer by Bikes at Work is expandable to 8 feet for longer loads, like couches. Combining this trailer with this bike currently requires a bit of custom welding.

Cargo Bikes — No Comments
19
Dec 2010
by mark

Emundo vs bakfiets for winter kid and cargo cycling

eMundo with trailer, bar mitts on greenway The electric Yuba Mundo works well asa kid & cargo winter bike. Recently I’ve been trying out Bar Mitts which so far seem to very effective at keeping my hands warmer while allowing me to wear thinner gloves inside of them. Compared to the bakfiets, the child needs to be dressed notably warmer. Since this photo was taken, we’ve also gotten some child ski goggles for her as well. In sum, we’re able to make cross-town trips comfortable at 15F (-9.4C) which is about as cold as it gets here in Richmond, Indiana.

The bakfiets makes it easier to keep the child warm with the greenhouse-like canopy, and the fully enclosed chain guard is definitely a plus for the bakfiets– On the eMundo the drive train got clogged with frozen slush in just about 15 minutes on a cold day– it was easy to clean out a little later with a stick, but no fun– plus the eMundo chain will need to be cleaned more after getting wet.

However, what the eMundo has going for it is a motor which allows me to get places faster and spend less time outside on very cold days. For that reason I currently prefer the eMundo to the bakfiets for most winter uses. The Mundo’s electric motor smoothed over the problem with the slush– while pedaling became “chunky” due to that issue, the motor could pull me along just fine without pedaling anyway.

Here’s same scene in a bakfiets from the previous winter: box biking at 10F

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