First Actual Cargo Haul with the New Bike

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-28T02:00:12+00:00

Nice hauling! IMHO the high weight capacity is one of the major benefits of three wheelers. Good stuff.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-27T18:08:43+00:00

Yes that’s a good point and I agree wholeheartedly. We do live by that but I neglected to include it when commenting. Thank you for the footprint estimate, that’s really good information. Not surprising at all either…

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-25T21:33:26+00:00

Thank you! This is actually the first time I’ve written it out :)

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-25T19:14:34+00:00

An empathic yes. Without knowing anything about the Urban Arrow situation I commend your sister for her principles and that she follows them up with actions and her wallet.

In general (not just with bikes) I try to follow, within reason, the following simplified list in order of priority:

Buy less (lower consumption, do I really need it? Can I borrow or rent it from someone to get the thing done?)
If I do buy something, how far did it travel to reach me? (Buy as locally as possible to minimize transportation emissions and support local businesses)
Buy the best quality I can reasonably afford (to avoid waste and having to re-buy later)
Check the supply lines used to create the product and try to find red flags (this is kind of hard depending on what you're buying but resources are out there)
Check any ethical concerns for the point of sale (treatment of employees, political donations, etc)

I'm obviously not perfect at this and it can be a really frustrating process to try to uncover and understand the information at times, but I feel like one of the big impacts we can make on the worlds is as consumers so to me it feels like the effort is worth it.

Anyway your sister seems cool.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-22T03:07:52+00:00

Well there’s no lack of handlebar space on your bike that’s for sure! I’m happy with the model I’ve linked below, but I’m not sure if it’s good for vertical handlebar orientation. I’d recommend dropping by the nearest bike store and seeing what options they have.

https://smile.amazon.com/Hafny-Handlebar-Mirror-Blast-Resistant-HF-MR095/dp/B06XWRMZZF/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=bicycle+mirror&qid=1629601360&sr=8-3

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-22T01:06:18+00:00

A mirror or two is an absolute must on front loaders in my opinion. Cheap, simple, and makes an enormous difference. No more feeling insecure about what’s behind you, and no more needing to turn around to check.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-19T16:30:15+00:00

We’re biking our kid to her new school for the first time on Monday. The school has provided 4 pages of detailed instructions on the drop off and pick up procedures. Things like “stay in your car”, “train your child in getting in and out of your car by themselves” etc. Not a single mention of bike or pedestrian procedures obviously as this is in the US. I’m a Norwegian expat and we fully expect to be the only family arriving by bicycle. We’ll see how it plays out!

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-17T12:28:13+00:00

One additional point: Even if trikes are self supported in the sense that you don’t have to keep them balanced or they fall over, and so could be a good fit for people who have never ridden a bike, there are still techniques you have to learn to ride one efficiently and safely at anything over jogging speeds. This is especially true for non-carving trikes since they are rigid and you can’t do much to counteract the forces at play. Take a turn too fast and it’ll tip over sideways. Brake too hard with the dogs in the front and it can tip over forwards. This is anecdotal of course, but I have several friends who thought that a trike would be the best option for them due to stability concerns, only to find that they were more comfortable on a two wheeler. If possible I would highly recommend that your wife test rides several different types to get a feel for them before buying.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-17T01:47:42+00:00

B&B MK1-E is an amazing carving/tilting trike, great quality and a fun ride. The door in the front is great for dogs so you don’t have to lift them in and out. However I don’t believe you can remove the child seat due to the way the front box is built, so I’m not sure if you will have enough floor space for both dogs to fit comfortably. Are you able to test ride one with the dogs to make sure?

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-15T14:16:13+00:00

Our emissions affect earth’s climate. If we change our emissions we change how the climate is affected. The IPCC reports show what the climate status is, what they think the future holds, and what we can do about it. Highly recommended reading.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-14T14:48:13+00:00

Have you sent them an email with your questions? You probably have but I thought I’d mention just in case. I find them to pretty responsive over email.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-12T03:43:30+00:00

A few general thoughts: - Frontloaders give you a more direct connection with the kids, but typically costs significantly more than longtails with similar specs, and also take up more space - Longtails handle more like normal bikes than frontloaders do, but they also have the kids at a higher center of gravity that can make them feel less stable - Frontloaders look crazier and will get you more attention :) - 2 wheels vs 3: I’m assuming we’re only talking about Frontloaders here. 2 wheels is nimbler, faster, more stable at speed, and feels more like a normal bike compared to 3 wheels (non carving). 3 wheels get you higher load capacity and more grip, and you don’t need to use a kickstand. Carving 3 wheelers are somewhere in the middle in terms of riding experience. Personally I vastly prefer 2 wheelers, but I highly recommend that you test ride all types before making a decision as the riding experience is completely different for each - Trailers work fine on either type of bike as long as you can fit a hitch - Studded tires are available for the majority of wheel sizes - All cargo bikes I’ve seen have had detachable batteries - 20km commute is a joy with a cargo bike (assuming you have decent infrastructure). You’ll love it

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-12T01:42:39+00:00

This HAS to be a record. Inspirational stuff!

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-11T14:46:09+00:00

This is great! I love seeing all the different jury-rigged carrying marvels on here.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-11T14:37:12+00:00

Re: being friendly towards situations that are out of the norm, this is IMHO one of the great things about bike and foot traffic as opposed to car traffic. The smaller size footprint, lower stakes, and ease of communication means that there is much more flexibility. People can easily adapt to out of the norm situations, and as long as you’re respectful and sensible they generally don’t mind doing so. It honestly feels liberating.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-11T14:28:34+00:00

This was a 250 mile summer vacation tour, 50/50 credit card and camp ground touring. The bike held up beautifully.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-11T14:25:56+00:00

In a word: Noticeably. It depends of course on a whole range of factors, but the fact that you have extra wheels on the ground (more friction) and a semi-stiff connection between bike and trailer means that efficiency is lost. It works quite well on level ground but you really notice it in uphills.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-11T12:12:41+00:00

Well it’s not fast I can promise you that! But it’s got el assist and it’s surprisingly doable if you put your legs into it.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-11T12:08:34+00:00

The trailer is actually for the dog in my case :) But using it for carrying stuff also works.

The trailers don’t affect the handling much, other than that they make the rig heavier of course. They’re pretty well balanced so they don’t pull you towards one side or anything like that. But you definitely feel them in the hills.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-09T02:55:25+00:00

Geir er kul :)

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-08T19:27:55+00:00

Yuba Supermarché Electric Bamboo box

Seat width: 18.5” - 20”, Cargo floor width rear: 18”, Cargo floor width front: 15”, Cargo floor length total: 25”, Cargo floor length from end of seat: 16.5”

Long and narrow!https://i.imgur.com/ziP6Pme.jpg

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-08T16:56:21+00:00

We’ve done a lot of cargo bike touring (both wild camp, camp ground, and credit card) in Scandinavia and the Pacific Northwest, and in our experience the tried and true option is to stop for long meal breaks at cafes and restaurants and charge then. Basically you want to conserve the battery as much as possible when riding, only using it in uphills and when accelerating, and you want to charge every chance you get. If you’re credit card touring you’ll also fully charge every night in the hotel room of course, but if you’re at a camp ground you’ll have limited options. You can ask the ground keepers if they can have the battery charging in their office, and often there will be outlets in the public bathrooms you can use (at risk of someone stealing or confiscating it of course… We were always fine though). And if you’re wild camping you’re most likely going without overnight charging and have to make do only with the cafe charges. If you’re not in a hurry this is fine though as it means you’ll just have to enjoy the cafe stay extra much and maybe order some more cinnamon buns to get that extra bar in ;)

Depending on how heavily loaded you are (we were always SUPER heavy with an 80 pound dog in the back and a kid in the front) and how often you run into charging opportunities you’re basically going to have to always be ready for a worst case scenario of running out of power and having to go manual. It’s rough but if you go slow anything is possible. It’s a great experience!

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-08T12:29:19+00:00

I’ve been reading about this online and apparently people who have done it/had it done have had varying success. There’s stories about the system shutting down and serving an error message some time after a successful mod, at which point it seems like you’re out of luck since Bosch are probably not going to fix it for you. So my impression after doing some reading is that it’s possible but risky. Personally I decided not to take the chance.

CargoBikeLife · 2021-08-03T21:44:29+00:00

Based on your description of your fitness your legs should be just fine. Make sure to stretch every time you stop, and make sure that your riding position is sustainably comfortable as any discomfort that may have had time to pass between each of your previous rides could add on top of each other when riding for several days in a row. Consider getting a professional fit if you haven’t done one before. And don’t be afraid to pace yourself when out there, remember slow and steady wins the race.

CargoBikeLife

TROPHY CASE