Looking at getting a cargo bike of some description for shopping and school run. Ute/extracycle/Surly were my first thoughts but all come in around £1k which is a lot, but

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seem to be cheaper. There also seems a lot more options in terms of where and how to carry the cargo. So, does anyone have any experience in terms of quality/ride/dealings with them? Or anyone/thing else I should consider?

Thanks

which model you after?

also lot of chinese dutch cargo bike clones.. about though cargobiek seem to make their own – the low cog looks like a good idea

worth a look ere also – def have a demo on some

http://www.practicalcycles.com/

I dunno about cargobike, looks interesting. practical cycles are an ok bunch, easy to deal with and small enough to GAS.

http://www.practicalcycles.com/ looks to have a big range but still seem to be in the £1000+ region. Anyone have a cargo bike down near Brighton?

I got a Yuba Mundo. Great bit of kit.

Hi TimP,

not sure of anywhere near Brighton..

but def ride a few – I have ridden a yabba, a surly big dummy and an 8Fright

did not like the way the surly rode – not sure way just did not like the steering..

yabba was normal 8Fright was cool if weird..

you might be better off with a decent trailer – quite flexible to use.

the xtracycle stuffed in a donor bike is bit cheaper.
You could get the sub frame and racks and build your own custom deck and bag system for <£400 I reckon

My old inbred, and a spares bin raid:

wow – I hadn’t realised the Yuba’s had gone up so much.
They were £400-600 complete when I was looking 3 years ago!

Best way to get a bike less than £1000 is to get a cheap decent 90s mountain bike (kona/marin/orange/etc) and add an xtracycle kit.
We already had the bike, but that’s what we did.

Nothing wrong the older xtracycle kits, if you can find one second hand.

Stoner, that is a nice looking setup..

and yes Alex 90s steel mtb makes great bikes when repurposed

a few things that make it a bit special,

Ive used hydro brakes, adding an extra long hose to the rear caliper.
There’s a 203mm rear rotor for clearance.

I managed to find an Extralite 30T chainring to go with th 11-32 cassette to give me the gears I needed when living on the Malverns. I also bodged a chain device to keep the chain on the single chainring – the sloppy long chain does flop off the ring if you dont keep drive under tension, the rear mech cage spring isnt strong enough to keep such a lot of links taut enough on it’s own IMO.

My experience of a cargo bike is that I often end up in a 2 mile queue behind one on the way to work.

I’m not complaning about the queue, but the conjestion it causes is completely rediculous – it travels at walking pace along a main road, and it’s too wide for people to pass easily/safely. As a result you often see frustrated divers overtaking when it’s not safe to do so.

OBVIOUSLY the cargo bike is entitled to travel on the road, and the drivers should just patiently wait until there is a safe opportunity to pass etc etc…. BUT, there are idiots everywhere on the road, and regardless of who is in-the-right, I wouldn’t sit my kids in a small wooden box, whilst 4x4s and vans were squeezing past whilst strying to avoid oncoming traffic.

I’m not being anti pedal-power/cargo bike here….. I’m just saying that you should think about the route that you are going to take: every time I see this lady and her cargo bike (with 3 small kids in it) I feel like it’s only a matter of time until there’s an accident.

But they’re not that wide… Frankly, they are the width and speed of a horse. And no car driver would think it ok to squeeze past a horse, so it’s a bullshit argument I’m afraid, and no reason not to get one. Motorists just need to deal with it. Unless they want to join the campaign for decent safe segregated bicycle infrastructure?

Oh, and

I feel like it’s only a matter of time until there’s an accident.

Would that be an accident, or would it be an incident of motorist carelessness and wilful endangerment of others, showing a contemptible lack of humanity and empathy?

Jeez, I’m a rabid cyclist, sorry. 😳

But they’re not that wide… Frankly, they are the width and speed of a horse. And no car driver would think it ok to squeeze past a horse, so it’s a bullshit argument I’m afraid, and no reason not to get one. Motorists just need to deal with it. Unless they want to join the campaign for decent safe segregated bicycle infrastructure?

What arguement? I’m not arguing with anyone…. I’m just pointing out that I’ve observed motorists routinely passing this particular lady when it’s unsafe safe to do so. Or perhaps you think thats bullshit, that I haven’t seen that? And I didn’t say not to get one…. I just said to think about what route you take.

Would that be an accident, or would it be an incident of motorist carelessness and wilful endangerment of others, showing a contemptible lack of humanity and empathy?

Sorry, you’re right: “incident” or “collision” would have been more appropriate.

a cargo bike is no wider than a normal bike given that the bars are the widest point of both.

If you mean trailers that’s different.

Going back to the original question, I don’t have any experience of http://cargobike.co.uk/, but I would do your research and see if you can test ride before buying. When I was researching a cargo bike, I thought some of the cheaper Bakfiets looked a good deal, but discovered that they were pretty shoddy Chinese copies. In some cases, they were even using pictures of the genuine Dutch bikes in the advertising, but the reality was bit different. Check out some of the pictures here:

http://measured-response.com/bakfiets/?p=8
More here:
http://www.bakfiets-en-meer.nl/2009/04/29/the-fake-bakfiets-cargobikes-keep-on-coming/

In the end I bought one of the genuine Dutch bakfiets.nl from http://www.dutchbike.co.uk/ and can’t recommend them enough. They are Clyde-built (designed to live outside in the garden) well thought out and just great fun to ride with the kids. Not cheap, but good value for money, and I think the resale price will be good when the kids are too old for it.

The http://cargobike.co.uk/ Bafkiets looks interesting, but even from a small photo, I can see a few places where they have cut corners compared to the Dutch version e.g. derailleur and V-brakes instead of hub gear and hub brakes, no mudguards or rack, fixed seat instead of flip-up for cargo, no dynohub, a much less substantial kickstand (important when loading up with kids and shopping), internal box ribs taking up seat and luggage space, etc. They also don’t seem to offer a rain hood, which I have found an essential accessory for UK weather.

To cut a long story short, lots of options out there now, but make sure you know exactly what you are getting.

batfink, sorry, hope I didn’t come across too aggressively, and I’m quite sure you do see crazy motorist behaviour toward this woman on her cargo bike. I suppose I see the problem with the motorist not the cyclist. I’m sure you do too, and your route choice point is absolutely valid. Sometimes a busy route is unavoidable, but you are no doubt right its better to find a more chilled out route if you can.

yeah…. I understand your comments too, and I agree 100% that it’s the motorists causing the problem – but ultimately it’s her and her 3 small children that are going to come off worst of there is an “incident”. Personally, i wouldn’t cycle the route that she does.

kcr
Is it a case of cutting corners or just providing a different option? True, their Bakfiets appear to have v brakes and derailleurs but so do most other bikes in the UK. Where does the idea come from that cargo bikes need to have hub gears & brakes? Sure, a decent hub gear will last longer but they cost 6x the price of a £25 derailleur! I’ve never refused to buy a mountain bike because it doesn’t have hub gears and they encounter far more dirt, muck and vegetation than a cargo bike ever would.

Just because Toyota Avensis doesn’t have a V8, carbon fibre glove box or a paddle shift gearbox, does it make it a crap car? In my view there are differently priced bikes and different depths of wallets but I would agree that there are a load of dodgy Chinese knock offs that I wouldn’t push let alone ride.

Their option list and photos appear to include mudguards, racks, rain hoods etc. It also appears that there bikes can be custom made rather than just having to chose one of the two Bakfiets bike sizes that Bakfiets.nl make.

But hey, never mind, lets not give that little British manufacturer a chance by reviewing a product that we haven’t had a chance to ride, lets pour our money into Europe instead, that’ll help solve the draining of UK manufacturing…… ! eek!

TimP
Do they do a try-before-you-buy option? I’d suggest you take a ride and make your own judgement. I’d recommend the Yuba, I borrowed one once from a mate and was severely tempted to get one.

Not sure they do, and I am way down south, hence asking if there were any about. Cheers for the warning on the knock offs, but the cargo bikes do look ok. I am not too bothered by vee brakes and mechs, as long as they work, and the whole thing stays in one piece!

Not sure they do, and I am way down south, hence asking if there were any about.

might be a worth a trip into to London on the Train to go to Velorution or Bikefix?

TimP – I’ve an xtracycle frame for sale if you’re interested, no bags or racks though advert here from few months ago http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fsxtracycle-freeradical-203mm-rotor-pc991-double-length-chain-xt-cassette-1 open to offers.
I’ve been crap and not got round to ebaying it!

How many children do you need to transport? I had a Dutch mothers bike with one child seat on the front, one on the back and panniers. It also had a buggy carrier! The big bakfiets type bikes are great, but in holland usually used for more than 2 kids, or nurseries. They are also heavy!

My friend moved house with a large old bakfiets he hired, the good old days as a student in holland!

As I said up front:

I don’t have any experience of http://cargobike.co.uk/

so I am not in a position to review their bikes. I also don’t think cargo bikes have to have hub gears and brakes.
The point I was making was that I discovered when researching cargo bikes that they were not always what they appeared to be at first glance, so it’s worth checking them out carefully and comparing what features they have. For me, not fitting mudguards as standard to a UK utility bike is an example of cutting corners.
The UK bakfiets may well be a great bike – just do a good bit of tyre kicking before you buy (and the same goes for the Dutch version).

Hey TimP
I have aYuuba Mundo and I’m in Brighton if you wanted to check it out, have a spin.
It’s a great bike, if a little heavy. I got a frame for about 300ish and built it up with bits from the forum, and bits I had already.
Cost less than 1k, and I can take ALL of my 3 kids and shopping at the same time.
I might even be taking them to see the big dog, so if u see me there just shout.

See here