Do you use your bike for grocery shopping?

All seems a lot of hassle just for food. Why not just get it delivered. Spend less time shopping and more time out cycling. Cant think of anything I would like to do less than go back to the weekly supermarket shop.

Well here’s a few issues I have with online shopping

> Having to buy everything from the one place, we use multiple local shops for different things
> Not being able to choose items myself
> Not being able to take advantage of reduced items
> Browsing items online is more annoying than in store
> Doesn’t fit in with impromptu shopping trips
> Having to plan in advance can be annoying
> Having to be in when it gets delivered

Also

> It’s not just for food shopping, pretty much all load lugging duties covered

And double also, riding to the shops is time out cycling!

Dez, is your first pic taken in South Central Cowplain?

Nice trailer. We have a Thule Chariot Chinook 2 which has a decent bag on the back of it for shopping. Sucks a bit having to cycle back with a load of shopping AND twins in it!

It really is the Rolls Royce of bike trailers though. The kids wouldn’t be seen travelling in anything less!

Dez, is your first pic taken in South Central Cowplain?

Yes! Well spotted that man 🙂

If I had a garage, not two over-stuffed sheds (one at the top of the hill that is our garden, with multiple steps to it), then I would soooo have a cargo bike with panniers on permanently or a trailer.

Even finding enough space for PaperRoundBike was a faff.

^ Sweet. I grew up in Clanfield and now live in Widley. Know the area well. Nice and flat round there for getting about by bike. We’re now fine if we head north, but getting up Portsdown Hill towing 40kg of trailer and babies isn’t too much fun!

Whereever you go from Widley it’s uphill back!
(Brother lives in Churchill Gdns)
I’m just the other side of the Queens Inclosure woods, so it’s a nice offroad to Lidl (unless its muddy) 🙂

Do you use your bike for grocery shopping?

Dont be daft, someone delivers it in to my kitchen for me, why would you need to go out ? 🙄

someone delivers it in to my kitchen for me

do they deliver it by bike ? 😛

Yay… I’m not the only one.

^ link fixed for alpin

So, these single wheel trailers… their hitch doesn’t seem to be articulated. How does this work in practise? I see that they are free to move up and down, but do they become a bit draggy around corners with the fixed hitch?

They are articulated, they pivot at the axle (up and down) and they pivot (side to side) at the vertical attachment between the trailer fork and the tub.

They handle brilliantly, much less noticeable than a two wheeled trailer and very manoeuvrable, the only downside is needing either a kick stand or something to lean against when you get off the bike.

Threads like this make me miss my Yuba Mundo 🙁

So, these single wheel trailers… their hitch doesn’t seem to be articulated

As amedias says, they handle really well, best with a bit of weight in to keep it on the ground. I ride off-road to the shop with the empty thing banging and rattling around it scares a few dogs on the way 🙂 Silent on the return journey.

Sweet. I might have to get one. I like it a lot!

Well on my on bike shopping trip in town this morning I was pleasantly surprised on my last stop @ Aldi to find at least 10 bikes in the cycle racks. They varied from a monster of an e-bike to a Scott Scale 700 (the rider wasn’t hard to spot in his race whippet kit)

If any more people use bikes while shopping they are going to need more racks/rails 😀

I’ve been doing the shopping by bike for about 3 years, the last 18 months I haven’t had a car so it became a necessity..

I’ve been using a Chariot (now Thule) Cabriolet 2..

I gave up doing a weekly shop when I moved into town, but previous to that I would often grab the shopping as part of the school run..
A sturdy 3 year old, and a lanky 5 year old plus 6-8 bags of shopping was a good workout..
When I moved back into town I generally just grabbed a few bits on a daily basis instead, but I’ve had a car again for the last coupla months and with a knackered shoulder it means I’ve pretty much forgotten what my legs are for 🙁

another successful trip today!

Next question… what is your tow bike in that pic? Looks excellent.

I have found recently that the brakes on my road bike are now insufficient for stopping me as the nippers are getting that much heavier. This means that all towing has to be done using the hardtail. How do you get on with disc braked gnarmac bike?

It’s a Specialized AWOL, recently bought to do touring/camping/commuting/lorry bike duties and it is excellent, if a little ‘sturdy’ in stock spec.

I was using an old converted Kona with 26in slicks and guards and racks bodged on which was ace, and in some ways better as it was more nimble, but it was far too flexy when towing, and with heavier loads I was starting to burn through brake pads and rims at an alarming rate.

The AWOL is hands down the most stable bike I’ve ridden, it’s great for towing as most of the annoying waggle has just disappeared, but it is still comfy, and with decent tyres on it is a lovely ride. Having drops is a lot nicer too as I get the variety of hand position and can get out of the wind a bit when needs be. On the Kona I had to run big wide bars to keep a check on it when towing as it would get a bit of a shimmy and waggle on at times and needed wrestling to keep it on line.

It’s a bit heavy due to all the Sora and OEM bits on it but 9sp Sora is cheap as chips and very reliable so will be staying on for now. The BB7s are great and it comes with Jagwire compression-less housing as standard so haven’t even needed to deal with that mild issue, no problems stopping a 75kg me + 12kg bike + 10kg in the panniers + 6kg trailer + 30kg in the trailer from 25+ mph down Devon hills (even from the hoods) 🙂

I might treat it to some upgrades as and when things wear out but it’s actually very sensible spec’d off the peg. It’s also suprisingly capable off road, managed a Dartmoor camping trip with 90% offroad with no issues whatsoever, well apart form the over-enthusiasm induced pinch flat, but that would have happened on any bike 😳

Basically I think a decently sturdy disc braked tourer is the ideal bike for general duties if you’re going to be carrying loads regularly, and especially if towing.

Some of the lighter Gnarmac bikes would probably have the braking you want, but not the stability and stiffness you need for heavier loads.

I don’t have a car and am so going to get one of those trailers! Excellent idea, I’d never seen one before.

If you can find anyone locally to let you have a go on some try and get a ride on both a single wheeled and two wheeled type to see what you prefer and think about what would work for you best.

They both have their positives and negatives, I’m sold on the single for my personal use but horses for courses and all that…

Bang for buck/least hassle in adapting existing bike – I have to agree the Yak or clone (with kick-stand mod) seems to be the most sensible option.

Better still – they (B.O.B) are designed for offroad expedition so (as long as gear is strapped/zipped tight and the eggs are maybe left for another day) no reason why shopping day can’t also be a good training run for adventure touring? Just choose a store that is, say, 40 miles away and preferably via some interesting trails 🙂

^^^ are they Uggs? – never get in a supermarket round here in those

Nothing strange about using the bike for shopping; common sense if you’re commuting past the shops anyway.

I agree that online shopping makes sense for a big order of staples every few weeks. Paying a few quid to get someone else to pick and deliver makes sense, but it’s not perfect. It can still take a bit of time to do an online order; even with saved favourites, I still find I have to go through the items individually to take out things I don’t need and add other stuff. Sometimes it’s almost as easy to take the bike to the supermarket.

If you are using a bike, don’t neglect the simple option. You can get a lot of stuff in a couple of unrolled panniers and the bike will still handle fine.

I used to have a Bakfiets when the kids were small, which was great for carrying a big shop. I could just fill up a couple of plastic crates and strap them in the front. I now have a Carry Freedom trailer, which I can thoroughly recommend. It’s just a simple two wheeled flat platform, but it has an excellent hitch system, is very adaptable, and flat packs in seconds. I can easily haul one of those 130 litre IKEA storage boxes filled with shopping, and I used it to carry an adult bike and two kids bikes last week (I’ve seen pictures of someone towing a fridge with a Carry Freedom).

Carry Freedom with two bikes:

Seeing as this has turned into a “show me your trailer” thread, this is my homemade trailer made mainly from angle iron loaded up for a camping trip a couple of years ago. Reckon it was about 40kg including load and trailer (but not bike).

This is at the top of a climb, some of which is 16%.

Although it looks like it, my mate is not pissing on it.

+1 for the Carry Freedom, I used to use the large version for shopping, just strapped our puppy cage on it (was slmost the same size as base) knotted the shopping bags and bunged em in.

The lollipop hitch is a great redesign*, I managed to bend/break two of the old metal ones.

*Worth checking for sharp metal/swarf in the end of the box section where the elastomer is fitted, I filed some off/rounded the inside edge off as it seemed likely to cut into the hitch over time…

Me and my bf both have cheap second hand hybrids with racks, mudguards and top boxes fitted to the racks, we can get a week’s shop on both bikes but we’re happy to potter down every other day for stuff we fancy if needs be, and it’s a nice walk sometimes too. We only drive to the shop if we’re out and about in the car anyway. I used to use my nice bike for popping to the shops but it kind of took the shine off riding it and I was always paranoid about leaving it out of my sight! Cheap (sub £30) and no QR is the rule for me for utility bikes 😀 Mine’s a Giant something-or-other, replete with rust, V brakes and a five speed shifter ‘working’ on a six speed block- I love it! 😆

Just make sure you get the sturdy QR (probably standard now)

Is this QR the one that is fitted to the rear wheel of the bike or the one in the trailer wheel?

I’m severely tempted by the Foxhunter trailer for shopping locally but don’t want to risk a poor QR on the back end of my tourer

The rear wheel of the bike. The trailer clamps to it.

It was hilarious when I was taking my son on a trip and I overloaded the trailer slightly – the original QR snapped as we were about to get on the ferry… disastrous 🙁

Thanks DezB, are the new ones improved enough to be a permanent replacement for the existing QR?

Mine is. No problems with it in a few years.

Be interesting to know if the BOB ones do fit, if I ever needed another replacement.

Dezb do you think your trailer would work with 700c 35mm tyres and guards . Just clearance looks tight on your mtb