owenfinn

Sooooo... I've been kicking around the idea of starting a bike rental business here in Yokohama. I'm thinking, if I could get 8 or so CarryMe's onto a Yuba Mundo or Big Dummy cargo bike then I could just ride out to one of the nearby tourist spots and start doing business. Actually, I'm sure it can't be THAT easy - but anyway, if I was to buy a small fleet of CarryMe's for this purpose, what sort of maintenance and repair issues should I expect, and what parts do I need to load up on?

owenfinn

Passed by a nice display of new Carrymes while pootling around Yokohama this evening. It appears as though Pacific now offers two versions of the single speed - the Carryme II B and the D which has been stretched out a bit. Good news for taller riders.

invisiblehand

Cool. I recall that they were thinking of producing a version for "western people" ...

... primarily for a higher weight limit.

Folding-Bikes

4 things:


1st) today I joined the CarryME club!! What an amazing bike! talking to George Lin (who designed the bikes, 70 years old, but still manages to cycle 1000km on every bike he produces before selling them) I simply couldn't say no to one of this badboys!

The dedication, passion, and love the people that make this bike is truly inspiring, and this brings me to the

2nd thing)

I tried the CarryME DC today, the new model that is coming out next year, what a bike! weights 12kg, does 20km and it looks like a regular CarryME! all the electrics are inside the frame (I have seen 10 different bikes with 10 different ways of doing this) and the battery is on the rack, it looks like a regular saddlebag smaller, about the same size as a red brick.

Did I mention that I now I want a CarryME DS? :-s

3rd) Interesting fact about our bike:

They use a different philosophy here at Pacific-Cycles, CarryME doesnt have more than 150bikes the same, if you meet another CarryMe user chances are the bikes are different bikes. Every time they make a batch of bikes they improve the bikes slightly. today I saw the introduction of marks on the handlebar to help when folding and other bits.

I tried the 2009 version vs the 2010, they are different bikes, with the 2009 I couldnt take my hands of the handlebar, it felt twitchy, but when I tried the 2010 model I could do 2 pedalling cycles without hands! the stability with this small wheels is shockingly good!


They call this "Living Technology", and I like it! refreshing to see.

On a negative note, stay away from the CarryME suitcase, is really bulky, quite disappointing, it is good quality but its just huge! I think I will use my own hardcase.

4) On the 2010 model, Weight limit is 100kg or 220Lbs or 16stone

mdiluca

PacificReach which dealer in london you bought the bike from?

owenfinn

I test rode the 2010 CarryMe `D` last week. Larger riders will definitely feel more comfortable on this version. A very nice folder methinks for casual urban "pootling" and short commutes.

Folding-Bikes

Sent you a PM exciting stuff coming to the UK soon.


Yes, I think its perfect with my new 7km commute, my Reach Racing is too good for just 7km


btw is it just me, or are you calling me fat??

Urbanis

Hm, this talk of the "D" version may make me want to try the CarryMe again. I wonder how well it would handle a 20 km one-way commute?

Folding-Bikes

The designers here would tell you dont do it, its not designed for 20km, I would agree with them

But there is a guy in Taiwan that has done a 500km ride, and he was quite happy with the performance, he also mentioned that being able to hitchhike when the typhoons come is quite handy..

mdiluca

such mileage would not make tires wear an issue?

puppypilgrim

I have a Carryme and I would not want to do 20 km in it. Its not a D model however.

chucky

For the last few months I've been averaging 26+ km (16.2+ miles) per day on my Carryme since I wore out the BB on my Downtube 8H.
-I thought I would take a hit in speed for such distances, but I haven't. From point A to point B I average 22.94kph (14.25 mph) including traffic lights, etc with either bike.
-Comfort is a little less on the CM only because the cockpit is too small to allow you to change your riding position. However, this isn't a problem as long as you're not on the bike for more than an hour without taking a stretch break. 20km would be fine. Corduroy shorts aren't recommended.
-Tire wear has not been an issue and the tires are eerily resistant to punctures (as if the small target is too hard to stab!). Check out the nail I picked up after riding 30km this morning:
nail.jpg

I also upgraded the brakes to KCNC road brakes with Alligator i-link cable and Profile carbon reverse brake lever. Braking performance is now excellent (and safe!), but I had to redrill the fork at an angle (and file the dropouts) in order to get the pads to reach the rim:
kcnc.jpg
cable.jpg
redrill.jpg

Good for lighter riders too. Do you know how hard it is for a lighter rider to get a bike that isn't overbuilt or made of exotic materials?

I didn't like some of the ways Pacific was beefing up the more recent Carryme editions. So it's good to see they've reversed some of those "upgrades" with the B model.

gganio

I had missed this posting!

Wowow! If you do that, that would be huge news for the world of PORTABLE BICYCLES!
A full renting fleet bike carried to the rental spot.
As somebody might know, me too, as Makeinu, I am a portable bicycle partisan ( I developed the Mini125RD).
BTW, you might want to throw in your fleet also a couple of A-bikes. A-bikes are doing well. The new model year is out, see https://www.abikecentral.com/forum/
I have run out of Mini125RD, otherwise you could count on me as a sponsor for this project. I am sure the Pacific Cycles people would think the same.

owenfinn

Looks like -Bike Rental Barcelona- does something similar. They use a trailer specifically made for carrying their Dahons.



https://bikerentalbarcelona.com/english/aboutus4.htm

I would like to use a cargo bike to drop off and pick up rental bikes to people at their hotels. Some advantages of the Carryme to other folders are that I`d be able to haul a large number of them and be able to store them easily . More importantly, they, IMO, are ctually perfect for tourists who would like to cover a bit more ground while sightseeing and exploring a city (or cities) on the smooth, freshly tarred streets of Japan. They are less obtrusive on the sidewalks, where riding is common and can easily be brought on board trains, buses and subways. It would be ideal for those who only wish to `pootle` about the town basically plus it would be something a bit different and more fun than the big and boring "mama charis" currently available for rent around town.

However, I realize I am preaching to the choir on this thread. It could be challenging, I think, to get potential customers to overcome pre-conceived ideas and give the Carryme a try. With that in mind, I will be sure to have couple 20" Dahons around for the stubborn and perhaps use something like that Barcelona bike hauling idea.

If I also offer some sightseeing tours of Yokohama I figure I can just ride the loaded up mundo to the station and hand off a Carryme to each of the tour participants. A big Yuba Mundo being tailed by a bunch of Carrymes would probably get the business some attention don`t ya think?

Hopefully, I can have a small scale operation up and running by the end of October when Ykohama should be full of tourists and the weather is ideal for cycling.

Not sure about the new A-Bike, in that, from what I`ve read it`s more squirrely than the CarryMe but thanks for your suggestion - and I will send off an email to Pacific and to Yuba Mundo. Can`t hurt right?

Folding-Bikes

Hi owenfinn, tell them Juan told you to email them, I will tell them you will.

I will PM you with the right person to talk to.

mulleady

Wonderful little bike. I'm sure they will convert once they ride a Carryme for 30 seconds Owenfinn. And the the fold and weight to carry in to cafes and shops will be a winner. I'm sure you can rent them too by making a comparison to the restrictions a larger folder would place on a tourist.

chucky

I found a part which makes this mod unnecessary:

https://www.shoprans.com/proddetail.asp?prod=BPBK0131
Too bad I already permanently modified my fork.

chucky

More tips:
1. The Wellgo/Xpedo QRD pedals are an excellent way to SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the folded width of the Carryme and shave a little weight (btw, my bike is now 16.4 pounds):
5..jpg
4..jpg
9..jpg

2. Notice my bike no longer stands up straight (it leans slightly to the left). Do not let drunk people ride your bike at parties. They will find a way to break it even if you closely monitor them. Fortunately the rack is removable on my model and I wanted to replace it with something lighter anyway.

owenfinn

The first shipment of Carrymes for the business were delivered today. Should be able to fit at least 5 of these onto the back of the Yuba Mundo. Trying to figure out the best way to make it work.

owenfinn

After experiencing a lot of drag while coasting, I followed puppypilgrim`s advice and loosened up the tension on the chain and found that it helped somewhat. There still is quite a bit of rearwheel friction though. What is normal? Will this improve over time?

owenfinn

Forget that - I just rode the bike. It rolls so much better after loosening the tension. Before, it would actually slow down while coasting on a moderate downgrade.

Folding-Bikes

All the chains stretch over time, they normally come slightly lose already.

Interesting. they probably got some complaints about the chain being too lose and decided to set it slightly stiffer..

Looking forward to seen your 5 carrymes on the 1 bike pics ASAP please!!

owenfinn

Only have 4 CarryMe`s at the moment -

owenfinn

I strapped the bikes on pretty quickly. They should be more secure and the Mundo handles better if the bikes are more toward the front of the sideloader rack rather than behind the rear axle, but still, it was pretty easy to haul this load. Biggest problem is the increased width, but with two sideloader bags attached it`s about the same, so I guess I will get used to it.

Folding-Bikes

I'll just leave here:



Juan