J.Higgins 

They keep getting better, surely, but are they good enough to tour with?

This one caught me eye on facebook, so I went to their site. There's a lot of basket and trunk options for this bike. I'm thinking how cool would it be to have a bike that's able to be locked up, like a Goldwing trunk? No panniers needed. Get the Pinion and belt-drive and you are gtg. What do you guys think?

Here's their site: https://www.douze-cycles.com/en/?fbc...HirWj-J8fuJ9fk

Tourist in MSN

I wonder how they handle when peddling very slowly up a steep hill? And how heavy?

How are you going to get to the start point on your trip, or return home from the end point. If the start and end points are both your home, you do not need to worry about how to transport the bike, but if you have to transport it to a start and from an end point, that is an issue.

A number of people in my community have bikes like that to substitute for a car. I have even seen child carriers mounted on them. And there is a bike shop that specializes in cargo bikes. But I do not recall ever seeing one of them on a steep hill, usually see them on flatter streets or trails.

J.Higgins 

Good Points, TiM.

I did see a foldable model on their website, but it did not look foldable enough to take on a plane. One would most likely benefit more from starting a tour from home base, and returning that way.

I don't know why, but cargo bikes fascinate me (lately) for some reason.

J.Higgins 

Here's the pick I lifted from FB:

HerrKaLeun

I would declutter the crap you intend to take with you. Modern lightweight gear easily fits on a regular bike. Those cargo bike are heavy and slow. I assume the geometry also isn't what a tourer wants

Don't bring hairdryer, dishwasher etc.

indyfabz

+1.

There was a woman on my x-country group trip who started out with not only a hair dryer but also a Sony Watchman TV. She mailed them home at the start of the third day.

Tourist in MSN

My cargo bike is some grocery panniers on the back of an early 90s Bridgestone mountain bike that I picked up at a garage sale for $5. (But it took about $50 in parts and supplies to make it functional.)

But the time that I bought a kayak paddle and rode home with it would certainly have worked out better with one of those long wheelbase cargo bikes than it did with my vintage Bridgestone.

alias5000

A cargo bike for touring is like welding a bike trailer to your regular bike. You might appreciate it when on a long tour, but in all other cases it's a ballast you can't remove. The difference with a trailer is that you can take it off when not needed.

And this is coming from someone who is currently desperately trying to justify the purchase of a bike quite similar to a cargo bike. The truth is that a trailer gets you there for MUCH less money and more flexibility.

u235

In my opinion, that much stuff on a tour would make the trip unenjoyable and limit your route. Like taking a cross country road trip in a 24 foot uhaul..... just not fun. If 100% required, I'd go trailer.

In the picture with the hipster with the backpack.... Photoshop fail or he is cruising with the kickstand down

Rob_E

CliffordK

I could imagine a cargo bike like one of the above for a family tour.

Let the kids ride empty, while the father (probably) pulls most of the weight.

E-Bikes?

But, then, there are trailers too. Tandems?

The Bike Friday Haul-A-Day is one of the lightest of the cargo bikes, and might work for touring. It doesn't fold, but it does disassemble somewhat.

https://www.bikefriday.com/folding-b...day-cargo-bike

djb

ha, good spot.

and really, a bleedin' backpack on top of all that storage volume?

djb

Senor who has no control, you see the odd one here in Montreal, and while they are pretty darn cool bikes, they are pretty darn heavy.
There is a scandinavian model Ive seen that has an aluminum frame, very cool looking, and I'm pretty certain it was one of these that a recently retired couple I met in France last year were using to travel with their labrador.
Really nice bike, but the husband did say it was a heavy bugger going up hills, and we were along a river bike route, so fairly flat nearly always. The gearing wasnt low enough, I saw that right away. I'll look for the photo sometime. I took of them with the bike and dog.

bottom line, neat bikes, great for transporting kids and groceries and everything in an urban setting, but mucho kilos for touring that just takes a lot of muscle to get up hills.
Was neat seeing electric assist ones in Switzerland, great idea for an urban setting with hills. I think the swiss one was a ride share deal model. Again, I;ll look for photos as I too found them fascinating.

tcs

A reviewer for Adventure Cycling took a bike overnight on a Tern GSD electric moped. They liked the ability to haul the proverbial kitchen sink and were surprised at how easy it was to pedal with the electric motor kicked in.

I know from having ridden a tandem by myself that super long wheelbase bikes can be tricky on curves, in the wet, etc. They're harder to body-english and when unloaded the distant wheel doesn't have much down force (i.e. traction).

djb

found the photo of French couple and their dog in their Bullet, or Bullit model.
Bullitt actually.

tcs

If nothing else it would be a conversation starter with the locals.

djb

I remember talking to them about it, and prices. They are well made bikes, but pretty pricey, 3, 4, 5000 dollars ---but I said to them, they would use it with the grandkids, and if kept in very good shape, it would hold its value well and they could easily sell it at probably 3/4 of the original price if in great shape--and its easy to keep a bike in great shape, so while yes it is for people who can afford the initial purchase, if you used it a bunch of years and then sold it, you'd at least end up with a reasonable cost per year , or thereabouts.

especially for europeans, the cost of not having / using a car in an urban setting and using something like this would easily tip the balance of figuring out the economics of buying one, combined with resale value.

fietsbob

I was using a lot of cargo bike and some tandem frame parts when we built my touring bike frame , in 1990..

djb

in quick searching, it seems that that Bullitt is about 50-53lbs, so about 20lbs heavier than a typical 30lb touring bike, not too shabby, but still 20lbs and lets face it, folks will take more weight if they use a bike like this....so you pays you money, you takes youz chances.....

HerrKaLeun

in case pedalling that heavy cargo bike on a long tour isn't uncomfortable enough - add a tour with backpack

Happy Feet

I bet! It's a wonder you remember anything about the bike at all

3speed

You could fit a lot of solar on top of a cargo bike. I do wonder with a modern electric set-up with regenerative braking and the solar, maybe you could get some pretty decent mileage out of an e-cargo. That would equalize the weight penalty. It wouldn't be cheap, though...

Tourist in MSN

There was a bike in the photo?

J.Higgins 

Darn it. I was thinking of bringing a small generator and an electric blanket, maybe a toaster oven too.

J.Higgins 

That's the first thing that struck me odd about it.