le brad

Cheating! You're banned from even viewing the forum.

wahoonc

Bekologist,
To me that is the American version of the bakfiets...and a lot cheaper too I am going to get an "oude bakfiets" eventually. For the interim I will be "building" up a grocery getter similar to yours. I plan on using the Schwinn Classic 3 as the base bike then bolting the Wald baskets on it. The xtracycle has it's place but it isn't for all people or all uses. Another item to remember is that the bakfiets comes from the Netherlands where the total elevation range is about 320 meters total, with most of it basically flat so the bakefiets worked quite well. Here in the US the terrain can be quite a bit more varied. From the Appalacians, to the flat Midwest to the Rockies. FWIW the area I currently live in has rolling hills and a single speed bike is murder. The town we are planning on moving to is flat, as in a total elevation loss/gain of less than 50 feet anywhere in the town limits, a bakefiets will work fine there. Also the bakefiets now come with multi speed internal gear hubs but you pay the price.

Have you looked into having the frame repaired? It looks to be steel. I broke a frame on my Schwinn Heavy Duty years ago and it was replaced under the lifetime warranty...those were the days

Aaron

makeinu

This isn't a task for a small shop, but it would be really great to have a tandem pedicab that combines power like a tandem. Then me and my wife could haul bus loads of people at a time on the weekends.

Allen

I've recently put a new hub on my cargo bike, a NuVinci CVT (continuous variable transmission) hub. I've found that some of the less expensive internal hubs are not up to the rigors of a utility bike. So far it's impressed me as much my Rohloff at 1/4 the cost. It's huge and would not necessary be appropriate on many bikes, but for cargo and utility bikes I think it may very well be the best "bang for the buck" of all the internal hubs.

Cosmoline

I've been experimenting with ways of hauling things for the past year, and I have a few observations.

--Big front baskets are great, except when you actually start putting a lot of weight in them. If you're buying nothing but bread it's not a big deal, but when you put over 20, 30 or more lbs up front the balance on most bikes starts going off. You can have a reverse trike, with two wheels up front. But this then limits the praticality of the bicycle for other functions. The key may be to design a two wheeled bicycle that has a frame designed to accept heavy loads up front, but lower down towards the center of gravity.

--On a diamond frame bike, there's a magic zone for weight carrying inside the diamond. The further behind or in front you get, the greater the leverage on the frame from the cargo and the more it impacts balance. In the old days folks used to take advantage of this space a lot more, but recent bike design has attempted to eliminate it or discard the diamond completely. A bike that EXPANDED the diamond and created cargo carrying capacity underneath the rider, without blocking knee room, would be interesting.

--Bicycles can be incredibly strong, and even mid-range factory bikes can carry over 400 lbs on a regular basis with some minor modifications. Assuming a rider of 220, this leaves a great deal of room for cargo. But the key is to center the cargo's weight where the rider's weight would be. The easiest way is probably to just wear a backpack, but this interferes with cycling and vision. One thing I've been thinking about is a sort of tandem bike where the spot for the second rider is used to hold cargo.

Anyway, just some thoughts. I'll add more later.

johann

I think you have to consider where you are using the bike... try jumping onto a curb with a bakfiets (or a trike). Maybe something like a Burrows Great 8?

Doug5150

In my country adults aren't supposed to ride bicycles on the sidewalk, and I rarely ever do.
~

SingingSabre 

Well, if the long-john works for you.

I think it really depends on what you're needing to haul, how far the haul is, and what terrain you'll be covering. I have one buckle on my Xtracycle I mess with to carry my stuff and secure my backpack into the bag. Even that one strap is really unncessary.

However, I am riding at least 10 miles each way up varying terrain, 99% of the time with a climb where I have to go to my 2nd front ring and 3rd rear just to get a decent spin.

If I were in the business of delivering stuff and needing to constantly pack and unpack over 10 stops in 5 miles with flat terrain, the long-john would be suitable. I'm not, though. I need to haul stuff far and at a decent pace (I'm a busy man, what can I say?).

I also utilize the pouches inside the bags. I have a patch kit, pump, CO2 cartridges, spare tube (I'm redundant...deal with it!), dork vest, wrenches and tools (only a couple), and my U-lock (OnGuard Bulldog) all in one pouch. I still have room on it for firedancing gear (fire staff, poi, torches, glow staff, fuel, practice staff if I'm feeling frisky), my backpack including my laptop, my camera (another backpack with a DSLR, 3 lenses, and a flash), and a tripod. I'm sure I could carry more, but I just don't have anything else to load! This load on my Xtracycle will take me about 40 minutes to get 10 miles in fairly flat terrain (a couple mild climbs).

For me, the Xtracycle is the ne plus ultra for its sheer versatility and how it is out of the way when not in use. For you, it may be different, but I just wanted to give my input.

Frankenbiker

+1 for the Xtracycle. I have been very happy with its flexibility in hauling stuff over the past several years. Everything from groceries to bags of manure and the kitchen sink have been loaded on my bike. Last December I added a lockable/removable/water tight motorcycle trunk so I can store things relatively securely on the bike. See sig. Yesterday's grocery run saw me carry a hot, broiled chicken from the deli and three pounds of squishible table grapes in the trunk along with eight bags of groceries in the side pockets.

Bushman

im going to buy a used mountain tandem, and convert to a cargo bike by making the rear stoker area into a huge rack system, most likely with custom cargo boxes on each side

bicyclerider1

I only have a Miami Sun trike modified to pull my Home Depot garden card (1,000 pounds capacity) to haul my stuff.

Sianelle 

This what I used for well over a year to haul allsorts of silly loads.....



It's an old gents Raleigh fitted with a tricycle axle and 20inch wheels on the rear. The Raleigh itself was found down at the rubbish tip and the axle was purchased from a business that sold custom parts for lowrider bicycles. In the end I managed to sheer the drive and bend the axle, but that was my own silly fault for overloading the poor old thing.



Cheers,

Annie

donnamb 

Wow, Annie, that's amazing.

Sammyboy

The problems with baskets are, I suspect, mitigated if the basket is mounted to the frame, rather than the bars/fork, so it can't pull the bars around. I imagine that's what's on the bike I posted originally, but it's definitely on this 1957 BSA I bought for my former housemate.

Bushman

^ i agree! i had a messenger bike with a huge fork/handlebar mounted flat rack, and it was brutal when loaded. Very hard to control. when i ended welding the rack to the frame all that sloppy handling wen t away

bmike

We have a Bakfiets, and love it...



Some stock images:






I'm waiting on a shipment of kid / cargo covers... that will make the bike far more useful in foul weather. I've had 100 pounds of groceries, dog food, cat food, etc. in the front box.

niknak

Another option are the ANT bikes by Mike Flanigan: https://www.antbikemike.com/flom.html

donnamb 

Mike, did you know there's someone in Portland who is custom sewing bench cushions for Bakfietsen?

bmike

No... that's cool. I'll look into that when our little one arrives early next year!

Elkhound

Try Lightfoot Cycles or Rhodescars.

bmike

You need a conference bike.

neoslan

Now thats the one you gta get

lancekagar

Here's a shot of a Long Haul in progress at the shop I work at. The American Bakfiets, or "box bike", without the box.

donnamb 

I saw 3 of these today delivering packages around downtown Portland.

lancekagar

Hey, cool! If I'm not mistaken, we just shipped the newest one with aluminum tread-plate (flat-bed) to a rider in Portland. It'll be hard to miss!