Elephant bike - shopping capacity

[Dwn]

I’m at the start of a campaign to persuade my wife that we need a bike for shopping, and would be grateful for some advice about elephant bikes.

For background, we live just over a mile away from our nearest supermarket (slight uphill) and usually take the car for larger shops. We often just walk there and back, but carrying capacity limits the amount f shopping we can do. I have also used my road bikes with panniers, but they aren’t great for shopping which involves bulkier items. It’s also more of a hassle with footwear, since they have clipless pedals. We also want to reduce the frequency of our trips (part of reason for using car) since supermarkets are even less enjoyable than they used to be.

Having come across the elephant bike via this forum, I wondered if that was a solution. Could anyone advise how they are with bulkier items - things like loo rolls or pack of beer - that don’t work so well in panniers (I would also have panniers attached for other shopping)?

Thanks

 

[fossyant]

The blurb says it will hold about 40kg of shopping. Add in 23kg bike weight. How steep is the hill !

 

[Oldhippy]

You get a front luggage rack with it. We had panniers on the rear and the luggage rack carried a case of beer easily plus for every one you buy one is donated to a scheme in Africa. Great bikes all round, heavy but you aren't buying it for speed trials. Great machines.

 

[MichaelW2]

I like my flatbed trailer for bulk loads. I put a green recycling carton on top for a container.
The most eyecatching utility bike I have seen recently was a 20" non folding shopper Orbea Katu. Im a firm believer in 21st century bikes.

 

[Oldhippy]

Trailers are also great things. The only cycle accessory I'd ever go in to Cycle King for as they have decent simple trailers at about a hundred quid. Mine has lasted years and still going strong.

 

[IaninSheffield]

@Dwn The gains from an Elephant Bike over your road bike-plus-panniers solution are two-fold.

1. The front rack plus basket/tray. This will cope with the bulkier items you mention, but one think to bear in mind is whether you might want/need a stretchy cargo net to stop contents bouncing out if/when your front wheel drops in a pothole.
2. The rear rack is much longer and sturdier than a conventional touring-style rack. You could add a box here if you wished; something like a plastic storage box (or orange crate if plastics are a concern). A few cable ties would secure it. Maybe not so much for heavy items, but adequate for bulky ones. Might look a bit Heath Robinson, but hey, you'll already be on a ... 'quirky' bike. 😉

 

[Dwn]

Thanks for the replies. The hill is pretty shallow so not too worried about the weight (although would be a limiting factor for other trips) . I’ve thought about a trailer instead. I had a Cannondale trailer almost 30 years ago, which was great for lugging the kids about and doubled up as a shopping trailer at times.

The main barrier to a trailer is a combination of storage space and access. I live in a terraced house, and the bikes are locked in a small shed (not much room for a trailer) at the bottom of the garden. For security, we have two gates that have to be negotiated before getting into the lane at the back of the house. This is a slight irritation with a bike, but would be more awkward with a trailer.

Reassured by ianinsheffield’s comments- now I need a compelling argument to persuade my wife that I (we) need another bike.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I'd be more inclined to go for a womens framed 26" rigid MTB and fit a rack to it. The Postmans's bikes are a bit on the cumbersome and heavy side for my liking. There's a sensible limit to the amount of stuff you should attempt to carry on a bike anyway. If you overdo it the bike becomes a handful and wants to fall over when stopped and is generally not much fun. I've overdone it with getting too much beer to be able to ride with and ended up walking home with the beer sitting on top of the rack. Not ideal, but on the plus side at least I didn't have to walk there as well. I prefer to make multiple small shopping trips and try to avoid busy shopping times, i.e. weekends once people have finally got out of bed.

 

[MichaelW2]

Thanks for the replies. The hill is pretty shallow so not too worried about the weight (although would be a limiting factor for other trips) . I’ve thought about a trailer instead. I had a Cannondale trailer almost 30 years ago, which was great for lugging the kids about and doubled up as a shopping trailer at times.

The main barrier to a trailer is a combination of storage space and access. I live in a terraced house, and the bikes are locked in a small shed (not much room for a trailer) at the bottom of the garden. For security, we have two gates that have to be negotiated before getting into the lane at the back of the house. This is a slight irritation with a bike, but would be more awkward with a trailer.

Reassured by ianinsheffield’s comments- now I need a compelling argument to persuade my wife that I (we) need another bike.

The Freedom Carry Y frame packs flat when not in use.
I assemble mine at the back of my terraced house and fix it to the bike in the access corridor. I cant tow it around the sharp corners but in normal road and cycle path use I havent had any problems with turning circle.

 

[Oldhippy]

The one Cycle King do folds flat and wheels clip off easily if that helps.

 

[IaninSheffield]

🤔 Wonder if there's a way of 'procuring'(!) a supermarket shopping basket then developing a quick-release mechanism with which it could be secured to and released from the rear rack? Now that would be impressive, not least efficient!

 

[Oldhippy]

I've used my trailer as a shopping trolley before in Asda. I was stopped by staff who questioned it and pointing out a mobility scooter and a baby in a buggy I wandered off and carried on. Never got asked again.

 

[GeekDadZoid]

The perfect solution?

https://letsgettrollied.co.uk/shop/...ey/royal-frame-with-rul-bag-shopping-trolley/

That being said I really quite fancy an elephant bike for the school run.

 

[Oldhippy]

They are genuinely worth every penny.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Wonder if there's a way of 'procuring'(!) a supermarket shopping basket then developing a quick-release mechanism with which it could be secured to and released from the rear rack? !

"Procuring" stuff like that is easy in urban areas! I've got a cut down street-find small supermarket trolley now with a petrol generator bolted to it's chassis. A posh middle class one, no riff-raff. Oddly the nearest store branch is quite some distance away.
Found a wire hand basket abandoned at a LT bus stop not long ago, I took it to work and use it there. The thing with hand baskets is they are stackable, so if you have one permanently fixed to your pannier rack (minus it's handles to save weight of course) you can always pop another one inside it or just decant the contents of the store one into yours. I like greengrocers plastic produce crates if I can find a small one. Nice and light, and a bungee cord across the top keeps your bags in safely. As a bonus, it makes your bike look like it belongs to a hobo, so its less likely to get nicked.