Show us your Cargo bike!

[Boopop]

Where's the love for cargo bikes? Mine's great, I love it. Here's some photos of mine in its various modes:

With cat (Lola):

With random boxes:

With convoy box (its default setup for me):

Here it is without anything on top with a brother from another mother rocking a nice sound system:

Finally here it is with my turbo trainer strapped on before lockdown started:

I love my cargo bike, it's so versatile. I live in Leighton Buzzard and it's such a compact town, I don't need a car. With this thing I can actually give people lifts. Anyway enough of my Bullitt love-fest. Your turn. Show us what you carry with your cargo bike. How's yours affected/improved your life?

EDIT: Ah, I gather this may belong in the photo gallery sub-forum. Feel free to move it if so.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I can't post mine because i don't have one but I just wanted to convey (1) my sheer envy, and (2) my admiration for your bike. It's very, very nice. I'm looking forward to seeing others, I think these are awesome machines.

 

[mudsticks]

Where's the love for cargo bikes? Mine's great, I love it. Here's some photos of mine in its various modes:

With cat (Lola):
View attachment 530849

With random boxes:
View attachment 530850

With convoy box (its default setup for me):
View attachment 530851
Here it is without anything on top with a brother from another mother rocking a nice sound system:
View attachment 530852

Finally here it is with my turbo trainer strapped on before lockdown started:
View attachment 530853

I love my cargo bike, it's so versatile. I live in Leighton Buzzard and it's such a compact town, I don't need a car. With this thing I can actually give people lifts. Anyway enough of my Bullitt love-fest. Your turn. Show us what you carry with your cargo bike. How's yours affected/improved your life?

EDIT: Ah, I gather this may belong in the photo gallery sub-forum. Feel free to move it if so.

That looks amazing 🙏

I want one (and I'm not generally a 'wanty' kind of person).

Dare I ask how it copes with hills??

Leighton Buzzard is flattish yes?

Could be tempted, for hauling shoot, if there was an e' version maybe.

But it looks ace anyhow, and a nice colour.

 

[Boopop]

That looks amazing 🙏

I want one (and I'm not generally a 'wanty' kind of person).

Dare I ask how it copes with hills??

Leighton Buzzard is flattish yes?

Could be tempted, for hauling shoot, if there was an e' version maybe.

But it looks ace anyhow, and a nice colour.

Well the Bullitt is 22kg, so it handles hills about as well as you'd expect a 22kg bike to handle them . Mainly depends on the gearing. I'd quite like a smaller chainring on mine for the hill up to my flat from Tesco. That said I'm pretty fit and overall LB is pretty flat, so I haven't bothered.

There is an electric version, as is the case with most cargo bikes. Mine cost £1.9k second hand, and that's with di2 hub gearing and nice disc brakes. The lockable waterproof box was another £400. I think I've seen e-Bullitts go for under £3k on eBay. RRP for ebullitts is over £4k. Here's an ex-demo second hand one for £4k. https://www.velodomestique.co.uk/shop-bikes/ebullittblue

Oh and thanks! Part of the reason I bought it was to start conversations about reducing car dependancy If I had kids they'd totally be passengers in it too.

 

[mudsticks]

Well the Bullitt is 22kg, so it handles hills about as well as you'd expect a 22kg bike to handle them . Mainly depends on the gearing. I'd quite like a smaller chainring on mine for the hill up to my flat from Tesco. That said I'm pretty fit and overall LB is pretty flat, so I haven't bothered.

There is an electric version, as is the case with most cargo bikes. Mine cost £1.9k second hand, and that's with di2 hub gearing and nice disc brakes. The lockable waterproof box was another £400. I think I've seen e-Bullitts go for under £3k on eBay. RRP for ebullitts is over £4k. Here's an ex-demo second hand one for £4k. https://www.velodomestique.co.uk/shop-bikes/ebullittblue

Oh and thanks! Part of the reason I bought it was to start conversations about reducing car dependancy If I had kids they'd totally be passengers in it too.

Cool thanks.. Very useful info.

I had kids, I was / still am, an eco-freak

Chidders were passengers on all sorts of bike contraptions, up until a tandem.

Thankfully, they are burly enough for their own two wheels now.

But I run two businesses, both involving 'stuff' transportation.

I think its high time the ol 'Capital Allowances' got properly used -

- I imagine a sainted cargo bike could get written off / down first year..

Hmnn, been considering it for years, and the s/h prices are only going to get better.

Thanks for the nudge.

 

[Boopop]

Cool thanks.. Very useful info.

I had kids, I was / still am, an eco-freak

Chidders were passengers on all sorts of bike contraptions, up until a tandem.

Thankfully, they are burly enough for their own two wheels now.

But I run two businesses, both involving 'stuff' transportation.

I think its high time the ol 'Capital Allowances' got properly used -

- I imagine a sainted cargo bike could get written off / down first year..

Hmnn, been considering it for years, and the s/h prices are only going to get better.

Thanks for the nudge.

Woohoo! Good luck. Compared to the alternatives cargo bikes are really cheap to run to get stuff shifted.

 

[tom73]

I’d love one but storage would be a big issue. How much room do they need?

 

[Boopop]

I’d love one but storage would be a big issue. How much room do they need?

My one is in my garage and fits in about the same space as a tandem...obviously the cargo area is a bit wider though. There are smaller options however, such as the Tern GSD

It's not all about having a larger than normal footprint though. Even the humble Royal Mail Mailstar/ Pashley Pronto is classed as a cargo bike:

 

[classic33]

I've a Brox, a cargo quad. Which I've used for shopping, dump trips and collecting larger items rather than pay for delivery.

 

[Boopop]

I've a Brox, a cargo quad. Which I've used for shopping, dump trips and collecting larger items rather than pay for delivery.

I love that I can get closer (than a car), or even go inside the shop where I'm buying the item from, like with my turbo trainer Cool quad!

 

[Pedropete]

Here's our mid-drive Ute conversion with a TSDZ2, pictured with the biggest load I managed to move safely (sort of). It's since been restored to factory spec and sold on with the upgraded parts about to be put on a Yuba Mundo frameset.

Looking at trailers now to max out the load-lugging capacity for trips to the tip, timber yard etc. Amazing what you can move on the things, and even more now with the availability of after-market mid-drive kits.

 

[Boopop]

That's a classy looking bike @Pedropete. Love the bags. What trailers are you looking at? I've got a Burley Nomad but in hindsight I think I'd like something with a flat bed...not that I need it much these days anyway.

 

[Pedropete]

That's a classy looking bike @Pedropete. Love the bags. What trailers are you looking at? I've got a Burley Nomad but in hindsight I think I'd like something with a flat bed...not that I need it much these days anyway.

Thanks, it ended up looking almost too coordinated with the crate up front . The bags were the original Kona bags: bit tatty but super strong and absolutely cavernous. Have to say I always fancied a Bakfiets style and really like the Bullitt but our roads are shockingly bad so the smaller front wheel would be a problem and I've found 26" long-tails tend to climb better, and there're a lot of hills round here.

I'm looking at flat-beds too, though there aren't that many available with a decent load capacity. Strongest candidate so far is the large Carry Freedom Y, and possibly the Wike DIY cargo kit if I want to build my own. Will need a custom hitch for either of them as the Mundo's low-loader bars foul the towing-arm on most designs. Bikes at Work make a hitch that'll work but it'll be around £100 with shipping and VAT/duty from the US. The Surly 'Bill' is great (if expensive) but not sure the hitch is compatible either.

 

[palinurus]

My cheap cargo bike: An Elephant Bike (Pashley Mailstar).

I like this thing, use it for most local trips, excellent for shopping. Coupled with a basic trailer for larger loads works well- nice flexible solution.

Also can transport cats.

 

[Boopop]

I have an Elephant bike on permanent loan to my friend Liz, great bike. Someone gave it to me for free on this very forum! Tried looking them up to give them a shoutout but they're not on here anymore, that's a shame. Here's the thread anyway: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/free-to-a-good-home-an-elephant-bike.219940/

EDIT: Oh, looks like you replied to that thread too @palinurus