I have come up with a new idea (yes I am treating kindly as it is in a strange place), who thinks a Cargo Bike Club would be a good idea?
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Who thinks a Cargo Bike Club would be a good idea?
(75 posts)-
Posted 13 years ago #
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I like the idea. I would be more likely to join a cargo bike club than a car club since in most cases I only want to move stuff a short distance. And like you say in your blog post, cargo bikes are just not practical for most people due to price/storage issues.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I was pondering this, would it be better to get Tesco (other supermarkets are available) to sponsor the bikes.
Hear me out.
They have massive amounts of room to store a couple of bikes, they have NO cash flow problems, they can use it for marketing in the sense that its green and it can be plastered up with Tesco banners. Plus you're rarely more than a 5 minute ride from a Tesco. You wouldn't only have to use it for your shopping but it would be very handy for that as would having really good bike storage facilities.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I thought you were merely going to suggest that members of CCE should lump together to buy an awesome cargo bike, to be stored centrally at some generous soul's house..!
Posted 13 years ago # -
"would it be better to get Tesco (other supermarkets are available) to sponsor the bikes"
In Edinburgh one of them (I think it was Tesco) launched. 'borrow a Bikehod' scheme - not sure what happened after the PR launch...
Waitrose lend/hire trailers down south.
Cargo bike might be the next 'idea'.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Give me an idea of how much you would be happy spending on a hire and i will cost it out.
We were planning a purchase of one for the shop to take mail to the post office and other stuff.
Thinking of Big Dummy or Troll and Trailer.
Posted 13 years ago # -
@steveo it would be great to get the big four supermarkets to sponsor the bikes, but is it likely? Waitrose had a cycle trailer loan scheme down south, but is very limited and they have shown no interest in rolling to all stores, it was just a bit of green wash to get some headlines. Getting real commitment out of supermarkets is very difficult.
Posted 13 years ago # -
@Kim, tbh i'd think you'd be more likely to get "buy in" from the supermarkets than the council especially at the moment. Even if you asked for no cash just some space for a few lock-ups they'd still complain about not having the money for risk assessment or some other such time wasting measure and thats before it hits the EEN and the anti bike nonsense gets stirred up.
Your right though it would take a lot to prevent it just being a greenwash operation.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I'm happy to rent out the tandem...
The Helios in light cargobike mode. Can take four panniers plus a couple of boxes on top.
I have two of these black crates that had been dumped. Zip tie them on top and a useful carrying space. No 8freight but quite easy to use.
Ok - you can't move house on it but it doesn't weigh a ton either.
I should have suggested for the pumpkin job.. think it would have handled that ok. Bracket on top bar for childseat is removable. Can format brackets as you wish so child seat plus box at back is possible. This has Blackburn rack underneath it so I can swap back to tandem mode for demos. You can't have too many racks!
Alfine 8 speed, Deore front disc so you can belt round town like a solo. Big Apples.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Problem I can see if having to hoof it halfway across town to pick it up then have to take it back. If there was a weekly rota of where it/they would be and someone near me used it first so I didn't have to go so far to pick it up and then the next person after me lived on the opposite side of the first person that might work for the shopping trip, other than that I have the option of passing 3 supermarkets on my route home and can take an extra pannier but I do worry about the weight limit of the rack/axle...
like the idea of tesco (or ASDA Chesser being ideal) having them ready to run home but might be a bit knackered after lugging groceries up stairs to ride it back the same day...
Posted 13 years ago # -
I was thinking about this lots this weekend as I was moving house and wondering what sort of bike could have handled it. The best Ive seen for pure capacity and versatility were these recumbent trikes I saw at Eden festival.
Large delta frame, rider is right up the front and a cargo net is strung across the rest. its front wheel drive so you have the whole delta area to play with (steering is a sort of tilting affair, it can be steered with just the feet) and it took rough terrain and whole carloads at once, they had a similar cargo net style trailer as well. Unfortunately I had to boost on Monday and so didn't get to ride one :(
Posted 13 years ago # -
Oops sorry. I just voted for what's a cargo bike club without seeing the explanation in the first post. Put me down for "Genius, where can I buy shares".
Posted 13 years ago # -
@ruggtomcat have a look at this video from Portland...
Posted 13 years ago # -
Rofl, funniest critical mass ever.
Though tbh it does neatly highlight the advantages of a van. Everything on those 20 or so bikes would go into one small tranny, the idea behind the IC engine was labour saving just a shame we've taken it so far these days.
Posted 13 years ago # -
That looks like fun. It must be a heady feeling having all your belongings on the road between places.
Posted 13 years ago # -
"this video from Portland"
Ooh, ooh. Birdy at 1:53.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Och if we'd been organised we could have picked up this beauty for under £700!
Posted 13 years ago # -
I hate to rain on this parade, especially because I'd love to see these bikes used in the UK, but I really can't imagine that Edinburgh is a suitable place for those sorts of bikes. I used a couple in the Netherlands to transfer loads of stuff, including a bed and a refrigerator - they're fine on flat terrain but if the incline is even moderately steep, you have to get off and push. There are many hills in Edinburgh that I don't think I'd even be able to push it up!
First level Edinburgh. Then form the cargo bike club.
Sorry. :(
Posted 13 years ago # -
electric assist FTW
Posted 13 years ago # -
If you think about it though, the pedicabbers are regularly towing 3x80kg guys up the Mound. Most of us don't need to ride up the Mound and even if we did, the average load is much much lighter.
There have to be plenty of parents essentially pulling 40kg of child on a tag-along, right?
Posted 13 years ago # -
I assume such devices come with latch-on brakes. Perhaps adding an anchor-type device consisting of a drainpipe-sized hook and a bit of rope would help prevent mishap when resting half-way up a particularly steep bit.
It's sometimes hard to see the peddiecabbies' feet through the parked cars between the road and the pavement along with the pedicabs often travel but it looks as it their lowest gear is well below one wheel-revolution per pedal-revolution. Presumably only cargo bikes sold for use in completely flat environments would omit such things.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Last year in this post I figured I was towing at least 60lb in the trailer on a heavy bike, and I'm pretty sure that was a substantial under-estimate!
Posted 13 years ago # -
If you think about it though, the pedicabbers are regularly towing 3x80kg guys up the Mound. Most of us don't need to ride up the Mound and even if we did, the average load is much much lighter.
There have to be plenty of parents essentially pulling 40kg of child on a tag-along, right?
Posted 13 years ago # -
It takes quite a lot of stuff to reach the weight of a fully-grown human; it's just that stuffs (be they washing machines or sofas) are much less conveniently-shaped.
Posted 13 years ago # -
If you think about it though, the pedicabbers are regularly towing 3x80kg guys up the Mound. Most of us don't need to ride up the Mound and even if we did, the average load is much much lighter.
There have to be plenty of parents essentially pulling 40kg of child on a tag-along, right?
Posted 13 years ago # -
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On a different note, I think k'nik's right. That is a very nice bike there -- very similar in design to the Helios in cargo mode. However, for a rental/share type cargo bike I would be inclined to go for something with more of a container-type bit, into which one could easily dump firewood or groceries.
Posted 13 years ago # -
"You've been sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to do"
I was certainly imagining a flatbed-cage thing rather than something with lots of pockets.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I think you could get a cargo bike up most hills in Edinburgh without too much bother if you had sufficiently low gearing ratio.
Yes Edinburgh is hilly - but it's possible to cycle around hills or pick a gentler route - If you're pulling a BIG load that requires a cargo bike, you'd presumably be alright with that rather that risk a stall on Kaimes Road!
And doesn't the Brazilian Juice Bar man cycle all his fruit from somewhere up Liberton on that beast of a Pashley trike?
Posted 13 years ago # -
I would consider having a Burrows 8 freight for sale and hire if I thought there was a market...
That's one very light load carrier with a nice low cargo bed.
(The Helios Brut can carry a fair amount - I've added a large lattice plastic box to the top of load frame module - that though is high up and you'd have to use panniers to get most out of it.)- Couple of other factors too...
a: car club now has vans and you can hire in one place and drop van in another
b: bike trailers are relatively cheapWhether something pedal powered works commercially is always in comparison to the ease and relatively low cost of using existing vehicles. Yes I know that a large number of people in the city don't drive but they don't cycle or walk much either. Buses are cheap and many people prefer just paying for a taxi - balancing the cost against the fact they save £0,000s a year by not owning a car. Same factor is what I meet in my tandem sales for the school run.
Of course as fuel and parking costs rise I expect to see some more people using bikes to carry large stuff.
Posted 13 years ago #
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