On the basis that if I post to say I might come, then I might come, I am posting to say that I might come (if I don't decide to take the big bike to work instead).
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Events, rides etc.
PY - Cargonaut Special
(106 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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Not tomorrow for me I'm afraid, too busy just now for a late start :-(
I was hoping to bring the long haul trucker with all it's bags on, but you'll just have to take my word for it that an lht with five ortliebs (and more on the rack) will take an obscene amount of bulk and weight without adversely affecting the handling/ride (though some hills can become somewhat sweaty/painful!)Posted 12 years ago # -
I've detected a moderate problem. As many of you know, I am blessed with astonishing* levels of foresight, common sense and attention to detail, so I've completely forgotten that come 9.15 or so tomorrow, I'll be standing outside The Bike Station with a fixed gear bike, one Ortlieb pannier and 75kg of steveo's garden stone.
I doubt they'll be unduly troubled by the idea of me leaving the three bags in some discrete corner (or even in the Bullitt bucket) until I turn up during their saving-my-skin Wednesday late opening with the tractor/trailer after which I can huckle it round to steveo's at a time of his convenience, but boy oh boy do I feel silly.
*note how astonishing isn't actually a positive adjective, but is generally used as such. I learned this trick from the use of the word Quality in the QBC.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Eh is this tomorrow?!?!? I thought Thurs or Friday? So are we meeting tomorrow for coffee/Tea at PY? I have to ask as the meeting of the folding bikes was the day I cycled to PY and sat on my own for 3/4 an hour looking all lonesome.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@Uberuce, ach weel, at least it's not hilly or long from MMW to TBS.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Yes, DaveC, tomozz. Pay attention at the back there!
Posted 12 years ago # -
@uberuce - take me up on the offer of the lead, and save yourself the blushes...
See you tomorrow!
Robert
Posted 12 years ago # -
Roibeard, the lead will entirely come in handy, not just for the folk with panniers and therefore unable to be laden with the stone bags, but also to bump up the load in the Bullitt, because after a fair few laps of Harrison Park and surrounding back streets with all three in the bucket, I got the impression it was bored of such light duty.
You were right about the steering on standard uprights after a prolonged session in the Bullitt. I didn't notice it at first since I invariably start out the saddle due to the reasonable incline by my flat, but as soon as I was sitting down I was all over the shop on my MTB.
DaveC: The meeting will be at Peter's Yard on Middle Meadow Walk in central Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, at 7.30am aka 0730 BST on Wednesday the 26th of September 2012.
Thanks for the title edit, chdot! Might even be an idea to scalpel out the mention of any other days from the seed post too?
Posted 12 years ago # -
after a lot of early starts last week and 2 so far this week, I don't thinki'll be making it. sorry chaps. pics please!
Posted 12 years ago # -
I can bring the tourer, but don't really have anything appropriately dense and heavy with which to load the panniers up - beyond filling them full of clothes. And I only just tidied up the bedroom!
Posted 12 years ago # -
Roibeard's lead sound ideal for your purposes, Kap.
There is also likely to be a fair poundage of locks in evidence. Better write a note to tell my neighbour her bike's not stolen from the stairwell, just living in my flat while I use the heavy chain I loaned her.
Sneak peeks of Bullitt:
Posted 12 years ago # -
I have no idea why Im doing this but *sets alarm* see you there!
Posted 12 years ago # -
I am sorry that I can't make this one. I hope there's some pics!
Posted 12 years ago # -
unfortunately the beers got to me and I forgot to plug in the phone meaning that I only work up at 7:30am. Hope y'all had a good one!
Posted 12 years ago # -
Well I did my usual flying visit... I did get a wee ride on the Bulitt, but found it alarmingly wobbly (I should probably have taken Uberuce's advice and gone for a downhill start. Hopefully there will be some comedy photos of the (folded) Brompton being transported by Bulitt, though!
I just missed a train, too, and therefore spent 10 minutes sitting on the next one. I need to be better organised for these things. (Bonus was spotting people removing a car that was parked in the bus lane...)
Posted 12 years ago # -
That was awesome. Bullit quite tricky to get the hang of (esp compared with the 8 Freight "reverse Bullit") but neat.
Very impressed with the Ute!
Looking forward to pics...
Posted 12 years ago # -
I found the Bullit's steering very counter-intuitive. I suppose it would be fine with practice, but I found myself thinking I would prefer something more like a Ute or 8-Freight, where the load is carried on the back rather than the front.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@kaputnik/Dave: Someone said something about how the wheels weren't in-line on the 8-freight maybe could explain steering trickiness - please someone confirm I got the bike/fact right!
I'm still intrigued by the single fork...
Posted 12 years ago # -
That was great fun.
The Bullit was just a little too twitchy, again I guess that would get better with practice and probably using it as ones only bike. The Kona was very civilised as was the 8-Freight, now if only I had space to store one.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I tried out the Bullitt first, I found the steering really tricky. Every little twitch of the bars seemed to be amplified, sending the front wheel off (to the left for some reason) and tipping the bike over as I tried to compensate. I could not get the hang of it at all. Clearly I'm far too conventional for such a bike.
Had a go on the Pino and found it very smooth and easy to handle, despite similarities with the Bullitt set-up. Slightly less 'amplification' effect as the front wheel not as far forward. Very comfy too.
I'm glad I stayed around for the arrival of the 8 Freight though. What a bike! Despite being very long and thus having quite a large turning circle, this was a great bike to ride. The small wheels, low centre of gravity, and fat tyres made for a ride that felt like gliding along on a carpet. I like the 8 Freight: Mike Burrows clearly knows what he is doing.
Thanks folks for bringing your steeds along.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Posted 12 years ago #
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Posted 12 years ago #
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Ultimately - for cost and storage space reasons - that a trailer hauled by the lowly gears of my touring bike is the logical cargo hauling solution for me.
Birthday coming up...
Posted 12 years ago # -
"vid"
I love the sound effect in this video!
Posted 12 years ago # -
Trailers are great. That's how I started out, and I still use them for really heavy or bulky stuff.
I can heartily recommend the Carry Freedom Y-Frame, or build your own from Nick Lobnitz's 'Bamboo Trailer' design with some inexpensive components and basic workshop tools. http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenerleith/sets/72157624247844624/
Posted 12 years ago # -
@Kappers: If you or anyone else is interested in a demo of how the Freedom handles with 75kg of steveo's future garden on it, I'll be round the The Bike Station with mine at 6.45 or so tonight.
For ease of use, the Ute was the winner since it's so similar to a normal upright. Second is the Carry Freedom, knocked off the top spot because it can't fit round chicanes and the like as well as I imagine the Ute can. Then it's the 8-Freight, then the Pino, and the Bullitt is the hardest to master.
I had 75kg on the 8-Freight and the frame handles it fine, but the drum brakes took a little longer to stop down MMW than I'd like, and the turning circle is a bit big.
The Carry Freedom also took 75kg, but the tug-surge on the polymer hitch is pretty unnerving. I think on balance it's a price worth paying for how much punishment it can take, though.
The Ute surprised my by taking 50kg without a peep, although it did make it a touch tricky to handle for me. I was experiencing the post-Bullitt wobbles, though.
The Bullitt took the 75kg and two panniers both loaded to around 6kg, with frame and brakes not giving a tinker's toss. I did find Angle Park Terrace to be a real scumbag even in first, although with the saddle set at my usual height maybe it would have been okay. The coaster brake met with universal thumbs down, including mine. It's got the beefogrip to stop the load after I let it build up a fair tilt going down Ardmillan Terrace, but it makes setting off pointlessly fiddly.
If I was to be getting a Bullitt I think I'd save up the extra £300 for the model with the Alfine-8 for extra range, and the disc brakes in rear as well as front.
Overall, I'd say the ideal standalone cargo bike would have the 8-Freight's rear bucket, but with hub gears and disc brakes.
I'd also gladly shell out for a bike that was designed as a tractor unit. 20" wheels would allow you to bring the bottom bracket forward a fair bit, lowering the rider beach-cruiser style to reduce surge, which I think is caused by the CoM of load and rider being at a dogleg through the hitch.
The chainstays would extend past the back wheel and meet behind it, allowing a fully rotating hitch.Posted 12 years ago # -
Not to critique Uberuce's detailed and useful review, but thinking about my day to day -- Circe Helios can take 2/4* rear panniers and like the Ute fits reasonably well round chicanes, corners etc but on a day to day if we're going to the market or a big shop, we often take the trailer because (a)it corners fine and (b) its much easier to just chuck the shpping in (like a boot), then carry panniers round, load them all carefuly etc.
*to be fair, I don't have the fittings for it to take 4 panniers, but we've been debating this exact point. is it worth shelling out more than our trailer cost as as to be able to take 4 panniers for shopping? the game changer for us is actually more the 'would it not be handy to take toddler and 2 panniers' ? but even if we did buy the attach, for big shops, I suspect we'd stick to the trailer.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I've loaded a lot more than 50kg into the Ute's capacious panniers, it will take 4 big bags of supermarket consumables. However the heavier the load, the more skittish the handling gets. There's also the need to balance the load, so 3 x 25kg was awkward. I could have strapped a sack onto the wooden deck, I had compression webbing with me. In all cases dead weight needs to be forward of the rear axle, lighter stuff at the back...
Now a Ute plus a CF Y-Frame would be some combo...
Posted 12 years ago # -
SRD: good catch - I'd not considered the loading phase of use. The Bullitt/8-Freight bucket types have a real advantage there, as would a trailer with a secured box.
The Carry Freedom is great in Sainsbury since they let me wheel it round inside, so I can pack it at the till and not even bother with bags. For heavier stuff, I'd prefer to source something more robust than a cooncil recycle box, and then drill the holes and add the feet to fit into the loading bed holes. Carrying the stones in the box required more careful riding than I like.
Posted 12 years ago # -
It seems to me the major benefit of the Bullitt is that you can see your load, which is presumably a bonus for living cargo? Particularly at young ages.
Having a small child sat behind me would make me slightly nervous I think. Although admittedly I don't have any to test the theory with...
Posted 12 years ago #
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