i wanna make a cargo bike.
i have the bike and welder, other parts are still at the hardware store or hanging up in my buddys garage. i wanna make something like the soma tradesman.
so, lets discuss cargo bikes.
Want Soma tradesman, so badly
You should really just make an extracycle type longbike.
They are far more versatile in my opinion.
not an expert although i’ve owned a big dummy for a year or so now. the questions i’d ask are:
- storage - long tail is long.
- package size - if you plan to carry large cube-shaped boxes like the guy pictured above, get a front-loader. if you want to carry grocery bags, multiple smaller things, long things, or people, get a longtail.
i dont want to lengthen the wheelbase too much as i still want to be able to carry the bike up stairs easily and onto the train. i also want to still use it for beer runs, bring wheels, frames and over large items to the shop and to get to school with a couple books. i think a longbike would be total overkill for that. i used a bob trailer for a little while and the extra wheelbase was a real bummer when i only had a small load.
i also have a plan for a removable cargo platform and an idea for a secondary smaller cargo platform/basket to make it easier to handle in tight quarters.
Big basket + rear panniers on a front loader like that would carry a lot of smaller items I’d imagine.
I believe I’ve already talked myself out of a cycletruck because a tall load may get in the way of the handlebars. Stupid front wheel, I’d have to buy townie clothes and more pumpkins
Good series of blog posts to start with:
http://alexwetmore.org/?p=541
http://alexwetmore.org/?p=563
A different method:
saw that alex wetmore bike, i really like that other one form haulin colin and not just because of the color
Building a cycletruck really isn’t that hard. Mine works great and was super cheap to build.
UNNNNGHHHHHHH, and i was just considering buying a cargo trailer… do I do this instead?!
that tradesman looks amazing. it’d be for costco runs mainly.
guysshoe?
they give me boners, but i’m not convinced. i can’t fully articulate it but i feel like they are the logical step after pugsleys in bike marketing instead of moonlanders. the mini-cargo seems like a solution to a minor inconvenience.
Lol. hauling toilet papers.
I actually have a costco no more than 10 minutes away from me, and I don’t really have any good way of carrying anything. At this point I can only buy what fits inside my baileyworks pack.
I think if you rode an Xtracycle or Big Dummy you’d find they’re quite nimble compared to a trailer setup, more comparable to a typical bike (tho obviously a bit longer feeling). They are not so sexy for carrying upstairs though.
So that said… what about a small cargo trailer that you can use for that other stuff, and then leave behind when you don’t need it? You’re not even talking about stuff that weighs too much, you’d probably even be able to pull it around with a sweet fixie if you had to / wanted to.
I’ve been riding my Xtracycle for going on 4 years now and really enjoy it. Since my oldest boy started school last year, it’s become my primary ride. We go to school on it together, then I ride to work, shopping, whatever. Great “do it all” rig ATMO.
But it seems like you want to build one of these things. Assuming you can get the geometry sorted so it’s not sketchy with a load on the front, I think you should just go for it. Though the trailer idea is nice (we have one of those that we pull behind the Xtracycle, so the kids can ride comfortably but we can still bring a ton-o-stuff).
i already posted this once today, but don’t buy a civia halsted.
ripoff even at cost.
I’ve got a Haulin’ Colin cycletruck myself, made for mini-bike winter:
There’s a definite weight limit, over ~50 pounds it’ll tip over forward on its own without your weight on it, and the cantilevered basket will begin to trampoline. Luckily that weight corresponds pretty closely to the maximum volume capacity with my usual loads of groceries.
im not too concerned with how it will handle while riding compared to an xtracycle or similar, im concerned with handling the bike while not riding it. storing it in the garage, bringing it on the train during commute hours, up the stairs, getting it through doorways, etc. ive never been on an xtracycle but we had a kona use at the shop and while it was fine to ride, i moving it around was a complete bitch.
so, yea, just picked up a pretty nice bmx fork and handlebars for the project, just need to find a long head tube and some other stuff to get started
I’d say that an xtracycle would really only be a pain on the train, which seems important to you. My apartment is a bit of a pain to get into if I have my xtracycle loaded up with stuff, but that would be true of ANY cargo bike. It just means that I have to take the stuff off before i go into my building.
Yeah, there’s no way you could take an xtracycle on the L here. The workers would laugh in your face if you tried.