A random BMX fork is unlikely to get you nice steering under load, especially with the bigger 2.3" tires you’ll want to use: Bicycle Trail Calculator | yojimg.net
You want 35-40mm of trail, a 73° HTA will handle slightly better normally, but a 72° HTA will be better with a heavy load from the front wheel being further under the cargo.
45mm rake BMX forks exist but they’re not very common. You’ll probably want a hub or disc brake too. I really like the Sturmey Archer XL-FDD, the drum brakes have so much modulation that you’re not going to endo accidentally.
at the shop in davis the owner sloppily brazed up something that looks a lot like the tradesman out of some old mountain bikes. handled great, could carry a ~140 lb person on the front fairly easy in flat as hell davis. handled much easier than having someone on the back of the kona ute he got afterwards (though the ute had no foot rests or handlebars on the back)
One time I hauled 260 pounds of brass plumbing fittings to the scrap yard on the back of my xtracycle.
It was the scariest two miles of my life.
I could feel the back fishtailing all over the place and the bike felt like it was gonna fall apart.
It rides great with 120 pounds of pre-wife on it though.
The donor for the X is so important. My 20yr old Kona Lava Dome with compact MTB geometry is not the stiffest option, not by a long shot. Aluminum frames seem to work pretty well - they’re definitely stiffer - but in theory you then have to make sure to inspect your frame more frequently as aluminum will eventually fatigue and fail (I don’t think it’s very common though).
Or of course go with a Big Dummy or Yuba. The former is pretty sweet, the latter is kind of a tractor, but both are significantly stiffer than an Xtracycle. But it really depends on how much you plan on carrying on a normal basis. For me, it’s ~100lbs+ of kids plus cargo and often a trailer… it was getting sketchy with my X, so I’ve stepped up to a Big Dummy and believe it’s gonna be awesome. TBD… but cargobiking is sweet in any format atmo.
1100 dollars isn’t that dirt cheap atmo. Inexpensive as far as cargo bikes go for sure, but 1100 dollars typically gets you more than bottom of the barrel in every other segment of the bike market
At a glance the Civia Halsted looks to offer a better build at the same price point (front dick, 9 speed alivio) but I admittedly have no experience riding a cycletruck or a longtail so maybe there’s a reason the Yuba is comparably valued that I’m ignorant on. But between the two (and I again, I don’t know shit really) the Yuba doesn’t seem to offer great value in it’s build out
