^seriously.
Now I want a cargo bike, and that bilenky looks awesome. Once I get my phd, if i get a job, watch out world.
i test drove an ahearne cargo bike last year when he put out +/- 9 different? frames. They look somewhat like the Bilenky except with a smaller flatbed. I rode it about 5 miles with 40 lbs and it carried well. When we got to the destination we decided to try hauling each other and i couldnt handle a squirmy 150lb (joel of courier, for those who know) payload but he was able to ride up and down the street with me on the front of the bike. IIRC he was asking for $1500 at the time/frameset and it was going to go up to $1700 later.
edit: this is the exact bike
IMHO if you canāt carry 200+lbs without the bike being sketchy, then itās failing at ācargo bikeā status.
40lbs is just the normal shit you carry when you donāt have to rely on a messenger bag for your entire load carrying capability.
IMHO / YMMV / etc
[quote=surfcat]IMHO if you canāt carry 200+lbs without the bike being sketchy, then itās failing at ācargo bikeā status.
40lbs is just the normal shit you carry when you donāt have to rely on a messenger bag for your entire load carrying capability.
IMHO / YMMV / etc[/quote]
Depends on the shape/size of the load and where/how far youāre taking it.
[quote=surfcat]IMHO if you canāt carry 200+lbs without the bike being sketchy, then itās failing at ācargo bikeā status.
40lbs is just the normal shit you carry when you donāt have to rely on a messenger bag for your entire load carrying capability.
IMHO / YMMV / etc[/quote]
Dunno, I want one for grocery trips. Gets to be annoying being limitted by what you can fit in an admittedly big ass backpack per trip. Shit like a loaf of bread (real bread, not that fucking wonderbread shit) and a box of cereal and thereās like half your carrying capacity as it is. A cycletruck would work pretty good in that kind of situation and I havenāt had to move anything big enough to warrant a full on cargo bike in the past 3 years. Seems to fit a pretty decent niche ATMO
i think that it was partially me. i had no experience with front end loads/loads in general and having a friend swing his legs over the front was a little weird for me. if it was a few boxes of heavy shit it might have been different.
I saw one of those Bilenky cargo bikes in person at an SF Bike Coalition event I worked on Sunday. Very nice. If I had a garage or other serious storage capacity, I would be lusting after one.
Agreedā¦ but if you can carry 200lbs, you can sure as shit carry 20 
Why 200 pounds? Iāve never carried anything more than about 120 pounds on my xtracycle (and that gave me xtracycle shimmy like you wouldnāt believe) and Iāve never thought that this was any sort of limitation.
Carrying multiple children + cargo would, I imagine, often add up to 200+.
For me, itās because it means you can carry passengers, or multiple heavy objects (once moved 2 computers, printer, monitors and peripherals in one load on the X), or a significant amount of food and libations, or large lightweight objects that are bulky and awkward like a boxed up bike.
Basically, it lets you carry stuff that you would otherwise be firing up the car to move.
Which doesnāt mean that you have to be carrying that stuff all the time - it just means you can rely on a car that much less, and with way more convenience. And convenience is key to making it so youāll replace the car on a regular basis.
For me, max convenience comes with dynamo lights, fenders, and a rainsuit / cold weather gear. With that, you can pretty much replace a car for almost all local trips, especially if you get some kind of a serious flatbed trailer too (for the really big stuff like furniture, or just to max out what you are carrying on a given trip).
Why 200 pounds? Iāve never carried anything more than about 120 pounds on my xtracycle (and that gave me xtracycle shimmy like you wouldnāt believe) and Iāve never thought that this was any sort of limitation.[/quote]
Really? My girlfriend weighs 120 and I regularly carry her and an a large load of groceries with no shimmy at all. What are you doing wrong?
[quote=miguel]i test drove an ahearne cargo bike last year when he put out +/- 9 different? frames. They look somewhat like the Bilenky except with a smaller flatbed. I rode it about 5 miles with 40 lbs and it carried well. When we got to the destination we decided to try hauling each other and i couldnt handle a squirmy 150lb (joel of courier, for those who know) payload but he was able to ride up and down the street with me on the front of the bike. IIRC he was asking for $1500 at the time/frameset and it was going to go up to $1700 later.
edit: this is the exact bike
[/quote]
just posting to say thereās no way in hell that joel weighs 150. iād estimate him more at like 125.
lol
yr prob right
[quote=Rusty Piton][quote=Orc]
Why 200 pounds? Iāve never carried anything more than about 120 pounds on my xtracycle (and that gave me xtracycle shimmy like you wouldnāt believe) and Iāve never thought that this was any sort of limitation.[/quote]
Really? My girlfriend weighs 120 and I regularly carry her and an a large load of groceries with no shimmy at all. What are you doing wrong?[/quote]
When the heavy part of the load sits back of the rear axle, it wags the bicycle much like a trailer does. It doesnāt help that the old glued and lugged aluminum Treks (I xtracycled my '89 Trek 1000) are super-flexy.
If Iām just carrying my traditional 6 bags of groceries, itās not a problem because I load the heavy sloshy stuff as close to the front as possible, but my heavy loads are things like kitty litter+catfood, which completely fills the saddlebags and is all heavy (the next step up from that is the occasional 700 pound load of sand, paving stones, or other construction supplies, which Iād need one of these to carry ā and bringing a fully loaded cargo trike down the hill to home is more of an adventure than I think Iād ever want to do.)
I donāt carry passengers on my xtra ā I pulled the skateboard deck from the thing and sold it on ebay several years ago because it interfered with cargo strapping. If my family wants to ride, theyāve got their own bicycles.
Considering Iām 290, with a goal of 240 at absolute bottom, my cargo bike has to carry a fuck-ton of weight to make it worthwhile.
I wonder if me being so big will mitigate some other weight distribution issues somewhat.
48 spoke 26" wheels
Why 200 pounds? Iāve never carried anything more than about 120 pounds on my xtracycle (and that gave me xtracycle shimmy like you wouldnāt believe) and Iāve never thought that this was any sort of limitation.[/quote]
Really? My girlfriend weighs 120 and I regularly carry her and an a large load of groceries with no shimmy at all. What are you doing wrong?[/quote]
I think it really depends on the donor frame. What are you guys using on your X, Rusty?
A steel VooDoo mtb from like 2001 and itās great. Previously it had an aluminum Specialized Hardrock from like 2004 or something. The funny thing is, the whole rig is stiffer and lighter with the steel frame.
I kinda think itās a bad idea to bolt an xtra onto an aluminum frame.
Then:
Now:
(Minus the basket and stoker bars. Ashley didnāt like the stoker bars)
But NJS Jaguar stem!
She prefer holding on to you?