Cargo bike comparison

[jrenaut]

You should be fine with kids. A used Burley trailer shouldn’t be a huge expense (in fact, I have one that I’ll be selling when we work out the cargo bike, though it’s seen better days). And the Dummy when they outgrow that.

I’m about 5’11” and my wife is about 5’8″, so we should be able to share a bike without too much hassle. I agree on being particular, but space constraints mean we can barely do one bike, let alone two. So either we get something we both can ride, or I’m the only one who can haul the kids.

So, let that be a lesson to you forum members who are single – if you’re looking for a partner, find one about your size so you can share bikes. It’s a great pickup line. “Excuse me, you look like you could ride the same size bike as I do. Can I buy you a drink?”

[vvill]

Love this thread. I think a cargo/kids longtail is a logical next step for me since my kids are now too big for the trailer (Hooptie!) but I have no garage at home and with around 10 two-or-three wheeled machines already (including kids bike/trike, scooter, trailer, etc) I have no practical room for anything like that right now. I also wonder how much use it would get without an e-assist, with the hills around here. I can gear down and spin obviously but my range would be quite limited.

I’ve also considered converting my beater/MTB with the XtraCycle add on but I feel like for the long haul (har har) a Big Dummy would be a better option. But again I don’t know how much I’d actually use it.

[dasgeh]

@jrenaut 83733 wrote:

You should be fine with kids. A used Burley trailer shouldn’t be a huge expense (in fact, I have one that I’ll be selling when we work out the cargo bike, though it’s seen better days). And the Dummy when they outgrow that.

I’m about 5’11” and my wife is about 5’8″, so we should be able to share a bike without too much hassle. I agree on being particular, but space constraints mean we can barely do one bike, let alone two. So either we get something we both can ride, or I’m the only one who can haul the kids.

So, let that be a lesson to you forum members who are single – if you’re looking for a partner, find one about your size so you can share bikes. It’s a great pickup line. “Excuse me, you look like you could ride the same size bike as I do. Can I buy you a drink?”

My husband and I are exactly the same height (not the same size road bike, but we can ride each other’s for shorter rides). It’s awesome.

@brendan 83729 wrote:

Kids might lead to bike changes…but I wonder how much?

Ha ha ha ha ha. Kids lead to changes in just about everything. Enjoy the ride.

Seriously, though, there are so many great kids on bike options. You may want a front seat, and need a more upright bike. You may get a bakfiets. YOU MAY WANT TO GO TO THE ABCs OF FAMILY BIKING ON MAY 3rd TO FIND OUT MORE.

jrenaut — have you tried a midtail? That’s why I’m strongly leaning Boda Boda — ability to take 2 kids (3 if one’s in a front seat), step through, comfy, comfy ride. There’s also the Kinn Cascade Flyer if you want smaller (good for your storage issue) and more road-like. And next year, the MinUte is back.

[dasgeh]

@vvill 83745 wrote:

Love this thread. I think a cargo/kids longtail is a logical next step for me since my kids are now too big for the trailer (Hooptie!) but I have no garage at home and with around 10 two-or-three wheeled machines already (including kids bike/trike, scooter, trailer, etc) I have no practical room for anything like that right now. I also wonder how much use it would get without an e-assist, with the hills around here. I can gear down and spin obviously but my range would be quite limited.

I’ve also considered converting my beater/MTB with the XtraCycle add on but I feel like for the long haul (har har) a Big Dummy would be a better option. But again I don’t know how much I’d actually use it.

Bakfiets are made to be stored outside. Just saying. You’d probably want e-assist, but there are 2 families in hilly North Arlington with non-assisted bakfiets and they manage.

[jrenaut]

@dasgeh 83755 wrote:

jrenaut — have you tried a midtail? That’s why I’m strongly leaning Boda Boda — ability to take 2 kids (3 if one’s in a front seat), step through, comfy, comfy ride. There’s also the Kinn Cascade Flyer if you want smaller (good for your storage issue) and more road-like. And next year, the MinUte is back.

The Boda Boda looks really small – as i mentioned before, my kids are big for their ages, and I can’t imagine them fitting on there for very long.

I really wish the ABCs were on a different weekend so I could do my century ride AND come to the event. Stupid scheduling conflicts.

[vvill]

@dasgeh 83756 wrote:

Bakfiets are made to be stored outside. Just saying. You’d probably want e-assist, but there are 2 families in hilly North Arlington with non-assisted bakfiets and they manage.

Yeah but my beater MTB, trailer, kids bikes and various yard stuff are already stored outside!

I could manage I’m sure, but I’d want to be able to do more than just manage if I went with a purpose-built cargo bike (we already own two cars). I’m 3 miles from the W&OD, or metro, which probably means more riding in higher traffic roads than families in Arlington.

[mstone]

Thought this might be of interest to some:

http://www.bikesfortherestofus.com/2014/05/kinn-cascade-flyer.html

[jrenaut]

So, we’ve had the Xtracycle Edgerunner for about a month, and I’ve put about 240 miles on it, so I figure it’s time for a bit of a review.

First, it’s awesome. If you have small kids and $2000 you should buy one right now. I love the attention it gets on the road, especially with the kids on the back. Reactions are overwhelmingly positive – mostly encouragement with plenty of “where did you get that?”. The kids seem to strongly prefer it to the trailer, though they do sometimes ask for the trailer, and they sometimes ask if we can take the car to camp because the bike takes too long.

It is definitely a workout, especially the muscles around the shoulder blades, which get worked a lot more keeping the bike stable than they do when I ride on my own. Even if you don’t stretch after riding now, it would be a good idea to stretch after riding a loaded longtail. Most people dump the kids at least once when they first start riding. I haven’t yet, though I came very close on our first ride.

The first 100 yards after dropping the kids off it feels like there are magical hamsters running in your rear wheel, helping you ride like the wind. Unloaded it’s a really comfortable bike. Many of you already know this, but disc brakes are awesome. They will be even better when I learn how to adjust them. Good to note – when you get on them hard down a hill with 300 pounds on the bike, it may smell like they are on fire. This may or may not be carcinogenic.

For me, the cross bar is low enough that I can step over without looking too ridiculous and don’t have to roundhouse kick the kids. They both like to climb on and off themselves, which is kind of annoying but not unexpected. The little one falls asleep sometimes and headbutts me. She hasn’t fallen off yet, but I fear she might. It really hurts when you’re pushing off the ground to get started and the foot rest catches the back of your heel. Get used to pushing with your feet really wide. You may get kicked in the calf. This may happen a lot despite threats of being left on the side of the road to the kicker.

You will know when the children shift their weight. Your children will shift their weight a lot. We have the 24-speed version. I don’t know what the ring sizes are, but unless you’re some kind of fast-cadence crazy person, you’re speed will max out around 25-30mph unless you are descending a mountain. This is okay, because the rear end gets squirrelly at this speed anyway.

Happy to answer questions. I love this bike.

[DaveK]

@jrenaut 90023 wrote:

Many of you already know this, but disc brakes are awesome. They will be even better when I learn how to adjust them. Good to note – when you get on them hard down a hill with 300 pounds on the bike, it may smell like they are on fire. This may or may not be carcinogenic.

I don’t know what’s on there stock but it’s relatively easy to upgrade to larger rotors on almost any disc brake. It’s a matter of buying an adapter and the rotor itself. Larger rotors will have less fade and more heat capacity so you’ll cook your pads less.

[dkel]

Thanks for your review, jrenaut. It almost makes me wish my kids were little again…almost. It does make me wish I had a cargo bike.

[jrenaut]

@DaveK 90066 wrote:

I don’t know what’s on there stock but it’s relatively easy to upgrade to larger rotors on almost any disc brake. It’s a matter of buying an adapter and the rotor itself. Larger rotors will have less fade and more heat capacity so you’ll cook your pads less.

They’re Avid BB5s, which I’ve been told about 3000 times I need to upgrade to BB7s.

[jrenaut]

@dkel 90070 wrote:

Thanks for your review, jrenaut. It almost makes me wish my kids were little again…almost. It does make me wish I had a cargo bike.

You can always have more kids. Or maybe grandkids.

[dkel]

@jrenaut 90091 wrote:

You can always have more kids. Or maybe grandkids.

Getting a cargo bike would be muuuuccchhh cheaper than having more kids. And less of a hassle.

[peterw_diy]

@dkel 90070 wrote:

Thanks for your review, jrenaut. It almost makes me wish my kids were little again…almost. It does make me wish I had a cargo bike.

You don’t need kids. The Yuba Mundo is rated for 440 pounds behind the cyclist (as in, not including the cyclist’s own weight). My wife & I have taken it out on date night. (We’ve also gone out to dinner with both kids on the bike.)

Disc brakes — I’ve got a couple new BB7s waiting to be mounted, as the Mundo hubs & frame are disc-ready. Truth is the cheap Promax cantis have been fine with Kool Stop salmons, even for the occasional hilly ride. I’d have to double-check Strava, but I think I’ve hit 30-35 mph downhill with both kids on back, and it was A-OK. Only time I’ve had trouble with control has been when my wife rode on the very back — having an adult’s weight high and behind the rear axle isn’t good. Having a grade-school kid behind the rear axle is no problem. Having my wife in the middle of the rack (right above the axle) is OK.

[Steve O]

@jrenaut 90023 wrote:

You may get kicked in the calf. This may happen a lot despite threats of being left on the side of the road to the kicker.

I’m unclear on why this happens a lot.

Unless, that is, you went back and retrieved the kicker from the side of the road.

[Author]

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