22 Extended Frame Cargo Bikes

[Kent]

Here is a nice summary of currently available bikes including some steel framed third world specials which I find very appealing:

http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/bike-cargo-chapter-3-22-extended-frame-bikes.html

 

[docnjoj]

Thanks! That was cool and interesting! Great to see the bicycle in use for commerce instead of just exercise.
otherDoc

 

[dogman dan]

This one looks like you could live out of it. Put a tent on the lid, keep your stuff in the box. Rear hub and 2kw of pingbattery, and see ya in a year.

 

[Cargo_Tom]

I've testridden a similar dutch cargo bed bike a few years back. It is built like a tank. It rides like one too, and suffers from a high center of gravity. It is not really intended for fast riding anyways, so It wont matter much.

I consider it to be at the extreme end of the cargo bike spectrum, weight wise. But who knows. it might perk up with a cromotor in the rear :lol:

Very enjoyable read, btw. Nice to see Denmark so well represented in their overview.
-T

And speaking of the cargobike mindset 'round these parts:
[youtube]1DgBEF9zbvc[/youtube]

 

[Kirk]

I'm thinking of adding this baby to my Expedition http://www.t-cycle.com/CargoMonster.htm

 

[Cargo_Tom]

I'm thinking of adding this baby to my Expedition http://www.t-cycle.com/CargoMonster.htm

Ha! I've been daydreaming about a cargomonster recumbent tadpole with fatbike tires as a winter commuter these past few days. Great minds...

 

[SamTexas]

This one looks like you could live out of it.

Wow! And you could also depart life comfortable in it too! It looks like a coffin on wheels doesn't it?

 

[Kent]

Cargo Tom and Kirk-thanks for the awesome links! Mindnumbing....

 

[nechaus]

I want a cargo bike/extended frame/yuba mundo for a Dual Motor Build...
They look like they would fit x2 8inch motors easily..

 

[dogman dan]

Tadpole extracycle. Very good! Likely a much more practical thing for a long tour.

I'm sure the coffin on wheels handles horrible. I was thinking more of a go homeless kind of tour, than a go places tour. The ride would perhaps be all the way from the silver strand to mission bay. 8) Mabye even as far as blacks beach. The police require you to leave the parking place for a few hours each night. Wouldn't dream of riding that thing to Durango Co, and heading for Siverton for example.

But I did build my full suspension cargo bike with that kind of ride in mind. It would need some more tweaks for that kind of mountain ride, like dual hubs, and at least one doing regen.

 

[Kent]

Dogman your cargo bike was very inspirational. I think that we are seeing a growing awareness here of the benefits of electrifing these cargo bikes. Its good to see how indispensable they are in the third world and how these extended wheel base steel frame ones are the cats eye for many of us. I have always taken the approach and what interests me is using the bike as a basic transportation tool. There have been so many inspiring cargo bike builds here, and gathered together they would make an inspiring book. Each build would make a new chapter!

I know some like their bikes as a performance outlet, and as someone who finally made the 40 mph club, I share that. Its a thrill. But primarily, for me, I am interested in trips to the grocery store, laundramat, going to work everyday, and general useful trips around town. I want to relocate the batteries and liberate the rear rack for full carrying functionality; its amazing what can be carried on a rear rack along with some folding baskets. My next build most certainly is going to be a cargo bike.

Personally, I find that its hard not to cast judgemental, disapproving looks at the SUV's and empty pickups, though, as they generate their startled looks at me coming back from the grocery store on my bike with a weeks worth of groceries in my baskets doing 35 mph.

But by our example we will show them... :wink:

 

[John in CR]

Kent,

There's no reason a cargo bike can't be sporty. Here's my 60mph daily rider cargo bike. She's a 3.5yo and going strong. Last fall I updated the battery pack to A123's in an AL case to replace my duct taped hodge podge of diy Konion packs. Blue may be fast, but she's right at home with 60kg of dog food and a roll of chicken wire to haul home, or a 2nd grader in front and 6th grader in back going to school every morning. Being low and long she cuts through the air on the highway better than any unfared upright bike can.

 

[Kent]

John thats a great looking machine and I know it kicks ass. But do you find that with a load hanging off the back like that it makes the front end light and prone to wheelies?

 

[John in CR]

John thats a great looking machine and I know it kicks ass. But do you find that with a load hanging off the back like that it makes the front end light and prone to wheelies?

Thanks for the kind words. No, the front isn't light, because the CG is too low and forward. With a heavy load in back like that sack it's a bit wiggly, so I move a bit more forward on the seat and more upright to keep the load under control. Some of that has to do with me being clueless when I built her, and some torsional flex is the result. Her replacement will have very similar lines, but will be lighter, yet stronger and more rigid. I'll also shorten the front just enough that I don't need the reversed stem. People always want to turn the handlebars around to what they think is right. I don't know how a cable never got broken.

I'll reduce the trail just a tad too. When I first built it, the head tube was much steeper from the mountain bike frame donor, and the steering was too sensitive, especially with weight forward like in a tuck on the highway. I hacked off the front and put some slack in the head tube angle, but I went a little too far putting the trail at nearly 4". At speed she tracks like on rails, but very low speed handling suffers, nothing terrible but room for improvement.

Her successor will get the identical motor, but 2 of them for 2wd, and the 17" moto rims instead of the 14" on her now. That ends up 24" OD wheels instead of 20" on the back now. Add in more attention to aero instead of all those protrusions out in the wind and Blue V2.0 should be close to a 70mph ebike on just 20s, but still have better hill climbing. There's a few climbs where grades push past 15% that she can't quite tackle.

John

 

[999zip999]

Tom I have seen that bullit bike going 35-40mph on a track. Wild. Those boys from oregon had it down on a track everyone loved it. Orange bike, orange jumpsuit and a orange helmet 40mph ?

 

[Chalo]

This one looks like you could live out of it. Put a tent on the lid, keep your stuff in the box. Rear hub and 2kw of pingbattery, and see ya in a year.

I guess even at 3mph, you could cover a lot of ground in a year. :wink:

Chalo

 

[Chalo]

Tadpole extracycle. Very good! Likely a much more practical thing for a long tour.

Regular Xtracycles are known to be quite flexy even when they're not loaded sideways the way a trike operates. I imagine the manufacturers of that gizmo have to beef it up quite a bit, or else have a vehicle with the handling qualities of an extension ladder.

Chalo

 

[Cargo_Tom]

Cargo bike porn extravaganza on flickr HERE

Now I need a smoke

 

[Sancho's Horse]

Thanks for the link cargo_tom!

 

[Cargo_Tom]

This one looks like you could live out of it. Put a tent on the lid, keep your stuff in the box. Rear hub and 2kw of pingbattery, and see ya in a year.

Update: There are some closeup shots and specs in this blog post. Food for thought

 

[Kent]

This one looks like you could live out of it. Put a tent on the lid, keep your stuff in the box. Rear hub and 2kw of pingbattery, and see ya in a year.

Update: There are some closeup shots and specs in this blog post. Food for thought

Then the drum will only stop the wheel, while your puny, girlie man weight will do little to stop the rear tire

Love it! :lol:

 

[WhatcomRider]

Really love them cargo bikes, thanks to the OP! I am enthralled with the idea of scaling down from powerful and wasteful gas vehicles to something closer to the old way of hauling one's goods with a horse and cart or travois. I really like this article about the Xtravois: http://clevercycles.com/blog/2011/09/22/xtravois-2-0-our-oregon-manifest-bike/.

 

[The fingers]

This one looks like you could live out of it. Put a tent on the lid, keep your stuff in the box. Rear hub and 2kw of pingbattery, and see ya in a year.

I like this one the best, the undertaker special, a pedal hearse. 8)

 

[Cargo_Tom]

like this?

 

[WhatcomRider]

like this?

Holy Moly, talk about going out in style!