Everyone needs a cargo ebike

[John in CR]

30kg of dog food and some chicken wire, and I could have easily handled my 2 usual passengers at the same time too. Blue was shall we say "wiggly" with all that weight high and to the back, but it sure beat cranking up the van that's been parked for 2 months and another 2 before that one time use. As a 2nd ebike cargo ebikes are the bomb, and if I was limited to 1 ebike it would definitely a high power cargo bike, because they can be good for everything, except maybe off-roading. Blue is my version of the WorldBike, just lower and with a motor. I can't believe their instructional stuff isn't online any more. Don't forget a really strong kickstand if you build one.

 

[ddk]

cargo trikes ftw. :lol:

 

[John in CR]

cargo trikes ftw. :lol:

Of course I'm hatching a plan for an all purpose all weather trike. Isn't everyone?... but if the roads are less than ideal it's single track FTW. Dodging holes is one advantage in favor of 2 wheels, and fitting in the spaces cars leave and generally efficient movement through traffic really tip the scales. Really heavy loads obviously go to the trike, but another trike I want is a low leaning delta recumbent with extreme power and a big honkin battery for some perfectly surfaced roads I know in the mountains that are too high to get enough truck traffic to mess them up.

 

[ddk]

cargo trikes ftw. :lol:

Of course I'm hatching a plan for an all purpose all weather trike. Isn't everyone?... but if the roads are less than ideal it's single track FTW. Dodging holes is one advantage in favor of 2 wheels, and fitting in the spaces cars leave and generally efficient movement through traffic really tip the scales. Really heavy loads obviously go to the trike, but another trike I want is a low leaning delta recumbent with extreme power and a big honkin battery for some perfectly surfaced roads I know in the mountains that are too high to get enough truck traffic to mess them up.

noted-I have been experiencing many close encounters of the wrong kind, sometimes caused by the trike's width
However I do take the trike off-road regularly if the path or clearing is wide enough. I just proceed with caution.
-and-
Wide enough is a pedestrian or a deer path... but not a raccoon path and I won't ford streams:lol:

-btw-
if I could still ride a bike I would also have a bike in addition to a trike. Now that I've experienced trikes I prefer the trike for most transportation tasks and would only use a bike for pure entertainment.

 

[docnjoj]

Yes DDK I absolutely agree that trikes do well even on relatively narrow tracks provided:
1. They have good suspensions. I feel that 4-5" of trave really helps.
2. The suspenseions are relatively supple yet don't bottom out. My Steini has 650 lb springsw/nitrogen filled shocks and could even go softer except it was designed for 50kilo packs in addition to the "big" rider.
3. Strong wheels and wider tires (at least 2"). I had to rebuild the European so called 16" fronts with 20" real front wheels and 13/14 Sapim spokes. John Rob did the bullet proof front wheels on the original Bitex narrow hubs..
I hope that an affordable tilter can be built to help the cornering yet at the same time raise the seat height so visibility improves as handling also improves. JohninCR where is your trike design? You promised!
otherDoc

 

[ddk]

lol
forgot to mention that's a really nice looking cargo bike ya built there.
Although I would shorten the crank arms a bit, unless I'm seeing an optical delusion from the photo.

 

[amberwolf]

Blue is my version of the WorldBike, just lower and with a motor. I can't believe their instructional stuff isn't online any more.

I did a bit of googling, and found this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xtracycle/4184971337/
that mentiones something called Xaccess.
http://wayback.archive.org/web/19960101000000*/http://xaccess.org
I also found worldbike.org has a Wayback Machine archive going back a few years. I don't have time to dig thru it, but this is the main site link if you want to explore it and see if it might contain what you're after.
http://wayback.archive.org/web/19970315000000*/http://worldbike.org

 

[Philistine]

I love how you don't even bother with the facade of a bike chain John, oh the joys of living in paradise in a non-nanny state.

I remember when I was travelling through Thailand, and I bought a bottle of Thai whiskey off a five year old street vendor. In Australia there are a billion laws against that, and that is the very reason why in Australia the kid would be drunk. You don't need a million laws and people telling you what to do when you refrain from making laws about everything, and let social norms regulate behaviour.

If I had fabrication skills that is the kind of bike I would build, a 20 inch bike/16 moto rear with lots of battery and cargo space. Problem is in Australia that bike (even with a bike chain) would have the Po Po all over me like crabs on Lindsay Lohan. I guess I will have to wait until my wife leaves me with the kids and I can build one to get me around Ko Samui.......

 

[MadRhino]

It looks neat and comfy.

I think I'll be going the trailer route, once I'm finished building my Fatboy.
There was a special edition of the Fatboy that had a funny BBQ trailer:

I've seen some cargo trikes lately in montreal. They are of this type and moms carry their kids with them. I guess some local shop must sell, or make them custom.

 

[John in CR]

I love how you don't even bother with the facade of a bike chain John, oh the joys of living in paradise in a non-nanny state.

The chain was on it for over 3 years. It was on the left side. A few months ago the epoxy finally let go from the 5" diameter disc with the freewheel mount....Not DP420, but good epoxy and surfaces properly prepared. It certainly never saw even a small fraction of the loads a torque arm could. I could run pegs, but I like pedals better as a place for my feet, because they aren't fixed position, making pedals more comfortable.

I'll put a chain back on to sell it after I build its replacement, same look, same motor, except use the other 2 I have which are in 17" moto rims instead of the 14" on the one pictured. It will be a 2wd 70mph capable cargo ebike with my standard 74V packs. Other than the additional motor and moto fork up front, the new one will be lighter but stiffer, more aero but more ready for cargo, faster but a better hill climber...basically have a better defined target and take advantage of what I've learned on ES in the 3.5 years since. I was a total noob when I built Blue.

John

 

[Cargo_Tom]

MadRhino:

The box bike pictured is a danish made cargo trike http://www.sortejernhest.dk/jern/ (name translates to "black iron horse"). It has rear wheel steering and rides like a fork lift truck. This is appropriate as it is built to carry 350lbs plus rider.

Electrifying one would be a fun challenge, as it has no obvious place for a hub motor.

Cargo bikes are immensely useful in an urban environment. Electrified cargo bikes can replace a 2nd car quite readily.
-Tom

 

[veloman]

Electric power on a cargo bike would significantly make the world a better place by replacing so many overkill ICE utility/work vehicles.

 

[LockH]

[BUMP] Hehe...

Electric cargo bicycles like this ice cream bike are turning into highly profitable micro-businesses:
https://electrek.co/2018/06/29/electric-cargo-bicycles-profitable-micro-businesses/

 

[markz]

I've been thinking of building a trike for the cabin. Its flat terrain with a decent size lake, and bush trails about 2 to 2.5 length of a regular cruiser handle bar. The Cargo would be two seats plus driver, so enough room for beach stuff. There aint much to do in terms of cruising around on the noisy quad, so the electric trike would be able to go in behind the cottages. But there is a Provincial Park that borders our community, then another community with older homes from circa 1970's and not 2000's like ours. It'd be a good welding project. Be fat tire build, motorcycle wheels 17 x 2.15's probably, either mid drive but with a direct drive motor 5kw mxus.

 

[LockH]

Hehe... "a trike for the cabin"... and "flat terrain with a decent size lake"... I spent about ten years at "the cabin" - living in various houses - on flat terrain by a "big" lake - Lake Ontario, in watt the City of Toronto terms a "Park"... and these daze, desperate to start earning incomes again (currently on life support, courtesy of the Ontario taxpayer)... so when I see a "cargo" bike I first think of ways to earn income. [Grin]

So currently aiming to get into the "tourist" business, as renting (electric) bikes... BUT, other plans and schemes include getting rickshaws that can be pulled by electric bikes... (w/"kickbacks" from local bike stores if/when folks turn up and buy electric bikes)...

Anyway... So am more interested in trailers watt can be attached/detached from any "normal" (electric) bikes. [Insert more Grins here] To carry a "big cargo", as tourists... like about 500 pounds of cargo as passengers and gear.

EVer seen a Toronto Islands "school bus"?

Anyway... was amused to see cargo bikes show up... but personally more interested in detachable trailers for any "cargo".

 

[markz]

Mid Drive with a Direct Drive on a cruiser bike, with a sidecar. Or a sidecar on each side hence trike.

Pondering.

 

[LockH]

^^ Hehe... Hey Al! (Alberta)... Guessing any vehicles are restricted to the width of bike lanes (road lanes)... (re "a sidecar on both sides"...) Might be extra-awkward on sidewalks. :lol: For convenience, would tend to go for narrower-ish rather than wider-ish... :wink:

 

[amberwolf]

Or a sidecar on each side hence trike.

Would actually be a quad at that point, unless you take the rear wheel of the bike off.

At that point, no reason for the rear frame of the bike, so now it's fairly inefficient use of space, compared to a cargo trike design (depending on the design).

Dunno about performance/handling; that dependds on hte sidecar design and placement, vs the trike design.

 

[aaannndddyyy]

I built a ecargo trike a few years ago for my grand Daughters 1st birthday present had the axle of the 3540 crystalyte motor upgraded, grandkids love it, attacks a lot of attention.
https://postimages.org/

 

[LockH]

^^ LOVE the concept (cargo bikes)... just looking to earn from investment. :wink: