Cargo Bikes

They're about €50 new I think so that seems a bit hopeful...

Halp!

I have started reading this thread from the beginning, but I have a big issue. I would love a proper bakfiets style cargo bike. Basic is best.

Uses are:
Getting materials for the bags
Getting pallet wood/bricks/materials for the garden
Possibly/probably riding to local craft/street markets to sell my wares (the bags)
Possibly/maybe giving the petite gf a lift on occasion

Mum got this last year. She tried it once or twice and can’t ride it. Languishing under cover ever since, I have the option to sell it or use it. New lead acid cells will cost me £75-120 total, otherwise it’s working. No gears since it’s made for the throttle electric drive.

Maybe it’s the seat, the bars, the basket...maybe just because it’s a trike... but I’m really struggling to actually ride the thing. I feel embarrassed!

Has anyone gladly used a trike for cargo?

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Some component swaps, maybe a rattle can paint job and I reckon it'd look good.

Would look completely different with different bars and proper saddle height.

@Tijmen @MisterMikkel I agree, but is it worth it? Hmm. It’s a wide ride. I could more easily store a bakfiets under a lean-to out front of my shed, whereas this thing doesn’t fit down the side gate I don’t think.

Well, we’re hunting for the original charging cable now. I’ll pretend that I still have some pride left, then swallow it, and ride it tomorrow to the ebike shop to see what they’d give me for it. If it’s painfully low, either offer it up here or gumtree, or mod the hell out of it.

Get a bob trailer you can fit to any bike?

I have a single wheel trailer already. Didn’t like it with loads over 15kg - maximum I hauled was 20kg but it didn’t feel stable enough.

That sounds like a good place to start.

I use a trike at work a lot but they're very different. Absolutely massive things that are effectively the size of a small car. They're great for really heavy loads that we'd struggle with on a bullitt. I can see what you've got there being better than a regular cargo bike for carrying the heavier stuff you mentioned but might be less so for every day use.

How is yours set up? I suppose it’s a larger trike than this one?

The guys at the e-bike shop spoke positively of this iZip trike. Just wondering if it’s worth investing at a minimum the £100 on new batteries.

I can imagine shifting the bricks and pallet wood will be stupidly easy on this thing, but seems a bit cumbersome otherwise.

Not for accessories! Those are less than that new and you can have a set at your door in only a few days in most colours. Either a chancer or someone who doesn't know how much they cost.

Locking skewer I spotted very recently will try and find again. Those hexlock ones aren't quite right.

Not a photo of ours but we use both kinds of trike in this photo so pretty different to what you've got!
Did they give you an idea of how much yours might be worth? If it's not an awful lot maybe it's not worth spending the £100 to get it running when that's £100 you could put towards somehing else. If you think you could make a decent amount back if you sold it on maybe it'd be worth the expense to give it a go and see how you get on with it?

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Valid points regarding investing. I suppose it’s been this white elephant on the porch for months so I’m prejudiced against it. Gotta try it - a true cargo biek is a bigger investment, and none local to test ride.

Someone managed to sell a working trike for as low as £250, but surprisingly another is currently being bid on over £170 missing its batteries. Pretty sure mum paid over the odds at £400 plus a two hour round trip last year. Probably gonna take a big hit when selling it, just for the satisfaction of getting that footprint back.

I suppose that the £100 battery-premium could be recovered if we accepted how little the unit will sell for otherwise.

If you want a nimble cargo bike that can take heavy loads I wholeheartedly recommend the Bullit. I've had a good 80-100kg in the basket on mine and even though it's been slow going it's never been unstable. I regularly cart around kids and stuff at around 50kg without sacrificing much speed compared to a normal bike, apart from uphill of course.

Sounds amazing. Minor update, have dumped this thing at the e-bike shop to get a value. Cycled it the whole way without the motor more than once. Handful of camber-near-misses. Soon learnt even an emergency stop you can stay seated. Weird.

Was a pretty long journey, slow going. Did not enjoy. I’d give it a score of 2/cargo. Higher score not possible with hellish condition footpaths. Woulda got 5 if I had a motor for the whole way.

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Sold it. There is definitely something wrong with the drivechain. The pedals kinda slip as you pedal, like the motor needs replacing. They gave me £180 for it. I wouldn’t pay £180 for it after riding it. So horrible.

That £180 plus the £100 minimum you'd have spent getting it to the point you'd want it to be at to make it ridable is a decent chunk towards something more usable!

Exactly. I think I missed the £300 bakfiets in Brentford on gumtree, but that would have been £400-500 minimum after parts and travel. I’ll save up for an eventual cargo purchase I guess!

Build your own! https://www.instructables.com/id/build-a-2-wheel-cargo-bike/

This is what I did. Think it cost about £300 including buying the mig welder. Mine is pretty rough, but its lasted 6 years whilst being stored out in the rain.

Crazy tempting, I believe that I’ll get in a lot of trouble with the fam if I start welding and building... also, why only 6 years? ;)

Still going now! Just waiting for something to snap. My welding leaves much to be desired.

Is that a Kona Koa?

Badass. Might have to pm you about it if I go down that route.

What is that second-top-tube-thing ??

Child seat device thing?