Cargo Bikes

Was thinking about something like that, yea. But I was also thinking that maybe it's simpler to measure centre-to-pivot on the fork and if it's less than on the steerer tube (rather than an optical illusion) then drill a new hole further inward on that steerer arm.

Still waiting for the fork steering damper to arrive, prime delivery man must be having a lazy day.

In the mean time I tried the bike. It is better. The wobble is still there but much reduced. It is like, even with the rod dampened and the handlebars held tight, there is some kinda flex or dead-zone that allows the forks to wobble. I hope that when the fork damper kit arrives it fixes that problem and I can ride it more than 500m from the house.

However the bungee and everything definitely reduced rattle and swing and shake, it felt a lot better and steering was significantly more resistive, but felt like there is that point where it just won’t cooperate. All okay at walking pace in the carpark, I can slam on the v’s and stop and try again, but don’t want that when I actually try to ride this thing in public.

Of course, I suppose once I dampen the steering so much that unladen it ‘works’, when i put >10kg on the front and it won’t turn at all.

Searching online, appears the term is “death wobble”. (Or death shimmy, mostly death).

Of course, I suppose once I dampen the steering so much that unladen it ‘works’, when i put >10kg on the front and it won’t turn at all.

If I get this right you're making sort of a "V" shape with bungee cords / springs - can you not mount this in a way you can make the V smaller or taller (to increase / reduce tension) so it accommodates the different loaded / unloaded scenarios?
How does this all work with other cargo bikes?

I can, yes. At the moment I have the elastic cord tied in knots, but I can easily place the toggles on the cord (like on a hoodie) if it were a case of adjustment. The comment was more tongue-in-cheek, that I’ll try so hard to rectify this death shimmy that the bike doesn’t actually turn.

You just need to move somewhere where there's much more space and no houses and people etc. in the way!

Cost of living in Poland seems pretty cheap.

There are so many things going wrong with this bike. The steering rod and the whole frames structure is far too unstable to give you a pleasant ride. I don't believe that a steering damper will make it any better at all.
You need a complete overhaul of the steering. Mounting the steering lever down on the forkleg gets you a shorter steering rod with less bend. The longer the lever of the steering arms on forks and steerer, the less force is transferred through the steering rod. Also some reinforcement at the bends/big er tubing will help dramatically. Make sure there is absolutely no play in the joints.

You should also secure/plug/cut off the tubes sticking out the cargo deck ready to skalp your shins!

Sometimes I really hate good advice :(

But you do also hate a bike that sucks to ride! I would really love to help you sort it out, but unfortunately I live across the canal...

All I want is this thing to be ‘okay’ to ride - okay-enough to be certain that it’s worth investing in a real cargo bike for the bag making thing when I can afford it. You’re right, I hate a shit bike, and my hatred for this thing is growing by the day and it’s had less than 15 minutes road time.

Gonna be a very expensive garden ornament at this rate.

Can you not go back to the guy who sold it to you and say sorry mate but this is shit?
I know he's no professional but hasn't he sold you something which is unfit for use?

Nah. He is way too far up north, it’s a day’s drive. Normally he specs them with the box, which adds a lot of rigidity as it is fixed to the frame, and that will weigh down the front somewhat. I think it’s something I’m doing, or have done. I will email him this weekend if I haven’t sorted it by then.

To be honest, until the shimmy sets in, it rides pretty well.

it rides pretty well.

Sounds like it!

Yep.

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Some positive news... I managed to ride it for 10 minutes or so and not die. Got dark and cold so came home sooner than planned, got the weird looks from people.

Swapped the solid axle on the front wheel for a qr, put the (cheap/new) slick bmx tyre replacing the knobbly cracked one, fitted the steering damper spring, and tightened the bungee elastic underneath.

Whilst forcing myself to relax, I could feel some wobble but it wasn’t deathly. Maybe with more spring tension that would be further reduced, but it was okay.

On slow sharp turns the steering was trying to snap back straight so there was a wobble I was fighting with, but otherwise the wobble only really came out going over bumps. I noticed it a bit when applying some super killer legs power uphill, but only on the first or second pedal stroke.

Turning takes some getting used to, it isn’t that slow, but probably me afraid to steer too deep and risk the oversteer and slam.

Managed to go faster and it felt stable, just the wobble with all the awful uneven paths around.

Will try my hand riding it a few miles tomorrow, to see if I can make it even half the distance I plan to use it over. Never realised how winding and hilly my routes are.

managed to ride it for 10 minutes or so and not die

yay!

.

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Ti Mini-Max <3

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Yeah it’s a weird one. Not very much more carrying capacity than a decent size rack however it probably handles better.

Test ride to the scrapyard and back. Survived. Very few wobble issues, in fact the main one was turning too sharp onto the driveway back at the parents’ house. Managed to find that courier box dumped by the wayside, so not a perfect fit nor super light but definitely good enough for the time being.

Kept it slow, kept it relaxed, only real wobbles were fighting against my desire to throw the bike a little uphill. So aside from that and dodgy cornering when I lose my concentration and really bad surfaces, the wobbles aren’t too much of an issue now.

One of the guys at the scrapyard’s words were “fuuuuuck that”.

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Ooh very fancy ^.

what are the pros and cons of having cable steering?

I love the idea of cable steering, but I don't think they have taken fully advantage of it to maximise carriage volume.