Cargo Bikes

That's rad. Glad to see you've kept the wooden bung idea too.

which I may revert into a cycle truck and try to sort the handling by building a fork from scratch for

Could get you some geo numbers from our Kemper Lorri if you need? Handles pretty well, handed or no-

Wouldn’t hurt I guess.

I’m going to be kinda stuck with the geometry I modded the frame to which was a 69deg hta with a bmx fork (might be worth my checking what I actually ended up with as I took a somewhat freehand approach to the mods so might have deviated a bit from that).

If I’m building the fork then it could be a bit longer or shorter but I doubt it’d change the hta by much more than a degree either way. I wouldn’t want to change fork length too much anyway as it’d start affecting the bb height and stuff too.

I’ve seen it suggested that a zero rake fork should give a better trail number so might try that as well as cutting the rack back a bit.

In other news, used v2 to carry a tool chest home from Halfords for a mate today and it went fine.

Could ride no handed with the tool chest on board.

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I figure ours might be steeper than that but if I work out the trail it should still be a useful thing

V2 is very jelaousy-inducing though

Could ride no handed

Very impressive! I thought that was a no-no with all linkage-steered cargo bikes?

But what would you be if you didn't try?
You have to try.

It's definitely more difficult than on a standard bike but I think that's to do with length rather than the steering linkage.

Well, I guess it could be the weight of the linkage and second steerer tube plus the added friction from the whole system.

It's not that I want to be doing it all the time, more just that I'm glad this one will do it, the last one (in both cycletruck and linkage steering mode) would just start shimmying all over the place soon as I took my hands off the bars.

Yeah, I always assumed it was to do with friction in the steering, but I guess with the right geo it should be possible. I never had shimmy on my bakfiets, but no-hands was a no-no.

Could ride no handed with the tool chest on board.

Sounds great, I can't often do this on an Omnium with a heavy load.

Yeah, I always assumed it was to do with friction in the steering, but I guess with the right geo it should be possible. I never had shimmy on my bakfiets, but no-hands was a no-no.

On the Bakfiets (and other Long John style bikes), the reason you can't ride no-handed is because they have a very slack head tube angle relative to the amount of rake they have. That means the tyre patch is trailing some way behind the steering axis and that means the weight of the bike is always trying to tip the steering over centre, one way or other.

I still don't know why they're set up like this. It would make more sense to have a fork with more rake if the head tube angle is that slack. That way the contact patch is more where it would be on a normal bike (in relation to the steering axis) and it would mean the bike would try and self-centre itself on the steering rather than fall over, whichever way you lean it.

We already know that Long John bikes with steep head tube angles feel twitchy and either suffer from shimmy or death wobble. Plenty of us on here have ridden a cargo bike like that. That's why they have slacker head tubes. Opposite end of the scale, however, is a slack head tube with not enough rake which means it won't ride no-handed.

See image for head tube angle, rake and trail.

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@fredtc

Does anyone know what the omnium WiFi cargo is rated for (max load)?

think you mean @Jon.

(not sure how to tag with the '.')

Any preferred mudguards for a Bullitt other than the SKS ones?

Our rear guard is f*cked and I would like to replace them both with something more fancy. I like the look of the VO Smooth fenders but they only come in 20"and 26" pairs. So I would have a set spare.

Anything else Bullitt (or cargo) specific out there?

oh shit yeah! Both good looking guys, good at cross, I got confused.

replace with a new SKS IMO.

Omnium does mudguards as pairs or singles, but the shipping from Denmark isn't cheap.

Omnium website says 175kg including rider. I don’t think the WiFi is any stronger than the regular.

Awesome!

Buy a 26" pair and cut / re-radius the front. It takes a while but I have managed to re-purpose a comically short front 700c to 20" on my Omnium, so it's doable.

Omnium say 175kg inc rider. Though I reckon they say that conservatively to be covered legally.

I'm about 80kg and I have loaded it and gone over to between 185/200 before and it was fine. No weirdness. Obvs wouldn't make a habit of it on the daily.

Who else on here has an Omnium Cargo WiFi? I remember @siggy also got one at same time as I did back in the spring. I've got a blurple one, knocking about town on it everyday for work with a green tote box on it. Say hello.

Yeah have one, proper sized tyres can fit! Still not built it yet, took months to find hubs and rims I wanted, now too busy with other projects and health, and there was some frame damage from factory.
Anyone else had damaged omnium frames? Nothing serious, just little things.