Cargo Bikes

@markairsy1 you did ask...

3.5 years ago we were after a cargo bike to primarily enable me or my wife to take our boy to nursery (and now school) on the way to/from work. Total distance each way for me was around 8 miles with nipper on-board for only 2 of them.

I wanted a fast bike that once I dropped our boy off I could speed off to work on so needed something that I could still filter on so I wouldn’t get held up in traffic. My wife juts wanted a bike she felt safe and happy to ride. Speed for her was not an issue. We also wanted to use the bike for as much as we could to avoid using the car so it does the weekly shop and whatever else people would ordinarily use cars for.

Got our shortlist down to 3 bikes – Bakfiets, Bullitt and Douze.

We both loved the simplicity and laidback nature of the Bakfiets, but it’s just not a fast bike. It’s beautiful to ride, but I just couldn’t see myself hacking through traffic on it at speed, plus they’re pretty low spec.

I had ridden Bullitt’s before and loved them, but the wife hated how it handled. I can understand why as they’re a bit twitchy, plus hitting the limited steering lock (especially turning left) on tight slow turns was not nice. I’m pretty sure over time she would have gotten used to it, but during numerous test rides (including around where we live thanks to LGC) she eventually just refused to ride it as it scared her.

The Douze offered Bullitt performance (OK it’s not as stiff) and was the weight. Yet it handled beautifully thanks to the cable steering and the steering lock is HUGE so no disconcerting knocks on the steering rod when performing tight slow turns. The kids pack (folding bench seat with x2 harnessess, full cover etc) on the Douze felt better designed than the Bullitt’s. We also went for the Douze Traveller frame (low step-over height) as it made it a lot easier to mount/dismount a loaded bike. We’re both 5’ 7” (1.7m) in height.

After 3.5 years of abuse these are my top-line thoughts on owning a Douze.
(I’m a trained bike mechanic and used to race expert/elite MTB and CAT 1 roadie)

GOOD
• Every time I ride the Douze it never fails to make me smile!
• Amazing neutral handling
• Love the cable steering as you can perform tight turns when riding, but also just manoeuvring bike in a tight space (such as garage). Especially useful when loaded when you cannot easily just tip & slide bike)
• Canopy has worked well. Our boy is now 7 and he’s getting pretty squished in it (length & height), but it still works. We never remove it much with our boy in it as it can open fully up and provide good UV protection and also has a fly-screen built into it. He’s never got anything in his face/eyes from numerous summer rides when both me and my wife have.
• Despite riding the bike in all weathers all year round our boy has never got cold or wet. It seems crazy to me that you spend +3K on a bike and refuse to pay extra (yes I know they’re a lot!) for something that keeps yer kids warm & dry (and cool) despite what the weathers doing. If this is meant to replace a car, then a proper “roof” is essential.
• Folding seat has enough space behind it to hold a decent sized motorcycle chain/lock for securely locking the bike. We leave it permanently inside the bike as well as having a smaller folding ABUS lock on the bottle mounts

BAD
• We busted the Traveller frame after 2 years. The seat tube cracked/broke. I always felt that it flexed a lot vs. the Bullitt and this was due to the lack of top tube and after 2 years of hard riding a creaking started that was essentially the frame starting to fail. LGC/Douze replaced it with no questions. LGC haven’t seen one of these broken before, but as my wife was now an expert at riding the Douze we opted for a Messenger frame (with top tube) which is LOADS stiffer and we’re a lot happier with this frame design vs. the Traveller.
• Canopy leaked when we first got it, but once treated with Nikwax it’s been fine. Done x2 treatments now and it’s still very water resistant. The zips are the weakest link on the canopy, but the design has now been changed. This is not been helped by me crashing the bike 3 times which has damaged the end of the one zip/cover. But kids and their mates constantly play with them when a certain age…

STUFF WE GOT ON OUR DOUZE
• Dyno hub with front/rear lights so you have lighting 24/7 without charging/fitting anything
• Security skewer on front wheel to prevent it being nicked as locking front wheel on a cargo bike is a pain and a dirty task in the winter
• Rear rack – keeps my work stuff out of the front and also you can never have enough room on a family outing. Plus used it to carry his old bike (made holder) and will adapt it soon to tow his current bike (20” MTB)
• BIG chain lock for best security, but also helps us lock x2 bikes together, whilst the folding lock is convenient for in/out of shops, but also surprisingly small/annoying at times to use due to design
• Mudflaps on mudguards to minimise spray
• Single-sided Deore XT SPD pedals. If I can I ride with SPD’s I will. It’s not e-assist so SPD’s help loads with power up hill and acceleration from lights. Don’t bother with lower quality pedals the non-SPD side it just not grippy, been there, tried that.
• Bell. Necessity around parks/towpaths etc.
• Alfine 8 hub. Have a love/hate relationship with this. We’re on our 2nd after the 1st just failed. It makes sense on a family bike, but if it was just me I’d go with derailleur, but appreciate the minimal maintenance and changing gear without having to pedal when you arrive at junctions/lights etc.

Shout if you have any questions, apologies for typos in text, hate writing and never intended to write so much! 😊