Cargo Bikes

Yes so I should have a payload capacity of around 100kg in all responsibility. We will see when I try next week. I think the issue is really the tight 90 degree corner.

Are bikes really that inefficient? I thought bikes were typically in the 90%+ range for efficiency - is the drop off to 50% due to the complexity of introducing a motor as well as a person pedalling?>

Great way to celebrate the Douze's 5th Birthday. Good to see it going strong. That's a lot of money in the front of that bike! Have you warmed to the Pick Up tyres? Assume they are the "new norm".

Is the nipper still happy in the front when it's not full of Champagne?

I really don't know! It's just a guess.

Depends how you measure it, but my measure includes losses due to any acceleration which would require power. There must be extra friction with a trailer from more wheels and from the coupling.

There are lots of unknowns. For example, if he could get the speed lower while still getting peak power out of the motor, the power requirement comes down.

It was really just me messing around and trying to revise school physics! I think that real world experience from cargo bike riders is a better guide to what is actually achievable.

Fair enough, didn’t want to come across as marking your homework! I just wondered as it seems like a huge variable in that comp and one which was the hardest to estimate.

Airport Taxi

1 Attachment

Carla XL? It would be nice if they made them not from girders, given the £4.8k they cost now you'd kind of expect them to be not made from girders.

Theres a few Dutch + German trailer (and a belgium guy!) producers who all emphasise on the lightweight/high quality angle. Kind of a shame that carla's marketing is so strong its walked all over the others. 'Busy bike' were a stand out, spoke to the guy a few times about getting just a hitch for my 'fietskaXXL' trailer (which the hitch was total garbage) made, guy really knows his stuff and quality of his work is very high. But as far as I know he's never shifted many trailers.

The three wheeled approach is great for low to medium speed stability, loading/unloading and means the hitch doesn't have to be amazing as it has less wild tongue weight forces acting on it, but many have commented the third wheel often hits road defects that they can't plan for in a corner (wheels of bike easy enough to figure out, wheels on side of trailer you get used to, but the third wheel kind of sits between the others during a corner), and when you hit a good enough pothole causes mayhem.

3 Attachments

• busy bike hitch.webp
• 
• 

My own trailer is a 200x80cm Fietska XXL, they've rebranded now as 'donkey trailers'

Hitch isn't the best, but you can make it better with some small mod's if your carrying a lot of weight (100kg+), but they are very light, with no floor mine is maybe 12-14 kg? With and their heavy duty axle kit its around 17-19 kg, certainly under 20 kg. Once took a 150 kg classic motorbike to its MOT on it. Stability better if you don't have a motorbike standing up on it ;)
Had up to 200 kg, but its specialty is large and light objects, runs to the timber merchant, runs to the tip, and with the two wheeled version behind a long john style cargo bike it really handles the weight well.

1 Attachment

They do look nice, if a bit expensive. I'm not sure I could bring myself to spend that much.

We use a Carla at work, it gets smashed in to bollards etc fairly regularly by careless couriers (including myself from time to time) misjudging gaps. I'm glad it's so overbuilt! Total bike, trailer, load and rider weight is probably close to 300kg so even saving 10kg on the weight of the trailer doesn't seem worth it.
I can definitely see a lighter trailer being useful with different use cases though!

Will you bring stuff all the way by bike to your drive or just change from van to bike for the last stretch?
No idea how much materials you're going to shift, but if there is a possibility to get all in one go and then use one of these, you wouldn't stress your wife's bike?

Obviously don't buy, but rent for a few days. Saying that, there's options that are way cheaper than a nice e-cargo.

Actually the house had a tractor and trailer now, but I was trying to be more bike. But a tractor might be best. And then I can out the trailer from the car into the tractor. And use the trailer at the builders merchants too

New acquisition from eye/lowbrows, formerly of this parish. Will be a baby hauler once she goes to nursery (and I fit a car seat), shopping, the tip and trying to persuade the dogs to go in until then.

1 Attachment

More bike obviously is best.
But when it comes to stuff like tiles and bags of concrete there are limits, even if you're not going uphill.

Yes. I hadn't really considered the coming down part either, as I'll need to bring a lot of hardcore down. Tractor it is really. It'll actually be not much more than getting a big trailer anyway.
Bike and burley trailer for little day to day stuff. Tractor and trailer for building works and wood.

Nice! Good luck with the dog, still can't get mine on a trailer happily.

The best source for bikes.

Defo a difference in what you spec between own your own gear type couriers and paid per hour minion types. The former, go for it, make it nice, make it light, make it yours, the latter, build it out of girders and even then, your staff will try their best to destroy and mangle.

Trailer I built is Emma's, but her feedback would be that downhill is much more of an issue than uphill. I've been working on how I'd redesign the axle holders to incorporate a brake caliper, luckily the hubs are thruaxle with rotor mounts.

Omnium don't sell their webbing to the UK cos Brexit. It is also pretty expensive.

So I spent almost the same to make my own lol (do have extra material for other projects I guess).

1 Attachment

Yeah, win, regardless of cost parity.

tell me more about that zefal mount

Very good

Twelveish pounds with a stick to the back of your phone case bit. Not as refined as quadlock but does the job at half the price.