Cargo Bikes

Cheers,
That’s quite the range right there! Good to hear from someone with experience of my whole list, all be it only a short time on the longtail.
I really like the idea of a Long John, but it’s the hardest one to get right yourself. The Katu style would be super easy, but I think you’ve hit the nail on the head about it a little too little.
More input is required.

Ultimately I think everyone’s got their own preference, it depends what you want to carry and tbh you’ll get used to pretty much anything. They all have their strengths and weaknesses

That’s probably the best summation TBF.
I think I’ll go low/Longtail (8 freight style) as it looks the easiest of the options to build for my application.

Self build?

I’ll be helping draw it up and friend will be tigging it together.
Full disclosure;
It’s not a cargo bike is a cargo motor scooter , because it’ll have a 4kw hub motor and cells from a Corsa. Which he has from another project. Don’t worry it won’t see the road, unless it’s amazing and then he may put it through MSVA and get it legal.
I just said I’d ask here for pros and cons.
Cheers ta.

or this only £3.99
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/ring-lock-bike-frame-lock-mount/_/R-p-329630?mc=8608955&utm_term=8608955-4174454&&iv_=__iv_p_1_g_61113988777_c_316312114266_w_pla-308327991064_n_g_d_c_v__l__t__r_x_pla_y_15177021_f_online_o_8608955-4174454_z_GB_i_en_j_308327991064_s__e__h_9045984_ii__vi__&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwfiaBhC7ARIsAGvcPe5ghe0oK8ZiWIdO58u-ALm6PJvZM-5B3mntXkwXpK2JqwxUs_K8wYQaAlg4EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Long tail suit 'average family user' with older kids, up to 2 of them, age 6 to 12. Handles more like a normal bike, easier to transition to this kind of cargo. Not good for lots of cargo items, heavy items (weight is high up), dogs or courier work.

Longjohn suit 'young families' or courier work, heavy duty life, the trades, dogs and folks who like a free sofa off the side of the road. For kids best for 6 month to 6 years, up to 2 of them, beyond that they get quite leggy and will totally fill your front area. Better for carrying heavier loads, better to ride when a bit loaded, most versatile and adapt between various uses, also suitable for commercial and courier work.

Trikes, not a fan of trikes, they don't fit within most UK cycle infrastructure, if ridden too fast they are unstable, slower and heavier with much more mechanical drag, harder to get serviced as literally won't fit in the front door of most UK bike shops. the butchers & bicycles trike that tilts is good though, pricey and absolutely massive, but its near impossible to roll over, I've tried. Christiana/Babboe with the round tub at the front do work well for kids of various ages, up to 4 of them, however you must ride sensibly as they don't take well to pot holes, corners, sudden swerve or bollards.

Decided that having a full Omnium cargo is too much now that I’m not doing any courier work anymore, and given that it lives In front of the fireplace in our small back to back terrace I think ms guspedl would prefer something smaller

Theoretically could I buy a Mini WiFi frameset and just transfer everything over and then sell the cargo frameset? Or are there any weird discrepancies between the two, think mine is a WiFi 2.0, and pretty sure I can only get the 3.0 frame sets now

Great summary! Longjohn owner and lover here who still squeezes x2 8 year old in ours (30kg each). The other day my wife had x3 8 year olds in it!!! :) no e-assist either so loaded up can be slow going up hills...

Perfect!
Thank you.

Got 3 x 6yo in the front box the other week - bit of a squeeze but no complaints. TF for motor tho!

Bargain bakfiets?

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If your current Omnium a WiFi 2.0 it will be the same as a WiFi 3.0 you just need to make sure you get the external gears option so you get thu-axle rear chainstay dropouts. Otherwise all the components and parts are the same.

@rwn when they're squished in, at least they cannot wriggle about keeping the bike more stable. A wriggly single 30kg kid can cause all sorts of handling havoc should they wish!

😂

Sick thanks, you got anything coming in stock soon in small? Or will it be a bit of a wait

Looks like Omnium will have a drop of Minis arriving over November and December so pre orders look to be available for all colourways in Small

Let me know if you'd like to set up a pre order as we've got some bits coming in the next few drops anyway

Has anyone had much luck riding long distances with their dog on an omnium mini-max? Mine can't stand being in a trailer, and I don't like towing it behind me out of sight. I'm currently looking for an alternative where she would be comfortable on the journey, and that isn't terribly unenjoyable for me to ride.

No personal experience of a dog, but I find placement of larger loads on an Omnium pretty important for handling and stability. Not sure I’d want a large dog moving around too much on the front of mine, but a small dog would probably be fine.

Only thought is that if they don’t like the trailer, would they like any bike?

If you follow the omniumbikes Instagram page they are always reposting posts of people carrying their dogs, but they all generally seem to be smaller terriers/spaniels rather than Labrador sized dogs.

yes, I have a Mini Max which my dog is a big fan of riding on. We’ve done 100km on road in one day and about 55km off road in one day. To be honest that’s more down to my limitations than our dog’s.
I’m looking forward to getting the new fold down box as that will be perfect for dogs, particularly if you don’t always need to carry them

She's only 7kg, so no too much weight shifting around. But it's definitely hard to get her to stay still! I think the trailer didn't work because she was always trying to stand on her legs to see out the top. I'm hoping if she can see easily out front, she will settle more - but maybe wishful thinking.

@VeloSurMer that's great to hear, do you have any photos of your setup?

A couple of my colleagues at Paradise Cycles have been welding up some 'Hunderbars' for a while. It inserts into the rack of a mini-max or cargo like an extender bar to offer an elongated platform, a comfortable base and a 2 point harness to make sure dogs are secure whether they are standing, sitting or lying down.

We have sold a few and have always had good feedback. The latest one went to a labrador owner on a mini-max, so even fairly big dogs are fine.

We sold this bike; https://www.paradisecycles.co.uk/omnium-x-sentient-eminimax-wifi-v3-bike.html to Jimi from Attacus.CC and it was reviewed very well on Francis Cade's youtube chanel. Jimi and his partner have been doing some training on it with their nervous poodle type dog.

It also has our own small custom Bafang battery on it. We have since found a solution to clean up the Bafang wiring!!

I'm one of the new Paradise (Hunder Bar) Mini-Max's owners and my Mini Schnauzer loves it! The harness that James makes gives me confidence he's secure but I reckon we'll only need the front harness soon. The element that juts out at the front takes some of the wind from them but allows them to see which might solve your problem.

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Re

I've got a few V2 Mini max framesets in Glasgow, M + L, both metallic green I think. Think there is a jump up in price for V3 due to just the world is a more expensive place now. Think there is a classic mini frameset too, medium/black only/QR

Check out JC @cargodoggo on IG, he travelled to Mexico with his furry friend.

The upcoming fold-down box is very good (for dogs and everything else), one of my colleague uses the first prototype for his large, rather active dog so a small one will be no bother.