Cargo Bikes

Cos it’s more difficult than a regular bike. And it’s not something you want to be tackling for the first time mid ride with kids, luggage, poor weather etc.

Hey Max, have you had a trailer attached to your Bullitt in the past? I seem to remember you doing that but not 100% sure.

How much does your £400 car cost for a year of ownership, out of interest

its the most complex thing about the bike and if you are planning to maintain it yourself its useful plus your first 'out n about' puncture shouldnt be the first time you are taking the rear wheel out

Gotcha.

About the same again in tax and servicing. And the same again in fuel. It may as well be on a pulley system between home, work and nursery. The odd foray into the wild with a bike in the boot. The cargo bike wouldn't be replacing the car, it's would be supplementing, so the car isn't used on short journeys. That's why I'm on the fence.

if its not replacing the car could you do with a non electric?

a longtail could do a similar thing and be a lot cheaper. Bosch, Tern are both premiums.

or you could take the risk knowing its not really going to depreciate in value, and its so good and functional you use it a lot more than you thought you might

Yeah, I could, but the hills are pretty full on. I do it currently with 1 and it's v.sweaty/takes ages when they are grotty on the way home. We've not fully discussed it IRL and home yet, so will use the internet discussion to inform. Ta

No, I've just towed bicycles

why can't you just order one from R&M? That's my plan when I can afford to add another battery

I keep my spare in here on my Load, which fits almost perfectly. I prefer it to a dual system on another bike as it means I only need to charge one at a time for a full charge, as Bosch systems deplete both at the same time.

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they said no :(

how is this bag mounted pls?

It has two quick release mounts that just screw in to the back board

sorted now thanks to @Rodolfo !! That mount plate is being shipped

I might even get it wired up if I have time and have a proper 2 battery setup

Niceeeeee, glad it worked out

There's an open Government consultation about e-bikes, looking at:

1. raising maximum assistance to 500w
   
2. raising throttle assist limit to 25kph.
   
   

You can read the document and access the response form here.
They're looking to raise the maximum wattage specifically to increase the utility of cargo bikes.

It's an interesting choice. On the one hand, I can't see any real benefits or need for either of those things.
Particularly the throttle assist limit. I've never felt the need for much more than 250w, even on an Urban Arrow with a Carla trailer carrying 9 bikes.
On the other hand, people are going to do these things anyway so maybe it's best to legitimise and regulate it? I suppose it's better for someone to be riding around on a throttled bike doing 25kph that's been built by somewhere reputable than on a dodgy Halfords bike with an Ali Express kit, backwards forks and no brakes.

I can see real benefits from the throttle, it opens up bike use to people that have mobility issues. Next door to me there’s a couple in their mid 70’s and up until last year they would ride the 7 miles to the supermarket for their shopping every other day. Chris had a stoke and now can’t use one of her legs, she now has a trike, but is still unable to pedal it that distance. A perfect case use.
It would also open up the eGoods delivery job market to the less able.
The 500w thing is just legalising what is already done, most motors are really more powerful than 250w in the real world. Some already peak at close to 1kw. It’s about people that don’t understand now electric vehicles work using what they do understand ICE as a guide.
They have done it with eMopeds they can be up to 4kw which is meant to be equivalent to a 50cc ped, but is actually quicker than a 125cc on the road.
**Also with a 250w UA and a 250w Carla you have 500w already, with a possible peak of 2kw…
**feel free to disregard that bit :/

I would assume The Carla isn’t assisted as well. At work we used un-assisted Carla’s and custom trailers with huge loads pulled by the bosch motor alone.

My bad, I’ve only seen the E ones and didn’t realise they made plain trailers.

Yeah the mobility and accessibility angle is a great point I hadn't considered!
As MCamb pointed out, the Carla at work is unpowered. Although I haven't struggled to pull that weight with 250w, as you pointed out it's definitely a barrier to use for people with less experience. In an ideal world it'd make heavy cargo bikes more accessible and appealing as an alternative to emissions producing vehicles. Some good points!

S’all good! We specifically chose the trailers without motors as I think management were worried about getting stopped by police on the basis that it’s 1 vehicle with 2 motors therefore double the legal allowable power. In practice doubt very much they’d care but didn’t want to risk it. 2 motors would have been amazing anyways up some of those hills 😅

My Tern S-00 was stolen last December after many happy hides rides around town with the kids in the back. A hiplok chain, anchor and D lock doing fuck all to deter the local thieves. Laka were brilliant and got me a replacement, but we have since moved out of London and after a couple of short runs with my son on the back, it's clear the local A roads are way too fast/riddled with 4 inch deep potholes and we're just not going to use it. It's almost brand new with 40miles on the clock. Would anyone be interested in it here? The switch for the headlight is broken from when we moved house, otherwise in the condition you'd expect from a bike with 40 miles on it.

I have an extra 500w battery as well which has seen some use as it's from the old bike. £4.5k all in? Based in Sussex now, but can bring it up to London on the train.

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Picking up my new urban arrow in a few hours, anyone have experience with an adult in the front box? Not sure how squiggly it will be (small adult 50kg and small child 13kg)