Most recent activity
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We're trialling this prototype made in China.
I've seen that wobbling its way down the road. Didn't look like much fun to ride especially with the rear swaying all over the place. What's the verdict so far Bill?
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Having ridden both trikes and long-johns on a regular basis the long-johns win hands down.
Trikes are great for short distance, light traffic and minimal hills, big cargo box is great for kids and unusual sized loads. But as Bill mentioned they are much slower and far less stable at speed and putting it up on two wheels unexpectedly on a corner can be hair-raising. Also I found myself stuck in traffic due to the width and because the bike doesn't lean cambered roads suck, especially as the Christiania seat tube flexes a lot.
2-wheels or Long-Johns. While they look less stable in fact the opposite is true. Having ridden the Bullitt, Long-John and CETMA bikes they all handle well under load. Weight is carried low so if anything they get easier to ride as you load them up. They are far quicker than the trikes in fact unloaded I've found both the CETMA and Bullitt are as quick as most bikes on the road and just as easy to get through traffic.
Negatives - The length can be an issue for storage and then there's the price.On the issue of flex. The steel Long-John style bikes flex quite a lot and while it makes for a slightly spongy ride when loaded I've never found it much of an issue. The Bullitt is a very stiff frame as it has to be being an Alu frame. It makes it fast and lively but when light potholes and bumps can be pretty tiring. The steel frames soften the road out a bit and if you're carrying kids its an advantage.
It all comes down to what you want the bike for. Short local trips, kids to school and shopping then trikes are great. But for longer distances, heavier traffic or a bike that you'll also use to commute then the 2 wheels win hands down.
For me bike weight is one of the main factors in choosing a cargo bike. The cheaper they are the heavier they get. A 45kg+ bike is fine on the flat but hills are a killer.My advise is to try them both, in London Velorution rent the Christiania trikes by the day. The two wheeled bikes are little harder to find but I have a few that you can always come and ride
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??? Really? One of the chronic problems with the 8 Freight was the dr and hanger.
No the external only option just applies if you want a framekit only. Full bikes still come with the option for either hub or derailleur. In fact the MilkPlus, BlueBird and Clockwork have been upgraded this year to the 11 speed Alfine hub.
I'm really happy with the Alfine, especially around the city. No hassle and smooth especially if the bike is loaded up. I know the creative courier guys have been pretty happy with theirs.
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Yeah the Bullitts have just had a price increase for 2012. Framesets are now retailing at £1530
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I ridden one previously and loved it, was carting full kegs of beer. However I could never afford the complete build, would Harry Vs Larry sell a frame, fork and steering only? Established, you're in London? Pray tell how you came by a long john to restore? That would be my ideal project!
Yes we're in London, W1. The Long John took a while to track down as I wanted one that was original as possible. Getting it back from Denmark was the hardest part!
We can get frame only Bullitts. External gears only in all models except the black (JPS and Classic). They come with forks, Steering rod and arms, headsets and kickstand.
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If you're in London and want to try a Bullitt we have a Bluebird that we use for demos.
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I do have a side on photo, just not that straight. I'm going to take some proper photos of it soon
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Well I've finally finished restoring my 60's Long-John. Its the last time I completely hand sand a rusty bike, power tools all the way next time
It's a totally different ride to my Bullitt. The frame is a lot softer and you notice the extra 14kgs of weight
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very lovely
i am looking at Bakfiets for work and the kids, cheap and naff looking but cheap.. did i mention they were cheap..
if only there were a forum of cargo bike users... maybe velocio could give up his job on the forum to work on one..I got the Trike in Holland and the Long John in Denmark. You can get them fairly cheap but the only problem is getting them back here.
A running but rough looking Long john starts at about £200 and I used Shiply.com to get it back here. Couriers bid on the delivery and that puts another £160 to get it back to the UK. Then I'm going to build a box and seat for the kids.Best place to look for second hand Bakfiets is on marktplaats.nl
If you want a Long John then look at dba.dk
Also consider the load on the hitch. The last thing you want is 100kg + load uncoupling from the bike.
Surly make a couple of nice trailers http://surlybikes.com/bikes/bill_trailer
But again you're looking at £450 for the trailer then another £240 for the hitch. Depends on how much you intend to carry and how often. I was considering getting one of these for my Bullitt to carry the other framesets to storage. But for £700 I figured that its cheaper to book a van sadly