Search results for:

@skydancer
Sounds like a plan to me :)

Look like I’ll be able to make my first social!!! :)

Only work in Chiswick so super-close for me. What time are you intending to turn up, and how do I know who you are?! :O :)

Will be coming on the cargo bike as I needed to drop the nipper off on the way to work this morning…

Ta!
Tim

Still trying to make my first social and failing miserably... heading to the coast for 4 days with family. Not a bad excuse! :)

Going to look at Lumiere London tonight
https://www.visitlondon.com/lumiere#ipBjqtQ7rqIAeZuS.97
Not convinced it will be any good to be honest...

mespilus
@mespilus sorry for missing this, works been manic which hampers even further my very poor social skills. Looks like I'll have to wait until the New Year to be social as I'm off to NZ soon for a whole month to catch up with the wife's family, so it will be a very warm Christmas this year for me!

@mespilus
Yes please! My wife says I need to get out more... :)

Really sad I missed this due to being stuck in work late. Was going to be my first LFGSS social too and only a 5min cycle from my house :(

@Oliver Schick posted this in the cargo bike thread, but thought it could also be mentioned in here: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/thieves-leave-family-stranded-after-stealing-2500-cargo-bike-used-to-ferry-kids-to-school-a3647226.html

@Oliver Schick, that's my little boys music teachers bike! Absolute Bastards! She's the loveliest person and uses it to go everywhere... will be seeing her tomorrow so will catch up. Let's hope it turns up soon... I always lock ours up with a massive Solid Secure Gold motorcycle chain and U-lock through front frame & wheel as I just can't risk being without it.

I see a Dolly parked up near Ealing Broadway Station most mornings on the way to work and looks like a good setup. Totally agree with the outlay of £££ for a Douze/Bullitt, hard to justify and still can't believe my wife agreed to us spending that much! Whatever you get you'll be cycling around with a BIG grin on your face, well until the kids expect you to fly up hills with them in it! :O

@Lanterne_Rouge, how did the test go on Friday? Interested to know your thoughts. Also HUGE error on my behalf... The Douze netted out at 3.8K NOT 2.8K! :O

@Lanterne_Rouge, nippers are certainly precious! The prices will vary massively, but this as always will be down to spec/components. Bakfiets should be under 2K whereas our Douze came out nearer 2.8K fully loaded as we upgraded to decent dyno hub/lights and rear rack to enable me to use my Ortlieb roller bag so I can swap between various bikes easily. We needed a fast bike to enable me to get to work in decent time after dropping the nipper off. Good luck and enjoy testing them out, don't worry about the kids if they freak-out and don't want to get in, they will do eventually... :)

@Lanterne_Rouge... We have a Douze F1. Think we've owned it for about 10 months or so?! Got it from LGC who were great and let us test ride/compare loads of different options. Needed a bike that both myself and wife (a very capable cyclist) would happily ride which is where the Douze won hands down in the handling stakes vs. the Bullitt. Thought we'd end up with a Dutch Barge (Bakfiets!) but the Douze enabled us to get a bike that rivals the Bullitt in the speed stakes, but has super neutral handling thanks to cable steering set-up that also comes in handy with tight manoeuvres and generally parking the bike up/putting away in a tight space. We got the step-through frame which helps with getting on/off/stopping too. You can get x2 different front-ends with a full canopy which works really well. Needed to proof with Nikwax UV proof to help water repellency. Have a look at some of my earlier posts... down side is that it costs more than the Bullitt and doesn't look as good, but for us it's been fantastic and distance wise I do about 12 miles a day on it during the week. If you have any questions just ask as it's a lot of £s you'll be spending... :)

Vince, hope the V2 Douze works out OK! :O

We got a Douze last September/October from LGC and all seems good so far. We don't have the electric assist and glad we didn't go for it based on your experience! Luckily we have a garage to keep it dry, but it has been left out on numerous wet days as our secure indoor bike park in work is inaccessible due to building work but it seems to be holding up well.

The rubber feet on the stand aren't the most robust, but we've learnt to kick them a quick kick every time we raise the stand so we don't keep losing them.

It's certainly not the cheapest cargo bike out there, but for manoeuvrability/capacity it's hard to beat...

Vintage Bicycle Quarterly Magazines

Perfect for you L'eroica Fans. Edited by Jan Hein.
http://www.bikequarterly.com/

https://goo.gl/photos/ZMTJ1q6ahzNx6ojN8

12 Issues in total:
Vol 4 No. 2
Vol 4 No. 3
Vol 4 No. 4
Vol 5 No. 1
Vol 5 No. 2
Vol 5 No. 3
Vol 5 No. 4
Vol 6 No. 1
Spring 2009
Summer 2009
Autumn 2009
Winter 2009

Excellent to good condition.

£15 Collected.

Collection only from Ealing / W5 (evenings / weekends) OR Chiswick area weekday lunchtimes.

Ta!
Tim

Piez,

Will let you know if the "collectors" collect, otherwise happy to post as I would like it to be used rather than go to landfill!

FREE Mac keyboards. Old, but in working condition. Both could do with a clean! Based in W5, Ealing.
WIRELESS (KY41000HTPMLA)

WIRED (KY72500RFW1QA)

Ta!
Tim

Never been used. May be a little dusty from being stored, but pretty much in new condition.

Ta!
Tim

frank9755,

That might be me on our Douze?! :) We have a white Douze with step-through frame, canopy and Alfine 8. I love riding it, but best of all our nipper likes going in it which was the point in buying it.

kboy,
Posted a couple of comments on the Cargo Bike thread, just search "Cargo" and it'll come up top of the search.

It handles a lot better than the Bullitt which scared the shit out of my wife as it's a lot more twitchy. I was gutted as I really wanted a Bullitt as it's more stretched and its position is like a 90s mountain bike. The Douze has cable steering which works really well and enables you to do really tight manoeuvres through traffic whereas other cargo bikes will come unstuck due to track rod limiting the lock. But I have also found it really useful when parking the bike and fitting it in the garage.

It's got a double seat for kids with harnesses and the canopy is really well made too. Downside is cost as it costs a few hundred more than the Bullitt, but my wife will ride it happily which is essential.

Let me know if you want to test ride it...

Ta!
Tim

gridds, there is a downside and that is cost. The Douze worked out to be the most expensive out of all the options we looked at. If money isn't an issue then you could also consider a power-assist model which would really help with pulling away at lights and give more confidence pulling out at junctions etc. Bosch & Shimano do great systems, but expect another £1,000 vs. standard! Good luck with it all!

Ta!
Tim

gridds,

We have the Douze F1 as on their website. Spec is step-through rear frame, medium front end, Alfine 8 and full canopy for our little man. Chose this over Bakfiets Short and Bullitt. Bought from LGC who were super-helpful and we managed to test all 3 around where we live (they may have stopped offering this though). Needed a bike that both me and my wife will happily ride and is used to drop our boy off at child care and then if I'm riding I head straight into work on it (6-7 miles total each way).

I wanted the Bullitt, but my wife hated riding it and was never comfortable on it, she loved the Bakfiets until she rode the Douze that won her over. For transporting the nipper it's perfect and handle like a dream. It is SO easy to ride. The cable steering enables tight manoeuvres (for a cargo bike!) through traffic and going around switchback turns on underpasses without any foot-down action. The tight turning circle is also useful for manoeuvring through doorways and parking up in a tight space too.

It's not as sporty/stretched as the Bullitt, but in the right gear with decent legs you can still fly along on this beast with a BIG grin on your face. I must say the Alfine 8 gears annoy the hell out of me as you need to lift a bit of pedal pressure off to change so you just can't stomp your way through the gear changes... :)

We're in Ealing, West London if you wanted a look/ride...

Ta!
Tim

Dron:
Yep, aware of the Omnium and I love it, however will need a custom box for the nipper. I'm a more than capable carpenter but very time poor so sadly need to rely on buying one. Will definitely try and test one if I can as it has quite a short wheelbase and overall length.

Vince:
Yep, the Douze is on the list due to the step through frame and I've read that it handles well due to the cable steering...

Jaketwopointoh:
Sounds very tempting and sounds like a great setup however the wife is not convinced by the handling which is why we have more test rides planned.

Thanks for all your replies! The Bakfiets certainly feels easier and more forgiving to ride than the Bullitt. During our short on/off test the wife mentioned that riding the Bullitt made her feel constantly on edge whereas she felt totally at ease on the Bakfiets.

Riding the Bullitt was not helped by the steering rod being connected to the wrong hole on the forks, thus making left turns impossible with the tyre constantly making contact! The stem was the length of a continental pro's/90's mtb and the saddle was an awful WTB number that fitted neither of our arses!

As mentioned we'll look to test ride around where we live for a proper assessment, but will insist on shortening the stretch on the Bullitt to help the wife feel more at home. I heard the Douze is meant to handle very well so hopefully we can get hold of one of those as it has a step-through frame to boot.

Now let's get back onto the subject of REAL cargo bikes ;)

Spent a good few hours at London Green Cycles on Saturday testing out the Bullitt and Bakfiets Cargo Short. You can see us in action here: https://vimeo.com/175971523

We're looking for a bike we can both happily ride (neither of us have ever ridden a cargo bike before). Both are pretty good to ride with the Bakfiets being more relaxed and easier to manoeuvre. To ride, I preferred the Bullitt and my wife preferred the Bakfiets.

Next step will be to try and do some real world testing around where we live involving real roads, hills and junctions, oh and motorists! Will update on progress and what decision we come to as we may add the Douze to the mix (was out of stock at the time).

Will be using the bike for: Nipper carrying (x1) followed by commute to work (11 miles round trip), local food shopping, transporting film kit (think fragile) to local(ish) shoots, DIY materials and anything else we will think of. Anyone's experience/recommendations are most welcome.

fussballclub... Bicycle Quarterly have been reserved for you. I have PM'd you.

Ta!
Tim