Cargo Bike. Until you ride a boxbike you don’t realise what a difference it makes to be handling a specially-designed, fully integrated vehicle, rather than a regular bike with child seats perched precariously that can make the bike unstable when you’re loading up, or panniers stuffed to the gills that give your bike a very weighty feel at the back. It was quiet, too, thanks to the blow-molded lower bodywork. Collection in person. Trikes may appear to be an easier option to ride because you can sit on them without having to balance them when you are stationary. Some say that retrofitting a motor to a bakfiets-style trike is more expensive and complicated than retrofitting to a bike, because a trike with two parallel front wheels will need to have a hub-drive motor fitted on both, whereas with a two-wheeler just the front wheel needs to be replaced/upgraded. Be careful when choosing your motor and how to fit it. The Bellabike has a rear-steering mechanism. From about £325 second-hand. Cycling UK member and founder of CarryMe Bikes Alix Stredwick looks at the options available in the UK. An extra-long bike will have issues getting round tight corners. Cargo Bike Company Little People Carrier trike made in Derby, and the Rodford front box bike made in Bristol. The Zigo ‘Leader’ is a trike which can be separated into small-wheeled bike plus stroller. There are many trailers on the market which can do a great job of carrying shopping as well as small children. These days many can be fitted with an electric assist option, which you will thank when those unnoticeable inclines you experience on your regular bike turn into irksome hills when loaded up with two kids, their stuff and the weekly shop. You are very unlikely to regret it once you experience how extremely useful it is! “Treat it like a motorbike” is what I often say to customers. Your cargobike will be working hard, so choose one with good quality parts. No problem. You can even carry pets on them by adding the right box. Design and create kit for your cycling club or group, A guide to hire bikes and public bike share schemes. Elephant Bike restore old Royal Mail delivery bikes to tip top condition, and when you buy one from £250 they donate one to a social enterprise in Africa. It really is a good idea to decide whether you can carry your precious load using your existing bike without having to fork out on another bike. Some advantages are not so obvious. The back part of the bike frame is extended to enable a longer, sturdier back rack. A British version is the Donky bike retailing at £499 which also has the advantage of small wheels with the resultant low centre of gravity and short wheelbase (basically, it’s compact). Or cargo? A pedelec bike is one fitted with an electric motor which only starts to give power only once you start to pedal, hence ‘pedal electric’. Broadly speaking, a two-wheeler feels more stable the faster it goes, and a three-wheeler feels more stable the slower it goes. Older kids? Registered office: Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9JX. It might have a slightly different frame to the non-electric version, e.g. These days many can be fitted with an electric assist option, which you will thank when those unnoticeable inclines you experience on your regular bike turn into irksome hills when loaded up with two kids, their stuff and the weekly shop. Mobile: 07535 493301 But stand-alone systems designed to be retrofitted can be cheaper and with some technical know-how not particularly difficult to install. The Trikidoo was essentially a small trike with two wheels at the back instead of the front, above which were two passenger seats for young children and some storage space underneath. You would also avoid the hassle of finding the space to store an outsized one. Some outlets specialise in cargobikes, such as The School Run Centre or Power to the Pedal in Cambridge; Practical Cycles in Lancashire; Really Useful Bikes outside Bristol; Kids and Family Cycles in Dorset; and London Green Cycles , CarryMe Bikes and The Flying Dutchman in London. Easy-release levers make changing the seat and handlebar height a breeze, so adults of all sizes can hop on and pedal away (good luck with those hills). You can get kits that allow you to convert some types of regular bikes into longtails, rather than buying a whole new separate bicycle. The location of the battery varies; it could be attached to the frame, under a bespoke rear rack, or fitted inside the box of a box-bike – which is a popular choice when retro-fitting a system to a non-electric assist cargobike (see below). Ship the bike to your address and take it to a local bike shop: We can ship your bike to your address and you can contact a local, certified, and reputable bike shop for help with assembling, tuning, and fitting your bike. Registered as a charity in England and Wales charity no: 1147607 and in Scotland You may not feel so happy about having your small children out of sight behind you quite low down when travelling on roads with lots of traffic, but trailers certainly are an option when you don’t have the space or the budget for a whole new bike. Oh, well, not necessarily, actually. Battery technology is changing extremely quickly and high quality batteries are now much lighter than they used to be, often with a carrying ‘handle’ to make taking them in and out of the bike easy. Then, how long will your trips be? Additionally, one of the greatest advantages when carrying children in a boxbike is that you can see and hear your kids in front of you, retaining the interaction and eye contact that can be lost on a longtail or a tandem. They all have different niches, and they vary in price from mini cargobikes at prices similar to the average regular bike, through to several thousands of pounds for pedicabs. And it’s up to you how you judge this – just 3 miles taking 2 kids to school requires significant effort without electric assist! It’s possible to get various different types of steering methods on trikes. More recently, the British-built Boxer brand has arrived on the scene, with an emphasis on quirky, solid design. They are affectionately known as ‘long-johns’, and those with customised boxes fixed on the flatbed can showcase the company’s logo and act as a great advertisement. Oh, well, not necessarily, actually. You may well find that whichever cargobike you choose, it will change your life! Is time of the essence – will you want to remain nippy and manoeuvrable, or would you rather have a three-wheeled vehicle with perhaps a greater capacity but which is likely to be slower? Some brands to have a look at are Surly ‘Big Dummy’, the Kona ‘Ute’, and the Yuba ‘Mundo’. For many parents using a Bakfiets Cargo Bike is a liberating and life changing experience, especially on The Taga Bike is similar, converting into a stroller, and even has a box-bike style front version. There are a good number of high street bike shops around the UK that stock cargobikes, such as Bikefix and Bikeworks in London. Speed cushions, raised ‘tables’ at side streets, and going round corners need to be handled with care. Small children? Alix Stredwick is a Cycling UK member and the founder of CarryMe Bikes, a social enterprise in east London renting out and selling cargobikes and running projects to help people access cargobikes. Thankfully, you no longer need to live in Europe to get a hold of one. This might take a bit of getting used to, especially if you are used to having absolute and precise control of your gears and cadence. bike cart ... NEW Adult Electric Tricycle Trikidoo Style bike Rickshaw Trike Mobility Scooter Bicycle 2 Child Seats with Straps in Cardiff. So if swiftness is a priority, a trike may not be for you. But first, you need to define what you’ll be carrying: A very young baby? Older kids? Hub gears and brakes should be well protected from the elements, and a low frame will make getting on and off that much easier when loaded up. The best advice is to try out several types to see how they feel to you, and to see how much capacity each actually has. A cargobike designed to have a motor and battery is likely to look ‘cleaner’ and function better, with wires tucked away and the bike designed to carry the system. Broadly speaking, a two-wheeler feels more stable the faster it goes, and a three-wheeler feels more stable the slower it goes. It may also be wise to choose a model that includes all the really useful stuff for true utility vehicles: back racks, mudguards, chaincases, rain tents and so on. For some, you need to take the battery out in order to charge it, but this may be a good security habit anyway. Cycling with a bump - is it safe to ride whilst pregnant? You can also see your child in front of you, and you can fix the baby seat so that they can see you too. You will not need a license, vehicle registration, motorbike helmet etc. The cargobike may not have been designed with the added forces on parts of the bike that a motor will create in mind, e.g. For both these brands you can buy different versions designed to carry one or two children, but they don’t include a back rack and the storage space for other items such as shopping, kiddie stuff or your child’s school chum coming home for tea appears very limited. They are usually the hub-drive wheel versions, but retrofittable mid-drives are also becoming available. You would also avoid the hassle of finding the space to store an outsized one. It really is a good idea to decide whether you can carry your precious load using your existing bike without having to fork out on another bike.