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Nimble Cargo Scooter

admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:10:16 +0000

Nimble Scooter Pacific Blue

Nimble Cargo Scooters is a company that manufactures cargo scooters in Irvine, California. The scooters start at $450 and are built with aircraft aluminum and baltic birch. You can order them with custom colors and graphics. They ride amazing well and are extremely stable with their low center of gravity.

At only 25 lbs, they’re very lightweight and compact. Also, they’re much smaller than a regular bicycle. While test riding a Nimble last week, we were able to walk into most stores like Target without the workers batting an eye. Think of it as a running stroller you can ride.

If you’ve always wanted a bakfiets but couldn’t afford it. Then look no further. Try out a Nimble Cargo Scooter, which is easily a fourth of the cost of a good bakfiets or long bike.

Links:
nimblescooters.com

Nimble Cargo Scooters

admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:03:01 +0000

Nimble Scooter Pacific Blue

If you’ve always wanted a bakfiets but couldn’t afford it. Then look no further. Try out a Nimble Cargo Scooter, which is easily a fourth of the cost of a good bakfiets or long bike.

Links:
nimblescooters.com

Promoting Cargo Cycling in the European Union

editor — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:24:41 +0000

Back in May 2011, representatives from NGOs, the government, private sector business and industry analysis firms met in Copenhagen, Denmark to share different ideas for advancing the shift of goods and services transportation to non-motorized modes in European cities. This meeting also lies within the context of the CYCLE Logistics project, whose ultimate goal for 2014 is to save 1,300 tons (465,000 gallons) of fuel, put2,000 more cargo cycles into use in European Union (EU) cities, and shift 10,000 trips to inter-modal transport chains (bicycles and tricycles used with other modes of transportation).

They are trying to encourage CYCLE Logistics under the European Cycling Federation to promote the benefits of cargo cycling. Businesses who use cargo cycling give customers an image of environmental responsibility, they also have a better chance of delivering their goods on time without having to deal with traffic and road infrastructures.
Accessibility is also increased for those business who use cargo tricycles to reach out to people, where stores cannot. As a result, replacing motorized transportation with cargo cycles does not contribute to air quality degradation and pollution.

This is not the first time Europe tries to really encourage the use of cargo cycling as a real means of transport. In the United States, we often regard cargo cycling as a fun weekend pastime or leisurely activity. We don’t really see cargo scooters as being used for professional use - but it’s coming! What really needs to happen, which is what the CYCLE Logistics project strives to do, is promote a behavioral change within a culture. They try pushing Europeans to transport goods and services with cargo cycles—among all individuals, organizations, businesses and levels of government.

In China actually, this has already been the case for a long time. In large cities with dense populations, millions of bicycles and cargo tricycles are being employed for daily transportation of people and goods. Whether it transports garbage, fruit, a mini barbecue, stacks of chairs or hay, the Chinese have been very creative in using cargo scooters in any way to help them with their business or wherever they need to go.

The population density of Chinese cities has resulted in hundreds of millions of bicycles and tricycles being employed for daily transportation, many of which are utilized in the cargo fashions that the CYCLE Logistics project desires to produce.

To read more about this movement and CYCLE Logistics, please visit and read the article from http://thecityfix.com/blog/the-eu-meets-to-discuss-how-to-promote-cargo-cycling/

The Danish Cargo Bike Championships, a classic Copenhagen tradition

editor — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:17:37 +0000

Have you ever dreamt about racing your cargo scooter with friends? Well, cargo scooter fans in Copenhagen have already been doing this for the past 11 years!

Every year the Svajerløbet – or the Danish Cargo Bike Championships - takes place in the Carlsberg area in Copenhagen.They have championships in several categories, such as the Svajerløb for kids, men, women, vintage cargo bikes, two or three wheel bikes! It is a non-profit event, really for those who love their cargo bikes.

The name Svajerløb comes from city’s bicycle messengers – known as ’svajere’ who, decades ago, used to battle in unofficial races for bragging rights on Israels Plads in central Copenhagen. It was a classic Copenhagen event that disappeared when cars started to dominate the urban landscape. The last race was in 1960. But as a capital full of cargo cyclists, there was much support given to revive the tradition in 2009.

In fact, there are around 40,000 cargo bikes in use each day in Greater Copenhagen and they are the Copenhagen version of the SUV, used for transporting children and goods. 25% of all families with two or more children have a cargo bike in the City of Copenhagen.

If you ever fancy to participate in the race, check out their website: http://www.dmforladcykler.dk/English2011.php

EcoSpeed Electric Power Assist

admin — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 10:02:38 +0000

EcoSpeed is a Portland based company that manufactures high performance electric power assist systems for bicycles. Their systems come with either a 700Watt or 1000Watt high torque motor, that will blow away most other add on systems. What makes their design unique is the use of a freewheeled crankset, that allows the rider to power a bicycle without the cranks rotating along with the motor like a fixed gear bicycle.

The workmanship looks fantastic and we’ve heard great things about their performance. The only drawback is the high initial cost. The starting price for a complete system is $2800. Add that to the cost of a brand new European or American built bakfiets and you’re looking at a starting price of around $5000, which is about the same cost as a used street legal GEM electric car.

We hope that as the popularity of these systems increase, the costs will go down with economies of scale. If price is no object and performance is your number one criteria, then you’ll love Ecospeed. Also as you shop for a power assist system, you might want to check out another Portland based manufacturer Stokemonkey as well.

Links:
• EcoSpeed Homepage
• Stokemonkey

WARNING: The Big China Rip Off

admin — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:03:37 +0000

We’ve seen some shops trying to make money off of growing interest in cargo tricycles and bakfiets. However, a lot of them are either price gouging customers or they’re getting ripped off by their suppliers. These shops are selling Chinese built cargo bicycles for five times the manufacturing and shipping costs. How does a cargo tricycle costing $275/unit plus $100 (shipping, customs, & storage), retail for $2100?

To make matters worse, some of these shops are implying that these tricycles and bakfiets are Dutch built. They’ve got names like Dutch this and Dutch that with websites that imply the same. For example one shop we talked with didn’t even mention that the bikes were built in China until we asked them directly. They gave us an explanation of how they retrofit these tricycles with high quality US and Euro parts, yata yata yata. A week later that same shop updated their website to say that the bikes were built in China.

We did a group buy of ten of these same tricycles and bakfiets a couple of years ago and learned a great deal about the pricing, shipping, customs, etc. The conclusion, Chinese made cargo tricycles and bakfiets should retail to the consumer for at most $1000. Even with a 100% markup over cost and $50 to have someone assemble the bike, it’s realistic that these “China” trikes and “China” bakfiets could retail at $750 with profit.

If you’re interested in reading more about what we learned from our group buy experience, please let us know by commenting on this post and we’ll try to answer your questions.

Grocery Cart Bicycle

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:58:52 +0000

This is a great idea. Not sure how well it works, but you’ve got to give Ryan McFarland kudos for coming up with this idea and for recycling. He’s got tons of other interesting projects he’s built on instructables.com and his blog which is worth checking out.

Flickr Gallery: China Cargo Tricycles

admin — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:59:47 +0000

Here’s a nice photo gallery of cargo tricycles in China by BriColeurbanism.

Links:
• Photo Gallery of Cargo Tricycles in China
• Bricoleurbanism.org Website

Mobile Graffiti Trike

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:50:51 +0000

A really cool platform for projection or laser graffiti artists. If you don’t know what projection graffiti is check out Graffiti Research Lab’s Blog. It’s really cool.

Link:
Graffiti Research Lab

The Perils of Hybrid Design - Triobike Redux

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:25:58 +0000

Triobike is a Danish company that makes a family tricycle with a nifty “Multi-purpose Design” which can be converted from a tricycle to a bicycle to a stroller. On paper it has many of the design features that families are looking for such as 5 point harnesses for kids, front & rear lights, disk brakes, etc. It’s sleek minimalist European industrial design will send hearts aflutter anywhere. Who wouldn’t want a tricycle you could drive the kids to daycare with, convert into a bicycle, and then ride to work with.

However in the case of Triobike, it’s Achilles Heal may be that it does neither of it’s intended purposes very well. As a tricycle, reviewers are beginning to talk about it’s dangerously unstable ride. As a bicycle, it’s sporty design doesn’t lend itself well for city riding (no fenders, uncomfortable forward leaning style, men’s style swing over frame) Finally as a stroller it’s unwieldy bulk makes it impractical. Imagine a parent struggling to load it into a car or better yet trying to get it through the doorway of a local store with a sleeping toddler on board.

Hybrid designs in and of themselves are a neat idea. They take up less space but serve multiple purposes. However, history has been marked with endless hybrid designs that try to do too many things and fail to do any well. Airplanes that convert into a car, cars that convert into a boat, and so on.

In the case of Triobike, it’s a great idea with flawed execution. Like any groundbreaking innovative design there will be growing pains and hopefully an evolution to an ideal form. If the makers of Triobike continue to refine and iterate the design, then it has a great future. Otherwise, it’ll remain another industrial design study where style has won out over function, with the added bonus of a $3000 USD price tag.

Triobike Links:
www.triobike.com
Triobike photos by Carteco
Triobike Video

Other Luxury Cargo Tricycle Makers:
Winther Kangaroo
Nihola
MyZigo (US manufacturer)

Great Video: Geekhouse Bikes

admin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:10:09 +0000

My friend Frank just sent me this link to a great video of a bicycle being made at Geekhouse Bikes. From the looks of their website, these guys build great custom bicycles. Keep up the great work guys.

Military Bicycle - US Army Paratroopers and Marines

admin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:58:07 +0000

Montague Bicycle Company has been making folding bicycles for the US military since 1997. These bicycles are foldable and can be parachuted in with soldiers and marines. They are currently being tested for use by US Army Special Forces.

Check out their website for videos and photos.
Montague Military Bicycles Promo Video Page

Air Pollution in China

admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:20:12 +0000

air pollution china

I generally try to keep this blog upbeat and focused on bicycles. But, the other day I found a picture I took a couple of years ago during a business trip to China. The photo speaks for itself… The air pollution in China is awful…

This picture was taken in Ningbo City, about three hours drive from Shanghai. In the early 1990s, most people in China were still using bicycles or mass transit. Cars were a luxury for the rich. Back then the air was clean given the size of the population. But now in many of the factory towns across China, your eyes water as soon as you step out the front door.

The sad thing is we keep blaming China for all of this, but most of those poluting factories are making products that are bound for US and European markets. Basically we’ve just exported our pollution creating factories and jobs to China. Anyway, everytime I go to Costco, I always get a sense that I’m just adding to this cycle…

Dual Pull Brake Lever

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:13:56 +0000

I thought I’d re-post about these really cool dual pull brake levers I installed on my front load cargo tricycle (2 wheels up front 1 wheel in back). I’ve had them on the trike for about 6 months and they work great! Basically, you can run two brake cables from two different brake sets into one lever and the lever balances the pull going to both sets of brakes.

Inside the lever there is a little mechanism that balances the pull between the two brake lines. That way you have equal pressure going to both front brakes on the trike when you pull the lever. What this means for cargo tricycles is that you can have one lever that actuates both front wheels equally without any brake steering effect. Brake steering is when one wheel brakes harder than the other, which pulls the tricycle violently to the left or right when braking.

In practice, you still need to make sure that your brakes are tuned similarly. Meaning that you can’t have one brake cable totally loose with the other one completely tight and still hope that the dual pull brake lever will work it’s magic. However, if you spend the time to at least adjust your brake cables reasonably, these things work great!

If you do a Google search for “dual pull brake lever” there are a lot of companies selling these. I think I got mine for about $12 USD.

New Urbanism

admin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:46:58 +0000

I ran into this video about New Urbanism, which is the trend in urban planning which promotes walkable livable cities. This video is a really cool intro to the whole idea. Hopefully the idea of using bicycles for transport in these new cities will take off.

Ghetto Engineering

admin — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:36:48 +0000

Bicycle crank repaired with welded on construction rebar

Here’s a picture I took in Korea of a repaired delivery bike. Rather than throw away the bike or broken part, the owner just welded construction rebar to fix a broken crank. I love seeing old bicycles evolve and take on a life of their own. I guess when you have to use your bicycle everyday for work, it’s a completely different mindset from people using bicycles for sport. Things aren’t perfect, but they’re useful.

Stoke Monkey

admin — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:23:25 +0000

Stoke Monkey is a electric power-assist unit that fits on a extra long chain-stay bike, such as a bike equipped with an Xtracycle setup. It works by a variable-speed throttle on the handlebar and a tandem-like drivetrain setup. Once the motor is on, the rider would have to pedal along (like a tandem stoker). They claim a cruising speed of 30 mph on the flats.

To the right is a Sycip longbike equipped with a Stoke Monkey.

Interview Questions for Cargo Bike Company Owners

admin — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:08:15 +0000

Hi Cargocycling Readers,

Thank you very much for being loyal visitors to our site. In order to improve the site, we’re thinking about adding an “Interviews” category to the site where we interview some bicycle designers, company owners, etc. We’re hoping to start by interviewing the owner & creator of a well know cargo bicycle company.

In order to make this a collaborative process, we’d like to hear from you the kinds of questions you’d like us to ask and so on. So please leave any comments on this post on potential questions, people to interview, etc.

Thanks! From the happy team at Cargocycling.org

Portland Bicycle Culture

admin — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:08:28 +0000

There was a great New York Times article and video cast about the bicycle culture in Portland Oregon.

NY Times Video
NY Times Article

The citizens of Portland have done a great job of making Portland one of the most vibrant and livable cities in the US. It’s got everything a world class city has to offer and you’re only a short ride from some very scenic areas such as the Columbia River Gorge. Definitely a great place for a bicycle holiday.

Aileron Trike: Tilting Three Wheeler

admin — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 00:13:38 +0000

Inventor Wayne Soohoo has been working years on a system that allows a tricycle to lean into turns. The leaning allows tricycles to go into turns at higher speeds with stability. Although it looks like there haven’t been many updates to his site for years, there is a treasure full of great information for anyone thinking of building their own leaning tricycle. Hopefully, someday we’ll see a mainstream leaning tricycle based on his designs. Keep up the great work Wayne!

Link: http://www.maxmatic.com/soohoo.htm

Chinese Bicycle Factories

admin — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 21:12:33 +0000

A few months ago during a business trip to China, my friend an import export broker invited me to visit some bicycle factories with him during my day off. Always on the lookout for new products and suppliers for his clients, he regularly visits Chinese factories. I jumped at the chance and toured three different bike factories with him.

The factories were in Tianjin City about an hour outside of Beijing. Tianjin is a massive port and factory town. The city is drab and heavily polluted. You literally couldn’t see more than three blocks due to the air pollution. Tianjin is famous in China for being the hub of bicycle manufacturing in China. With over 200 bicycle companies in Tianjin, we only had time to visit three.

The factories varied greatly. The first was a former gov’t owned company that made sturdy low-end bicycles for sale in developing countries. The second was a state of the art OEM supplier for US bike companies. The last was a modern factory that made bicycles for the China market under their own brand name.

The first factory we visited, the Tianjin Flying Pigeon Bicycle Company, was a former gov’t owned company. It is a fixture in Chinese society, famous for having made billions of bicycles since it was established by Chairman Mao fifty years ago. You’ll see their classic bicycles providing basic transportation for people all over the developing world.

What surprised me most about the TFPBC was how friendly the people were. They had an easy going rythmn similar to farmers working the fields and were always easy with a smile. The factory was run in an informal style and the buildings showed their age. There were even a couple of stray dogs that the workers adopted that were wandering the factory. The equipment was old, manufacturing techniques dated, and quality control questionable. I even saw workers smoking cigarettes while working the line. However for me the whole experience was like a history lesson. Entering their factory was like traveling back in time to the communist era.

The Factory Experience: Time proven manufacturing methods for the world’s most popular bicycle…

Although they manufacture other bicycles these days, they continue to build the classic Flying Pigeon Bike. Their biggest customer thesedays, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Photos: Tianjin Flying Pigeon Bicycle Company Factory Photos I’ll post more about Tianjin City and the other factories later. Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.

Atomic Zombie Bicycle Builder’s Bonanza

admin — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 01:55:14 +0000

Brad Graham and Kathy McGowan have written an amazing book called Atomic Zombie Bicycle Builder’s Bonanza. This book is a “must have” for anyone that loves to tinker and make things. Inside the book are detailed instructions and over 200 photos that teach you how to hack, modify, and build bicycles using minimal tools.

The book is written in a clear and easy to understand style that walks you through real projects ranging from playful to surreal. Anyone who loves DIY projects will love this book. After reading it, you’ll be ready for any Franken-Bike creation.

I found the book on Amazon for about $17 and they even had an electronic version available for an additional $5. It won’t compare to the two week frame building course at the United Bicycle Institute. But if you think of the cost of tuition and room & board, this book is a real bargain. Also checkout Brad Graham’s website, which is definitely worth a visit.

Amazon: Atomic Zombie’s Bicycle Builder’s Bonanza
Brad Graham’s: Atomic Zombie Website

Ed Begley Jr. & Daryl Hannah Ride iZip Electric Bike

admin — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 12:25:33 +0000

Renowned actress Daryl Hannah took time out of her busy schedule to participate in the Los Angeles County River Ride. A long time supporter of green initiatives, Ms. Hannah rode to support the LA County Bicycle Coalition. She road an iZip electric bicycle given to her by actor and longtime green activist, Ed Begley Jr.

Check out the following links to catch up on cycling in LA:

Types of Steering

admin — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 03:36:58 +0000

A front load (tadpole) cargo trike has two wheels in front and one wheel in the rear. There are three main types of steering for front load cargo trikes:

• Axle-pivot
• Articulating frame
• Ackerman linkage

Axle-pivot steering is the most common kind of steering on a front-load trike as well as the simplest to manufacture & maintain. Axle pivot steering is great at low speeds, because it has a much tighter turning radius than Ackerman steering. Also, for the same size tricycle frame, Axle pivot steering trikes can fit a much larger cargo box.

Koga Miyata Chela

admin — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:59:38 +0000

Check out Koga-Miyata’s bike trailer, Chela. It’s like a mini RV for bicycles.

“With built-in features such
as an integrated folding chair and table, a telescopic stand (to be
used for camera, lamp, safety flag etc.) and a daypack with solar cells
to charge a GPS or mobile phone. Travel kit can be stored in separate
integrated compartments. The alloy chassis has suspension and offers
very smooth riding characteristics. Nevertheless, the empty weight only
brings 12.6 kg on the scales. With only minor adaptations, the Chela
can be converted into an easily maneuverable luggage trolly, for use in
public transport.”

Also check out their line of touring and commuting bikes.