As part of my editorial stance as publisher of Bicycle Fixation and guest-blogger-at large–not to mention because I hate wasting my time and your world by driving–I often ponder on carrying stuff by bike. I don’t have a lot of stuff to carry most of the time, preferring to get more of my pleasures from doing rather than owning, but business and daily life often necessitate the transportation of large or oddly-shaped things that may not fit in a messenger bag or pannier. So, I’ve been slowly trying out different ways of hauling crap.
Most recently I tested crap-hauling in a dauntingly literal sense, when I dragged 200 pounds of steer manure back from a garden supply house, in my little Aosom trailer. With a fixie! Now, that was work! More usually, I carry inventory from our downtown factory to the apartment, where I take care of business–seventy pounds of wool knickers or what have you.
But sometimes, as I said you’ve got to carry more. I recently cleaned out my late mother’s house, and the unfortunate event fortunately coincided with a month-long test of a Gazelle Cabby bakfiets, one of those box-bikes beloved of Pigeon Master Josef and fairly common in Northern Europe. Among its burdens were a number of photographs, including various large ones, framed with glass–heavy, awkward, and easily damaged.
I also carried 120 pounds of Gina around to restaurants and farmers markets in the Cabby, along with her bag and various purchases made along the way.
So I’ve had a chance to evaluate two common types of velocipedal cargo modalities. (I look forward to the chance to test both a longjohn, with the box behind the saddle, and a longtail, with two huge platforms on either side of the extended rear frame, also behind the saddle; both are reputed to handle better than a bakfiets.)
I have to say, speaking of handling, that the bakfiets handled better than the trailer with equivalent loads, and was easier to pack. The trailer, of course, has the advantage of a lower price, and folds up so that it occupies minimal space when not in use. The Cabby (unlike most bakfietsen), also folds up, but is still nearly nine feet long.
Nevertheless, if I had to make the choice now, and had the storage room and budget, I’d choose the bakfiets. (And the Pigeon offers this particular model, of course.)
For now I’m happy with the trailer–since even if I had the budget for a dedicated cargo bike, I still don’t have the room.
So if you’re carrying stuff all the time, consider a bakfiets or other dedicated cargo bike (or even one of the Pigeon’s selection of trikes). If it’s just an occasional chore, or you don’t have $1k to $3k to toss about, look at trailers.
You might just find, after a while, that you could get rid of your car, if you have one. And then you’d really be ahead!
And so would we all….
One Comment
I’ve been riding a longtail (xtracycle) for a while now. They do tend to handle better than a bakfiets or at least more like a normal bike. I think mostly due to having the steering axis under the bars. But they have a couple downsides. They carry loads higher than a bakfiets so are less stable with heavy loads and it is harder to carry larger objects since the rear wheel splits up the cargo area. For kids, you also really need a child seat attachment whereas on a bakfiets you can pretty much stick ’em in the box and go. That all said, either will radically change how you use your bike. Even if you’re pretty used to the idea that you can carry quite a bit with a rack, backpack, etc.