Today I had to visit a facility about 120 km away in a kind of rural area. I also had to bring about 20 kg worth of equipment. I took my Muli cargo bike and the train.

The equipment is 4 height units worth 19" rack devices, a whole bunch of cables and tools. That all fits in a 60x40 cm Euro box, which fits nicely into the front basket. Secured with a ratchet strap, good to go.

I left home fairly early around 6 to catch a direct train half an hour later. The train departed in my hometown so it was already waiting when I arrived and I got time to unload the box and board the train.

Nominally no cargo bikes are allowed on German trains. But no conductor ever had an issue with my folded Muli. Its about as big a regular bike.

1,5h train ride. The facility is about 8 km away from the station and the route took me through a small city, a little village with a mill, nice fields and tree-lined cycle paths.

The return trip in the evening was not so smooth. Much more stressful to board with two heavy pieces when the train is not already waiting at the platform. Many more people on the train and bikes in the bike section. The direct train got delayed by an hour so I switched to a route with two changeovers. But then I had to carry my stuff up and down stairs because of broken or crammed elevators. That was no fun. But hey people are really nice and I got help a bunch of times.

In the end I rode home safely with my equipment. Overall nice experience, with a few downs. Might do it again on occasion.

My apartment has no laundry, and the laundromat is only 0.8 miles away. I still drive because carrying two full bags there sounds miserable.

I saw this Helokeep CD20 on Instagram and ended up looking at cargo bikes for the first time. I’m not sure I need that exact one, but the long rear rack made me wonder whether this is actually a reasonable cargo-bike job.

Would two big laundry bags stay put with straps, or would I need panniers or crates? And be honest does loading everything onto the bike become more trouble than just taking the car for such a short trip? Do you guys regularly do laundromat runs by cargo bike?

I have an older electric Christiania cargo bike with a Promovec rear-drive system and 36V 17.6Ah battery. I lost the only key to both the frame lock and battery lock. The frame lock is easy enough to replace, but the battery lock is turning into a problem.

I contacted Christiania Bikes America and ordered the replacement Promovec battery lock/cylinder, but they discovered they don't actually have any left in stock. They're checking with Promovec in Europe, but said they may not be able to get one.

I also had a locksmith look at it. He couldn't make a key from the existing lock and said his only option would be to break/remove the battery and lock, then I'd need to retrofit a generic battery.

The battery itself still works, so I'd really rather not destroy and replace it just because I lost the key.

Has anyone dealt with this older Promovec setup? Is there a way to remove/bypass/replace the battery lock while preserving the existing battery? Or is there another lock/cylinder that can be adapted to it?

I’ve been modifying a Vevor brand bicycle cargo trailer to adapt to my Surly Ice Cream Truck and documenting the process as I go.

So while its not exactly a “Cargo” bike I think the spirit is there and I hope that maybe something in the process is useful to this community.

The first part is just unboxing it, assembling it, and identifying the first major hurdle. Which was adapting it to work with the Surly’s thru axel. The Second video, which will go live this Saturday morning, shows the fabrication and installation of the new “hitch”.

I had the whole rig up at the Green Mountain Rhythm and Roots Festival in early August, where I had hoped to use it to pull water jugs to our campsite. It turned out to be impractical. I think the center of gravity is too high and it was causing it to be very unstable.

I’ve since gone back to the drawing board and added a second wheel…. That’s not completed yet, the matching tires are due to be delivered today 😂 but I plan on bringing it to the Rhode Island Rhythm and Roots Festival this weekend. So I’ll have an update after that if all goes well.

Curious to hear what everyone's thoughts are... and if you have any ideas on how to improve stability!

Hello! My husband and I just bought a 2nd hand Babboe Curve in the Netherlands on Markplaats a couple days ago, before knowing anything about the whole recall issue. We learned about it on the same day (my father in law had read about it and told us when we sent him some fotos of the bike after buying it) and immediately texted the seller on Marktplaats. They were pretty short in their answer and just said that they had also bought it second hand 6 years ago (so around 2020) and had checked the bike ID number on the frame and that "there was no need to continue forward". Also, on their Markplaats ad there was no mention of the whole topic, and when I see now ads of other people, they do write about it in the description, which I find slightly dishonest of our seller...

Anyways, we don't really know how to proceed. We have a 5 month old baby that we were planning to carry around in the Babboe with the maxicosi attachment, but now we are too scared to take the risk.

Is there any way of getting the bike checked? Or could we complain to Marktplaats and maybe get our money back?

Help. My wife keeps telling me off because my kid has too much fun getting distracted on the way home from nursery. It's too easy to stop at the park, enjoy the fresh air, see animals and stuff. I guess I could just drive the car instead?

(/s)

I need replacement front wheels and brakes for my virtue cargo bike school bus. Any ideas where I can get? the website is out…
What is the exact spec for this…trying bike stores but it is a specialty item.

To be clear entire wheel, rim, hub spokes, tires tubes were removed and stolen. So I am trying to replace.

Also stole battery and rear tire and hub so recommendations on e-bike conversion kits appreciated.

Hi everyone! We’re looking for recommendations for a non-electric cargo bike (front loader) in the US.

We’ll mostly use it for shorter trips on flat ground, so we don’t really feel like we need an e-bike. We want to use it to transport our dog now and hopefully kids in the future.

Ideally we’re looking for something that isn’t too heavy, is nice to ride without a motor, and is reasonably easy to buy, service and get parts and accessories for in the US. We’d prefer not to import something from Europe if there are good options available here.

We’ve been looking at bikes like the Yuba Supercargo, Muli, Bullitt and CETMA, but would really love to hear from people who actually ride a non-electric cargo bike in the US.

Which bike do you have and how do you like it?

Any experience with ferla bikes (looks to me like whitelabel from china, but maybe i am mistaken)?

Bonus if anyone here is in Miami or Miami Beach and rides a non-electric cargo bike. That’s where we’ll be using ours, so I’d especially love to hear about your experience there!

Thanks 😊

Hi there!

Does anyone have experience with this bike or with similar bikes and child seats?

I have a great offer for it because it is discontinued and it would be amazing for us in terms of most parameters. BUT the official childseat framerail is out of stock everywhere and I don't love the childseat in the front. We would need two child seats for our kids in the back .

From what I gathered, the problem with installing a child seat without the framerail is that the back rack is wider and different in general than on normal bikes. Plus, I am not sure if two child seats would fit anyway.

I found a child seat with an adapter for wider racks but can't seem to find measurements regarding rack width, length and circumference of the metal pipes of the rack. https://www.rosebikes.de/p/hamax-caress-kindersitz-mit-carrier-gepaecktraeger-adapter-2720773?source=detail&sku=234348901&product_shape=16429&article_size=6067761&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22999967247&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrZmuto3NlgMVfA-iAx2FrTrcEAQYAiABEgLxH_D_BwE

I'd be happy to get any input at all! we'd love to make it work or even know if it's possible at all.

Thanks :)

Hi all,

We very recently got a used 2023 Urban Arrow. We have a 3 and 4.5 year old who is about to start school.

We live on the border of twickenham/whitton.

We mainly got this bike for the school commute, which is just a little too long to walk and driving is a nightmare. Anyway the bike is an excellent piece of kit. The cargo line motor is great. Today we drove to a park and crossed the A316. The drivers were just mainly arses.

The school commute won’t cross the A316 so that’s a positive.

I guess did any other UK based folk who got one have a moment of buyers remorse that our roads are quite aggressive? And does this subside?

Also any tips on how to keep drivers at bay? (PS I get bikes can slow down cars etc, this is not intended to be a car bashing post)

Thank you

I’ll be getting my abound this week.

I was wondering what you guys use to lock the bike? The bike will mainly be used to drop kids at school/day care.

But once in a while I’ll go get groceries and park the bike at the park while we play.

I was eyeing the kryptonite RING LOCK (NON-KEY RETAINING) WITH 5.5MM PLUG-IN CHAIN SET

https://www.kryptonitelock.com/en/products/product-information/current-key/002291.html

But yeah, what you guys are using ?

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has been successfully refunded for an Argo Cargo FY (2.0) presale using a credit card chargeback. If so, which credit card did you have and what was the exact response when it was resolved? My credit card is giving me a hard time about this.

This was after we got to the campsite and I unloaded.

Omnium cargo v3 XL

My old guy still loves getting out, but longer walks are getting rough for him.

I saw a Helokeep CD20 video on TikTok and it got me looking at cargo bikes. My thought was to ride him to one of his favorite spots, park, then let him walk the part he still enjoys.

I’m not sure a rear setup is actually the right choice for a senior dog, though.

For anyone doing this, what kind of carrier or restraint worked, and how did you get your dog comfortable with riding?

I’m seriously looking for a cargo bike for our 4- and 7-year-old. School is only about 2 miles away, but pickup by car is miserable. The Helokeep CD20 is on my list now. For two kids, what should I care about most besides payload and rack size?

We're in a rural area in the US, so cargo bikes are not very common. My older son and I like to guess if a bike trailer we pass is gonna be kids or dogs, because we've actually seen two dogs in a trailer at least twice as often as we see kids.

I'm always happy to answer questions and chat about my love for the Wike. It usually only happens once a trip ride, but this weekend I felt like a cargo bike ambassador. All four people I talked to had never even heard of front loader cargo bikes before!

Basically I don't want to pay Momentum (Giant) *$100* for their rear passenger seat pad. Any advice on where to get another more affordably?

I could make it myself but that would take um time and stuff. Are you or someone you know a cushion fabricator? Holler at me!

I know, an odd title. But hear me out...

I have been an Xtracycle rider since 2010 and it has served me quite well. No issues other than a bit wobbly when really loaded. I had no plans on moving on from it till someone presented me with an opportunity to buy a used Bullitt for the equivalent of $1000 USD. Really good shape and a steal of a deal that I shouldn't pass us. No motor but I don't want one.

If anyone here has used both, tell me why I should or shouldn't make the switch.

Thanks all!

Omnium Minimax for the win.

​

Hi all,

Long(tail) story, but I'm about to replace my Cube Longtail Hybrid 725 Family after about a year and 2,000 km. Mine is the higher-spec version with the Gates belt and Enviolo hub. I paid around €4,800 and, even now, it seems difficult to beat in terms of components for the money.

I've really enjoyed the bike. I don't mind the relatively high centre of gravity from the 26"/26" wheels and I like that, without the kids, it feels quite like a normal bike. My main complaints are the kickstand, which failed quite early, and the lack of a proper weather enclosure for the kids, which is fairly important in Ireland. I use it for a roughly 4 km school run and then a 12 km commute to work, each way.

I'm 6'1" / 186 cm and currently 105 kg / 231 lb. My kids are 5.5 and 3.5 and are both around 21 kg / 46 lb, so we're 147 kg / 324 lb combined, with 42 kg / 93 lb on the rear rack. My weight should hopefully be heading towards 100 kg rather than upwards, but the kids obviously aren't going to cooperate! Assuming roughly 2.5 kg / 5.5 lb growth each per year, they'll add around 5 kg / 11 lb combined each year.

My initial plan was simply to buy the new Cube Longtail Hybrid Family Deluxe 800, due around December. It addresses some of my issues with a redesigned kickstand, gets the new Bosch Cargo Line motor with up to 120 Nm, an 800 Wh battery and retains the Gates/Enviolo setup. At around €5,100 it looks like exceptional value. I was prepared to fabricate a weather enclosure myself.

However, I've now looked properly at Cube's load tables and that's giving me pause. The bike has a 200 kg maximum system weight including the bike, a 100 kg rider limit, and the rear carrier can apparently only be loaded with 40 kg from above (plus 10 kg per side). The Family bike itself is around 40.7 kg. That means we're effectively already outside the manufacturer's limits today, before the kids get any bigger. It seems bizarre to me that a longtail specifically marketed for carrying children has a 40 kg upper rack limit – two reasonably sized 4–6 year olds can already exceed it.

Question 1: How seriously should I treat these limits in the real world? I'm obviously not suggesting putting 300 kg on a 200 kg bike, but are these conservative certification/component limits, or would you genuinely avoid routinely running a bike 5–10% above its rated system/rack weight? Has anyone here encountered frame, wheel, rack or braking issues from doing so?

Question 2: What alternatives should I be looking at for a relatively big rider carrying two growing kids?

The most obvious one I've found is the Yuba Spicy Curry / Spicy Curry+. The new version states a 250 kg / 550 lb hauling capacity, with a 120 kg / 265 lb maximum rider, and is designed specifically around carrying multiple passengers. It also has a proper factory weather enclosure and the 26" front / 20" rear arrangement should lower the kids' centre of gravity.

My reservations are fit – I've seen at least one 6'1" owner say the Spicy Curry felt slightly small – and giving up the Gates/Enviolo drivetrain for Shimano CUES/derailleur. The Curry also has a 500 Wh Bosch battery rather than the 800 Wh on the Cube. I've also started looking at the Gazelle Cabby C380, which is interesting because it offers a 55 cm frame, Gates/Enviolo Heavy Duty, up to 800 Wh, 26"/24" wheels and an 80 kg rear rack.

I'd be particularly interested in hearing from larger riders carrying two older children, rather than just comparing spec sheets. I'm trying to buy something that will comfortably do this job for another 4–5 years.

Thanks!