Cargo Bikes

Brian recently got a larger battery for his e-assist commuter xtracycle and is just about finished with the battery storage box. He's really been wanting an electric cargo bike and actually started building it today. Once the bike is built his new battery and hub motor will be transferred from the xtracycle to the new cargo bike. We'll post pictures of the progress soon.


One goal we are working towards is to, one day, be as car free as possible. We are hoping to each have an e-assist bike as a car replacement. Not just regular sized bikes, but some sort of load carrying or cargo bike. Here are just of few of the bikes Brian has found while spending countless hours searching the internet. Enjoy!

This is a Bullitt and can be found here http://www.larryvsharry.com/english/index.html

Another great cargo bike site can be found here http://cetmacargo.com/CETMAcargoindex.htm

These cool bikes pictured below can be found at http://www.metrofiets.com/

We have been seeing more and more long bikes, xtracycles, but don't see cargo bikes here in Sacramento. Are there any cargo bikes roaming the streets where you live?

Yesterday we went to the Bicycle swap meet in Downtown Sacramento.  We hauled a big box of parts, Monica's road bike and some panniers.  We met a lot of people, handed out a bunch of business cards,  talked cargo bikes and sewing all day.  We left with only a couple of parts and my panniers.  

The cargo bike was a hit, lots of people interested in buying it from me,  and lots of requests to build more.

I installed a yakima fork mount to the rear of the xtracycle and Monica used it to haul her road bike.

More cargo bike fun

I put the cargo bike together last week. I took it for a test ride only to discover the bottom bracket was too low. I thought I could get by with it, I would just have to remember- no pedaling in corners. Monica assured me this was the wrong idea. So out came the hacksaw and welder. I made a few changes and its was back together the next day. I gained 2 inches without affecting my steering angle too much.

I mounted a flat bed and a gm parts crate on it until I build a box. The kickstand is temporary, I'm working on a better design. We decided to take it to the grocery store today. I was a little worried about getting 5 miles from home, loading it with groceries and having a problem. So I loaded a Datsun engine block in the box and took it for a spin. 85 lbs and it handled with no problem. We bought 65 lbs of groceries, the bike laughed at me. The only problem I noticed is my cantilever brake sucks. Before I mount the front brake I'm going to try and get a set of v-brakes. This thing is a smile making machine. I think I'm ready to start building another one.

cargo bike update

The cargo bike went on its first test ride this morning! So far I'm pretty happy with it. I still need to build a kickstand and reinforce a couple of spots. The cranks I put on are too long and hit the ground in corners, but otherwise it rides very nice. I gave it one gear in the front and five in the rear. The brake cable is just temporary, I'll put on a longer one after its painted. I plan on test riding it for a while then it will get torn down and get a paint job, front brake, cargo box, and new cables.

New cargo bike

I've been leaving work early or not going at all a lot lately. This isn't so great for the paycheck but it sure is good for my life. I've been getting a little yard work done, preparing for this years garden. I built my cargo trailer, and have been sewing some panniers.

Last week I was trying to think of what I could do with this mountain bike frame I have laying around. I thought of making it into a single speed cruiser. Maybe I would sell it. But I started kicking around this idea for a long john style bike. With a little inspiration from here and a whole bunch of inspiration and support from Tom's cargo bikes ( Tom is super helpful, plus he shows how to build the bikes that he makes and sells), I came up with this.

I'm into it 25 bucks so far, I think I'll only need to buy a couple little things to get it running. I bought the front wheel for 82 cents at a thrift store ( I did buy a new tire and tube). The fork is the original mountain bike fork with 3 inches removed. I built the steerer tube and front of the frame with tubing from a local supplier. Most everything else is leftovers.

I still have to make some steering linkages, build a cargo box or flatbed, add a little paint, brakes, drive train etc. But its moving along fast. I can't wait to test ride this.

Bike trailer update

I didn't go to work today so I worked on the bike trailer. Its mostly finished, It just needs some final welding and paint.

Once it was all together I could not help but hook it to the electric bike and take it for a spin. I had it up to about 22mph and could barely tell it was there, just a little rattling on bumps. It handled a lot better than I thought it would. I was doing full speed u turns on our street with no problems.

I cobbled the hitch together with some stuff I had laying around ( some kind of spherical joint/pillow block/ brass bushing thing- a model A ford shock mount bolt and a piece of pipe for the tongue.)

Very happy with the results. I can't wait to start hauling stuff.

bike trailer

My dad was the kind of guy that saved everything, knowing that someday he would need it for something. He had a couple of wheelchairs torn apart in his stash of stuff. He gave me the wheels a couple years back. He thought I could use them to build a bike trailer.

I never really needed a trailer with the xtracycle, but last year we hauled a bunch of bags of compost and potting soil from our local nursery. Plus we get straw bales for mulch from our feed store. Since we don't have a pick up truck we haul it in Monica's car and this leaves a big mess that I end up cleaning. I could get the compost in the xtracycle but the straw bales were to big.

My work is really slow right now so I decided to go for it. I'm trying to use only material I have on hand, It looks like I will only need to buy one short stick of tubing for the tongue and some bolts to hold down the floor. Its pretty heavy but I will be towing it with my electric assist xtracycle. Hopefully next week it will be completely welded, painted and getting put to work.

xtracycle bag part 2

I left work at noon today and decided to finish up the xtracycle bag.

floating liner pinned in place

Attaching liner to outer bag with binding tape and swing away binder

Back of bag, I need to transfer hooks and backing from old bag still

side pocket big enough for a u lock

front of bag

I installed grommets in the rear for mounting the hooks

Floating liner, black binding is on edge of pocket used for backing board and hardware.

Bright yellow will be good for seeing small items that are in bottom of bag.

xtracycle bags

I designed my own bags for my xtracycle a couple years ago when I first bought it. My mom did the sewing on them. About a year ago I modified them so they were removable more like a pannier. Now seems like the right time to sew up a new set of bags. I started on one a couple nights ago. Here are some progress pics. The outer bag is espresso cordura.

Marking the first pieces.

I need a bigger cutting table.

The sides sewn on.

Adding the topstitch to the rear panel.

The outer bag is finished.

The floating liner is going to be spectre yellow. All the pieces are cut and ready to sew.