Cargo bikes. Are you on the 0cc band wagon?

[HOT DAMN!]

Originally Posted by FinlandThumper

you're clearly not mounting that thing for speed

[DriveShaft]

Originally Posted by HOT DAMN!

Agreed. The $3K dedicated long bike builds around here are comical. Once the trendiness, look at me aspect wears off, most of 'em sit in the corner of the garage because their usefulness is so limited. Or, you see them for sale like it is some type of appreciating collectors item.

longtails have a trendiness of zero, around here. mostly what I see for sale here is "quality" cervelo carbon fiber frames, and $60 walmart frames that have sat around gathering dust for years, after people do their one triathlon of their life...shortly after they did the one marathon of their life, so they could stick the 26.2 sticker on their car. There is like 400 of those bikes for 1 longtail on the market. I discovered this just this week, scouring Craigslst for a longtail. Imma checking it out this morning, just to see if I can deal w/ the frame flex. Of course, she's definitely pricing it like it is some collector's item. Wtf, like everyone's going to pay top dollar for a brooks saddle that's now molded to her ass. She's not going to see a lot of interested buyers.

Seems like such a waste, all these nice frames out there! But I suppose if you've got a community of yuppies, it just sort of becomes community property, so everyone can fulfill their bucket list.

[ducnut]

Originally Posted by HOT DAMN!

Is that some sort of self-contained/sandbag locking mechanism on the from wheel?

Originally Posted by DriveShaft

I was wondering what the hell that pile of crap was too. No clue.

That's an e-bike conversion. The front hub is the motor and the battery is mounted in the tailpack.

[Tweaker]

Whiners.
In '81 I rode from London most of the way to Portugal with a 60lb backpack loaded high on the rear rack of some generic Motobecane.
My wife is in need of a tricycle for her grocery runs. Just found a Schwinn for $250. Perfect. Tricycles are getting popular here in central San Jose.

[HOT DAMN!]

Originally Posted by Tweaker

Just found a Schwinn for $250. Perfect. Tricycles are getting popular here in central San Jose.

I dig the trikes as well, they are a hot commodity with some of the old scrapper dudes in the area.

[HOT DAMN!]

Originally Posted by DriveShaft

Imma checking it out this morning, just to see if I can deal w/ the frame flex.

A Big Dummy, how did you like it?

The Trek Transport is flex machine empty let alone loaded.

[DriveShaft]

Just got on a converted long haul trucker w/ an xtracycle attached. It wasn't nearly as wiggly as I expected. I was expecting creaking, groaning cranking. But it was actually pretty stout, even in top gear, stomping as hard as I could, I hammered, and it just scooted w/o a complaint. She did a good job installing it. Granted...I'm pretty light weight. Sat down with the wheel guy today...got some ideas going.

All in all, I think it'd be exactly what I'm looking for, as an alternative to the cruiser. It's certainly weight-comparable to the cruiser tanks you can get your hands on...but less fashion, more function. Certainly heavier than any of my old bikes. But christ, by dually is way more rickety in its bottom bracket these days than this sucker, and her particular frame has gone across country...literally.

Went through the math on weight too, and I'm a bit surprised it's lighter to go with an xtracycle arrangement than front 'n back panniers. Handles better too. Pheh...gonna blow that weight differential on a brick of a hub anyways.


I think I'm in for a $3K dedicated long bike build.

[HOT DAMN!]

If you aren't senile about the price, let me know when you tire of it.

Do a build thread.

[YamaGeek]

Jon VanderTuin started building long wheel-base cargo bikes in 1990~3 when he and Dick Ryan of Ryan recumbents set up shop in Eugene. Funny thing, most of their customers were not yuppies, but low income and college students. They eventually set up a shop that was kind of a community bicycle resources and repair shop, they also loaned out cargo bikes at really cheap prices.

These bikes have been around for years, and as Jon was fond of explaining, the Europeans had designed them first. Jon's 'Long-Jon' as he called it, was mostly True-Temper 4130 straight gauge tubing, but he gusseted and trussed the cargo section so it would not wiggle or flex. I borrowed one for a couple days of hauling left-over lumber cuttings and old trees the city had cut down and bucked for people to pick over for firewood, I had moved close to a cord of wood with that bike. Very sturdy.

At nearly the same time Gary Hale had a 'loaner', forward cargo box, trike with two independent steering front wheels and a really low center of gravity. I seem to think it had a pair of honda 50 front wheels and a heavy duty 12 speed derailleur-gear hub composite rear wheel set, I've seen people move all sorts of heavy loads with that trike, it actually cornered great with big loads

[Mr. Fisherman]

Pretty cool, but spendy..

Originally Posted by DriveShaft

Yeah, the full-on frames are only really useful if you were in the market for a complete new bike. I happen to be in the market for a new bike, since my old bikes are pretty worn out...all of them at least a decade old, w/ some hard use. I'm aiming for the quality of passive readiness. It'd be more useful to me if it's at the ready w/o me having to premeditate the need. So, I like the longbike arrangement...just like really huge panniers.

The travoy looks like a great option for you...commute duty, w/o the bulk of something designed for hauling rugrats. Folds up small, and can haul 60lbs.

[rocker59]

Originally Posted by eatpasta

Why cant people just do cool things and not be so self righteous about it?

+1

[DriveShaft]

Originally Posted by Tweaker

Whiners.
In '81 I rode from London most of the way to Portugal with a 60lb backpack loaded high on the rear rack of some generic Motobecane. .

London to portugal must've been friggin cool! I'd like about double that capacity, though. I have no intention to cross open water, but from here to Ohio is fair game.

[DriveShaft]

Originally Posted by YamaGeek

Jon VanderTuin started building long wheel-base cargo bikes in 1990~3 when he and Dick Ryan of Ryan recumbents set up shop in Eugene. Funny thing, most of their customers were not yuppies, but low income and college students. They eventually set up a shop that was kind of a community bicycle resources and repair shop, they also loaned out cargo bikes at really cheap prices.

These bikes have been around for years, and as Jon was fond of explaining, the Europeans had designed them first. Jon's 'Long-Jon' as he called it, was mostly True-Temper 4130 straight gauge tubing, but he gusseted and trussed the cargo section so it would not wiggle or flex. I borrowed one for a couple days of hauling left-over lumber cuttings and old trees the city had cut down and bucked for people to pick over for firewood, I had moved close to a cord of wood with that bike. Very sturdy.

At nearly the same time Gary Hale had a 'loaner', forward cargo box, trike with two independent steering front wheels and a really low center of gravity. I seem to think it had a pair of honda 50 front wheels and a heavy duty 12 speed derailleur-gear hub composite rear wheel set, I've seen people move all sorts of heavy loads with that trike, it actually cornered great with big loads

I think alot of these die-hards readily embrace the fact that they "weren't the first to think of this." Some of the voices you hear are exactly the guys who've taken VanderTuin & Ryan's lead, and run bike coops. These guys know the history for sure. It's still what I'd call a marginal phenomena in the States, regardless.

[YamaGeek]

Originally Posted by DriveShaft

I think alot of these die-hards readily embrace the fact that they "weren't the first to think of this." Some of the voices you hear are exactly the guys who've taken VanderTuin & Ryan's lead, and run bike coops. These guys know the history for sure. It's still what I'd call a marginal phenomena in the States, regardless.

I've built my own recumbent with help from Gary Hale's shop and you're right, it's a very tiny segment of the whole bicycle enchilada. You tend to get a complex when doing something like this, but it was fun and it could have only happened in Eugene OR. Hippies and global consciousness my precioussss...

[josjor]

Originally Posted by YamaGeek

I've built my own recumbent with help from Gary Hale's shop and you're right, it's a very tiny segment of the whole bicycle enchilada. You tend to get a complex when doing something like this, but it was fun and it could have only happened in Eugene OR. Hippies and global consciousness my precioussss...

Pics?

I've been toying with the idea of building a recumbent for a year now. I think it might be one of the winter projects for me.