That Cargo Bike Thing (With pics and questions)

[Dual-posted on Mesquite Hugger and 2Wheels Maybe]

Cargo bike obsession - normally, I figure it's just me being an eco-dork. But lately it seems so much bigger than that.

A homebuilt longtail cargo bike

Cargo bikes siren sing to me for a lot of practical and impractical reasons.

The biggest three are

1. I want to do my best to go car-free/petroleum free
2. I want to spread the word (and a cargo bike would invite a lot of questions!)
3. I want to live healthier - both physically and financially.

and a cargo bike should help with all three.

A snippet of the most recent runaway post (by MH standards) post

Number 3 with a bullet! (by MH standards)

Recently, though, a lot of you have been stopping by to check out cargo bike posts. Back in October, I wrote a post about a pretty simple way to build your own cargo bike. Most posts around here have an initial response of twenty to thirty clicks and then quickly die down to a click or two per week or month. And then they fizzle out. But not this one!

A long john / bakfeits / box bike from DIYBiking

 

Nope, that's not the case with this DIY cargo bike post. It's been visited more than 100 times in the last month. For a low-rent blog like this one, that's pretty darned impressive!

A midtail from Benno Bikes

So, what's the deal? Why do you keep looking at cargo bike posts? What's the attraction? No, really - what is it? I would really like to know. And it seems the same for y'all.

A trio of lovely Yuba longtails

So, (Yes, I know - I'm a glutton for punishment.) I put together a little survey so maybe we can a better idea of where this thing is going.

A Schwinn trike from this week's Craigslist

(Not a lot of cargo bike action here in Lubbock)

It's just a few questions on a Google Form. It's nothing personal - no names or emails. I'll leave it open for about 6 moths with a monthly update (on the 2Wheels Maybe blog).

A reverse trike from Urban Tribe (Straight outta Denton, TX)

  

A cycle truck by Virtue Cycle

The Tern (+Xtracycle) Cargo Node folding cargo bike

Turn-key and DIY cargo bikes from Xtracycle

 

So here it is. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts on bikes that haul!

 

The Short Survey about Long Bikes

 

As always, thank you for reading (and for filling out the survey)! May your bike haul you to a better life!

 

PS. Would you like to have your cargo bike stories or photos featured on 2WheelsMaybe? If so, please shoot us an email through the contact box on either blog.



Is it really bike to work day in Lubbock?

I rode the bike to work today, but I didn't know. Yep, the Mesquite Hugger calendar update system is needing some help. It was when I arrived at the java distributor and paused the Strava app that I saw a pop-up informing me that it is ride to work day. Man, am I glad that I rode!

 

 

Of course, I am always glad on days that I ride. But how did this sneak up on me? (Actually, it's pretty easy to sneak up on me these days.)

 

So, I Oogled it:

 

 

I learned that today is  Global Bike to Work Day and it's Bike to Work Day in the Bay Area. And it's Bike to Work day a week from tomorrow here in the States. Yep, I am still confused, so I have a new goal - I want to try to ride on every Bike to Work Day and on lots of days that are just plain old Snagit, I Still Have to Go Work Day days.

 

Why? I am going to defer to the NBL on this one:

 

Check it out at the National Bike League site

 

So, how about you? Do any of those reasons appeal to you? Then try it, snagit!

• Pick a day (like maybe May 19th -  US Bike to Work Day.)
• Air up your tires (or borrow a bike - call me!)
• Plan your route
• Do it! (You might actually enjoy it, or save money, or get healthy, or become a Mesquite Hugger hero by fighting pollution!)

May you get out and pedal yourself to a better life for you and all of us!

Saturday Random Junky Old Bike Post: Huff3 Rat

[This post is for all of you who wait impatiently by the phone/tablet/computer for the next thrilling installment of Mesquite Hugger. (Hi, Mom!) I am working on some more diversified stuff, but it's some slow going.]

An update on the Huff-E-Rat:

With the addition of the Phantom, the Huff-E-Rat lost its battery and started gathering dust. So...

The Huff3 Rat is born!

Yep, the electric stuff came off and I added the used 3-speed Nexus wheel from the Going-Out-of-Business sale (that broke my heart) in Dallas a few months back. I picked up a shifter and cable, gathered up the right gears - I found the Goldilocks combo - and got it all cruiseworthy.

Now I just need a seat that feels less like concrete, and a pair of grips.

The overall verdict? This thing is great! If you've never had the pleasure of riding a bike with an internally shifting hub, try it out some time. This one is much smoother and quieter than a derailleur. I love it! Now, if I can figure out how to get a GeoOrbital Wheel to sometimes throw on the front...

Detroit Bikes Fanboy Detour:

I came to a big realization this morning when I took the above photo. Without making a conscious attempt at doing so, I built an homage to one of my favorite bikes - the Detroit Bikes A-Type. No, I am not comparing the rattle-can Huffy to what they are building up there in the Motor City, but I was very pleased to realize that I had created a poor-boy version of such a cool machine.

Quintessential Cool and Handmade in the USA

The Fanboy hat I wear a lot - thanks, Mom!

So, now I need to finish up this post and gather up pieces for the community garden water pump that's next on the list!

Garden pump project lurks on the left.

May your green projects thrive, may you be healthy, and may everything be better than expected!

PS. Here's a preview for the next next (yes, I meant to do that) junky bike project on the list:

A Little Cargo Bike-ishness for Saturday

[You know me. It's been killing me not writing much about cargo bikes lately.]

Two quick cargo bike bits of news:

Bit of News #1: This morning it was an article in the DIY Biking Blog - thanks, Mike!

Love this photo!

DIYBiking: Sunday's Cargo Bike Festival, Cranksgiving San Jose,,,and Traffic Wow, that title conveys a lot. Cargo bike festival - that implies that more than one person in the area rides a cargo bike. Again, wow! Cranksgiving - bicyclists getting together for fellowship and stewardship. Again, wow! Traffic. I am not going to say wow on that one, but he makes some valid points. The article even contains a local business/bike rack comment: "In front of Moonbeams Coffee in San Jose with a Box Bike. There is absolutely no bike rack to be found here so I don't go often." (Mike, I look forward to seeing pics and a story of the cargo bike festival.)

Am I just rambling here? Probably, but one of my favorite parts of this whole worldwidewebsocialmedia thing is that we get to share possibility. In one short post we get to see possibility in people pedaling and working together for a better world. And we get to see places where these things are happening. (Lubbock, we need to try this Cranksgiving thing.)

Bit of News #2: An overlooked Cargo Bike

Flying BeaverTail

So there I was surfing the web helping Grizz find hop-up parts for a Sondors (exciting news there - more info later) and I ended up on LunaCycle.com. As I was browsing the bikes I saw a nifty little cycle truck. So I investigated. The investigation took me to a little shop in Northern California that hand fabricates variations on the cargo bike theme.

How cool is that? (Cycle Trucks website)

The Beavertail, their longtail (and my fave), is $1125 for the frame kit or $1600 for a ready to ride bike. They also sell Cycle Trucks and Sport Utility Bikes (S.U.B.) along with a handful of custom racks. If you are in the market for a cargo bike, these are definitely worth checking out!

Dogs and kids and cargo bikes!

Future Cycle Trucker

Cargo Bike and Beer Dog!

Where the magic happens and an S.U.B

May your bike and cargo bike dreams come true!

Shirt yourself!

Go read somebody else's blog about Parking Day today, please!

Do you ever feel that you're on the cusp of something but you are not sure what? Yeah, me too.

This photo was also ripped off lovingly borrowed from DIYbiking.com

This may seem redundant, but I really appreciate a good blog. I have been reading DIY Biking for a few years now. It's been a sporadic but well-written and thought-provoking blog out of Stamford, CT. Recently, the blog's writer, a guy named Mike who likes to create bike-traffic di-o-ramas, pulled up his kickstand(s) and moved to the other side of the country. He blogged the journey and he's started blogging about his new home. (See yesterday's MH post - there's a reference to Good Karma Bikes that came from a DIY Biking post.)

But the 8-31 DIYB post is a throwback to Stamford, isn't (much) about biking, and is very much about shifting our culture. And it's the type of post that makes me say that I really appreciate a good blog. It's also one of those posts that makes me want to crawl out of my cubicle and do something. The post is about Parking Day. It even made me want to write a post about Parking Day, but there's no reason - Mike did it already and you should read it. Period.

Why You Should Take Part in Park(ing) Day

May you be blessed with a good blog and may your spaces - parking and otherwise- be better used.