8Freight Cargo bike - restoration / project

Well it took a bit of organising but I've got it shoe-horned in the garage now, drying out.

Initial inspection definitely generates some questions, for example:

1. The stand (which is cable operated via a 'thumbie on the bars, connected to a pneumatic strut underneath the cargo area) has been completely bodged, and i'm not sure how I will find out how it ever was supposed to look. It doesn't operate at the moment although the stand is easy to 'kick' into place in the 'traditional' way. I'd like to get this working though as it's a cool feature.

2. There looks to be a patch welded on the main frame underneath (as well as the repair to the upper cargo area mentioned earlier), but I'm not sure if it's original or a repair. Needs turning upside down and having a proper look.

3. When I transported it home in the car I could hear sloshing, so I need to see if the frame is full of water, and remove it. Probably via the BB I'd hope.

4. Previous owner has run the chain through a piece of white PVC pipe at the point in the middle where the chain "crosses over". I can't see why this was done but wonder what the rationale was.

5. Almost every photo I have seen of one of these, the fork blade is on the right-hand side, whereas mine is on the left 🧐I guess it could be spun round 180 degrees in theory, but I doubt I'll ever know which is correct. I did find some photo's of this exact bike from a blog post in 2010 (!!) and it is the same at that time, which gives me some comfort for now. https://chestercycling.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/8-freight/

More when time permits, thanks for the kind reception thus far of this rather niche machine 🙂

Joe
 
Note: I was particularly chuffed to have fit this in my trusty old Passat estate, the wheelbase is 2m, it's huge! :LOL:

Ha! I got mine in the back of my Citroen Ami and was similarly chuffed!

Forkwise, Mike Burrows's'es bike has it on the right so I'd assume that was the correct side. It looks like a straight leg with no trail so maybe yours is just round the wrong way by mistake?
 
Ha! I got mine in the back of my Citroen Ami and was similarly chuffed!

Forkwise, Mike Burrows's'es bike has it on the right so I'd assume that was the correct side. It looks like a straight leg with no trail so maybe yours is just round the wrong way by mistake?

That's what I was thinking, so I'll definitely be aiming to rotate the fork unless something become glaringly obvious.

Every bike he designed seemed to have the fork blade on the right!

Some examples;

1992-olympics-lotus-type-108-chris-boardman-2.jpeg mike-burrows-radavist-41.jpg mike-burrows-radavist-45.jpg mike-burrows-radavist-56.jpg
 
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