Jonny69
Senior Retro Guru
Hey, got a cargo bike? Let's see it!
Started mine in 2019 according to my thread on another forum. I'd been thinking about a cargo bike for some time, to do local chores and for a bit of family fun in the summer. I'd lined up a couple of basic steel mountain bikes which I was going to convert with a Bullit style underslung front frame and 20" front but, realistically, I wasn't going to have time to do it. Still kept thinking about how much easier it would be to run the wet washing up to the launderette on a cargo bike. Cue my toddler needing to go into a local nursery a couple of days a week and the easiest way to get him there would have been by bike partway on my commute to work. I could have just done a bike seat but my tragic rad dadbike issues revolved around the GT Edge Aero in funny shape pipes, aluminium mountain bike (apparently a no-no) or track bike - none of which were ideal for bike seats.
So this popped up on my side of London, which was a rare thing to happen. Long Harry in aluminium, hardly used, and I drove way too far to get it and paid way over the odds. The frame itself was pretty good, but the running gear was rubbish. It had no-name V brakes on microscooter-size straight bars and a modern 3-speed Sturmey Archer which wasn't connected to anything. Back story was it was supposedly bought as part of a company scheme for local use, which I believe was IBM in Farnborough, but presumably it never took off because it looked like the bike had never been ridden.
I decided to go for the retro mountain bike look, which had become popular with the Bullitt crowd. I converted it to the 1x9 SRAM X0, rear wheel, risers and DX brakes off my mountain bike. Tanwall tyre up front. Then eventually built a box for it. Load capacity is around 100kg which is way plenty though I've done a few tip runs with more than that onboard.
How I got it:
What I brought it home in (guess the car):
Rebuild night:
First ride:
First laundrette run:
First tip run. You can't see it very easily but I'd made a thick lacquered plywood base board for easier hauling junk:
Rebuild time early 2021 as living outside was taking its toll on everything:
At the same time, I finally built a box. I decided not to worry too much about the weight and more go for convenience, modularity of design and sturdiness. I started off with an aluminium construction frame:
Clad that in 9mm ply with a 12mm base:
Cut some slots for handles and checked it for size/suitability (it was an immediate hit with my boy):
Took out some bits of the frame that weren't really needed, gave it a good lacquer and rode the hell out of it over the lockdowns:
Started mine in 2019 according to my thread on another forum. I'd been thinking about a cargo bike for some time, to do local chores and for a bit of family fun in the summer. I'd lined up a couple of basic steel mountain bikes which I was going to convert with a Bullit style underslung front frame and 20" front but, realistically, I wasn't going to have time to do it. Still kept thinking about how much easier it would be to run the wet washing up to the launderette on a cargo bike. Cue my toddler needing to go into a local nursery a couple of days a week and the easiest way to get him there would have been by bike partway on my commute to work. I could have just done a bike seat but my tragic rad dadbike issues revolved around the GT Edge Aero in funny shape pipes, aluminium mountain bike (apparently a no-no) or track bike - none of which were ideal for bike seats.
So this popped up on my side of London, which was a rare thing to happen. Long Harry in aluminium, hardly used, and I drove way too far to get it and paid way over the odds. The frame itself was pretty good, but the running gear was rubbish. It had no-name V brakes on microscooter-size straight bars and a modern 3-speed Sturmey Archer which wasn't connected to anything. Back story was it was supposedly bought as part of a company scheme for local use, which I believe was IBM in Farnborough, but presumably it never took off because it looked like the bike had never been ridden.
I decided to go for the retro mountain bike look, which had become popular with the Bullitt crowd. I converted it to the 1x9 SRAM X0, rear wheel, risers and DX brakes off my mountain bike. Tanwall tyre up front. Then eventually built a box for it. Load capacity is around 100kg which is way plenty though I've done a few tip runs with more than that onboard.
How I got it:
What I brought it home in (guess the car):
Rebuild night:
First ride:
First laundrette run:
First tip run. You can't see it very easily but I'd made a thick lacquered plywood base board for easier hauling junk:
Rebuild time early 2021 as living outside was taking its toll on everything:
At the same time, I finally built a box. I decided not to worry too much about the weight and more go for convenience, modularity of design and sturdiness. I started off with an aluminium construction frame:
Clad that in 9mm ply with a 12mm base:
Cut some slots for handles and checked it for size/suitability (it was an immediate hit with my boy):
Took out some bits of the frame that weren't really needed, gave it a good lacquer and rode the hell out of it over the lockdowns:
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