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Cargo Bikes
Talk to me about cargo bikes! Following cargo related comments in the live blog today, I thought I'd spin it off into a forum thread for people to share experiences of cargo bikes. Front-loaders, long-tails, electric and acoustic, all welcome.
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
Latest Forum Topics
Latest Comments
- Morgoth985 0 sec ago
Totally agree with this. It's the bleedin obvious. So therefore it won't happen.
- hawkinspeter 4 min 10 sec ago
It's usually fairly obvious, but victim blaming a dead person is a clear giveaway
- ChrisA 4 min 29 sec ago
Ok, I'm happy to rephrase that - Should a normal competent cyclist (or driver) have given the pedestrian near the kerb edge more space is, I think,...
- cyclisto 21 min 57 sec ago
I had done something sort of comparison, when I started carrying my D-Lock on a bike mount and the bike seemed to be obviously slower to change...
- wycombewheeler 45 min 24 sec ago
That's just for disc brakes though. Stops them squeaking
- quiff 52 min 5 sec ago
Is this to do with the country? I would have thought most people walk a bike from its left hand side to avoid the (in my case, mucky) drivetrain.
- bikercr1 1 hour 1 min ago
The ultra-slow-motion, close-up replay of Tadej’s front wheel tire puncture and low-speed crash may be the beginning of the end for hookless wheels...
- cyclisto 1 hour 22 min ago
For small riders, I believe 28 wheels would be faster than 26, otherwise we would see them on pro racers, especially when 26 exist on such cheap...
- hawkinspeter 1 hour 37 min ago
I'd anticipate that the busier junctions aren't that appropriate for cycling through red lights, but I do encounter plenty of less busy junctions...
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64 comments
No particular reason except I thought cargo bike fans might enjoy it, an old picture I came across yesterday of two ladies enjoying a ride on a cargo bike through London in 1927.
Finally, 2 months after receiving the bike, got hold of the seating accessories and managed to use it as intended. Tern have redesigned the seating, so that slim seatpad and backrest you can see set me back £105! Unfortunately the Nexus gear hub seems to be slipping which, from a quick google, seems not uncommon. Unfortunate because I bought remotely, so taking it back for inspection / adjustment etc is not straightforward.
Looks great! Adjusting a Nexus 8 usually just involves putting it in 4th and twiddling the cable barrel at the shifter until the two yellow marks on the hub actuator thingy line up. For what it's worth, I've always had better results using a trigger shifter for Nexus hubs, rather than the standard twist grip. And despite Shimano's claims to the contrary, mine have never liked shifting under load.
Thanks for the advice. It feels like something that can be adjusted / will bed in rather than a catastophic issue, but is it too much to ask that something this expensive just works from new?!
Agree it's annoying, but even if the bike was assembled correctly, it's not unusual for gear cables to go out of tune in the first few miles, as everything beds in. Best to adress it now, as hub gears don't like being being run maladjusted. You'll probably find you don't need to touch it again for years* after that.
(*Obviously, everyone should maintain their bike more regularly than that!)
Thanks again. Plucked up the courage to sort it, and it was indeed a doddle to adjust. Now running smoothly!
Most importantly, is your kid enjoying it?
Yes! She graduated from a Hamax child seat on a normal bike to this overnight, so is luxuriating in the extra space (and I'm loving her lower centre of gravity!) She was a bit unnerved at first (and if I'm honest, so was I ) by not being strapped in, and I need to add some foot stirrups to give her something else to brace against (we had a firm but not emergency stop yesterday that sent her sliding into my back!) but she's loving it. She also loves peering round at the speedo to tell me how fast I'm going.
You could fit a cheap bike computer to the back where she can see it, and maybe even add a bell she can ring.
I get my children (who are a bit older - 12 and 10) to signal for me.
Have you taught them the two most important signals for expressing your dissatisfaction with someone's driving?
Pushed the button on a Tern HSD... I was initially thinking of a GSD or even an Urban Arrow, but with the sensible hat on, both are overkill for our use. Borrowed an HSD for the weekend and it does everything we realistically need.
Sounds sensible (I might well have done the same if I hadn't had such a good offer for a GSD). When do you get it?
Hopefully soon, as it's an in-stock S8i model (end of Generation 1) - belt drive and the confidence-inspiring Magura brakes. Three key factors in choosing the HSD over the GSD - (a) we only have one small child, so the extra capacity of the GSD would be surplus most of the time; (b) it's intended to be a family bike, and my wife was less comfortable handling the extra weight of the GSD; (c) it just sneaks under my cycle to work limit.
Getting hold of the accessories may delay using it as intended though!
Accessories delay was an issue for me, too (I waiting for them to arrive before picking up the bike).
WANTED: Tern Madpad. Don't suppose anyone has an unwanted Tern Clubhouse Madpad do they (i.e. the combined seatpad and backrest which can be used in conjunction with the Clubhouse Mini enclosure to seat what Tern call a "big kid")? Seems to be on back order everywhere without an estimated availability date.
There are fairly active Tern Facebook groups (I'm on the GSD one!) so might be worth asking on there.
I finally picked up my GSD yesterday (it was delayed as I waited for various accessories, which themselves were delayed because of Moore Large going bust and then, apparently, because of the floods in Italy).
Only a couple of short runs so far - including with the kids (individually) on the back. I - and they - love it (the wife thinks I'm mad). My only issue is getting the hang of starting off with a kid on the back. I think this is because the way I normally push off is seated, with the bike leaning slightly. That obviously doesn't work with a child on the back, so it's getting used to starting from standing and then sitting down (if that makes sense).
Great stuff! Let us know how it goes.
My own cargo journey has been paused as my little one has just got her first pedal bike and currently looks like she might be able to ride to school without a Tern. Curses. Journey times quite variable dependent on her mood though...
I've bitten the bullet and will be picking up a Tern GSD next month. Just need to tell the wife...
I wouldn't tell her, just disguise it as something else. I don't actually know what to disguise it as, I've not thought that far ahead.
You could say it's a Tern HSD - a bit cheaper and plausible deniability.
Actually, not sure this will fly. In my researches, I found this helpful (=spectacularly unhelpful) article which made me realise how different the GSD and HSD actually are: https://www.stringbike.com/tern-gsd-vs-hsd/. Some of my favourites:
GSD has 26" wheels, HSD has 28" (or possibly the reverse, depending on which bit of the article you read)
GSD has disc brakes, HSD has V-brakes
GSD is Shimano 10 speed; HSD is SRAM 11 speed
GSD has a derailleur, shifter, crankset and cassette because it uses a road bike groupset. The HSD does too, but because it uses a mountain bike groupset, it also has a bottom bracket and chainring.
HSD is a lightweight bike (despite the weight penalty of having a bottom bracket and chainring) and is ideal for racing and long-distance riding. However, the GSD is a bit lighter.
Was that written by a really poor AI programme?
I really don't understand it - there's not even any advertising on the site to monetise this bilge. I am now slightly obsessed with their comedy bike comparisons.
Sorry, last one, I promise. Back on the topic of cargo bikes, from Rad Wagon vs Tern GSD, 7 key differences:
ChatGPT is going to turn the Internet into 95% absolute rubbish.
That's a big increase from the current level of 82%.
"That? Nah - I've had that for ages...."
Excellent! Look forward to hearing your views...
When do kids tend to outgrow the different types of bike? I've read that box bikes have less longevity for kiddy carrying, but also spoke to a Tern owner this morning who said their 7 year old was outgrowing it (despite it being rated, weight wise, for an adult) which was a bit concerning. I have one 4 year old.
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