Cargo Bicycles

Some months ago I found this really interesting post on cargo bicycles on Gizmodo. Take a look, then come back here and ponder my comments.

First, I disagree about the value of a cargo bicycle except in certain circumstances, namely city with significant traffic to dodge or a dedicated vehicle for frequent cargo duties. These are the places where a trailer attached to a decent bicycle doesn't make as much sense due to the agility requirements of a cargo bike. Or if what you're carrying is really long, since that doesn't work with a trailer either. Trailers are great for groceries though, which is what most people want. They'd work well for a keg, though really if you've gotten to the point your drinking is by keg? You might be an alcoholic. If you own a bar or restaurant then you can probably afford proper delivery vehicles.

I've researched tons of different bicycle trailers, most of which attach at either the seat post or the rear hub, and most cost around $200+ despite being a rack with wheels and a tube connecting to the bike. Ergo, lots of homebuilts. Most trailers can deal with dirt and gravel as well as a bicycle can, particularly the kind that balance on one wheel. 

Regarding Downieville: its a good place for both road biking and for downhill mountain biking. There are companies that will take you up to the Sierra Buttes at Sardine Lakes and you can take many different paths over them and down the fun trails on the Western side back to Downieville. That's the kind of trail where a full suspension is a good idea. The Buttes are at the crest of that section of the Sierras, so you get a nice view both ways and some fun glacial lakes to peruse.

On flatland in densely populated places I can see the value of cargo bikes. In the hills of San Francisco and Portland? Those are for masochists if you're going more than a few blocks. Despite that, I have seen them in use in Portland, hauling stuff. If those had electric assists to help you get up the hills? That would make more sense. If they had motors then you'd just have a Tuktuk and stop pretending.

You know this would be fun.

I recall reading the story of some guy in New York City who'd ponied up the $4K it cost to buy a Dutch cargo bike, then took his kids to the movies. He used the internal frame lock, rather than chain it to something solid. When he came back, someone had picked it up and stolen it. First day he owned it. I don't feel sorry for someone paying that kind of fool tax.

Steal Me!

Nice bikes and weird bikes are the kind that get stolen. Cheap bikes are what you want. Ones that look either nasty or are so easy to replace its not a big deal. A nice bike is something you can never park anywhere, or leave on your bike rack while you go inside the gas station to pee. You can't go to the movies with a carbon fiber bikes parked outside. It takes only 2 minutes to cut through the toughest lock you can buy, thanks to modern tools. It won't be there when you get back. A nice bicycle is a motive for jealousy and an object for theft the moment your ass is off the seat, not real transportation you can run errands with. The Post Peak Oil world is one where you need to run errands without using much or any fuel, and avoid being stranded if possible.

This is decent advice, and my own bike is outfitted like that.

As for cargo, my own bicycle has a standard rack on the back, one fitted with sliding rails to hold a basket or a rear bike bag. Really, it was a waste of money. I should have just bought one of those springloaded kind or one of the expanding Wald baskets that carry two bags of groceries. At the time, I was SURE that Peak Oil was going to cause fuel rationing SOON and I was planning to give my ration to my wife so she could get to work. Of course there was no rationing, other than the price going up another dollar a gallon. I would like to say that I've learned my lesson and I never make predictions but that would be a lie. After all, its going to snow today.

When we shift from car-groceries to pedal power, you can see an abrupt end to soda pop. Its too much weight. Same with fruit juices. We'll be shifting down to mixes where you add water, iced tea in particular, Kool Aid, stuff based on concentrated syrups or dried powders because it's lighter weight and less bulky too. Canned foods are really heavy on a bicycle. You feel every ounce. More likely to arrive intact than frozen, however. Considering how bumpy the roads are, I'd hate to try and get eggs home up these roads. You'd see them all broken by the time you got home. You'd start weighing the value of buying the fragile stuff closer to home, even though it costs more, because it might survive the trip intact. You never worry about that when you shop with a car. I am certain that bicycle trailers, just for market day shopping, will become popular if there's no gas.

No A/C, but you don't have to pedal.

Grocery run!

If there is a little gasoline, you can switch from SUVs to Tuktuks (or mini trucks which are safer) and you can keep drinking beer, soda pop, gallons of milk, eggs, canned food, and all those other heavy things. The suspension won't be great, but it will be better than a cargo bicycle or a trailer. When someone invents a good electric battery so common nobody bothers to steal them anymore, then you can have an electric bike or an electric car or an electric tuktuk to haul your lazy butt around.

I think we're all gonna get skinny well before that. After all, the biggest problem with trams and rail transit is you have to put good quality steel on the ground, and do we really have enough to share for every city, suburb, town, and connecting road compared to the tiny fraction needed for bicycles for everyone who isn't going to just up and die of heart failure? The rest of us are going to get wiry and tough. Start prepping for that so you live through this next step down. America has voted for the continued failure. Be prepared for the consequences. The international Markets are responding by dumping US stocks. Some say this is correction from the failed hopes of a pro-business president position. Others that this is the beginning of the end of the US Dollar as a reserve currency. Time will tell.

So what are you going to do? Get a cargo bike or get a trailer for your regular bicycle? Both will haul groceries and bags of cement and roofing shingles. Both require no gasoline to operate. Both are worth stealing once people get desperate enough.