Shopping Trip
The other weekend I took my DIY cargo bike to the shops to do a major stock up. The advantage of the bike is that I can park it right by the shop’s entrance:
You’ll notice that I’ve only locked it with a D-lock through the back wheel - it’s hard to find things to lock it to. The BMX handlebars that I’m using as the prop stand are wide enough to mean the box can be loaded without the whole thing toppling…
And that box was specified with one purpose in mind: this sort of shopping. It’ll hold more than most car boots:
Riding this bike does seem to attract attention though. Every time I use it I get asked the same questions:
- Did you make that? (Yes)
- Is it your invention? (No - design mostly from Tom’s Cargo Bikes, but I used two lengths of 50 x 20mm box-section instead of pipes for the bottom tube under the box)
- Have you patented it? (No - there’s prior art)
- How does it handle? (Like the bastard offspring of a barge and a zeppelin when it’s windy)
The thing no-one asks is what the bike’s name is - it’s Mary Shelly, in honour of the Frankenstein nature of the beast.
