Hello All!
I'm sorry this post is in English, but, alas, I can not speak, read, or write German. Someday! I very much enjoy this forum and have been a lurker and infrequent poster. This post is in response to @kistenfahrrad and @lowtech, who expressed interest after I posted a few pictures of my bike. I got my first ever cargo bike last August, a custom build by Scissortail Cycles (http://www.scissortailcycles.com/) out of Oklahoma, USA. I'm going to talk a bit about my cargo bike journey and then post several pictures of the build and the bike in action.
I have wanted a bakfiets for the longest time (basically since I heard of one). We live nearby a nice 28 mile (45 km) bike trail with a few towns along it. Once we moved just a few blocks away from the trail, I envisioned family trips to the farmers market, the lakefront, the park, and various festivals. Louisiana (New Orleans metro area especially) does not take festivals lightly. This was mid-2019, so well before the current state of affairs. Anyway, I was able to convince my wife to invest a significant amount into this bike because I'd be taking the kids out on my training rides (I'm originally a semi-competitive road cyclist). Before this, I put a trailer on my carbon bike, but I never felt great about that. Kids were in the back and I couldn't see them, the weight was limited, and the cargo area was limited. Anyway, now my wife is glad when I go for an hour or two training ride with all of the kids because she gets a break. This is only possible because we both work from home.
As a road cyclist, I wanted something sporty. Initially, I was looking at the Bullitt, but wanted something with a larger cargo area and to have more say in the build. Plus, I wanted to support semi-local bike builders (he's in Oklahoma, I'm in Louisiana) and small businesses, especially in light of COVID-19.
Some of the features of the bike I am most proud of:
The cargo area is a work in progress. Right now I have a piece of marine grade plywood (which I have not treated yet!) As a loading deck. It is attached with padded pipe brackets and has some L-track underneath for attaching loads. There are also 4 bolts with star-handle nuts at the corners for securing a box someday. Right now, I use an old (pre-Thule) Chariot bike trailer / jogger / stroller combo strapped to the load deck with straps and carabiners. It allows for fairly quick removal so I can easily convert from kid-carrier to flatbed, or if I bring the stroller wheels for the Chariot, I can wheel the kids around at our destination after parking the bike.
This works so well to carry kids, groceries, packages, etc. that I haven't worked much on a box, which is still in the design process. I would like it to be a modular design with many possible uses, but there are way too many good ideas on this forum that I want to implement, so it's taking a long time! It's a work in progress, so I'm sure I'll be posting pictures as I go. Right now I have an important work certification that I'm preparing for, but after that, I will be giving the box my full attention!
Enjoy!
Joshua
I'm sorry this post is in English, but, alas, I can not speak, read, or write German. Someday! I very much enjoy this forum and have been a lurker and infrequent poster. This post is in response to @kistenfahrrad and @lowtech, who expressed interest after I posted a few pictures of my bike. I got my first ever cargo bike last August, a custom build by Scissortail Cycles (http://www.scissortailcycles.com/) out of Oklahoma, USA. I'm going to talk a bit about my cargo bike journey and then post several pictures of the build and the bike in action.
I have wanted a bakfiets for the longest time (basically since I heard of one). We live nearby a nice 28 mile (45 km) bike trail with a few towns along it. Once we moved just a few blocks away from the trail, I envisioned family trips to the farmers market, the lakefront, the park, and various festivals. Louisiana (New Orleans metro area especially) does not take festivals lightly. This was mid-2019, so well before the current state of affairs. Anyway, I was able to convince my wife to invest a significant amount into this bike because I'd be taking the kids out on my training rides (I'm originally a semi-competitive road cyclist). Before this, I put a trailer on my carbon bike, but I never felt great about that. Kids were in the back and I couldn't see them, the weight was limited, and the cargo area was limited. Anyway, now my wife is glad when I go for an hour or two training ride with all of the kids because she gets a break. This is only possible because we both work from home.
As a road cyclist, I wanted something sporty. Initially, I was looking at the Bullitt, but wanted something with a larger cargo area and to have more say in the build. Plus, I wanted to support semi-local bike builders (he's in Oklahoma, I'm in Louisiana) and small businesses, especially in light of COVID-19.
Some of the features of the bike I am most proud of:
- 37 inch (94 cm) load area
- SRAM Eagle groupset
- FOX Transfer dropper seatpost
- SRAM G2 Ultimate brakes (200mm front rotor, 180mm rear rotor)
- Chris King violet headsets, hubs, and bottom bracket
- XX1 Quarq powermeter
The cargo area is a work in progress. Right now I have a piece of marine grade plywood (which I have not treated yet!) As a loading deck. It is attached with padded pipe brackets and has some L-track underneath for attaching loads. There are also 4 bolts with star-handle nuts at the corners for securing a box someday. Right now, I use an old (pre-Thule) Chariot bike trailer / jogger / stroller combo strapped to the load deck with straps and carabiners. It allows for fairly quick removal so I can easily convert from kid-carrier to flatbed, or if I bring the stroller wheels for the Chariot, I can wheel the kids around at our destination after parking the bike.
This works so well to carry kids, groceries, packages, etc. that I haven't worked much on a box, which is still in the design process. I would like it to be a modular design with many possible uses, but there are way too many good ideas on this forum that I want to implement, so it's taking a long time! It's a work in progress, so I'm sure I'll be posting pictures as I go. Right now I have an important work certification that I'm preparing for, but after that, I will be giving the box my full attention!
Enjoy!
Joshua