eddiec <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:
Quoted message said:
Had the shame of driving in the other day through Kew, but in the
process saw the most awesome purpose-build bike for carrying children,
and am trying to track it down on the web with no luck...
Um, that would be me and my "freight bike". :-)
I dreamed it up so my wife and I could avoid getting a second car. It
was custom-designed to my specs by Ian Sims at greenspeed.com.au - he
was interested in adding to their inventory of "work" machines, so he
didn't mind making and selling me a "prototype" at a discount price :-)
The design is inspired by the "8freight" in the UK:
http://www.bikefix.co.uk/index
http://www.velovision.co.uk/mag/issue9/8freight.pdf
Mine's slightly longer than the vehicles in these pics, to allow a baby
car capsule to fit in the steel-framed "basket" section. I made the
plastic "cocoon" myself out of polycarbonate sheet - the lid hinges up
and back. It's evolved with my daughter - now it's got a child car seat
in it rather than a baby capsule! The whole plastic box is held in by
velcro straps, so it can be lifted out if I want to carry stuff strapped
directly onto the frame - the cargo limit is 100kg. It's got drum
brakes and a motorbike-style stand.
So, how does it ride? Heavy of course, but I normally only take it up
to childcare, local shops, local rellies etc. Occasionally 20km round
trips. It handles very well in a straight line, but you do need to
concentrate if turning a low-speed, sharp corner. You can only just do
a u-turn in a residential street, so the turning circle is better than a
car, worse than a normal bike. :-) It can get through the standard bike
path dog-leg barriers, but sometimes the railway crossing pedestrian
barriers are too tight. I ride it on roads, but with a kid on board I'm
more picky with route choice than when I'm riding by myself. I even
resort to some short stretches of footpath to avoid nasty intersections
(naughty naughty)!
To store it, I haul it up onto its rear wheel. Then it stands on its
rear rack and I bungy the frame to the garage wall to stop it falling
over.
Reaction from other people? All good, lots of thumbs up etc. :-)
