Families Ditch Cars for Cargo Bikes

[forummm]

A whole mini community of MMM-minded transport.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/style/families-ditch-cars-for-cargo-bikes.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1409232722000&bicmet=1419773522000&_r=0

[kendallf]

Good to see it's becoming more and more mainstream.  I think some of the electric assist cargo bikes, especially, have the potential to be a game changer for family use. My wife and I vacationed in Portland last summer and we loved seeing all of the bikes (cargo and otherwise) commuting and just riding around the city. 

Here in Jacksonville, FL we are still very much the outliers when we commute.

[jengod]

Awesome. You know how Dave Ramsey says that the paid-off home mortgage has replaced the BMW as the status symbol of choice? Mustachians can make make cargo bikes into another BMW replacer. :)

[AllChoptUp]

We did it - sold one (of two) cars and use a cargo bike. We did it in conjunction with a move to a small, very bikeable town. It's fun, cheap and I lost weight! So much win.

[Syonyk]

I think some of the electric assist cargo bikes, especially, have the potential to be a game changer for family use.

I agree!  Ebike technology has gotten to a point where it's usable for a reliable, "daily driver" bicycle, and doesn't have many bizarre reliability issues if you build them right.

Especially on a cargo bike where weight and volume matter a bit less, you can use a LiFePO4 pack for thousands of cycles, have a nice assist, and haul pretty much anything.

The great thing with them is that people who wouldn't otherwise consider bicycling can be convinced to try an ebike, and many of them love it. :)

... and using about an order of magnitude less power than a Leaf/Tesla doesn't hurt anything.  Most ebikes run 25-35WH/mi, and a Leaf or Tesla runs 200-300WH/mi in the same conditions.

[GuitarStv]

I'm not sold on a cargo bike being better than a bike + trailer due to reduced flexibility of use and storage issues.  That said, good on them for driving less.

[Rage]

I'm not sold on a cargo bike being better than a bike + trailer due to reduced flexibility of use and storage issues.  That said, good on them for driving less.

I'm with this guy.  The article is interesting and inspiring but that bike in the photo is about $4,000.   That's a pretty stupid amount to pay for a very specialized bike.  You can buy one of those "ladder" style trailers like MMM talked about a while ago for $600 to $1K (which is still way too pricey given that you can buy a pretty heavy duty vehicle-towed trailer at harbor freight for $250) and put a big box on it or something, and then you have a bike and a trailer that can be used separately.  A used burley costs about $150.  I bet with a little fiddling I could securely mount 2 burley frames onto one of those ladder-trailers and boom, I'd have a trailer that seats 4 kids.

It's frustrating that these things are always so expensive.  It makes sense given the materials and the expertise that goes into making new and innovative bike frames, but it makes it something that only hipsters with too much money will buy. 

[James!]

The headline implies far more mustachianism than is actually taking place, at least for the first family.

They didn't actually ditch their car, they just use the cargo bike instead on the weekend. But they still own an Audi Q7! ($60,000 SUV)

[Syonyk]

You wouldn't want to be seen dropping your kids off at school on a cargo bike, would you? What would the other parents think?!?!? They'd think you were suddenly poor!

[GuitarStv]

I suspect that nobody will ever see me drop off my kid at school from a motorized vehicle.

[KCM5]

There are some aspects of the box bikes that I think are awesome - internal gear hubs, dynamo lighting, hold lots of kids. But I only have one kid, so I have a bike with a igh, dynamo lights, strong rack on the back and a seat for the kid. At 1/10th the price. But can I pick up her friends, too? No. Poor thing - she'll be so socially isolated! (Good thing she's only 2 now).

[NewReality]

Those types of stories are all but commercials disguised as "news". Novelties that go for thousands, and they've included some marketing love from one of the products' firms, of course.

As others mention, more bike and utility can be had for much less $. But ingenuity doesn't sell as well as novelty.

[Kmp2]

A bike + trailer is the most economical. A purpose built cargo bike will have a lot of advantages over a bike + trailer, cost is definitely not one of them. They come set up with gearing and brakes to haul heavy loads, kids are in the front of the driver, they are large and cars pass them cautiously, you can hook a trailer up and carry 4 kids and groceries... although e-assist or no hills would probably be a prereq for this setup. At the moment they hold value really well, and lots of the cost can be re-couped when you no longer need it, however cost will come down as they become more popular, and don't have to be imported a bike at a time.

Mostly I love cargo bikes, because they help make biking instead of driving for transportation and errands more main stream. There is less to figure out, and it's more easily adopted by biking neophyte.

I am however a biased owner, we picked up an xtracycle after a year of bike commuting. We are on track to have driven our second car less then 300km since October... I used to drive about 600/month. We are not quite ready to call it quits and sell it yet, but I can see that there may come a time that we can.

[ash7962]

Those types of stories are all but commercials disguised as "news". Novelties that go for thousands, and they've included some marketing love from one of the products' firms, of course.

As others mention, more bike and utility can be had for much less $. But ingenuity doesn't sell as well as novelty.

I think you're right, but I don't think its a terrible thing.  Silver lining: at least there's marketing for alternatives to SUVs and cars for transportation with kids (I take this to mean demand is shifting towards greener and cheaper alternatives to cars).  Even if people just use the bike on the weekend, that's still a reduction in driving.  I'm betting that bike could/would still pay for itself in money not spent on gas or car maintenance.  It might not be the most economical choice, but I could see it being a step in the right direction.  Not to mention that it's probably easier for the more common non-mustachian type of people to get on board (lol) with something like this than some of the more mustachian or more DIY alternatives.