I use my cargo bicycle every day for everything even if I would not need it. The cargo use case is for carrying children around (e.g. kindergarden) or shopping. I do not have a car, but I have another bicycle but I use that on very few occasions like train travel.
> As Ars' John Timmer noted in a cargo bike review from the fall, cargo bikes are somewhat specialized for what they do—but because of their build, they're definitely second bikes.
Doesn't have to be. What about one bicycle and one bicycle cart (that's also a bicycle caravan) instead of a bicycle and another cargobike!? Like the cart/caravan from https://www.theredpanther.org (shameless plug)
Riding a long john cargo bike is much nicer than riding a bike with a trailer. Cargo bikes ride almost like a normal bike, it's easier to navigate narrow passages, and parking your cargo bike is easier than parking a bike with trailer. I can walk my cargo bike through doors on my own, it is almost impossible when riding a bike with a trailer.
It takes me 3x as long to get the trailer outside, attach it to my bike, seat the kids etc. than it does with my cargo bike.
Trailer does have bigger capacity, so it is nicer for extended trips. But for everyday riding, a cargo bike is 100x better.
True, but the article is explicitly talking about having one bicycle and another cargobike as extra. Not everybody has the money for that, or needs a cargobike everyday of the week. I for one wouldn't move kids in a bicycle trailer, so a cargobike for kids is better.
I might have like a cargo bike if I didn't like on top of a hill.
And if I didn't have 6 months of cold dark weather with snow / ice covering the roads.
I live on the top of a hill and have 6 months of dark cold weather with snow and I use a cargo bike for around 12kms every day. The roads are covered with salt to prevent the ice though. Works fine overall.
It only snows when it's warm (say, -10 C). Plows smear the snow into a thin layer. Then a high moves in so the temperature drops and you get asphalt covered in sheer ice that just gets polished by the sun and subsequent plowing.
In some places there's Winter, not just the pause between autumn and spring.
They might be for major roads in major cities eventually, but most of the streets are pretty terrible for anything smaller than a car whenever it’s snows periodically.
I don’t think that says anything useful about the topology of the places relative to cycling. What’s the average ascent on a 10km cycle around San Francisco? My guess is that it’s something like 20 meters in Amsterdam.
The survey was strategically done in late Summer. I concede some people could still do their shopping in Hamburg's raining 2°C, but I'd guess the comparison charts would not be as cheerful.
I found it bizarre that "weather-independence" was one of the least important metrics. I commuted by bike for years and it's miserable in wind and rain. The numbers of fellow cyclists varied massively depending on the weather.
Bike ≠ e-bike. My e-bike makes commuting in teeming rain kind of fun - with appropriate rain gear only my hands and face get wet, and there's very little physical effort. Trying to do the same ride on a pushbike is indeed miserable.
In hannover we have daily bike counters at certain bike lanes. The numbers go up and down depending on temperature and rain. Guess it depends on the options one has. If you still have a car you will not use the bike in the rain.
Some weather will get your poncho tightly wrapped around your head. "Deadliest catch" style overalls are more fitting, and it's not the best to walk around in.
I've ridden motorbikes for many years in a subtropical city, had all the right rain gear and it still sucked to ride in the rare +5°C rain. Even southern Germany gets snow and icy rain, good luck clothing for that.
Recently moved into the city (Vienna) from the country, finding myself in the delightful situation that I can walk everywhere I need to go - groceries, entertainment, shopping, etc. I simply don't need a car. I find myself actively yearning to ride my bicycle everywhere.
So I think also just changing your environment to a more walking-friendly one is another great way to ditch the car. What a pity so few in the Western world can experience the delights of their own self-locomotion being sufficient to their daily needs ..
> What a pity so few in the Western world can experience the delights of their own self-locomotion being sufficient to their daily needs ..
Most countries do indeed have cities and high-population areas that support this, and many folks do experience it.
I lived that life for ~15 years, and it was truly great at the time. Turns out I started disliking the sheer density, and prefer to be slightly more self sufficient.
I found living in London for a short while feels like a prison of sorts.( It is amazing of course. Not knocking the place over all!) But it is a subtle effect but the lack of walking through a field every now and then (not a over populated park!) and seeing a horizon is something I missed deeply in the subconscious.
Some cities especially near the ocean or just less dense etc. are not as encaging.
Also walking everywhere is good and bad. Getting a lot of shopping home a car is much better at. Maybe one of those cargo bikes had I know of its existence would have done the trick! But walking for everything can be tiring. Depends on your health level.
One thing I did not appreciate until I got an electric cargo bike is how they are faster than cars for typical city journeys if there’s any level of traffic.
I live in a city of 5 million people and if I needed to get across town in a hurry I’d take my cargo bike, not my car.
My cargo bike usually beats the google maps car estimate by about 20%.
I've seen this study before that claims that air pollution is worse for car drivers[1][2] than cyclists and pedestrians. If that's true a cargo bike is going to be a win over driving if air quality is an issue for you.
Take with a pinch of salt though, I can also see counter studies[3].
Melbourne has a lot of cars but the air quality is nonetheless good by world standards.
The roads are car-dominated and not very friendly to bike on. There are a few bike trails which are great, but they aren't well-connected to each other, so aren't useful unless there happens to be one exactly where you want to go.
Readit News
Doesn't have to be. What about one bicycle and one bicycle cart (that's also a bicycle caravan) instead of a bicycle and another cargobike!? Like the cart/caravan from https://www.theredpanther.org (shameless plug)
It takes me 3x as long to get the trailer outside, attach it to my bike, seat the kids etc. than it does with my cargo bike.
Trailer does have bigger capacity, so it is nicer for extended trips. But for everyday riding, a cargo bike is 100x better.
Ice is not problem with studded tires. And isn't snow is usually plowed from the roads so cars or bikes could pass?
In some places there's Winter, not just the pause between autumn and spring.
And my kid/dog sit nice and dry under the hood of the cargo area.
I've ridden motorbikes for many years in a subtropical city, had all the right rain gear and it still sucked to ride in the rare +5°C rain. Even southern Germany gets snow and icy rain, good luck clothing for that.
So I think also just changing your environment to a more walking-friendly one is another great way to ditch the car. What a pity so few in the Western world can experience the delights of their own self-locomotion being sufficient to their daily needs ..
Most countries do indeed have cities and high-population areas that support this, and many folks do experience it.
I lived that life for ~15 years, and it was truly great at the time. Turns out I started disliking the sheer density, and prefer to be slightly more self sufficient.
Some cities especially near the ocean or just less dense etc. are not as encaging.
Also walking everywhere is good and bad. Getting a lot of shopping home a car is much better at. Maybe one of those cargo bikes had I know of its existence would have done the trick! But walking for everything can be tiring. Depends on your health level.
I live in a city of 5 million people and if I needed to get across town in a hurry I’d take my cargo bike, not my car.
My cargo bike usually beats the google maps car estimate by about 20%.
Take with a pinch of salt though, I can also see counter studies[3].
1. https://www.slideshare.net/JamesTate22/exposure-to-the-traff...
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00489...
3. https://www.eauc.org.uk/cyclists_on_busy_roads_
The roads are car-dominated and not very friendly to bike on. There are a few bike trails which are great, but they aren't well-connected to each other, so aren't useful unless there happens to be one exactly where you want to go.