Our friend and photographer Derek from Washington State has a couple of new photos to share. Cycle Chic perfection, as always.
Derek has been nominated as the best wedding photographer in his region, and you can cast your vote in his favour over at this website.
The bike at the bottom: Why? Why???
ReplyDelete/martin
Why not? It is a bicycle and not an ICE.
ReplyDeleteI don't ride fancy carbon fibre wonder bikes, I don't ride the homebuilt "freakbikes/tallbikes" but they are still bikes and I would rather see on of those being ridden and enjoyed in lieu of something like a motorized bar stool.
Aaron
@anon/martin. Bike at the bottom is a naked xtracycle. "Why" is that it's a wonderful and cheap way to build a cargo bike -- good for getting our toe in the water, in a country where such things are rare. They carry one passenger easily, 2 small ones without much effort, and tow bikes with ease. Single bulky loads are better carried on a long john.
ReplyDeleteThe generic term, at least in this country, is "longtail". I collected a bunch of pictures of them.
There's also an electric assist for people carrying substantial loads up hills, or in hot climates, for example, Taiwan.
Three young and crazy people are riding longtails from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego; it's a good design, not a "freak" bike.
Whoops, crap link above, it's xtracycle. Yes, I am a satisfied former customer, who upgraded to a Big Dummy (the one-piece version of the same cargo fittings -- heavier, stronger, stiffer).
ReplyDeleteI never encountered these types of riders when I lived in Seattle . . .
ReplyDeleteThese have become fairly common in the Seattle area lately, as people and even families (shocking for the US) try to live car-free. It is incredibly cute to see a family with 2 kids on 2 xtracycles cycling around, children sitting on the back and holding onto a set of handles mounted behind the seat.
ReplyDeleteThe shipping costs alone make European cargo bikes prohibitively expensive, and I think this is a great idea. When I want to upgrade from my little collapsible baskets, this is probably what I will get.
@Jenny!: there are some euro-style bikes available in the US. Clever Cycles in Portland imports Bakfiets and Kidztandem; the Dutch Bicycle Company near Boston imports some; CETMA, Bilenky, Metrofiets (try this if it does not load) all manufacture such bikes in the US, and I am sure that I have missed a few.
ReplyDeleteSome of those are not cheap -- but you won't be spending money on shipping. The xtracycle wins by virtue of reusing most of an existing bike.
That is indeed an Xtracycle, but I note that she is not using it to transport two kids. She appears, in fact, to be using it as a wheelie bar.
ReplyDeleteIt takes all kinds.
And if she can wheelie that thing, she doesn't need two kids; she needs and agent.
Derek Pearson used to have a fantastic website with amazing photos of his many bikes and idyllic lifestyle. I don't know why it stopped but Derek please bring back bikerubbish.com it is sorely missed.
ReplyDelete@dr2chase: Thanks for the tip! I had not heard about the Portland store. Still looks expensive to me, but I will eventually just bite the bullet (or bullitt), and end up happier for it, I am sure.
ReplyDelete