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For people considering a cargo bike, counterintuitively: a two-wheeled cargo bikes are much easier to cycle than three-wheeled cargo bikes. Actually you are mor

by whazor 4y ago

For people considering a cargo bike, counterintuitively: a two-wheeled cargo bikes are much easier to cycle than three-wheeled cargo bikes. Actually you are more likely to fall with a three-wheeled cargo bike. Even when parking you would think a two wheel cargo bike easily falls but the kick-stands are easy and it is not a problem.

Xylakant 4y ago
I’d say so-so. Depends on the use-case. Two wheeled are definitely easier to ride with a faster pace, but they’re much harder to balance when heavily loaded. I have tipped over with heavy loads on emergency stops. Two wheeled also wins when there’s little space or the track is bad. What’s better really depends on your cycling proficiency, your intended use case and the road network you’ll likely use. And whatever you do, test-ride a few different ones to figure out what works for you. Avoid buying something off the internet without ever trying. (Things are different if you’re buying your second, third,…)
bombcar 4y ago
The stable three-wheel trikes have the dual wheels in the front which is found sometimes, but not terribly effective for cargo hauling. And if you have four wheels, people stop considering you a bike.
throw0101a 4y ago
> a two-wheeled cargo bikes are much easier to cycle than three-wheeled cargo bikes. See video "The Car-Replacement Bicycle (the bakfiets)" * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQhzEnWCgHA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQhzEnWCgHA * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_bike#Long_John_bicycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_bike#Long_John_bicycle
- radu_floricica 4y ago
  Thanks, that was a good video. I'm more sold on cargo bikes now (though unfortunately I doubt they're much use in my climate in winter)
  - panick21_ 4y ago
    The same channel has other videos about biking in winter. But I of course don't know where you live and what you would use them for.
  - throw0101a 4y ago
    "Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can)": * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU
    - radu_floricica 4y ago
      Yeah, I've been linked this before in another thread. But somebody there also provided the statistics: even in the "capital of winter biking", about 22% of trips are taken by bike. Which makes bikes a valid alternative, but not a main solution.
- Xylakant 4y ago
  It’s worth noting that the two-wheeler demonstrated in this video is an old-style one with wheels just attached at the box. The Butchers and Bicycles one linked by the grandparent post is one with an actual steering at the front - the box and the bike will lean into a corner, just like a two-wheeler would. This makes modern 3-wheelers much more agile. They still have certain disadvantages- they’re wide and bulky, you’ll have trouble avoiding potholes etc., but they’re nowhere as bad as those boxes with wheels (tough you can still buy those - their upside is their low price)

by whazor 4y ago

Xylakant 4y ago

I’d say so-so. Depends on the use-case. Two wheeled are definitely easier to ride with a faster pace, but they’re much harder to balance when heavily loaded. I have tipped over with heavy loads on emergency stops. Two wheeled also wins when there’s little space or the track is bad. What’s better really depends on your cycling proficiency, your intended use case and the road network you’ll likely use. And whatever you do, test-ride a few different ones to figure out what works for you. Avoid buying something off the internet without ever trying. (Things are different if you’re buying your second, third,…)

bombcar 4y ago

The stable three-wheel trikes have the dual wheels in the front which is found sometimes, but not terribly effective for cargo hauling. And if you have four wheels, people stop considering you a bike.

throw0101a 4y ago

> a two-wheeled cargo bikes are much easier to cycle than three-wheeled cargo bikes. See video "The Car-Replacement Bicycle (the bakfiets)" * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQhzEnWCgHA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQhzEnWCgHA * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_bike#Long_John_bicycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_bike#Long_John_bicycle

radu_floricica 4y ago
Thanks, that was a good video. I'm more sold on cargo bikes now (though unfortunately I doubt they're much use in my climate in winter)
- panick21_ 4y ago
  The same channel has other videos about biking in winter. But I of course don't know where you live and what you would use them for.
- throw0101a 4y ago
  "Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can)": * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU
  - radu_floricica 4y ago
    Yeah, I've been linked this before in another thread. But somebody there also provided the statistics: even in the "capital of winter biking", about 22% of trips are taken by bike. Which makes bikes a valid alternative, but not a main solution.
Xylakant 4y ago
It’s worth noting that the two-wheeler demonstrated in this video is an old-style one with wheels just attached at the box. The Butchers and Bicycles one linked by the grandparent post is one with an actual steering at the front - the box and the bike will lean into a corner, just like a two-wheeler would. This makes modern 3-wheelers much more agile. They still have certain disadvantages- they’re wide and bulky, you’ll have trouble avoiding potholes etc., but they’re nowhere as bad as those boxes with wheels (tough you can still buy those - their upside is their low price)