Thursday, March 9, 2017

Family Cargo Bike Electric Assist Research for Family of 4 in hilly New England Town

I got a Used Radwagon

I Got a used Radwagon. It has just over 1000 miles. It was a very, very good deal. The seller was clearly giving me and the family a break on the cost and happy to be helping people "go electric." They are upgrading to a RadCity. I think this will end up being my bike, but we'll see how things go this summer. Definitely a good way to test the fantasy from reality.

But My Wife is Still Looking for Hers

Research on Family Cargo Bikes

My wife and I live within a few miles of schools and shopping, but there are big hills in Brattleboro, VT. We have limited shed space. We want to keep it sanely priced for our modest income at about $2000 or less. Our kids are 2 and 5. 

Our Current Favorite Family Bikes Around $2,000.00

  • Bike Friday Haul-A-Day is leading the charge. We need to test it though.
  • Yuba Mundo 7-speed with disc breaks and mid drive Bafang 750w is second.
  • A used Radwagon is being tested now. 
  • Virtue Cycles, Gondoliere Plus 
  • Tage 2.0 bucket Trike. The front bucket is hot design wise, perhaps designers are seeing natural evolution that happended in bike-friendly countries for decades.  People are social. They want to talk to, and share experiences with, each other as they ride. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/taga-2-0-the-ultimate-most-affordable-family-bike-baby#/dfsdafasdf
  • A friend loved these trikes in Europe and they've gone electric assist too: Christiania Bikes
  • Here's a car practically, but hard on narrow town sidewalks and not good for busy narrow hilly roads the ELF tike car from Organic Transit.  

Wishlist

  • Too expensive, but we love the Yuba Elmundo V5, ERAD. $4k. http://yubabikes.com/mundo/elmundo-v5-erad
  • Xtracycle 24D Edgerunner, with e-assist. $just under 3k? http://www.xtracycle.com/edgerunner-24d-2016/, and Madsen Bucket Bike with a beefy e-assist
  • https://www.bakfiets.nl/. Love this design.  http://adutchview.com/bakfiets-buying-guide-part-1/. This is the dealer in Burlington for the front cargo out of Netherlands that's been used for decades. I think their design is amazing. Low, front, but a bike not a trike. but $4000 with good electric. http://www.urkai.com/portfolios/cargo-bike-short-by-bakfiets/


Local Vermont Pro Bike Group

Vermont Bike Solutions is helping us. They are awesome for asking for info! Dave, the founder, is in our town and he's relentlessly positive about bikes: www.vbikesolutions.org | Email: info@vbikesolutions.org


My Notes


Yuba Mundo, 7 Speed (Est Total Cost $?)
  • $1000.00: https://yubabikes.com/mundo/mundo-7speed
  • $ ??? Electric Assist:
  • Installation? Motor, breaks. We can do rack.
  • Shipping
  • Extras: $ Monkey bars for little kids. $ Child seat for toddler. $ Disc brakes. $ paniers/basket
  • Pros
  • Cons
Bike Friday (Est Total Cost $?)
Taga 2.0: New kid on block. Hills with two kids?
  • $2000 bike: https://www.madsencycles.com/collections/2016-bikes-1
  • Installation?
  • Baby seat needed? $0
  • Shipping
  • Extras
  • Pros
  • Cons
Madsen Bucket Bike (Est Total Cost $?)
RadWagon (Est Total Cost $1,800.00) (800) 939-0310

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