where to get me a cargo bike

tomasrojo · 03-06-2021 12:42pm

I wouldn't wait that long for a bike, unless none of the other bikes meets your needs.

I really like the bakfiets (apart from the bottom of the first steering column, under the handlebars, which is a little prone to rusting, from stuff thrown off the front wheel), but it's not at all sporty, if that is absolutely what you want.

Effects · 03-06-2021 1:48pm

Yeah, I'm kind of looking for something sporty! I might have a look at the urban arrow and I think there's another one that a bike shop in dun laoghaire does.

Ferris · 03-06-2021 5:22pm

There is a new Cube cargo bike also. Looks ‘sporty’ compared to the Urban Arrow.

omri · 04-06-2021 11:17am

Effects wrote: »

Not having much luck getting the Bullitt.
Larry vs Harry lost my order when they changed systems, told me to just start over and order again.
Now they want full payment up front, but can't deliver bike until 2022.
Rethinking buying one of their bikes now.

Any wait is worth the wait when it comes to Bullitt. Mine is sitting in the storage at the moment till I manage to sort out the insurance/or not. Best bike you'll ever own, there is no going back from Bullitt...

Effects · 04-06-2021 8:20pm

omri wrote: »

Mine is sitting in the storage at the moment till I manage to sort out the insurance/or not.

Can you add it to your house insurance? Or do you need separate insurance?

kenmc · 05-06-2021 12:07am

Effects wrote: »

Can you add it to your house insurance? Or do you need separate insurance?

I was able to add mine to the (contents only, renting at the time) house insurance. Fbd.

omri · 05-06-2021 10:50am

Effects wrote: »

Can you add it to your house insurance? Or do you need separate insurance?

I’m in the apartment as opposed to a house as previously so my insurer said no as I’d have to keep the cargo in underground carpark (gated with fob access). I spoke to bikmo and they can insure it - so might go ahead with them. It’s expensive but at least I get to use the bike till it gets stolen…

shortie_chik · 05-06-2021 12:27pm

omri wrote:

Iâ€™m in the apartment as opposed to a house as previously so my insurer said no as Iâ€™d have to keep the cargo in underground carpark (gated with fob access). I spoke to bikmo and they can insure it - so might go ahead with them. Itâ€™s expensive but at least I get to use the bike till it gets stolenâ€¦

I have my urban arrow in the underground car park. It's covered on my apartment contents insurance with Axa, as a named item covered up to â‚¬5,000.
Now we're moving to a house where it will have to be parked in the front garden. We're getting a ground anchor installed, but Axa won't insure it unless it's secured in a shed / garage. Bikmo is about â‚¬500 a year, and we'd still need to install a ground anchor etc for the bike. So we won't be insuring it once we move it to the new garden. We'll get the ground anchor, motorbike chain, looking at a security camera / sensor light, or if there's anything we can add to our house alarm. But we won't be insuring it anymore.

(Also I love my urban arrow so much, it was the best money we spent 2 years ago. I would highly recommend it but I gather the order time is quite long now, and even for parts UA are out of a lot of parts at the moment so not great for repairs. Guess this is down to covid, cargo ships getting stuck in the Suez canal etc. Maybe all bike companies are equally affected right now.)

omri · 05-06-2021 1:35pm

shortie_chik wrote: »

I have my urban arrow in the underground car park. It's covered on my apartment contents insurance with Axa, as a named item covered up to â‚¬5,000.
Now we're moving to a house where it will have to be parked in the front garden. We're getting a ground anchor installed, but Axa won't insure it unless it's secured in a shed / garage. Bikmo is about â‚¬500 a year, and we'd still need to install a ground anchor etc for the bike. So we won't be insuring it once we move it to the new garden. We'll get the ground anchor, motorbike chain, looking at a security camera / sensor light, or if there's anything we can add to our house alarm. But we won't be insuring it anymore.

(Also I love my urban arrow so much, it was the best money we spent 2 years ago. I would highly recommend it but I gather the order time is quite long now, and even for parts UA are out of a lot of parts at the moment so not great for repairs. Guess this is down to covid, cargo ships getting stuck in the Suez canal etc. Maybe all bike companies are equally affected right now.)

I was with chill and I had bike insured with them kept it indoors but it was covered if I got it stolen while shopping etc. Was around €500 incl contents too. Bikmo will have no premium penalty if you take a claim.

shortie_chik · 05-06-2021 8:09pm

omri wrote:

I was with chill and I had bike insured with them kept it indoors but it was covered if I got it stolen while shopping etc. Was around â‚¬500 incl contents too. Bikmo will have no premium penalty if you take a claim.

Axa was the only insurer I could find who would cover a bike worth 5k. It would have been covered if stolen or damaged while it was out being used, but had to stay over night in a garage / shed.
Would be good to have more competition and choice, but other insurers weren't interested above 2k.
Axa apartment contents insurance was cheaper than bikmo for the year, and at least there was the possibility of discounts for annual renewals with Axa.

beazee · 06-06-2021 10:24am

Effects wrote: »

Now they want full payment up front, but can't deliver bike until 2022.

It was full payment upfront and 3 months wait back in 2013 when I got mine.

Effects · 07-06-2021 12:36pm

beazee wrote: »

It was full payment upfront and 3 months wait back in 2013 when I got mine.

I think they must have changed their ordering system more recently then.

When I ordered, back in April they confirmed the order, and said payment wouldn't be taken until they had it in stock and ready to ship.

Please note that payment will not be charged until we have the bike in store and that you can cancel the order at any time till then, without any issues.

Suppliers here quoted delivery dates into next year from the supplier, while Larry Vs Harry themselves wouldn't give me any dates, avoided the question, but responded to other questions I asked.

mr spuckler · 07-06-2021 3:44pm

Ferris wrote: »

There is a new Cube cargo bike also. Looks ‘sporty’ compared to the Urban Arrow.

I noticed this in Cycle Superstore yesterday when browsing their 'in stock' bikes...

Effects · 07-06-2021 6:00pm

That cube one does look nice. I have to go non electric though.
I think I might have spotted a guy on one of them yesterday in Clontarf.

Effects · 15-06-2021 10:25pm

What kind of locks do you guys use on cargo bikes?
I've always used Kryptonite myself. But are Abus better?
I've seen a Bullitt locked in town, and it's got an Abus Granit chain with integrated lock, as well as an Abus U lock.
Are they better/worse/same as krypto?

tomasrojo · 16-06-2021 2:09pm

thebestbikelock.com has good reviews of all the chain locks.

You probably need a chain lock, as you frequently can't get all that close to what you're locking to, on account of the box.

I have an Abus Granit CityChain X-Plus 1060/110, and it's got three stars from ART and a gold rating from Sold Secure. I think if I were buying now I'd get a Kryptonite New York Noose 1275, as it's only 500g heavier, but has four stars from ART (12mm links rather than 10mm). CityChain gets reviews that range from excellent to quite middling. I've had no problems at all with it.

I use an old Kryptolok Series 2 to secure the front wheel, and a Tex-lock plug-in chain to the Axa frame lock that came with the bike, for a bit of extra security: Tex-lock seems to be harder to defeat with bolt cutters than the Abus CityChain, though it's easier to defeat overall.

That's quite a lot of security, I guess, but I'm very dependent on the cargo bike.

tomasrojo · 16-06-2021 2:13pm

Abus are perfectly good locks. They seem to rely on a certain amount of clever design rather than beefing up the lock with extra steel, so they're frequently lighter. I have more Kryptonite locks than anything else (quite a few bikes in the house, so quite a few locks).

mloc123 · 16-06-2021 4:29pm

I have a HvL Bullitt that I am considering selling... if anyone is looking over the next few months, let me know.

Lizard Green, frame in very good condition (some scuffs in the usual areas),
-honeycomb baseboard
-folding seat
-canopy (not attached at the moment) and DIY side panels
-groupset is quite a mix... Deore rear wheel and Shimano Acrea gearing with a hub brake front wheel

Effects · 16-06-2021 5:30pm

I think I'm going to go for an Abus U lock as well as a chain from them.
I've also got a few old car clamps lying around, so might reuse the chain off one of those, and just get a good padlock to go with it.

Effects · 16-06-2021 5:31pm

mloc123 wrote: »

I have a HvL Bullitt that I am considering selling...
-folding seat

I'd be interested in the folding seat anyway.

tomasrojo · 16-06-2021 5:50pm

Effects wrote: »

I think I'm going to go for an Abus U lock as well as a chain from them.
I've also got a few old car clamps lying around, so might reuse the chain off one of those, and just get a good padlock to go with it.

Abus do a noose with 12mm links.
https://lockitt.com/abus-granit-power-4ft-noose-chain.html

Might accommodate a u-lock you might already have.

site_owner · 16-06-2021 8:41pm

Effects wrote: »

I'd be interested in the folding seat anyway.

There's one on adverts I think

site_owner · 16-06-2021 8:43pm

I use Kryptonite chains and abus d-locks for locking

Effects · 17-06-2021 8:37am

I only have one U lock, and have been meaning to get another one anyway.
I'll test out the chain I have by cutting with an angle grinder today. It seems decent enough. And sure most thieves use grinders these days anyway.

Effects · 17-06-2021 9:02am

site_owner wrote: »

There's one on adverts I think

Thanks for that. I had previously spotted that canopy on Done Deal. Seemed a bit steep considering it's used and damaged. No pictures of the seat though.

Effects · 17-06-2021 9:04am

tomasrojo wrote: »

Abus do a noose with 12mm links.
https://lockitt.com/abus-granit-power-4ft-noose-chain.html

I just remembered that I have one of those somewhere. I found it years ago somewhere on the street and brought it home!

gn3dr · 17-06-2021 10:56am

I hadn't looked at this thread before today but just checked out a few pages. Didn't really know anything about cargo bikes. Seems like they have supply issue like all the bike world.
Looking at the prices they are not cheap. Started me thinking. Has anyone in Ireland thought about building them here?

Effects · 17-06-2021 11:21am

I've thought about building them here, but I've never built a bike

They are expensive, but it'll save me money in the long run.

Effects · 17-06-2021 12:12pm

Currently checking with Pembroke/Aviva to see if it's possible to get coverage under my home insurance.
If not, I'll try my work policy.

tomasrojo · 17-06-2021 8:55pm

Effects wrote: »

I'll test out the chain I have by cutting with an angle grinder today. It seems decent enough. And sure most thieves use grinders these days anyway.

Angle grinders are more commonly used than they used to be, especially by professional thieves, but most thieves are opportunists, and it's still lower risk for them to use bolt cutters and snips, and there are plenty of bikes for them to choose from that are vulnerable to those low-noise, low-conspicuity tools.

Think this is largely accurate:
https://thebestbikelock.com/best-bike-lock/who-is-trying-to-steal-your-bike/

The problem area is more for e-bikes and attractive bikes, where the risk-reward ratio merits the use of angle grinders.

I don't know how attractive cargo bikes are, because, although they are expensive, they're probably a pain to store and slow to sell on. I'm not taking any chances myself, because, as I said, I'm very dependent on the cargo bike.

where to get me a cargo bike

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