Over the weekend, I saw a woman riding one of these, with a baby in a carseat, strapped into the rear basket. Props to her for being so resourceful, but there was no room left for a sack of groceries, or even a diaper bag. The basket in back is woefully inadequate for her needs, because it's been over-engineered.
Worksman Bikes are rated for 500 pounds of cargo (way more than most other bikes), and the basket is kept small, perhaps to prevent tipping over when someone drops a Chevy transmission in the back (car factories are one of Worksman's top buyers). What's missing is a basket designed for the purpose of carrying babies + groceries (or dogs), which collectively still won't weigh anything near 1/4 ton.
For a long time, I've felt that the answer to lack of capacity would be a 'tadpole trike', where the two wheels are up front like this one:
But I tested several at Chicago's first
Cargo Bike Roll Call, and was quite surprised at how unstable they were in turns, even at slow speeds.
The Dutch and Danish bikes are a bit more stable, but 2 or 3 times more expensive.
I think America's own Worksman trikes are ripe for some modding improvements, and the tadpole is ready for some serious problem-solving.
Looks like a good challenge for you. I'll be curious to see what you come up with.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Fargo! (do I know you?)
ReplyDeleteJust called Worksman. They're open to the idea!
The stability issue has to do with moving the wheels about a central pivot in order to turn. Most vehicles that steer from the front have each wheel on it's own pivot and the angles of the steer arms are designed with what is called 'ackerman angle' in mind. This makes the wheels turn at angles that allow them to not fight each other and make things unstable. Google it, there is tons of info. I would guess it is not used on tadpole trikes because of the extra cost.
ReplyDeleteRight, Doug. There are Dutch tadpoles that steer with two pivots (just like a car), but they are indeed more expensive, and they also make the cargo box narrower, to make room for the wheels as they turn into the space where a bigger box would be. I'm exploring ways to have max cargo space, and improved stability. Here's Saul Griffith's solution: http://www.onyacycles.com/#bikes
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