Monday, June 4, 2012

Cargo Bike - Trek Transport

Is that a cargo bike or you're happy to see me?I was able to ride the Trek Transport on the Cycle Memphis ride (mainly because the person I always asked to ride it never could. Doug.) last Saturday night.

Normally when I SAG that ride I bring my BOB Trailer and pack it with about 12 spare tubes of differing sizes, a basic tool kit, pedal wrench, lock and a floor pump. At the midway point a few tallboys are added to the list.

The bag that comes with the Transport was able to carry all of that and still had room (for more beer). It is essential, I learned, to remove the bag while the bike is parked. The unbalanced weight will tip the bike.

The long wheelbase of longtail bicycles makes the ride very smooth but the fold-out platforms on the Transport rattle considerably. You get the feel of a Cadillac with the quietness of a tractor. If the rattle-factor were remedied this would be a remarkable around town cargo bike. This has a more stable ride than hooking a trailer up to a road bike.

However, I would also need to rearrange my house to be able to store it.

2 comments:

Douglas Campbell said...

Who is this Doug guy? Sounds like his wheels aren't true, if you know what I mean.

Seriously though, I haven't forgotten about your offer. I'd like to give the bike a test ride when I have lots of cargo to carry, so maybe sometime this summer.

vic said...

I'm afraid of trying it because I'll like it and would become an excuse to carry all kinds of crap. My small cargo bag keeps me from turning into a rolling hoarder or bar service.

I'll take a better pic of the bike next time. All those I took while riding sucked. No surprise there.