Hello everyone and welcome to Issue #27 of Cargobike Culture!
I hope everyone enjoyed reading about the Dalston Egg Shop in last week’s issue. This week it’s just a mini issue whilst I write up another feature on a London cargobiking plumber for next week.
In a few weeks I’m heading on vacation to Inverness. I’ve already lined up a few cargobike users to speak to, but do you know someone I should interview? Let me know!
Bike + car
In the last few issues we’ve seen a few unconventional ways of carrying a cargobike on a car. I saw another, slightly safer idea on Reddit this week.
It sort of works I guess. The car in the post is a VW Atlas and is 78 inches, or just under 200cm wide. And an Urban Arrow is quite a lot longer at 101 inches (258cm).
You should check your local laws for how far a load can reach past the edge of your vehicle though. Federal US law says 4 inches (10cm) either side. So based on that, theres no way this is okay to drive.
Though if you do need to move an Urban Arrow around in a car, my Twitter cargobike friend Brighton Shark Bike pointed me to this public database. It’s full of crowdsourced examples of which cars will fit a cargobike for transport. Interestingly, it’s pretty damming of the worlds most popular pickup, the Ford F150, that with a 6.5 foot long load bed, it apparently still can’t fit in a cargobike.
Belgian bikes
I also saw this really nice looking cargobike on Reddit this week:
I didn’t recognise the model. It’s from Belgian manufactuer Bergamont and I really love the design.
I particularly love that the battery is hidden away from view in that chunky post:
In the Netherlands I’m spoilt for choice for cargobike spotting, but I also think our market is dominated by a few domestic brands. I see a lot of cargobikes, but mostly the same models over and over again.
Highbrow cargobikes
My friend Frankie (who clearly reads much more highbrow publications than me) sent over this page from a recent New Yorker and I love it!
It’s by the amazing London based Illustrator (and Bullitt cargobike rider) Matt Blease. Take a look at his Instagram and online store.
Next April I’m running the London Marathon in aid of Mind. Mind is a mental health charity in the UK who do crucial work campaigning for healthcare services, whilst also offering direct help and support to those in need. As regular readers know, this is an issue close to my head heart and I’ve set an ambitious £2000 target.
If you’d like to donate to my efforts, you can do so on my JustGiving page.
Thanks for reading and see you next time!