Above: a few of our cargo bikes. Left to right, Sun Atlas ($679) w/ a Mundo bag, Yuba Mundo V4 ($1099), Surly Big Dummy ($1800). Here’s a comparison of these longtails.
This is a good question and often a tough one to answer. Before you buy a utility/cargo bicycle, we recommend that you be very realistic about how you intend to use your new ride, whichever you choose, and that your test rides resemble rides you plan on making, carrying things you plan on carrying. The Bakfiets/Boxbike, ShuttleBug, Yuba Mundo, Sun Atlas Cargo, Xtracycle, Surly Big Dummy, Kona Ute, Madsen,Larry vs. Harry Bullitt, Danish trikes, and utility trailers all offer compelling solutions–depending on what you want to carry, who you are, and where you’ll be riding. Here are a few insights and comparisons to help in your search:
Boxbike/Bakfiets These include Joe Bike’s short-wheelbase boxbike, $1700-2300; Joe Bike’s handmade-in-Portland, cromoly/fabric cabin ShuttleBug with Gates carbon belt drive, roughly $5,000-8,000; Dutch-made Bakfiets.nl, around $3,000, and Chinese-made, Dutch-labeled Gazelle Cabby are great for carrying awkward loads and a couple of children. These bikes range from under 50 lbs. (ShuttleBug, Larry vs. Harry Bullitt) to about 100 (long-box Bakfiets). Common among these bikes is that the cargo box/passenger cabin easily accommodates shifting loads and is lower to the ground than on any other cargo bicycle, offering unbeatable stability. Handling and steering are easier than you would imagine, particularly on the ShuttleBug. Perhaps the most important difference between these boxbikes and all other utility bikes is that children ride in front of you, not behind you. Almost all parents we talk to at Joe Bike want their kids in front of them. This arrangement also allows the children to actually see where they’re going, which tends to make for a more enjoyable experience for everyone. Boxbikes/bakfietsen, including both the venerable progenitors from Holland as well as the recent entries from the US and elsewhere, usually come fully equipped with convenient features that make it easy to hop on and ride, typically including an integrated lock, front and rear lights, shoulder straps for the kids, four-point kickstands, optional rain canopies, and so on.
The ShuttleBug and other Oregon-made bikes (e.g., Metrofiets, which are built not in Portland but by a subcontractor in Bend out of primarily pre-cut parts, and CETMA, which are handmade in Eugene) are exceptions–they’re made of a much stronger, more durable material, 4130 chromoly steel. The Metrofiets bikes are rather infamous for their noodly ride and sluggish feel, whereas the CETMA bike is a solid heavy-hauler. The Bullitt, made in Taiwan under the Danish label Larry vs. Harry, is a light, fast, aluminum cargo carrier. It offers single-child carrying ability with optional equipment (a wider cabin is said to be imminent, and this should be quite nice). On the other hand, its high top tube makes this bike inaccessible to people who are under about 5’5″ and challenging for people 5’5″ to about 5’8″. A stepthrough adaptation from Winther may be the answer for shorter riders.
Within this category, is long box vs. short better for you? Long-box models weigh in at 100 lbs., which is 30-40 lbs. more than Joe Bike’s short-box model and roughly 50 lbs. more than our ShuttleBug, yet both can carry most of what the longer version can. Incidentally, both the ShuttleBug and the Bakfiets also made it onto Treehugger’s list of the top 5 kid/cargo bikes, with the ShuttleBug ranked as the “champagne of kid/cargo bikes” in that review. The longer-box Dutch model has an advantage in that there is room for four small children. On the other hand, with the quick-release mounts available only on the ShuttleBug, the lightweight cabin can be removed in seconds without tools and replaced with a four-foot-long upper cargo deck. Together, the upper and lower decks provide more surface loading area than any other two-wheel bike we know of. The Joe Bike models are also quicker and nimbler, easier to turn, easier to store, and overall easier to live with than other longjohns. Most boxbikes/bakfietsen are used mainly to hold two children and include a pair of shoulder straps (including five-point harnesses on the ShuttleBug that provide both lateral and front-to-back restraints). Rain canopies, especially in Portland, are not all created equal. Joe Bike’s handmade canopies are unique in that they protect not only the passenger cabin but also the pilot’s hands from the elements. Ours also act as wind farings; you ride a bit faster with the canopy on than off.
Another consideration is the carbon footprint required to manufacture and ship a bike to the point where it can even begin to save fuel for the customer and the planet. Buying domestically made bikes means a lot less fossil fuel is burned just to get the bike to you. The ShuttleBug is designed and built in Portland with American-made 4130 chromoly steel, wheels handbuilt in the shop, and the Colorado-made Gates carbon belt drive system. On the other hand, the worst offenders are “European” bikes made in Asia, shipped to Europe for the home label, and then shipped by sea or (much worse, in terms of fossil fuels burned) by air to Portland. Our opinion is this: given that Oregon is the epicenter of cargobike design and manufacturing in the US, there is little reason to buy a longjohn made in Asia and designed in the flattest countries in Europe when you can get a better, more suitable product that’s made by hand right here in Oregon.
Surly Big Dummy ($1800-2600 fully built; framesets and fully built models are available as custom builds at Joe Bike) is a wonderful longtail. Whereas the Xtracycle Free Radical conversion delivers unwanted flex above about 70 lbs. of cargo, the Big Dummy is an integrated, purpose-built frame, providing stiffness and strength somewhere in between that of the XtraCycle kit and that of the 60-lb. Yuba Mundo. For cargo carrying, the Big Dummy relies on Xtracycle’s snap-on aluminum top and side loaders. Surly’s Big Dummy is a formidable machine, made of superior steel, components, and build quality compared to the Mundo, while still capturing the advantages of the Mundo’s single-piece design. Watch this gorgeous video of the Big Dummy in action here in Portland.
Kona Ute ($900-1100) is a worthwhile entry into the light-duty end of the market, at a reasonable price. The big benefit of the Ute is its relatively low weight, which makes it suitable and comfortable for a light-utility, commuter focus or as a grocery-getter. The bike features a fully integrated, extended tail (not quite as long as the Xtracycle’s or the Mundo’s) built on an aluminum frame. But the bike lacks the Mundo’s low-down siderails that can support tremendous amounts of weight. This severely limits the Ute’s cargo-hauling utility. Still, although it offers less load capacity than the Mundo, Big Dummy, or bakfiets-type bikes, the Ute offers more cargo options than a regular bicycle with a rack. It’s a unique niche that will serve certain riders very well, while others, such as those who want to carry both a child and groceries at the same time, will clearly notice less stability than on the Mundo or boxbike. Complemented by many commuter-friendly features (including fenders, disc brakes and a lot of gears), the Ute is a fine solution for folks who just need to be able to pack more than a regular bike on their commute. Kona makes great bikes and the Ute is no exception. In a similar vein, the new Trek longtail is a highly useful bike that nonetheless transmits far more flex than we’re comfortable with.
The Madsen (around $1200) combines the cargo-box concept with longtail design. A tough, molded-plastic bucket rides above a small rear wheel behind the pilot; the front wheel is full-sized. We like the Madsen. Our only beef with it is that almost all parents prefer to have their kids in front of them rather than behind them.
An underdog that gets almost no attention, yet is remarkably capable as a smaller-scale cargo bike once you get rid of the stock gearing in favor of something with a wider range, is the Torker Cargo T. Modeled after a Dutch delivery bike–indeed, Torker licensed the design from the Dutch brand Batavus–this stout, strong workhorse has a large Porteur-style rack, an oversized rear rack, a sturdy dual kickstand, and features such as fenders, a chain guard, and weatherproof brakes. You can mount a Bobike Mini child seat up front (while still using the front rack) and a Bobike Maxi or Jr. on the back, while still using the rear rack. for saddlebags Hence, two kids and plenty of cargo-carrying ability on a compact, easy-to-live-with platform. The problem with the Cargo T is that the manufacturer offers it only as a 3-speed or, more recently, as a 5-speed with an unreliable (in our experience) Sturmey-Archer hub. Joe Bike changes this to a premium Nexus Redband 8-speed hub with better brakes or, better still, Nuvinci’s n360 hub. At a little over $1000, it’s the perfect solution for those who don’t have room for a big cargo bike in their house or garage but still want to do just about all the things a utility bike can do.
Trailers (est. $300 – $800) perform an amazing array of functions and come in more varieties than we choose to even mention. We love trailers and believe they definitely have a place in the utility cycling market. Trailers are competitively priced and often extremely well-made. We’ve used a two-seat Chariot Cougar for more than a year, packing children and groceries alike. The Chariot can handle up to 100 pounds and tracks beautifully. What’s more, it converts to a stroller with ease. We probably put as many miles on our Chariot configured as a stroller as we have as a trailer. This being said, with trailers your children are behind you, out of sight and out of reach. It’s not the same experience as having your children right in front of you. And it’s always more of a hassle to setup and tow a trailer than it is to just throw things into/onto your vehicle. Trailers take time to attach/configure and have to be locked up separately from the bicycle. Additionally, they just don’t carry as much as a cargo bike; nor do they handle as wide a variety of loads. If you’re on a budget, the Chariot is fantastic. Just make sure you understand and appreciate its limits.
How about trikes? Danish competitors Nihola and Christiana offer high-quality, well-designed trikes that will last for decades. Trikes certainly have their fans. But because the experience of riding a trike is so radically different from the free-flowing, intuitive sensation of riding a two-wheeler, and not in a pleasant way, it seems to us that the idea of the trike exceeds the reality of it, particularly once the novelty wears off. Which is to say, after they’re purchased and taken home, trikes tend not to get used as much as bikes do. That said, we do offer the Nihola Cigar 7-speed ($3500), but only as a special-order item. The Nihola is widely regarded as the premium European trike, and as such it costs somewhat more than its competition.
Still unsure? Take as many of these bikes as you can for an extended test ride. Ride them on routes you plan on taking, with loads you plan on carrying.
Finally, a note on the origin of our standard Boxbike: Over 90% of all bikes sold in the US (including cargo bikes) are made, painted, assembled, and packed in China. Most of the rest are made in Taiwan. After a few stops along the way, the bikes arrive in US bike shops in about 90% assembled condition and require maybe 30 minutes of local labor before they’re on the sales floor. Our boxbike is based on a frame made in China, and everything else is done in Portland: powdercoating/liquid painting, the box, the optional canopy, and full assembly. There is thus as much domestic input with the boxbike as there can be, short of making the frame in the US. Likewise, there is significantly more domestic input with this boxbike than with any factory-made cargo bike on the market. This also allows us to customize the bike for you to a much greater extent than with any factory-made bike.
