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The Shuttlebug-Handmade in Portland

Joe Bike’s own ShuttleBug is designed and handmade by Joe Bike staff to be the best bike of its kind in the world. As you’ll see below, we’ve reached that goal. It’s also the only production cargo bike that’s actually made in Portland, Oregon. However… After much deliberation, we’ve decided not to make more of these. We are a small and relatively new retail shop that got into the framebuilding business because nobody was making the bike we knew could be made. While the bike was a big success critically and commercially, with orders booked up for several months for many more bikes than we were physically capable of making (even at a price point of $8,000 or more), framebuilding was a whole separate enterprise, industry, physical site, and business. Only the staff—-our framebuilders also worked as expert mechanics at our retail shop, a decision that proved invaluable to the design of the bike—-were the same.

On that note, we are interested in selling our proprietary designs, including the drawings, exact tubing specifications, the FEA report, the ShuttleBug name, and any other intellectual property associated with the ShuttleBug. Our goals are to put this bike back into the world, serving families and others; and to to save the manufacturer a good deal of time and money versus the time and money needed to design, test, and develop a bike of this kind organically. Contact us if you’re an interested manufacturer or framebuilder.

Peter's ShuttleBug 5

ShuttleBug in the park

It’s light, strong, and extremely easy to ride. Discovery Channel’s Treehugger has named the ShuttleBug the best of the top 5 kid/cargo bikes. A guest review posted by the famous Amsterdam-based WorkCycles blog, Bakfiets-en-meer.nl, also ranked the ShuttleBug as a top family-transport bicycles in the world, saying “Carrying multiple children distances under 20 miles is still best with either the van Andel short Bakfiets or JoeBike ShuttleBug.”

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Peters Bug4

An in-depth review of the bike can be found in this article by Momentum Planet magazine. ShuttleBug is designed and handmade in Oregon.

 

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ShuttleDog!

Santa rides a ShuttleBug Mellowing the yellow Track 3 Liz and Adam's SBug

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Wright Bug 4

the pug in the bug Joe Bike searched the world over for an accessible, lightweight but strong, easy-to-ride family bike that any mom or dad could use to easily carry kids and groceries, in both security and comfort, in any kind of whether and over Portland’s hills. We couldn’t find the bike we could imagine, so we designed and built our own dream machine right here in Portland, with these best-in-class features: –a very light (40-45 lbs. without the passenger cabin and standard accessories, 55-60 lbs. with everything), nimble, stable, surprisingly quick and easy ride –Tubing of 80% American, 20% German 4130 chromoly steel for long life and a strong, supple ride–not aluminum! In fact, we now provide a lifetime warranty on the frame. –frame geometry designed with hills in mind, unlike the case with Dutch and Danish models –a safely secured yet easily removable chromoly cabin covered with tough messenger-bag fabric, including soft but firm adjustable-height fabric seating and five-point safety harnesses that provide lateral as well as front-to-back restraints –reflective piping stitched to the cabin for extra visibility at night –pockets inside and outside the cabin for storing the children’s and the pilot’s things, from water bottles to clothes, books, and cell phones. — A drivetrain that’s grease-free and virtually maintenance-free, long-lasting and rustproof, and features the silky smooth, precise combination of Gates CenterTrack Carbon Drive and Shimano’s best internal hubs, the Alfine 8-speed or 11-speed (or the new Nuvinci n360), all calibrated to conquer Portland’s hills with aplomb. Weatherproof stopping power is provided by Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes or Avid Juicy hydraulic disc brakes. — The quick-release mounts unique to this bike let you remove the cabin in seconds, without tools, stooping, or getting down on your hands and knees. So you can go from kid-carrying to serious cargo hauling in seconds. An optional double-decker rack system takes advantage of the same mounts and gives the ShuttleBug greater cargo-loading area than any other cargo bicycle. –Finally, the Joe Bike Kids+Cargo attachment (available by special order) works the same way, but can haul up to three older kids and groceries, and even another adult and child. This means the ShuttleBug offers more than a decade of useful life as a people and cargo hauler. We’ve also designed a rain canopy that keeps both the cabin and the pilot’s hands warm and dry, with no barrier between children and their mom or dad. Handmade in Portland ShuttleBug sans cabin –Quick-release seatpost clamp so that riders of different heights can easily adjust the seat height in seconds –Frame and cabin construction of 80% American, 20% German aircraft-grade chromoly steel, which is superior to the material used in almost all other bikes of its kind. We know exactly where the steel came from and exactly what’s in it. –Despite its very light weight, the frame can carry up to 300 lbs. of cargo in addition to the pilot. The steel/fabric cabin can easily carry 200 lbs. Production models will have several improvements over the prototype shown above, including a burlier kickstand, head tube, and fork; an eccentric bottom bracket; a tighter turning radius along with improved maneuverability for parking, both handmade and off-the-shelf rear-rack options, and a rear-wheel lock. The customer has a choice of powdercoating in any color desired, along with color choices for the cabin fabric and canopy. Dyno-hub lighting, rear-wheel locks, custom-made racks, and a wide range of other accessories are available. These bikes were designed and built by Joe Bike staff at our fabrication facility in Southeast Portland. Our staff have brought together design, framebuilding, and production experience from Co-Motion, Bike Friday, Civilian Cycles, BOB Trailers, Ti Cycles, and others. All our handmade frames come with a 10-year warranty. The cabin and canopy have a 2-year warranty. The ShuttleBug is made to order. The powdercoated or liquid-painted frameset is $4750, and complete builds are typically $6000-8000.

Peter's ShuttleBug 4