Weird Specialized discovery....

[mschwett]

The deeper level of funny is that actual elite cyclists don't prescribe to that. I know several very dedicated cyclists with cargo bikes (as in live partially car-free, ride like 10k+ miles per year and are competitive local racers). None of them are riding anything particularly fancy in the cargo bike department. They'll have fancy 5 figure racing bikes with carbon everything, but their cargo bikes are utilitarian with pedestrian parts. Its the bike they use to get groceries and schlep their young kids around in, theres no point in getting anything expensive.

yep! everyone i know who is into serious road riding or mtb also just generally loves bikes and has a commuter, a clunker, a cargo if they have kids, etc. it’s about the bike being fit for the purpose and enjoyable to ride for that purpose. for long, spirited road roads that means light and aero (the rider and the bike!) and easy rolling with small steps between the gears and so on. people who mock a bike or rider like that just becuase of the style either don’t really understand or have some other personal issues. ditto someone who things a bulletproof, heavy, powerful cargo e-bike is somehow embarrassing.

my hub drive commuter with child seat took both my kids and i all over for fun and utility, i still ride it for errands and commuting and it still works well for that purpose. it’s about 50% harder to pedal for the same speed at higher speeds, so there’s no way i would ride a bike like that 30 or 50 or 100 miles!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

They'll have fancy 5 figure racing bikes with carbon everything, but their cargo bikes are utilitarian with pedestrian parts. Its the bike they use to get groceries and schlep their young kids around in, theres no point in getting anything expensive.

I do all my grocery shopping using two panniers on my big Vado and a big backpack (if necessary). I do 100% groceries this way.

 

[mschwett]

I have never seen a cargo bike in my city or suburbs, not even in the trendiest downtown areas.
Rental scooters with a giant box jammed against the bar stem.. yes...but no cargo bikes.
All our progressives drive Range Rovers

i will probably see 50 cargo bikes today…

 

[RunForTheHills]

yep! everyone i know who is into serious road riding or mtb also just generally loves bikes and has a commuter, a clunker, a cargo if they have kids, etc.

This is the best way to justify buying a another bike to your wife. Horses for courses...

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

yep! everyone i know who is into serious road riding or mtb also just generally loves bikes and has a commuter, a clunker, a cargo if they have kids, etc. it’s about the bike being fit for the purpose and enjoyable to ride for that purpose.

Can't claim to be a serious rider of any kind, but I also like having one nice lightweight mid-drive with minimal accessories for fitness/road/gravel and a heavy old hub-drive costing ⅓ as much for utility/beach riding.

Yes, I could put temporary panniers on the nice bike for shopping. But I could only bring myself leave it outside a store if I were with someone prepared to guard it with lethal force.
;^}

Also, the older bike reminds me just how nice the other one is to ride. This helps preserve my marriage.

And of course, everyone has their own challenges and priorities. Some live modestly in order to ride higher-end bikes. Others do the opposite. Who are we to judge?

 

[jabberwocky]

I do all my grocery shopping using two panniers on my big Vado and a big backpack (if necessary). I do 100% groceries this way.

Depends what kind of runs you do, but most of my friends with cargo bikes have kids, so they are a: sometimes transporting kids around, and b: buying more groceries than people who don't have kids. It works for them. I'm definitely not looking down on them because they are riding a beat-to-s*it 10 year old Radwagon instead of a fancy $8k middrive cargo bike.

yep! everyone i know who is into serious road riding or mtb also just generally loves bikes and has a commuter, a clunker, a cargo if they have kids, etc. it’s about the bike being fit for the purpose and enjoyable to ride for that purpose.

Its definitely nice to have a beater if you use bikes for utility reasons. Two of the core values for a utility bike are "won't feel bad locking it up in public" and "unconcerned with locking it to bike racks and leaning it on buildings".

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Depends what kind of runs you do, but most of my friends with cargo bikes have kids, so they are a: sometimes transporting kids around, and b: buying more groceries than people who don't have kids. It works for them. I'm definitely not looking down on them because they are riding a beat-to-s*it 10 year old Radwagon instead of a fancy $8k middrive cargo bike.



Its definitely nice to have a beater if you use bikes for utility reasons. Two of the core values for a utility bike are "won't feel bad locking it up in public" and "unconcerned with locking it to bike racks and leaning it on buildings".

Back when I lived in London, everyone used spray paint or wrapped the frame in cut up strips of inner tube to disguise the value of the frame! If they weren't all beaters they sure looked like it.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Depends what kind of runs you do, but most of my friends with cargo bikes have kids, so they are a: sometimes transporting kids around, and b: buying more groceries than people who don't have kids. It works for them. I'm definitely not looking down on them because they are riding a beat-to-s*it 10 year old Radwagon instead of a fancy $8k middrive cargo bike.

This is how they do it in Copenhagen. Yes, it is an e-bike. Thousands of families ride this product of a workshop in Free Town of Christiania.

 

[Chargeride]

I think the problem around here is they saw the sign and read CAR-GO.
And off they drove