First Trip To The Grocery Store

[Gator]

Good Morning Friends

I woke up this morning and decided to ride to the grocery store and pick up the week's provisions. You will notice there are no baguettes or leafy green vegetables poking out of brown paper bags in classic fashion, but I was successful. The borrowed milk crate is a little wider than the usual size, but I had to prioritize and keep my purchase to a reasonable size. I still managed to buy $90.00 worth of groceries. After shopping, I loaded the crate and promptly learned how easy it is to dump your well-loaded groceries by tipping the bike over. I caught it just in time, but the crate slid all akimbo and my well-thought out bungee engineering had to be totally reconfigured whilst holding the bike up, smashing the donuts, and cussing at the same time. I am sure the folks working were enjoying the show. I am probably already on Youtube somewhere. Anyway, I got it all put together and it appeared to be relatively stable. I was able to ride home without further incident. I learned a few things;

*Laugh
*Enjoy the ride
*Watch the turns with heavy loads on the back
*Bungees are your friend
*Giant made a great support for the fenders, but totally dropped the ball removing the flat shelf from the top of the rack.

 

[Ken M]

I too have made a similar mistake loading a rear Thule Pack-n-Pedal bin that I mount on a rear rack. When you put 40-50 lbs in the basket with the bike leaning on the kick stand you have to be paying attention as the bike can tip over. With practice it gets easier and you learn how the bike handles with the extra weight.

Most of the time when I commute I just have a back on which I can fit quite a bit of stuff in.....even something like a gallon of milk and a few other grocery items. I have one of the back pack designed to have an air gap between you back....highly recommended to reduce the hot spot on your back while riding.

 

[erider_61]

I have a milk crate on my RB. I used some stiff wire to fasten it to the rack through the holes in the bottom of the crate. Mine stays on full time but I could always use wire cutters if I needed to remove it.

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

Rear panniers attached to the rack will aid in distributing weight while increasing the handling characteristic pedaling with a load. (by getting that weight down low, closer to the axle) The best of all worlds is a front and rear rack and pannier bags system!

 

[ebikemom]

I used some stiff wire to fasten it to the rack

Great idea! Zip ties also work.

The load is challenging when the bike is parked. I've had my bike fall over more times than I'd like ... most recently this last weekend!! I use two side baskets and a front basket.

 

[Zippy49]

I've got a pair of Wald 582 folding wire side baskets on order for my new genZe e101. Our local grocery store is about 5 miles away, and I intend to use the bike for shopping there. Adding weight to the front ruins the steering IMHO. And I like the centerstand as it makes loading and unloading much safer. I've owned more than 50 motorcycles in my lifetime, and have found a centerstand very useful when doing a service. Got one on my Ducati...

I bought 25 feet of super heavy duty 1/4" stretch cord on fleabay, and some plastic hooks. Makes very strong bungees!

 

[ebikemom]

I also have the Wald baskets and I like them a lot. Shopping trip yesterday used two of them. I do use the front basket for light things--I bring some canvas bags along to the grocery store and pack one with light things for the front basket, and put everything else in the rear two baskets. I have also had a rack-top basket, milk crate style, but it was made of flimsy wire so didn't last very long. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for something better for the rack-top spot.

@Zippy49 , did you swap out your kickstand for a different one?

 

[bob armani]

My 2 cents-Is this really worth all of the trouble and risk of losing your groceries and taking a fall? Why not just purchase a bike tow trailer for about $100 bucks and secure your load that way. It beats all of the tipping and thee drudgery of doing a balancing act on your E-bike, right? Not worth all of the risks involved to get your food home IMO!

 

[Zippy49]

Hi Amy, the genZes come with a fairly sturdy centerstand. One of the features I like. A sidestand is an optional extra.

Trailer? The bike has enough trouble making it up our hill as-is. Plus I spent many years towing RV trailers as part of my job. Had enough of that. And I have no trouble balancing my e-bike, it's a piece of cake compared to getting my wife up on the back of my Ducati.

 

[Trail Cruiser]

Just wishful thinking. I hope manufacturers would build a compact cargo ebike with minimal footprint and has full suspension and with maximum carrying capacity. This would be great for grocery or for food delivery purpose.

I used the CIVI BIKES Rebel 1.0 compact ebike here as my template. New battery location is between the top tube and down tube.

I would imagine this will be very useful especially to RV'ers and yacht owners.

 

[MarkF]

I mounted a basket with cargo net. This allows product to be sticking out and still be captured by the cargo net. This is what I used.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H606Q5Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZMBMQ6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[bob armani]

I mounted a basket with cargo net. This allows product to be sticking out and still be captured by the cargo net. This is what I used.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H606Q5Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZMBMQ6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I really like that idea. Keep those groceries secured in the cart instead of watching them roll down the hill. LOL

 

[ebikemom]

I prefer having my heavier groceries mounted lower (in side baskets) rather than higher (in top and front baskets), with higher loading areas used for light weight items.

 

[JohnDoe1983]

I found a trick last summer. I send my wife to the grocery with the Rav4 and I go ride my bike meanwhile. Please, don’t tell her. Cheers.

 

[Merc]

Had my first ride to a Trader Joe’s. Crowded, of course, but didn’t have to deal with parking and had a smile all the way there and back. Passed through an intersection and noticed another e- cyclist too.

 

[JanM]

Good Morning Friends

I woke up this morning and decided to ride to the grocery store and pick up the week's provisions. You will notice there are no baguettes or leafy green vegetables poking out of brown paper bags in classic fashion, but I was successful. The borrowed milk crate is a little wider than the usual size, but I had to prioritize and keep my purchase to a reasonable size. I still managed to buy $90.00 worth of groceries. After shopping, I loaded the crate and promptly learned how easy it is to dump your well-loaded groceries by tipping the bike over. I caught it just in time, but the crate slid all akimbo and my well-thought out bungee engineering had to be totally reconfigured whilst holding the bike up, smashing the donuts, and cussing at the same time. I am sure the folks working were enjoying the show. I am probably already on Youtube somewhere. Anyway, I got it all put together and it appeared to be relatively stable. I was able to ride home without further incident. I learned a few things;

*Laugh
*Enjoy the ride
*Watch the turns with heavy loads on the back
*Bungees are your friend
*Giant made a great support for the fenders, but totally dropped the ball removing the flat shelf from the top of the rack.

That will be me when I go out for my 1st grocery run! After I get some locking devices on my new bike!

 

[JohnDoe1983]

I have a New York lock. Very heavy but very strong.

New York Lock LS

The Kryptonite New York LS U-lock has a 16mm hardened MAX-Performance steel shackle, disc-style cylinder and a double deadbolt locking mechanism. This lock offers ultimate bike security in high theft areas.

www.kryptonitelock.com

 

[JanM]

I have a New York lock. Very heavy but very strong.

New York Lock LS

The Kryptonite New York LS U-lock has a 16mm hardened MAX-Performance steel shackle, disc-style cylinder and a double deadbolt locking mechanism. This lock offers ultimate bike security in high theft areas.

www.kryptonitelock.com

I've looked a d-lock types, but I don't think they are long enough to secure my bike - through rear wheel, frame and post,with motor on the inside against the post.

 

[Kayakguy]

My 2 cents-Is this really worth all of the trouble and risk of losing your groceries and taking a fall? Why not just purchase a bike tow trailer for about $100 bucks and secure your load that way. It beats all of the tipping and thee drudgery of doing a balancing act on your E-bike, right? Not worth all of the risks involved to get your food home IMO!

I had both bungees loaded with groceries when I crashed into the side of a car (my fault), got a concussion and broken pelvis, and lost none of the groceries. The firemen took my bike home while the EMTs hauled me off to the hospital. Even the beer came through okay.

Edit: folding panniers, not bungees. (brain fart).

 

[jaimeboone]

Just wishful thinking. I hope manufacturers would build a compact cargo ebike with minimal footprint and has full suspension and with maximum carrying capacity. This would be great for grocery or for food delivery purpose.

I used the CIVI BIKES Rebel 1.0 compact ebike here as my template. New battery location is between the top tube and down tube.

View attachment 26421

I would imagine this will be very useful especially to RV'ers and yacht owners.

I definitely agree and this design looks awesome. I see some similar e-bikes but they aren't foldable just compact e-bikes