Clink, clink, clink, clink, clink…

The beer bottles bump against each other rhythmically as I stand and grind out the last section of Spirit Trail up to Moodyville Park. I’m in the wrong gear, by about three ratios on my cassette, but there are rules to this sh*t. 

I mean, I’d put my 11spd XT derailleur, 10spd shifter, and SunRace cassette up against pretty much anything on the market even with my bike’s truly funky rear derailleur positioning. But, one of the secrets to long drivetrain life and avoiding random failures is to avoid shifts under heavy load and pretty much any pedaling of this thing uphill qualifies. 

By the time I hit flattish terrain I’ve lightly bludgeoned my knee on the wooden box twice and twerked myself into the tent thrice. So, pretty much a standard ride. But, I didn’t walk, none of the bottles broke, and I’m aware enough of the random beer can rolling around in the box that I’m not going to be the one opening it. 

Opening it. I take the top off whenever possible. I mean, the cover’s a bare necessity for riding in the rain with a  passenger. Otherwise, it’s a purgatorial exercise in misery to be a passenger in the beast. But, as much as it does keep me a bit dry as well, the tent makes for the difference between a mission and a bike ride. 

Sometimes, especially without a passenger, the tent acts as a sail and that can be terrifying. Pushing that damn dam of plastic and canvas into the wind? Ugh. And even on a still day, it contributes to a lesser bicycle riding experience. 

Remarkably, as heavy as the cargo bike is empty and as far away as that linkage steered front wheel sits, without the bubble it rides remarkably bicycle-like. Sometimes I even feel like I’m spinning along efficiently! The illusion dies every time I get passed by a sandal-wearing POAB on a 90’s Canadian Raleigh Hi-Ten with a rusty chain so I choose the less beaten path to avoid them (and automobiles). 

Not long after riding the new-to-me bike home from Velo Star (Clint rocks!), the first big upgrade we made was brakes. Not to beef against Avid BB7 cable-actuated brakes but they were severely undergunned for loading up the Clairebarian and both her gear for school and my gear for work and then riding down the hills of North Vancouver. In fact, I’d hazard to say the whole bakfiets concept probably never included North Van. 

I had my set of Magura MT-5 four-piston brakes already along with some plastic MT Sport lever blades that Magura had sent me to review, which I knew would be more pleasant to squeeze on cold days. Despite my own awesome experiences, the DH rating of the brakes, and the fact they come spec on plenty of bakfiets-style bikes I still reached out to Magura. It’s just some of the hills Claire and I ride down, fully loaded, require sustained braking for minutes at a time and I wanted to be making a fully informed braking decision. 

Jude & Kent were very reassuring (thanks gents!) and we bled up the system with a 203mm rear rotor and a 180mm front rotor. I know that sounds backward to every mountain biker out there but the fact is that the rear brake is way more consequential for control on the cargo bike and modulating a 20″ wheel, at the end of a linkage arm, with a strong desire to pull left when you get hard on it is an experience! 

The difference in confidence with ‘proper’ brakes installed was massive. To the point that a quieter route always wins out even if I’m hauling on the brakes the whole way down. We also have hit some interesting gravel descents thanks to durable Schwalbe tires and the level of control the brakes deliver.

Every once in a while I think about rigging up my Walt V1 as a commuter – rather than a frame and fork hanging on a wall – since it would certainly be faster and more effortless to ride it around but there is something bizarrely glorious about being able to toss all your crap into the belly of the beast and just ride. 

There’s no question of being able to pick up ~ any sized shop order at a supplier or groceries on the way home. I mean really if it fits just put the bike in a lower gear and take your time! 

Speaking of which, after the colossal failure of our Shimano Alfine hub, Dumpster Bear built me up a fresh set of hoops onto hubs I’ve had since forever. The front hub is a Hayes-DT-Hugi number from maybe 1998 and the rear is a Profile Racing 4-pawl from about Y2K. Because of the stupid rear derailleur positioning (seriously, it’s an open standard, how f***ing hard is it?!) I had to file half the life out of an 11spd XT clutch derailleur to make it work but the difference in drag was immediately noticeable and a chain – now nearly two chains – later we’re happily running a 30×11-46t setup with an oval Wolf Tooth stainless ring on a set of Race Face Aeffect R cranks and a decade-old Chris King bottom bracket. 

Don’t buy into the apparently hilarious and universal joke. When Claire is out back on her trailer bike I can absolutely notice whether she’s pedaling or not – and how much effort she’s putting in – but it’s not anything “just like riding an e-bike.”

It is, however, surprisingly easy to balance and ride a contraption with a longer overall wheelbase than our car. A lot of credit to Burley Design for just how good their trailer bike-rack interface is compared to other options I use that mount off the seatpost. The Clairebarian regularly stands and pedals uphills, “for practice,” and it’s effortless to control the whole orchestra even with the flailing, random, arrangement of inputs from the tail gunner. 

I think it’s fair to say that since The Clairebarian started mountain biking in September we’ve used the cargo bike less than expected but it’s still an important asset in our relationship with cycling. I’m fairly comfy sitting static for long periods with my SQLab setup. For the curious, it’s a 611 Active saddle, a cut-down 16° 30X bar in the lowrise, and a pair of 710 grips. The grips still look bizarro to me, but I can’t argue with the way they help keep my hands from going numb and how many usable hand positions they deliver. 

I have a fair bit of work to do this summer but no real upgrades planned. I need to replace all the structural hardware, replace the bushing and spherical bearing in the linkage arm, and sand down some rusted spots in the kickstand apparatus and repaint it. That poor kickstand has taken the brunt of a lot of offroad adventures.

Claire also wants to paint the outside of the box school bus yellow, or maybe pink and purple, or maybe like the Sea Bus. 

We have some big plans for the cargo bike this summer. Claire wants to ride her trailer bike to Gramma’s house in Maple Ridge for a sleepover and then back again the next day. It’s between 45km and 50km depending on the exact route given our preference to stick to lesser used roads and gravel so certainly a big undertaking for us too!

Claire: “And if I’m too tired to ride home, mama can come to pick me up the next day.”

Andrew: “Oh, and how will the cargo bike get home?”

Claire: “Huh?”

Andrew: “If mama picks you up how will the cargo bike get home?”

Claire: “Uh, you’ll ride it there?!”

Andrew: “…”

We’re also really excited to get out for some cargo bike camping with our friends. A suitable reward for all that patience, mask-wearing, and isolation, and everyone getting the jab. 

I have some takeaways from my ~ year of cargo biking. There’s no point in killing it because the difference between dead legs and a steady pace really isn’t that much time saved. It’s sort of like using a saw – let the blade do the work. 

I’m hungry all the time when I’m pedaling. What was true on my first ride is true every ride.

As strange as it sounds cars are way, way, nicer to me in general compared to any bike I’ve ridden. If I have the tent on. With the roof installed I get more patience, more space, just a better overall experience. Even when there’s no kid in there. In fact, having my actual kid in the cargo bike dishing out the thumbs-ups doesn’t produce a better result than just putting the tent on. Sans roof and sans kid it’s like any other commuter bike experience except with an increase of about 300% in “WTF” stares.

Will I keep it once Claire grows out of the box? I honestly don’t know. I could carry a fair amount of beer in a basket on a much faster commuter bike that would also fit on the roof of my car. But it’s sort of impossible to imagine not owning it now. Maybe go N+1 and keep it for adventures. When she gets too fast for me to keep up on the cargo bike we’ll trade and she can pedal it. 

For now, just looking forward to Cargo Biking: Year 2.