Kew kiddie karriers...



eddiec

New Member
Feb 16, 2004
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yeearrrrr... (obligatory pirate comment)

Had the shame of driving in the other day through Kew, but in the process saw the most awesome purpose-build bike for carrying children, and am trying to track it down on the web with no luck...

I shall describe:

Long wheelbased thing, with what looked like slightly smaller wheels than usual - Front end looked normal but between the seatpost and the rear axle sat a completely encased (in clear plastic it seemed) child 'cocoon'...

Fantastic looking thing - I doubt I could allow myself to buy something so specific when the trailer does the job now, but the concept was awesome... anybody know what it is? Anybody else seen it? (I know more than a few of you ride that way too - was spotted by the ped crossing at the bottom of the cemetery hill in High St)
 
eddiec said:
yeearrrrr... (obligatory pirate comment)

Had the shame of driving in the other day through Kew, but in the process saw the most awesome purpose-build bike for carrying children, and am trying to track it down on the web with no luck...

I built this one "yonks" ago and the next user fitted a front fairing.

Token pirate comment "Arrrrr"

Pete
 
flyingdutch said:
Bakfiets?

no, this was quite distinct - and I can't find anything similar anywhere which makes me think it might be a custom job.

Essentially just think of a normal bike, put on some super long chainstays and smaller wheels, and mount the kid capsule on the chainstays between the bottom bracket and the rear wheel... that's how it looked at least. Made me wonder if it might have been some Xtracycle type of job...
 
eddiec <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
>
> Had the shame of driving in the other day through Kew, but in the
> process saw the most awesome purpose-build bike for carrying children,
> and am trying to track it down on the web with no luck...


Um, that would be me and my "freight bike". :)

I dreamed it up so my wife and I could avoid getting a second car. It
was custom-designed to my specs by Ian Sims at greenspeed.com.au - he
was interested in adding to their inventory of "work" machines, so he
didn't mind making and selling me a "prototype" at a discount price :)

The design is inspired by the "8freight" in the UK:
http://www.bikefix.co.uk/index
http://www.velovision.co.uk/mag/issue9/8freight.pdf

Mine's slightly longer than the vehicles in these pics, to allow a baby
car capsule to fit in the steel-framed "basket" section. I made the
plastic "cocoon" myself out of polycarbonate sheet - the lid hinges up
and back. It's evolved with my daughter - now it's got a child car seat
in it rather than a baby capsule! The whole plastic box is held in by
velcro straps, so it can be lifted out if I want to carry stuff strapped
directly onto the frame - the cargo limit is 100kg. It's got drum
brakes and a motorbike-style stand.

So, how does it ride? Heavy of course, but I normally only take it up
to childcare, local shops, local rellies etc. Occasionally 20km round
trips. It handles very well in a straight line, but you do need to
concentrate if turning a low-speed, sharp corner. You can only just do
a u-turn in a residential street, so the turning circle is better than a
car, worse than a normal bike. :) It can get through the standard bike
path dog-leg barriers, but sometimes the railway crossing pedestrian
barriers are too tight. I ride it on roads, but with a kid on board I'm
more picky with route choice than when I'm riding by myself. I even
resort to some short stretches of footpath to avoid nasty intersections
(naughty naughty)!

To store it, I haul it up onto its rear wheel. Then it stands on its
rear rack and I bungy the frame to the garage wall to stop it falling
over.

Reaction from other people? All good, lots of thumbs up etc. :)