Utility Cycling - Sun cargo bike

I picked up a 2011 Sun Bicycles catalog from the LBS a few weeks ago and never bothered to look through it completely until today. It looks like Trek/Fisher won't be the only company debuting a new cargo bike in 2011!

This one is 4130 chromoly, has disc tabs, and takes Xtracycle bags. I couldn't find much about it on the internets except for some pics from Interbike, and Sun doesn't list it on their website.

This one is supposed to retail around $550, which makes me wonder if it has any name-brand components on it at all. The catalog doesn't name names, so I suppose I answered my own question there...

I'm going to call the LBS where I picked up the catalog and find out when it will be available.

From the catalog:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_TIeBxBH6dXI/TQgdWB-6_fI/AAAAAAAAA_g/VxBx9qEUJRU/s800/cargo_04.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_TIeBxBH6dXI/TQgdV4P_LHI/AAAAAAAAA_c/K5ME52u2nIc/s800/cargo_03.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_TIeBxBH6dXI/TQghbn3-MKI/AAAAAAAAA_o/5j16X5p1T6o/s800/cargo_02.jpg

Surly is getting competition in the longtail bike market! Its still the standard to beat but its good to see consumers are going to get more for their cargo bike dollars now.

My guess is that it probably has sram or shimano 21 speed components similar to what you find on a department store schwinn, which are also found on lower end LBS mountain bikes. I do like that the price is lower than most other bikes in this catagory.

I have actually test ridden one of these (just around a parking lot, with no load), and it looks well designed and built. As expected, the components are the most basic level available, but the frame looks strong, feels solid, and the handling is excellent, especially at low speeds. It took me a moment to figure out where to grab it to pick it up, but there is a good grip point close to the center of gravity, which helps.

I wouldn't mind buying it as a frame set and build it up

Heck, at that price, that's basically what you're doing - except that you can ride this frameset while you decide what upgrades to make.

True, also if you look at it this way- a basic xtracycle kit is 240bucks i priced one today with options and it came to 520 before shipping. I think i may look into this.

I have had a couple of Sun bikes & they all were well built, for their price.

Anybody seen one of these available yet? I asked my LBS, but they can't find it listed anywhere....

Aaron :)

I'm suspicious of the price, too good to be true. I wonder how much the frame itself would be. How's the quality of the frame compared to Surly's? And how heavy is it? Makes me think twice about dropping $900 on a Big Dummy frame. I never heard of Sun bikes, is this the same company that makes rims?

Edit: I've found their website, but this bike is not there yet. Most of their bikes are made of high tensile steel though, chro-mo is more expensive, that's why I find the price for a complete bike unusually low.

http://www.sunbicycles.com/

Ah, found another picture (http://www.dirtragmag.com/images/interbike-2010—inside-day-5—dr-finals-karl-1-7) of this bike.

Its unfortunate that I believe Sun only retails in the U.S., it would be nice to see one here in Canada. I've worked on some of Sun's recumbents before - lower end components and materials, but the construction is just fine.

I should add that while they do make some bikes with 4130 and aluminum as well as your usual recycled washing machine steel, its almost all in the recumbent section. They seem to focus their higher end efforts in there.

Very intriguing. I've been searching the web, but no more info on this bike is available. I like the looks of the BD better but for the price I'd give this a shot.

I like the twin top tube, that frame does look pretty strong, probably is really heavy but weight isn't a big concern form me, i gotta find out if i can get one locally, i wanna test ride one.

I found a dealer in Manhattan, close to my commute route, two blocks detour. I'll pass by tonight. It can't be as heavy as Yuba Mundo though, probably somewhere in between Mundo and BD. If they don't sell frames only I indeed could buy the whole bike and just change the parts. Sell some of that stuff on eBay, may even get a hundred bucks back. I also wonder if it comes in "one size fits all" size, which is what I don't like about the Yuba Mundo. Oh, and I hope this is a standard 1 1/8" threadless headset, not threaded, another thing I don't like about the Mundo.

I'm suspicious of the price, too good to be true. I wonder how much the frame itself would be. How's the quality of the frame compared to Surly's? And how heavy is it? Makes me think twice about dropping $900 on a Big Dummy frame. I never heard of Sun bikes, is this the same company that makes rims?

Edit: I've found their website, but this bike is not there yet. Most of their bikes are made of high tensile steel though, chro-mo is more expensive, that's why I find the price for a complete bike unusually low.

http://www.sunbicycles.com/

Ah, found another picture (http://www.dirtragmag.com/images/interbike-2010—inside-day-5—dr-finals-karl-1-7) of this bike.

Thanks for that link. I've seen the same Interbike photo, but the caption from Dirtrag also has the price at $679, which seems a bit more likely.

Sun is a Miami company that has been around for a while, mostly in the cruiser and industrial markets. I've seen plenty of them around, but the only Sun product that I owned was a 6-foot tall unicycle that I bought in the mid 80's.

They're also the company behind Origin8 and they've done a few models aluminum and CF as well. Interestingly, they've dropped the Origin8 Cykel 3-speeds from the 2011 catalog. That's a shame, I thought it was a pretty sensible design.

But they're not the same company that makes Sun rims (http://www.sun-ringle.com/), I guess.

I still want to check one out, im really new to the long tail world i haven't even finished my DIY xtracycle but i was riding it around this weekend as a single speed and the long wheel base rides sooo nice, i dont know maybe ill have to make this homebuilt bike of mine a more permanent build, that is until i can outright afford something proper

But they're not the same company that makes Sun rims (http://www.sun-ringle.com/), I guess.

Nope the rims are Sun-Ringle.

I have seen a few of the Sun Cruisers being used at an industrial plant, they seemed to be standing up pretty well after 4-5 years of pretty heavy use. The bulk of the bikes on that plant are Worksman with some Caloi and other odd stuff thrown in for good measure. I believe there are close to 200 bikes on that site.

Aaron :)

I didn't find that bike shop. Sun had the right address but wrong location on the map. I went by the location on the map without checking if it matches the address, duh :o Since traffic was mad in that area and getting worse plus VERY dense pedestrian presence I gave up. I'll try again tomorrow.


Nope the rims are Sun-Ringle.

I have seen a few of the Sun Cruisers being used at an industrial plant, they seemed to be standing up pretty well after 4-5 years of pretty heavy use. The bulk of the bikes on that plant are Worksman with some Caloi and other odd stuff thrown in for good measure. I believe there are close to 200 bikes on that site.

Aaron :)

Intriguing. If they're known for building tough and reliable bikes this could make a dent in Surly's sales. I would certainly consider this frame unless it has some showstopping deficiency compared to Big Dummy. I mean just the frame, I know the components are inexpensive. I'm not crazy about the looks but if it is a solid frame, then this would be a heck of a deal, in particular if the frameset is available for like $400.

I was seriously considering the Yuba Mundo for a while, despite its weight. But two things made me look somewhere else: "one size fits all" and the strange threaded headset.

I like competition :D

BTW, I can see few minor issues with this frame: the seat is a little too far back compared to most bikes, not sure how that will affect the ride and there are no bottle attachment points in the normal places since there is no main triangle, there is just one in the front that doesn't look like it'll fit an oversized (long) bottle. Nitpicking, I know, but I've been wanting an Xtracycle for a while and I'm a little obsessed :o :twitchy: I should have bought the last year's Big Dummy frame when it was priced at closeout prices under $600 :mad:

Sun also made a line of CF bikes and recumbents.

Regarding the seat angle, I think it's in a good spot for a bicycle of this design. A more upright riding position and subsequently fatter saddle work better when the saddle is placed further back in order to reduce saddle interference between the rider and crankset.

This really isn't an extreme example of slack angles, either. If you wanted to be further forward, the saddle shown in picture is set quite back on its rails, and a setback seatpost is also used. It would be very easy on this bicycle to place the saddle much further forward than it is shown in this photograph by simply setting the saddle forward on the rails, or even using a zero setback post if desired.

Again, I personally think you'd probably find that too little setback could be uncomfortable given the positioning of the bike, but it could certainly be done. If you were to change over to a more aggressive bar / stem / saddle, it would be easy to move the saddle forward quite a bit.

As for water bottles, handlebar / seatpost mount?

What i'd like to know exactly, is really how many Xtracycle accessories it is fully compatible with? From what I can gather, it certainly wouldn't work with the old freeloaders, but would with the 2010 ones that can snap on to the rack instead of being slid on. The deck appears to be welded to both sides of the rack, nothing that has to slide on will work.

So it should work with the new 2010 freeloaders, and the hoodie i'd presume. I see there are horizontal plugs, will they work with the Xtracycle's horizontal accessories, or will Sun make their own? Hmm..

Those were really minor complaints. Yeah, you're right about the saddle, Abneycat. And yeah, I'd like to set it up in more aggressive position. I like to have the handlebars at the same height as the saddle. That's most comfortable for me (for now, at least), even for longer rides.

It looks like it doesn't need a snap deck because of that too. And good point about the freeloaders. I wouldn't mind if Sun made their own accessories in matching colors ;)

I like the frame design!

I like the frame design!

Tom, what do you think: would it have any advantages over a Big Dummy frame?

Tom, what do you think: would it have any advantages over a Big Dummy frame?

OK, good question. I just looked at pictures of the two frames, side by side. No, I don't think the Sun is better except in one way: it has a built in rack. All the triangles formed by frame tubes are nice and small, making for good stiffness. This is on both bikes.

The Sun's price is probably going to be irresistible.

It looks like it has fittings for disk brakes. Clearly, it has bosses for V or cantilever brakes.

There are a couple of differences between the Sun and the Surly that may be worth noting. The Sun has QR binders built into the frame sockets that hold the rear racks. This eliminates the need for Xtracycle's Whatchamacollars (a detail, but a nice one). The front end geometry of the Sun is also less agressive. This means that it will not feel like a fast mountain bike when unloaded or lightly loaded, but that it will handle well at low speeds with heavy loads.

Wow, that's great news about the Sun.

This is phenomenal news for those of us who are on a tight budget... for $550 it's worth it just for the frame alone, though people with more, um, "budget" oriented mechanical skills would have no problem keeping a bike like that running, as long as the frame is straight and everything is serviceable.

Very, very, very tempting.

I think it's phenomenal news even for people not on a tight budget. Those who can afford a better bike might even prefer this one.

Definitely, an entire bike for the price of last year's BD frame. Probably most of what it needs could be fixed with stuff we have laying around the workshop. If I were going to get a cargo bike (which I want to, just need to save the money) it would either be a FreeRadical on my current steel MTB, or this bike... cost would be close to the same, but with this, I'd have a spare bike, which is paying homage to the n+1 gods. Component level is probably close to what I'm already using, so I'm comfortable with that.

This completely changes my outlook on cargo bikes. I could buy one of these with part of my tax return, and park my car indefinitely.

Yeah, this is exciting. As soon as NYC digs itself out of this stupid snow I will look for dealers in NYC. If this frame doesn't have any significant disadvantages compared to BD (doesn't seem so far) this changes the game. I may be able to afford two bikes instead of just one :)

Although I'm hoping the frame itself will be available. I already ordered nice wheels from LBS and have most of the drivetrain components.

Ah, I wonder if Yuba bags will fit on this.

I spoke to the owner of the shop where I picked up the catalog, and he didn't know anything about this model, but said he'd contact the distributor and get back to me. I also contacted Sun via the form on their website and asked if they could tell me when it would be shipping, or if any have been sent to local shops.

I haven't heard a word from either source yet, but that could be due to the holidays...

I spoke to the owner of the shop where I picked up the catalog, and he didn't know anything about this model, but said he'd contact the distributor and get back to me. I also contacted Sun via the form on their website and asked if they could tell me when it would be shipping, or if any have been sent to local shops.

I haven't heard a word from either source yet, but that could be due to the holidays...

That is basically the same response I got from my LBS. They have zero info on it and haven't been able to get any definitive answers. They do sell the Sun trikes and the Handicap trike as well as a few of the recumbents.

Aaron :)

Found a few more pics of it on somebody's Flickr account (Bike Portland, in fact)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeportland/5019356024/in/photostream/

I had a Sun Bicycles EZ-1 Super Cruiser recumbent bike, I think it was a 2001 year model and I really like it. :love:It was a little heavy but it rode very nice. I sold it to my CPA and he loves it. Sometimes I wish I sill had it. If I didn’t already own two (one for me and one for my wife) Big Dummys I would buy one of these Sun cargo bikes.:D

I got a bit more info about this bike today, the LBS owner called J & B Importers in Miami (Sun's parent company if I understand it correctly,) and they said the first Atlas Cargo shipment is slated to land at the beginning of March. They have orders for 8 of them already.

The shop owner quoted me a price of $599 which is not too far off from the $550 that Sun announced at Interbike. This shop tends to run a bit high, so it wouldn't surprise me to hear that it's available for less elsewhere.

I got a bit more info about this bike today, the LBS owner called J & B Importers in Miami (Sun's parent company if I understand it correctly,) and they said the first Atlas Cargo shipment is slated to land at the beginning of March. They have orders for 8 of them already.

The shop owner quoted me a price of $599 which is not too far off from the $550 that Sun announced at Interbike. This shop tends to run a bit high, so it wouldn't surprise me to hear that it's available for less elsewhere.

Fantastic! I'm not surprised, it's a direct competitor to the Big Dummy at less than half the price! I will definitely keep an eye on this bike... I really would love a CETMA or something like that, but this would be a close second if I couldn't afford it.

I got a bit more info about this bike today, the LBS owner called J & B Importers in Miami (Sun's parent company if I understand it correctly,) and they said the first Atlas Cargo shipment is slated to land at the beginning of March. They have orders for 8 of them already.

The shop owner quoted me a price of $599 which is not too far off from the $550 that Sun announced at Interbike. This shop tends to run a bit high, so it wouldn't surprise me to hear that it's available for less elsewhere.

Thanks for the info! Ah, that's a loooong wait til March :( They could hurry up! ;)


Fantastic! I'm not surprised, it's a direct competitor to the Big Dummy at less than half the price! I will definitely keep an eye on this bike... I really would love a CETMA or something like that, but this would be a close second if I couldn't afford it.

Actually, more like 1/3 of the price! Although, the components on the BD are of higher quality. But for under $600, it's indeed like buying a frame. I would probably strip it down completely and replace all the parts on it.

I got a bit more info about this bike today, the LBS owner called J & B Importers in Miami (Sun's parent company if I understand it correctly,) and they said the first Atlas Cargo shipment is slated to land at the beginning of March. They have orders for 8 of them already.

The shop owner quoted me a price of $599 which is not too far off from the $550 that Sun announced at Interbike. This shop tends to run a bit high, so it wouldn't surprise me to hear that it's available for less elsewhere.
By my figures that means by the time i could get one to idaho it would up around 800bucks:( I have still yet to find a dealer here who can order through SUN

That's surprising, how about these shops (http://www.sunbicycles.com/dealer_map.php?ZipCode=83706&Search=Search&Distance=25)?

There is 16" 2009 BigDummy frame on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/2009-Surly-Big-Dummy-Frame-Set-16-in-Military-Green-/130471186336?pt=Mountain_Bikes&hash=item1e60b04fa0) in good condition and with Xtracycle kit. It was around $400 last time I looked. Too bad I need a 20" frame.

Opps i didn't know REI is a sun dealer I might have to stop there this weekend, I no longer buy bikes off ebay i try and stick to the selling them on it, i spend less money:)

I would order through georges since i know they stock sun bikes but im no longer allowed in the stores (long story)

I LIKE IT... Kind of like a throwback to the old "Cross frame bikes" from the early 1900's (the Mixte being the most well known), only with a modern Xtra bike type stretched cargo twist. Most definitely on the must check out list... Like others have said, the frame may be worth the price of the entire bike. Oh Yeah... got to check into this very soon :)

I would order through georges since i know they stock sun bikes but im no longer allowed in the stores (long story)

So you casually drop a teaser and you won't tell us the story?!? :D

I would order through georges since i know they stock sun bikes but im no longer allowed in the stores (long story)

Awesome! :lol:

I LIKE IT... Kind of like a throwback to the old "Cross frame bikes" from the early 1900's (the Mixte being the most well known), only with a modern Xtra bike type stretched cargo twist. Most definitely on the must check out list... Like others have said, the frame may be worth the price of the entire bike. Oh Yeah... got to check into this very soon :)

Sun also has been offering an Atlas Cargo bike with an X frame for a few years, though I've never seen one in the flesh. It's a proper all-steel industrial bike with 12 gauge spokes and probably pretty heavy...

http://www.jbimporters.com/web/images/new_800/69146.jpg

Sun also has been offering an Atlas Cargo bike with an X frame for a few years, though I've never seen one in the flesh. It's a proper all-steel industrial bike with 12 gauge spokes and probably pretty heavy...

http://www.jbimporters.com/web/images/new_800/69146.jpg

I believe I saw one of those at an Alcoa Plant in either SC or LA. They used to predominantly use Worksman but have been using other brands in the last several years.

Aaron :)

Well ok you twisted my arm, it really isn't the most interesting but i went in there because i was having a hard time finding the proper size of head set bearings for an old trek i had built, so i bring it back to the shop entrance and the first words out of one of the techs mouth was "im not working on that crap" (i don't think he knew i heard him) so i ignore the comment and bring it back and tell him i don't have a mic. so i can't measure the current bearing that were in there so i needed them to tell me what size was in there and what size i needed. He replied no problem he takes the bike and i do a little window shopping through the store. After about 25-30 min they call me up to front desk, i didn't think anything of the wait since it was busy and the kid at the counter as plain as days tells me i owe 85 dollars for a "special order" headset and headset overhaul. Niether of which i ordered or asked for so i tell him he had better go get the tech. So the tech comes up and tells me im lying and that i had said i wanted it done, to which i replied that was sure a fast special order, he got a little mouthy bashing my beloved vintage trek saying i had no business bringing it in, in the first place. I to which had a "few" choice word with him and at that point the manager came running out of the back (at that point i was yelling) and he told me i owed money for services rendered and if i didn't pay he was calling the cops. I told them i was only paying the shop min. of 20 bucks which i anticipated for them to do the measuring and that i was leaving with my bike and he could call the cops if he wanted. Well left a 20 on the counter and started walking out when he grabbed my shoulder i turned and i think it surprised him he flinched and when he did he lost his balance and fell, so at that point he said i pushed him i was so mad i was shaking and continued to try and leave i made it to the parking lot and saw the police pulling in so i waited for them explained what happend and of coarse the whole store stuck to their story, the officer on site told me to leave the 20 and give them the bearings back and issued me a ticket for disturbing the peace. Even longer story short i fought the ticket and won and took them to small claims court and won they had to mail me the headset and my money back. And wouldn't you know three days after court they send me a notice of a tresspass, which is kinda like a restraining order. that was a while back though and im sure at this point i could probably get away with going back i just dont wanna. Sorry for the length


On a side note im headed to REI to pick up my new sleeping bag so im gonna ask them about SUN

Well REI cant order it through them at least the one here, im gonna keep going down the list till i find one that can, then convince them to order one as a demo so i can test ride it:)