Forum: Utility Cycling

It seems to me the English 3-speed was the epitomy of what a utility bike should be, sturdy, dependable and low maintenance. It came as standard with mudguards, chaincase and usually a wicker basket. It had relaxed angles and a sprung saddle that made it easy and comfortable to ride. Yet the...

What utillity (by your definition) did you do today? It will be interesting what and how everyone does. Mods: Possibly sticky if it gets good response? Here goes mine for today 3 utiiliyt trips, 10 miles 1) rode to return late dvd, checkout farmers market and have lunch with my son....

Hi haulers/utility folks, For reference: I've been a car free bike commuter for 25 years, and I've been exclusively riding folding bikes for about eight years. I'm not a gear guy, for the most part I ride whatever hand-me-downs come my way. I want to get set up for all-weather urban utility...

This is modified from a post I have in the Women's Forum - thought it might be good to have here... Let's have a look at the huge selection of non-drop, non-flat/straight handlebars out there these days. :D Soma Sparrow Bar 3-Speed Bar Oxford Bar

I live in an area with a lot of bikes, and most people I see have Burley trailers, which are really expensive. I have one child, so I would want the solo, which is about $450. Even on Craigslist the best you can find them for is $250, and that's for the beat up ones. What do I give up by going with...

Recently I brought a civia loring - front rack bike. Every review raved and raved. I find it hard to ride, however and as I live in a city with a very high car usage the negatives are running neck and neck with the positives (with the cost nipping at the heals of both). When I look at Japanese bike...

Yay!!! It finally all got put together, the long awaited Pea Pod arrived, and we got it last night. So of course we had to take an inaugural spin on it. Here are some pics. I know the baby is strapped in too loosely. In my defense she has never seen anything like the bike seat and was hysterical...

I've just about completely started riding my touring rig for all my errands and am due for a new set of tires. My bike started out with just a milk krate for hauling, but I recently switched to a set of Wald baskets. Currently, I'm running cheap nashbar 700 x 28 tires, but would like something...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3291/2508822730_4535cb156e_o.jpg In case you haven't see it there is a thread on the go in the touring section about using a Surly Big Dummy for touring. If you ride a BD and have toured on it head over there and let 'em know how you like it!...:love: Here are...

The Nuvinci gear-hubs for bicycles are worse than usless, they can't handle more than 26 gear-inches of torque (with human legs). And they weigh 11lbs. The maximum torque before it starts slipping is 130Nm or 96 LbFT . One wheel revolution to one crank revolution is the lowest gear possible. :mad:...

Well, after much procrastinating, and shifting project priorities, I finally got a start on making my Big Dummy useable. Trying the DIY route, just to see how it turns out. 3/4" EMT conduit is the perfect size tubing for this, so here we go. First, create a layout table, marking the angles and...

Does anyone have experience towing one bike with another? I have made a custom snapdeck for my Big Dummy with a pickup bed mount style front fork clamp mounted on it but figured I should ask before trying it. One member of the Rootsradicals Yahoo group said it would not work but with no...

Just a few days ago I picked up a pair of Wald folding baskets and have run into a problem I haven't found addressed on this forum. Twice I've arrived home to find my backpack dangling out of the bottom of a basket, the bottom having detached from its resting spot on the bottom wire of the cage...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4502721898_ce26cffd6a_b.jpg If you own a Big Dummy and could use a bit more storage for small items consider using the space behind the seattube for that purpose.

I'm diving into the world of cargo bicycles and building a Surly Big Dummy to serve my family's local transportation and hauling needs. My wife is pregnant with our first, so my build will obviously have an emphasis on kid hauling, but its also going to be used for carrying building materials,...

It looks like most of the utility bikes here use 26" wheels. Is there a reason for that? Wouldnt a hybrid with 700x38 wheels work well too? Also i could just be misjudging wheel size from the pictures :P

http://www.metrofiets.com/profiles/hopworks/#photo4088173815

Full Disclosure: I work sales at a Trek Retailer I happened across Trek making a huge announcement today that they are removing the Gary Fisher brand and replacing the lineup with a "Gary Fisher Collection by Trek" series. If you care about any of that, check out trek's site. The bigger news...

Got a child carrier from the thrift store for $2 took off the seat part and replaced it with a old tupperware lid. Need to move the light and reflector not as visible as I'd like. The wife says it's hideous. Probably it is but it meets my requirements light and cheap. ...

Thought it might be more pleasant to not hijack vik's or anyone else's Big Dummy Build thread and start my own. Perhaps my early adopter actions and ramblings will help someone... In all, I intend to keep my comments as brief as possible. WHY am I building a BD? Two main reasons: 1. I...

My Big Dummy is at the LBS with jagwire hydraulic hose issues. It was supposed to be getting these goodies installed today :( : Longtail kit; wideloaders http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l58/bugly64/101_1725.jpg Kickback http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l58/bugly64/101_1727.jpg

OK, One or two of you here on Bike forums are already aware that during the new year I am expanding my current small business into the manufacture of Cargo Cycles; so I would appreciate a little input from you guys. Currently I have a one man, on-site mechanical engineering business,...

My wife and I ride a tandem and we have a Wike kid trailer for our 1.5 year old daughter. We would like to do all our grocery shopping by bike, but we're afraid of leaving the trailer out. I use a short U-lock to lock up our bike, (We live close to the university and I have had two bikes stolen...

I was looking at the Mundo on its website and it's just as much as a Dummy if you buy the bags. The Dummy complete is $1600 something and $600 for the frame. With the complete you get the freeloaders. The Mundo is $575 for the frame and $1075 complete, but they don't come with bags or disc...