I had been commuting for a while (~10 years), but occasionally cheat when I have to run errands or if the grocery list exist what I can carry in my bags. Since I never tour I do not have panniers and racks except for my MTB and I ride roadbikes all the time.

When I was in Portland, I visited m friend who has been using the Surly Big Dummy for a while. People love these bikes it seems and he was not the first person that I've heard or read that if they only had one bike, he'd choose the cargo bike.

After seeing him carry a sack of beans and a case of beer and his 10 year old... and riding with relatively ease and balance. I am ordering a BigDummy frame next week and use my MTB gruppo (maybe different crank). I do need to build a set of wheels (40H + disc brakes) and if I cannot fabricate the Xtracycle attachments also get one for the BD.

My friend picked up his brother from PDX airport (10.5 miles from his house) by carrying a folding bike and his daughter. On the way back he also carried his brother's guitar and suitcase.Even if going at 12 mph or less, he still made it under 1 hour. I got stuck in traffic and it took me close to 50 minutes to go to the airport last Thursday (granted the car route was longer)

Except for heavy construction materials, I can do most of my errands using this bike. I think this will take my commuting to a higher level

I did a search on the Big Dummy but of course the BF search is broken. I'd like to hear people's experience on them. BTW, Jenson has them for 663. Not bad.