Originally Posted by
wahoonc
I will help
Here is a link to
Nihola they are a Danish built trike and very nice, a bit hard to come by in the US. From what I have read they are the gold standard for the tadpole cargo trikes.
Very kind of you! However I wouldn't put Nihola ahead of Christiana, its just a matter of which style of more appropriate for the buyer. Also as you pointed out
http://www.bakfiets-en-meer.nl/2014/...fiets-finally/ could be big news. Maybe a second credible ackerman-steered trike, and one that could flat-pack for shipping. American buyers rejoice.
In my humble but enthusiastic opinion, the Nihola company has vision that extends precisely to the edge of Copenhagen, and no farther. If you happen to want to buy one of their trikes, they'll be happy to sell it to you, but they appear to have no intention of doing anything that isn't targeted directly at Copenhagen. Buyers in Copenhagen are not enthusiasts, though the are dedicated and year-round. At risk of boring any potential reader, I'll note that when they sold SRAM S7 hubs, they geared them with the range 30 to 90 gear inches. I'm completely fit from riding a Nihola everywhere, and I have set one with
21 to 66 gear-inches, the other with
15 to 79 gear-inches. They have crippled their trikes. They can not be taken on adventures, certainly not by people who aren't conditioned. At the same time... 90 gear inches can not be used except racing downhill. (I suspect that on their current Nexus 8 models, the range is 27 to 83 gear-inches.)
Additionally, the brakes are weak (very marginal in Oslo), and it would be really nice to fit tires fatter than 2.15". A disc brake mount in rear would be great for mounting serious gear hubs. And how about fixing it up so the axle doesn't slide forward under load? Or just mention to the customers that they are not contractually bound to remain on paved, flat surfaces. You can take those things on mountain bike trails, into real mud, kids love it. You can take the kids on tours with a tent. You can just plain drive around in the forests (very nice tamed forests in Denmark full of beech and oak). Ice, snow, hills, whatever. Put a Marathon Plus MTB on the order form with a Alfine 8, 23t rear sprocket, and touring rack. Bingo!
So I have high hopes that WorkCycles will be able to introduce more enthusiastic owners to ackerman-steered trikes. I wonder though, if it will be as "nimble" as a Nihola is in tight spots. Probably will weigh more and I'm not sure about a partly wooden box. The Nihola frame and box construction really is nearly ideal in my opinion. That nice rounded metal tube around the top of the box is just what the doctor ordered when its time to start dragging. Its strong and easy to hold. The whole frame is just great. I've gone flying down gravelly forest paths with over 50kg of kids up front and the bumps are just soaked right up by the tires and frame. My trikes have both spent significant time teetering on the edge of falling over, either from driving off pavement or just from deliberately cornering at the edge. Just this past weekend I was trying to take in across a snow-covered grassy side-slope with 45-50 kg of stuff in front, 10kg in back, and it was on the hairy edge of falling over. I couldn't sit on the seat or it would tip. This is not the way they are meant used, but it doesn't complain at all. (Some passers-by were concerned that I was in some difficulty.) Its a shame that they are effectively undiscovered.
As you can see I'm totally a fan of these things, but then they also have been one of the foundations of my family's life for approaching three years.
Might come back with pictures later.