Thinking about a basket bike
 

I am thinking about a basketed bike for use as a townie/grocery bike. I use
a flat bar road bike with rear panniers now, but my capacity is limited. An
Xtracycle would be great but my storage space is limited, so a basket bike
seems good. Being able to carry 2 or three bags of groceries easily would
make shopping easier.

The first thing that comes to mind is to build up a Kogswell P/R with a 3 or
8 speed hub and a big Wald basket on a front rack, but that's a bit
expensive for its intended purpose.

Gary Fisher showed the Simple City at Trek World (
http://arsbars.com/?p=203 ). Looks great, and they claim the geometry makes
it comfortable and easy to ride with a full load. Low trail? Plus the
optional basket looks really strong and is designed for the bike. No price
is set yet, but several sites say $400 for the 3 speed and $800 for the 8
speed, with the basket being optional. Still, even if the basket is a
hundred bucks that's cheaper than the Kogswell. BUT---Fisher showed the
Simple City with a coaster brake at Trek World, and I don't like the idea of
a coaster brake on a bike I ride in traffic. It does have a front caliper
brake, but the coaster makes starting a hassle, b/c you can't just spin the
cranks to get the pedal in a starting position.

Schwinn has introduced the Coffee for the 2008 model year. It's a
re-imagining of classic Schwinn commuter type bikes from the 60s.
http://www.schwinnbikes.com/products...il.php?id=1027
Looks sturdy and stylish, plus it will look like an old bike so may keep
thieves from being interested, not that I live in an area with any bike
theft. But I'd have to rig up the big Wald.

I think I'll probably go with the Fisher, even if it has a coaster brake.
I've written the folks at Gary Fisher a letter asking them to spec the
Simple City with two caliper or canti brakes, but we'll see what happens.

Scwhinnrider,
I have been thinking along the same lines. I was looking at the Schwinn Classic 3 for the base bike. The town I would be using it in is almost flat and laid out on a grid. I was going to use the monster Wald in the front and the largest saddle baskets Wald makes on the rear. I feel like the 26" wheels and the steel frame are the best way to go. I should have done it last year...the price just jumped $80 over the 2007 models:mad:

Aaron:)

get a large basket and install it on your current road bike. that's what I did. works great!

cheap, 80's or 90's or current generation Schwinn derailleur cruiser bike, should be about 100, 150 bucks on your nearest big city Craigs List.

left, old basket bike, served me well 10 years; right, NEW basket bike. I put Wald paperboy baskets on back, supersize Wald front baskets.

I used the bike on the left so much I actually wore out one Wald front basket on it, and eventually snapped the frame.

I scored one of those Wald paperboy baskets for$20 on CL. I LOVE IT!! It slips right over the Blackburn rack that's already mounted to my bike and then I cinch it down w/bungees. Mine's on backwards, though, so it fits better. I also have a blinkie bracket bolted to the bracket that would mount the basket to the bike frame. I could throw a pic up if you want, but I'm supposed to be doing schoolwork now:eek: It holds tons of stuff: gallon milk jugs, 12-packs of beer, college textbooks, what have you.