Finally done!

DVC45, I like that rigid Diamondback frame. Nice bike!

oldfool, I like your home brew utility bike. I grew up about 40 miles from Bayou Blue, and I've handled quite a few flat-back feed buckets for horses. That's a great idea for those buckets!

Here you can see my dutch utility bike in a german landscape...
Hope you like it.

andy

True North has done a number of these:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/3645062...7620270604319/

sashae are those 717 rims? Any problems putting fatties on them?

Yep, Mavic X717s. No problems with the Fat Franks thus far...

I put huge tires on my bike once, man that sucked. I ride alot and it's hard enough without a ton of rubber. I guess with disc brakes and tires like that, your rims will last forever. Is that the thinking? I gave mine fatties away after a week. You must be a beast!

I just finished putting this together this afternoon, so my first ride was with a load on the back.



Just a bit of headshake until I got rolling. I sure got a lot of looks!

i like the looks of that dutch utility bike macfred. interesting triangulation probably makes for a stiff frame. who makes it? are the wheels different sizes or is that an optical delusion?

thanks

@bikecoppXXX
It`s an optical delusion...
Wheels are both 622 / 28".

grettings
andy

Here is an unusual quad cycle utility bike

https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/bik/1374850091.html

Hi all, I have a DIY longtail but it's pretty generic so I haven't ever bothered to take photos of it. Instead, however, I thought I would show off the custom cargo bike I made for a local delivery service.

I call it The Truck. It is almost 11 feet long with an 8 foot wheelbase, it will carry 12 common plastic tubs for a gross vehicle weight of 500 lbs. The rear wheel has zero dish and uses a special 14mm BMX axle with a 6-speed cluster. The kickstand can be remotely operated by cable with a special pull handle mounted atop the stem. Chain slap is minimized with a layer of UHMW beside the chainstay. Mostly made with materials and bike components rescued from the landfill.

:)ensen.

Holy cow!!!!!


Any reason you put the rear wheel so far back? For load carrying, handling, and turning radius, it would have been better to have the rear wheel at about the CG of your load (assuming your rear wheel can take the additional weight)

No, the theory is a fallacy. The best handling vehicles are the ones with as close to 50/50 weight distribution as possible. Since the spec was an average of about 25 lbs for each tub, the CoG moves from around 40" behind the front axle when empty to about 65" behind the front axle when fully loaded. That keeps the weight distribution between 42/58 and 32/68. Moving the rear axle forward changes the distribution when loaded to about 24/76 a situation that can really mess things up if there load starts to bounce around. Of course, in use, the tubs are strapped down with those cam-locks.

It will negotiate normal street corners without problem. A U-turn is still possible in a space that is at least 25 ft wide, but as you might expect, the movement is more like that of rotating the front wheel about the rear wheel. For really tight maneuvers, I recommend the operator dismount and, facing backwards and straddling the front wheel, use the handlebars as if moving a low flat dolly.

The beauty of the cable-operated kick-stand is that the rider need not worry about balancing the load while dismounting. Even better is that the load is only about 8"-9" from the ground and if you come alongside a curb with the sides just overhanging, the bike can be set down on the curb without much tilt. Though that seems like a lot less clearance for turning, it still calculates to cornering at about 0.5G... more than most riders ever do on any bike and way more than any fully loaded cargo bike should be going.

:)ensen.

Just amazing - the cable actuated center stand is ingenious.

My theory for loaded CG is more from trucks so prob not appropriate for bikes...

Actually, I studied trucks and other cargo vehicles of various types for this commission. Take a look at the next truck that goes by.... flatbed, cube, semi-trailer, etc. The rear axle(s) will be behind the middle of the loaded area.

There are several design reasons I can think of why Xtracycle puts their rack over the rear axle. One primary consideration is shipping weight and size. Moving the load forward entails making the extension kit even longer, and thus harder to ship. Moreover, because it is an addition to the existing bike, the designer cannot be certain exactly if the bike frame being modified is even strong enough to carry extra weight. By putting all the cargo weight on the rear axle, Xtracycle guarantees that any bike frame can be used, regardless if it is a Bianchi or a Flying Pigeon. Finally, the load itself is almost never large enough to affect the handling of the overall vehicle, especially if using the Wideloader wings to carry the weight down low. IME, only loads in excess of 100 lbs negatively affect the handling of the typical longtail with wings, and only when moving slower than 2 mph. If I had to guess, I'd say that the load has to reach 200 lbs before the bike requires constant attention while in motion. For what it is supposed to do, it is a good design.

:)ensen.

That's a Worksman quad. Basically, they use the front end off of their reverse-trikes and the back end off their regular industrial trikes. Makes it more stable, gives some extra cargo capacity. It'd be neat to have, but likely to be heavy and slow, too.

purplepeople, really nice bike! Great work!

Thanks.... the biggest problem was the required size. I am working out of an 8'x10' shed and the bike is 11' long. I'm sure the neighbours though it pretty funny to see the bike slowly growing out the door of a backyard shed.

:)ensen.

Very nice, cabana!

I removed the rear rack from my Marin, but it's easy to hitch the B.O.B. when needed.

Nice photo, Cabana!

Box prototype done! New version coming next week.

Popping a wheelie!

Nice bike. The box looks good.