March 4, 20197 yr Hello Folks, I just wanted to introduce my new cargo-bike that I made myself. I used Steel for the frame because easy to weld and cheap, the next will be a Alloy frame because the next bike should have a centermotor bafang-max-drive or shengyi cmt03 because nobody produce a welding ready interface for steel-frame anymore. The ground-platform is 70x45cm I outfitted the bike with double-disk-brake in the front 2X203mm which give´s a good speedreduction even with 200kg load I also made the cable steering myself because I don´t like a simple long tube to the front and in my opinion the feedback is better as a one sided tube I made the bike because I was annoyed of the prices for the frame-kits, most cargo frame-kit´s cost 1400-1800euro which far to much in my eyes. I payed in total maybe 150euro for the frame-material and material for the cable steering comes another <100euro Motor is a shengyi DGW22 and Display is a key-Display KD718 and controller comes from Lishui of course ;-) Outfitted with 10-speed Shimano Xt components 20" front and 26" rear wheel with Schwalbe 2,15 tire-size front and rear Hub-motor is enough for the typical cargobike-terrain because usually nobody use cargobike with 200kg load in mountain-area I guess but with the following Alloybikeframe (I mentioned above) and centermotor you could drive 10% uphill I guess or maybe more depends on your fitness I made the plattform completely removeable because I want keep it to convert it into a tandem with seat and pedal for a passenger like my wife or my daughter, just in case somebody ask why I did not weld the holder for the platform to the frame
March 4, 20197 yr Hello Folks, I just wanted to introduce my new cargo-bike that I made myself. Congratulations Frank, very neat and smart job. A pity that transport pushes up the cost of such bikes, since I'm sure it would be well received in the European cargo bike markets like Denmark and The Netherlands. .
March 4, 20197 yr Author A pity that transport pushes up the cost of such bikes Yes you´re right, price´s for cargo-bike are to high because a cargobike is not much different from a normal bike. The frame is sure a bit more expensive and a bit more work to do and because of the size has a higher handle-fee and a bit higher price because of smaller series but if we count a normal quality bike-frame with 150euro consumer-price then should be the price for a cargobike quality frame-set incl the cable-steering-set and painting not be above 700 consumer-price in my eyes which is less than the half of today´s price´s. Half price would give a kick to the market. I could offer such price for potential customer but I have a nice job at Lishui-Nanjing-Controller so no need for that on my side.....
March 5, 20197 yr Well done that man. As you say, cargo bikes in the main are too expensive, which is why the Argo bike came about. That is listed at about 900 US dollars, but I think they have sold out. There is a certain cargo bike listed at £4000 retail. If you study it, and work out the cost of components, it does seem very high. It does not give much encouragement to people to start using them. Keep up the good work.
March 5, 20197 yr Nice job Frank! Are you chasing the La Poste market ? - they're always looking at new suppliers... Actually I like yellow. Enjoy the cargo! KR
March 6, 20197 yr Hello Folks, I just wanted to introduce my new cargo-bike that I made myself. I used Steel for the frame because easy to weld and cheap, the next will be a Alloy frame because the next bike should have a centermotor bafang-max-drive or shengyi cmt03 because nobody produce a welding ready interface for steel-frame anymore. The ground-platform is 70x45cm I outfitted the bike with double-disk-brake in the front 2X203mm which give´s a good speedreduction even with 200kg load I also made the cable steering myself because I don´t like a simple long tube to the front and in my opinion the feedback is better as a one sided tube I made the bike because I was annoyed of the prices for the frame-kits, most cargo frame-kit´s cost 1400-1800euro which far to much in my eyes. I payed in total maybe 150euro for the frame-material and material for the cable steering comes another <100euro Motor is a shengyi DGW22 and Display is a key-Display KD718 and controller comes from Lishui of course ;-) Outfitted with 10-speed Shimano Xt components 20" front and 26" rear wheel with Schwalbe 2,15 tire-size front and rear Hub-motor is enough for the typical cargobike-terrain because usually nobody use cargobike with 200kg load in mountain-area I guess but with the following Alloybikeframe (I mentioned above) and centermotor you could drive 10% uphill I guess or maybe more depends on your fitness I made the plattform completely removeable because I want keep it to convert it into a tandem with seat and pedal for a passenger like my wife or my daughter, just in case somebody ask why I did not weld the holder for the platform to the frame This one has just appeared, at a bargain 6000 US dollars! https://electricbikereport.com/yuba-electric-supermarche-cargo-bike-review-part-1-pictures-specs/ That is without the bamboo box, and I note it has cable steering Frank, like yours. The people who produce the Argo also feel that things are getting too expensive. I think they have a point.
March 7, 20197 yr Author 6000dollar for a bike? if the car industry find out they will directly come to the conclusion "ok, guys , if people are willing to pay for a little bicycle 6000 dollar then 50.000 dollar for our new tiny four seat 45hp poor family car without any luxury should be fair and reasonable!" btw, the yuba supermarche is a nice cargobike, it drove best in compare to many other cargobike´s I´ve tested I´m not really a fan of converting normal bike into cargobike but it has it´s charme and on the end I like when people find there personal solution to use a bike insteat of the car. Here are some website for converting normal bike into cargobike: http://trego-trolley.com/home https://www.addbike.fr/en/home/ https://argobikes.com/products/argocargokit
March 7, 20197 yr Author here is another startup-company with a trekking/cargobike cameleon ;-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIZNjbv2RVU
October 5, 20196 yr Nice job ..it looks very well made ...how thick is the steel tube you used for the frame ...did you have it secured in a jig when you welded it up , to prevent distortion ? ....
October 19, 20214 yr Slight resurrection of this thread and sadly 2 years on and no one provides a suitable low C of G frame whether front cargo or rear cargo to the market for self builds.
October 20, 20214 yr Slight resurrection of this thread and sadly 2 years on and no one provides a suitable low C of G frame whether front cargo or rear cargo to the market for self builds. What about this? Looks pricey though: https://curbsidecycle.com/products/bullitt-complete-frame-kit
October 20, 20214 yr Slight resurrection of this thread and sadly 2 years on and no one provides a suitable low C of G frame whether front cargo or rear cargo to the market for self builds. Modify a tandem? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203606493382?
October 20, 20214 yr What about this? Looks pricey though: https://curbsidecycle.com/products/bullitt-complete-frame-kit Exactly as frank point out in the OP, price and a rip off. Cargo on the front is not very good one wants the weight behind esp for taller bulky stuff, those things are ok for kids and pets.
October 20, 20214 yr Exactly as frank point out in the OP, price and a rip off. Cargo on the front is not very good one wants the weight behind esp for taller bulky stuff, those things are ok for kids and pets. So you want to build a sort of roofless two wheeled bike van? That sounds very useful. I can't see any frames like that available anywhere. This guy said it took him a very long time to cut the right shapes with a dremel, for welding: https://makezine.com/2015/01/21/how-i-made-a-cargo-bike-in-my-kitchen/
October 20, 20214 yr Exactly as frank point out in the OP, price and a rip off. Cargo on the front is not very good one wants the weight behind esp for taller bulky stuff, those things are ok for kids and pets. That price is an ouch! Steel is pretty easy to weld, as I recall from metalwork class in school, but I wouldn't trust any of my welds in any load bearing construction lol. Personally, I'd pay a proper welder to do it. It certainly sounds like a worthwhile project.
October 20, 20214 yr Price is subjective really, especially as many of us are paying between three and eight grand for an electric pushbike loaded up with a component level normally associated with bottom of the range catalog bikes. The Bullitt is a one piece design properly made, and not welded by someone who learned to weld in some part time evening class and never really done it since or as a job. It's in alloy specified for the job via computer aided design, and not heavy weight steel tubing, probably selected because thats all B&Q had in stock and the fact welding alloy involved heat treating so steel is easier for the amateur to attempt. Fully and professionally painted, all the parts for attaching the bottles and or batteries and most importantly its been assembled on a jig, so geometry wise its all square. Not an easy thing to do by eye especially if you've no idea how to go about such a process. Expensive yes, but reliable also. And it doesn't look like a pigs breakfast. Another thing to consider is no donor bike was really designed with adding 40lbs of steel framing to the front. Which is probably why the OP built his from scratch, and oddly or tellingly enough in the same style as the bullitt. Front cargo is something Dutch bikes used in the origins of cargo bikes and some of the ones I've seen over there were for carrying huge amounts with a pallet sized platform. eg Edited October 20, 20214 yr by AndyBike
October 20, 20214 yr It'd fall apart like a clown car, if I welded it. It'd burst into flames too, because I'd soldered the electrics... but the hi-viz yellow paintwork might look quite good before all that happened. Edited October 20, 20214 yr by guerney
October 20, 20214 yr Cargo on the front is not very good one wants the weight behind esp for taller bulky stuff, those things are ok for kids and pets. How about this? Cargo at the back: https://www.atomiczombie.com/transporter-carg-bike-diy-plan/ Centre of gravity looks a bit high... Edited October 20, 20214 yr by guerney
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