One year with the cargobike

Last week was a milestone, it was the second time to haul a big pumpkin home for Halloween. Last year (2009) the ride home with pumpkin was one of the first trips for our new cargobike. So now a year has passed and a review of my life with this bike is in order.

Daily Use

The main good news is it is not gathering dust in a the back of a storage shed. I ride it daily -to work, to the grocery store, and to carry my son his school and various activities. I enjoy the rides. I've skipped a few rides and taken the bus when the weather was especially windy and wet, and missed the pump I get from riding.

Hills

I climb hills like the rise from the Ship Canal to Greenlake, and the lower northeast side of Capitol Hill taking my son to school. I did climb most of Capitol Hill once, but walked the bike one block. To readers I caution that the cargobike might not work for commutes with steep hillclimbs. For me, in hilly Seattle, it gets me to everything I need to get to.

Maintenance

One bike tube replaced due to slow leak. Spent $5 for that tube. That's it. No other maintenance. Oh, and I left it parked outside for weeks. Strongest bike in the world.

Wrecks and Spills

I've went down only once. It was on Westlake Avenue and caused by going over the trolley tracks too fast in the rain(my son was not onboard, I'm much more cautious when he is around). I have a long negative rant about those trolley tracks to be posted someday. It was not the fault of the cargobike's design, many bike commuters are reporting spills on these [expletive] tracks. I ride over rail tracks almost daily in other parts of town and have no problem.

Does my son still like riding it?

Yes, my son consistently likes riding it. He started riding as passenger around 1 1/2, and every ride has went fine.

Rock star treatment

Everywhere I go, people comment about it. From people that look around 150 years old, to tourists, to anyone else.