A few weeks ago I explained a conundrum: I have greatly enjoyed riding my leisurely e-trike, but I haven’t gotten enough exercise. One of my original family biking goals was to get more exercise with my children. However, as my husband describes it, the pedal-assisted trike is “like coasting downhill, both ways” — fun, yes! But not necessarily a source of fitness.
Thus, I have been toying with the idea of returning to a non-electric cargo bike. This is particularly relevant, as I am riding both with young children in my cargo box and my newly independent kid-riders. This means my e-assist doesn’t increase our speed or range because I have to ride at the ability, pace, and distance that accommodates our slowest kid rider. It therefore seems a most opportune time to ditch the motor and pedal myself and little ones, getting some good exercise while my big kids learn to pedal themselves.
With that crazy idea in mind, I took the kids out for some test rides. Which option would you pick? (Notes: I had to test ride the bikes with motors, but I would purchase the human-powered model. I’ve also shared my children’s opinions too. The drawings represent their viewpoints, not mine.)
Option 1: The Steel Steed
I saw this blue beauty pop up for resale, and I knew I had to try it. I had been wanting to try a Dutch-made bike for years, and this looks just like the original Emily Finch bike, which she rode motorless with six children (four in front, one on the back rack, another pedaling on an attached tow-bike). This one had an aftermarket motor installed, which could be removed — if I wanted to stick to my plan to get a human-powered cargo bike, and try to copy Emily.
A few details:
- Workcycles bakfiets
- Used from local seller: $3,500 with rain cover and motor (would have to pay to have motor removed)
- Steel frame
Pros:
- My kids loved this bike (see my daughter’s illustration above)
- “Rides like a dream” –says my daughter. Very comfortable ride, especially for passengers
- The e-assist is fast and the throttle button is very helpful when getting started
- Spacious and comfortable cargo box with bench seat
- It’s a gorgeous bike
Cons:
- Heavy! I tried riding it, unassisted, without kids (so no load weight), and the bike itself felt extremely heavy. (How did Emily pedal such a heavy bicycle?) Steel is heavy.
- Swept-back handlebars and upright riding position: I have learned I don’t like the feel of this style of handlebars, and with the hope of riding unassisted, I am looking for a more athletic biking position.
- Would have to pay to remove the after-market motor in order to get my exercise, but the motor was the bike’s best feature
- I didn’t feel as confident in the brakes. I had to really push hard to bring this bike to a stop.
- This bike was hard to maneuver from stopped, and hold upright when slow/stopping. I didn’t feel confident riding it unless I was using the e-assist. It is comfortable when moving, but I worried about tipping the box over when it was heavy with a full load of children.
- My kids hated the rain cover, as it squished them too much and didn’t fit their helmets.
Overall:
I hated the feel of this bike on its own (a total shock, as I really wanted to love it!) With the motor on, it was absolutely fun and fantastic. Motorized, this bike goes fast. If I wanted a zippy and beautiful e-bike, this would be great. But I would rarely be able to use the motor at high speeds, since I would then leave behind my big kids riding their own kid-powered bikes. With the motor, I wouldn’t achieve my goal of a human-powered family bike. And without the motor, I didn’t want to ride it.
Option 2: The Jittery Speedster
A few details:
- Yuba Supercargo Front Cargo Bike, non-electric, with open-loader box
- $3,734 from Clever Cycles (with baseboard, open-loader box, rain cover & bench seat)
- Aluminum frame
- Cable steering
Pros:
- Lightweight! With the aluminum frame, bamboo baseboard, and fabric box, this bike felt lightweight, even when fully loaded with kids
- Fast: I test-rode the e-version with “no assist” the entire ride and I felt fast. My kids said, “Too fast!” And “This is way faster than our Bunch trike.”
- Super-responsive: the cable steering responded to even slight movements, turning quickly. And the brakes were amazing – so much so, that I had to be careful not to stop too fast.
- Decent-size cargo box, with bench seat.
- Step-through frame (I enjoy the ease of this, accommodating dresses more comfortably, and much easier when riding pregnant/postpartum and out-of-shape: no high leg lift over the top tube)
- Great feel and fit: I loved the handlebars and seat immediately. I know these can be changed, but it feels amazing to ride a bike with the perfect seat and handlebars. The bars provided a more athletic riding position, which is just what I wanted.
- I loved riding this bike. I was sure I would ride it immediately if I bought it, and not mind the absent motor. It felt light, fast, and zippy–no motor needed.
Cons:
- The cable steering was too responsive. The front wheel felt wobbly, responding to every shift in weight. On an uphill section I zig-zagged somewhat dangerously as I shifted my weight side-to-side on the pedals. On the downhill, I still had trouble holding her straight and steady. I worried about the possibility of wobbling into a passing car.
- Bumpy ride for passengers.
- My kids hated this bike. It was bumpy and wobbly and they were convinced I was going to veer off the path and tip us into the Willamette.
Overall:
I was disappointed that this bike I liked was adamantly opposed by my children. I liked it because it felt the lightest and fastest, yet I share their concern about the “wobbly” feel. They were very uncomfortable. Would I improve my skills and get used to the highly responsive cable steering, or would the jittery feel of the steering become more annoying to me and all of us? It felt like this bike had a few shots too many of espresso–for better and worse.
Option 3: Splendidly Smooth and Steady
Details
- Larry vs Harry Bullitt (human-powered)
- ~ $4,000 from Splendid Cycles (price adjustments based on customized choices)
- Aluminum frame
- Solid arm steering
- Choice of a standard or long deck frame and variety of boxes
- Human-powered Bullitts are customized, made-to-order
Pros:
- Custom-made, high-quality, dream bike. The ability to participate and choose the build-up of this bike is extremely exciting.
- Smooth ride. My kids approved!
- Smooth steering. The whole ride was smooth and steady.
- Strong brakes. A tap to stop us. I felt very secure with the brakes.
- My kids liked this bike. They felt the smooth ride. (My daughter gets motion-sickness, and she approved it.) Their approval is particularly notable because they were the most squished in this cargo box, the most tired at the end of our day, and compared to the first bike, I didn’t use the e-assist much. I think they just knew a high quality bike when they felt it.
- Supports local businesses: the wood cargo boxes are made-in-Portland
- The shop is so-much-fun! I want to go back. My kids want to go back. We would all enjoy building our dream bike with this amazing bike-building crew.
- Beautiful. This is a beautiful bike.
- Feels “worth it.” It’s hard to fork over a lot of money for a non-e-bike. But the quality and customization of this bike feels like a worthy investment in a beautiful lifetime machine.
Cons
- Felt heavy. I think the wooden cargo box may have added a lot of weight compared to the canvas box on the Yuba, and I was feeling it.
- Felt slower than the Yuba. (Maybe I was tired, but it felt harder to pedal this bike.) I didn’t feel zippy and zoomy.
- I didn’t immediately fall in love. (This isn’t a fair assessment, as I could build-a-bike-to-love. But I didn’t love the handlebars or seat that I tried, and it’s hard to assess what my custom bike would feel like, compared to the one that was available to test-ride.)
- No bench seats in the cargo box. This really squished my passengers and eliminated under-seat storage space.
Overall:
This is a beautiful bike with a lot of customization options. I don’t think I test-rode the option I would ultimately choose, and after feeling tired on my test ride, I began to lose confidence in my plan to give up a motor. Should I really build a custom human-powered bike? I want to come back and try again for a longer ride…. this is the option I am dreaming about…. but I am not sure I am strong enough to go through with it!
Option 4: Keep what we have
I could give up the outlandish idea of riding a human-powered family bike. We could just keep our e-trike with its huge cargo box, lots of storage, great bench seats, e-assist, and fun coasting leisure-ride. Save money and get a gym membership instead?
What should we pick? What have you picked for your family bike? Did you test ride multiple options? Bike or trike? E-assist or human-powered? Local shop or shipped in? What was your favorite? How did you choose? Does anyone regret their choice? Tell me more. We’d love to hear from you.
Shannon – I love these articles about your cargo bike adventures. I’ve had a Larry vs. Harry for a little over four years and I love it. I ride my two sons all over town in it. The thing I like most compared to other cargo bikes is that the LvH is the only one where I feel like I am actually riding a bike. It is smooth and responsive in the same way that my normal bike is. I rode an Urban Arrow on a family trip to Copenhagen last year and felt like I was driving a boat, and the position that my body was in made it difficult to generate the pedal force I needed to ride without the motor on. I frequently ride the LvH with no e-assist (probably more than half of the time) and I think that is mostly because I am in a posture that allows me to pedal effectively. Good luck with your choice.
Larry v. Harry #1 with a Bullitt!
I’ve had a Bullitt bike for a number of years now. For me it has simply been the best! Originally I used it with the largest kid/cargo box that Badger made (similar to the one that you test rode, but even bigger!), and yes, they are a little heavy. However, you can fit a ton of stuff in them, including 3 kids. I set mine up w/o an electric motor. Just a classic mtb triple front chainring and a huge 11-47 11 spd cassette on the rear. It goes up ANYTHING. Slowly! But I get there. I actually never use the small chainring on the front.
My daughter is now grown so I have taken the box off use it like a flat bed truck. It is much lighter, and handles like a regular bike. …ish I even ride on trails around town. (but I’ll deny that if asked!). The aluminum frame is super stiff and strong and I will always recommend that material over steel for cargo bikes. Good luck with the search!
I had never heard of a “family bike” so this is all new to me.
In November, I made the opposite choice: purchasing a pedal-assist bike because the commute to a new job was just a little too far and the final hill a little to steep (500′) for my fifty-something bod on my twenty-something univega. So my advice is not about what to purchase but it is about where to purchase: I bought my bike from Splendid Cycle, and have been delighted in every interaction with them, from shopping to routine maintenance, to “roadside assistance” (i.e. when a stopped cargo train was blocking the crossing I need to make on my morning commute yesterday, Zach — the SplendidCyclist who sold me my bike — happened to ride up on his cargo bike and offered to show me a get-around-the-stopped-train route that didn’t involve the often broken elevator). So yes, a local shop is a center for bike community, and this shop is definitely a great one to patronize!
Here’s a few options to maybe consider.
For the heavier, slower bikes that you like, but don’t want to go full e-motor assist, what about something like a Schlumpf Mountain Drive if it’s just a matter of more gearing?
Maybe you can find an e-assist motor that only engages when you really need it or you can set it to very low assist, like 10%.
What about a xtracycle w. a Wehoo double traile? You’d get a lighter, faster bike that’s more designed for optimized power delivery to the wheels and the kids can also help by pedaling the Wehoo trailer.
It”s also a bit more customizable, for when you don’t have to take all the kids and they’re also great for stowing & carrying their small bikes too if and when you need to.
I hope that’s helpful. I’m curious to know what you come up with.
Wow! This is really giving me some ideas to investigate! With 20inch wheels, derailleur hanger is the most restricting factor for gearing. And I desperately want to go with a 1x for simplicity, reliability and (if I’m being honest) ascetics.
Internal hubs could be something worth investigating!
I see that Henry Cutler of Workcycles has made some updates on his now classic bakfiets. My ~2003 bak did not have a metal frame around the cargo box, as the long box was just bolted to the frame spine. (Never seemed a problem with loads). I would suggest sticking to a rod steering vs wire, as wire will stretch over time. And the fabric box would be great for most cargo (light weight) but I would think it would wear over time (rip) and may give less protection if it fell over with kids vs a solid box. The marine grade plywood of the Workcycles is made to be parked outside, as I did for many years while I lived in a small apartment. I test rode one of the first Bullits that Jay Graves imported and it was sooo responsive that I almost wrecked (over steered jackknife) as I peddled out of their Sandy Blvd shop’s front door…even with my years of riding a Workcycle bak. ;-0
My family has a Surly Big Dummy and we love it. Unfortunately it appears to be discontinued (in favor of its electrified little sibling, the Big Easy), but there are plenty available secondhand because it was on the market for several years. But anyway it wouldn’t be enough to carry *your* whole family unless you added a trailer.
Among the choices you tried, I vote for the Bullitt. I have a friend who has one (motorized) for his family, with no complaints that I’ve heard. Disclosure: I am friends with a Splendid employee.
I popped over to Surly’s website to confirm this depressing notion and the big dummy appears to still be available. I’m running multiple cargo bikes and the BD is my basic daily commuter, acquired from the fine folks at Splendid.
Yes, but… Ask any Surly dealer if they can order one for you–they cannot. You could say the BD is “quiet quitting”.
Presumably at some point your youngest kids will be too big and heavy for any box (and riding entirely on their own) and the need for a “family bike” (as opposed to a cargo bike) will end. In your opinion, how long is that from now? Might it be better to focus on a model that you can more easily later convert to a cargo bike?
As someone who owns two racing bikes, there is no upside to these positions on a cargo bike. Top speeds aren’t great no matter how you fit or power train yourself, and narrow bars sacrifice valuable control.
Enjoy sitting up and watching the world go by in slow motion.
Why not just not use the motor on the trike? Leave the battery at home, and push it up the hills. Maybe the gearing has to be adjusted to account for no motor. Not as nice as any of the above, but it will get you your workout.
I have been thinking about this. I was so close to getting a Larry v. Harry, but then I saw that the Urban Arrow has the box made of helmet foam, and how do I say no to that? I still want the exercise. For now I’m pulling a Burley trailer, so for sure any front loader will be easier up the hills. And when I’m older and weaker, I’ll have a motor.
Have a no battery week (day?). If it’s terrible, then you learned something.
Another unassisted/manual pedal option is a tandem or triple upright or recumbent bike. Here’s a link to ‘The Family Adventure Project’, which has tons of good & useful info on tandems, trailers, tag-a-longs, etc. https://www.familyadventureproject.org/choosing-bikes-for-cycling-with-kids-tandems-tag-along/
If I had kids and was doing what you’re doing, I’d definitely look into recumbent options. Bents are very comfortable and are much more energy efficient due to their more aerodynamic riding position.
Also, as recumbent bikes & trikes are designed by people who are passionate about bicycling but for whatever reason can’t ride an traditional upright bike, there’s so much innovation, customization to suit a wide range of specific needs.
Here’s a link to get you started, https://www.rad-innovations.com/tandem-bikes.html
I highly recommend talking to the good & very nice folks at RecumbentPDX about a recumbent bike/trike solution.
I bought a Bullitt Larry vs. Harry in June 2020. It had side panels, 3×10 gearing, and a steering damper but did not have a motor.
It was amazing, so smooth. so easy to pedal.
The Bullitt feels like a glider, and the balance is marvelous.
The Bullitt carries my Brompton, other adults, back packs, and whatever else.
I definitely recommend the Bullitt without motor.
Analog Bullitt weighs 49.2 lbs
It is both fun and a good workout without the motor.
Wanting to carry lots of heavy things, I added a 1000w Bafang mid-drive motor myself in May 2021. I already have the tools and had the knowhow from two prior mid-drive conversions. I did need to buy a pair of usb hose clamps from King Cage to mount the battery on the steer tube. Otherwise DIY mid-drive Bullitt was the way to go, so now the bike is 1×10. The battery is pretty easy to remove and the 1000w motor weighs about 12.5lbs. A 750w BBS02 weighs 9.5lbs.I also bought the XL badger box, so now I am definitely hauling lots of fun things.
You’ll love the Bullitt if you can find an analog one, there is one on craigslist in seattle right now. Then you can add a mid-drive whenever.
Or buy a new Bullitt X, 220mm longer…
Come to bike happy hour and see all the Bullitts! There is also a bunch of love for Bullitts on reddit.
I have no plans to sell mine, but we could trade bikes for a week or two….
One other consideration, I’ve ridden/ owned/ rebuilt tons of different bikes over the years. Basically as I’ve progressed to “racier” geometry, quicker road bikes, the geometry gets more ” twitchy feeling”…but I find after a pretty short amount of time, I get used to it and feel just as in control ( and now more so, because it is a more responsive geo) and enjoy it. If that is the only issue with the Yuba, just my two cents.
Also, Cane Creek,(and probably others now) make an adjustable headset, which can slacken or tighten headset geometry by .5 degrees increments, and thus lessen the “twitch”. Good luck!
I have a Gazelle bakfiets second hand that someone got from the Netherlands. I think the bikes from there are optimized for flat riding. Like the first one you tested, my bike is very heavy (despite a fabric box!), the gears do not go anywhere near low enough (a different chainring would probably fix this), and the brakes are terrible – my biggest concern. I think drum brakes are just useless. Maybe a new set could work better, I need to investigate.
But my thought, with a heavy load, get something with good brakes and low gearing. It doesn’t sound like top speed is your concern (although it needs to feel efficient – I get that completely!), so something with a low low bottom gear and good brakes.
It’s too bad about the bad box on that last one. I wonder if there are custom options – maybe lighter weight and with benches? I’d love to get into making custom boxes, it seems like a fun project.
I’ve been wanting a Bullitt for a little over a year, and was finally able to bring my kids to Splendid and try some out yesterday. They let me try all of the configurations with my kids in the box going over the Tillicum Crossing bridge and back. My kids absolutely loved it, even in the rain. I now want a Bullitt even more than I did before. I’m still on the fence about getting one with a motor or not, but my wife is pushing me toward getting one with a motor. I only need to transport 2 kids or 2 dogs, so I think a standard length triple box is just about right. The Bullitt X is cool too, but hard to justify the extra cost for more space that I won’t need very often.
I rode one of the R&M bikes they had too. Super nice, and probably my kids’ favorite, but it felt less sporty, less bike-y maybe, I don’t know, just not as fun as the Bullitt.
I have a bullitt which i purchased lightly used in 2013 and ran analog, with a single kid until 2019 when i added a aftermarket mid drive kit to help with a second kid. It’s light weight and fun ride make it one of the best options in the cargo bike world.
I would get an analog bullitt to start and considering add a motor later with help from someplace like Nomad, as your needs change. You could also start with an ebullitt and run it on the lowest level while riding with smaller kids. While the bullitt does have a hefty upfront cost, it’s so useful and fun and holds it’s resale value. Also, i feel my comments here will reflect similar sentiments from other users.
I have a friend with a dutch bakefiets, similar to your first test ride and it’s shockingly different from the bullitt. I feel like the Metrofiets cargo bike, which was locally produced for a number of years in pdx is the best steel cargo bike available. Otherwise, stick with the aluminum rides.
Finally, the long john cargo bikes are all wobbly at low speeds and take some practice to dominate.
I have the yuba super cargo (non electric). I figured I could add a bafang down the road if really felt I needed to for less than the cost difference with the electric version. But I don’t think I ever will.
After riding it for a week or so, piling ridiculous weight in it, gaining confidence in the steering, I find it a very comfortable ride. More than a couple of times I went way over the weight limit between me and passengers goofing around.
The aluminum frame is light weight (for a cargo bike) yet feels as solid and flex free as any steel bike I’ve ridden.
I like that yuba makes all of the add ons I needed to transport my 17 month old twins around. Harness straps and bench seat for the bamboo box. I didn’t want to have to cobble a carrying system together, “making something work”
I’d say I’ve used it exclusively to bring them home from daycare (short trip, about a mile) each day and they’ve gotten used to the seat and harnesses. They’ve started sitting up straighter, less sliding off the seat. I have taken them on longer rides, nothing crazy though (<5 miles).
Took about a week to dial in the harness straps to their sizes. I also put some Velcro on the seat pad and back pad to keep thn from sliding out from under then. Helped the babies a lot!
I'm 6'2" so the standard seat post was way too short. A 600mm seatpost and some seatpost shims took care of that. I put my well broken in brooks brother saddle on instead of the seat it came with.
Came 85% assembled. Entry level Shimano components. Disc breaking is very reliable and helps with confidence. Kickstand is awesome!! Makes loading and unloading so much easier!
Regarding wobbling. I do see the babies heads wobble a bit if I start mashing. But I've been getting better at downshifting to a gear I can spin in, keeping balanced. This also helps with making tighter turns.
Now I'm looking at all of the completely unnecessary upgrades I can do. Making it a 1x cinch chainring, narrow wide chain, changing the bars out to some surly bmx inspired bars.l, looking at cassettes for children's MTBs to see if they fit, mtb crank arms and chester pedals, mtb bottom bracket… Just digging through my parts bin and seeing what unnecessary upgrades I can do.
All these cargo bikes look very well made, so it's probably preferences/budget that'll be biggest factors. I'm very satisfied with my choice. I don't think I've even gone through a tank on my truck since I got this bike. Picking the babies up from daycare definitely got easier for all 3 of us!
Another upvote for the Bullitt. Given your comment about twitchy handling of another bike, you’ll likely benefit from the steering damper upgrade on the Bullitt. Also know they make a longer version if you’re feeling that more capacity would help. I’d assume the weight difference would be nominal. The only downside might be if your parking physical space is tight. A longer wheelbase would also smooth the riding dynamics even more. At our business, we’ve run the analog Bullitt for years and recently bumped to the electric due to bigger loops and more coffee. We are also running an OG Metrofiets which I strongly recommend if you can score a used one. Sadly the company is no longer but the bikes roll like a cloud on a dream.
If it were me, I would go with the Bullitt, probably, as long as I confirm it has the best gear-range (I haven’t tried all the bikes you have) and that the top tube isn’t an issue for mounting (if you expect shorter riders to pedal the bike then the top tube could be a barrier). An added bonus is a kid can stand behind the box by resting their feet on the frame of the cargo bed and holding onto the handlebar. Probably not ideal for long rides but might be a way to make most of limited space on shorter rides. When I rode the Bullitt it was the only non-e cargo bike I thought would be viable on hills and with large loads based on my test ride. There is a version of the Bullitt with a longer bed, known as the Bullitt X that has me interested as i daydream about N+1. It would be good to compare if possible if you feel like you need additional space in the front. Bullitt X — Splendid Cycles
I have to give a rave review of our Madsen bike! It has the bucket in the back so there’s none of the wobble.
We got ours on Craigslist without the electric assist and we love it. I never thought I’d be strong enough to bike my kids around with it but it is very doable. One day we may do the e-assist add on but for now we’re sticking without the e-assist, the Madsen is just that good I think.