Cargo bike vs trailer

[Garry Booth]

What would be best for the job of hauling say deliveries around relatively flat urban/suburban areas, a cargo bike or a road bike with decent open trailer? The latter is prob the cheaper option, plus you have a more rideable bike when you're not 'working'. What advantages does the cargobike have?

[Tigerbiten]

A single wheel on an axle will fit through a narrow gap easier.
Twin wheels on an axle is much more stable.

So if your in a lot of stop/start traffic then a bike would probably be easier.
But having twin wheels on a single axle will make pick ups/drop offs easier.

Luck ..........

[Brucey]

a good cargo bike rides more like a 'normal bike' when the load is on. If you lock the bike up anywhere, trailers can be faff. When negotiating gaps and tight turns, the cargo bike is again better. If you are delivering stuff one load at a time, you will spend ~50% of the time running empty; an empty trailer isn't always a delight to tow. You need to be aware of the extra length when crossing lanes of traffic etc.Trailers are cheap to buy (cheaper than buying another bike) and can store easily (if they fold and/or can be hung up).

Overall a good/appropriate cargo bike is usually better for any given task, and if you expect to use it a lot, is a better solution. However if the use is specific and/or more occasional, a trailer can be a good solution.

cheers

[Cunobelin]

Cargo trikes have large areas for advertising

[Carlton green]

What would be best for the job of hauling say deliveries around relatively flat urban/suburban areas, a cargo bike or a road bike with decent open trailer? The latter is prob the cheaper option, plus you have a more rideable bike when you're not 'working'. What advantages does the cargobike have?

To an extent I think it depends in the nature of your deliveries and what variants of trailer and cargo bike are available to you. Very large or/and awkwardly shaped items would, I think, be typically better in/on a trailer. Cargo bikes come in long tail and purpose built cavity types, trailers are single or double wheel, all variants have their strong and weak points.

I have a flat bed trailer and it occasionally comes in handy for shifting bulky or particularly heavy items (eg. mower, chair, fridge, slabs, recycling boxes) the trailer is versatile and relatively cheap but sometimes unwieldy. I’d like to own a long tail bike as I think it would come in handy for moving shopping and mid sized items, they roll easier than a trailer and are easier to manoeuvre, but ultimately they are expensive and arguably less flexible than a large trailer. Of course I’m thinking personal use there rather than business delivery, and there is a lot to be said for having constant sight of other peoples’ ‘cargo’ too (which requires the load to be in front rather than behind you).

I find it helpful to look at history and common practice. There I rarely see trailers used but I do see delivery bikes with small front wheels and cargo directly above or behind that small wheel (butcher type bike and long john). History and common practice might not provide the perfect solution for you but In my experience it’s a good guide to workable solutions. So depending on the level of use, type of use and budget the options start at trailer, move through long tail and butchers bikes and end at a long john / bakfiets. I have not included three wheel bikes as I think them too special purpose in nature. IMHO the long john type give the greatest load flexibility but they are neither cheap or light, a tradesman type bike might suit your carriage needs adequately and your budget better.

Here’s a typical supplier of cargo bikes: https://www.londongreencycles.co.uk/pro ... ory/bikes/
Royal Mail used to deliver a lot by bike, refurbished ones are available here: https://www.cycleofgood.com/elephant-bike/
Here’s what was historically used: https://tradesmansbike.wordpress.com/wo ... and-carts/

[Garry Booth]

Thanks for the excellent input everyone. Very interesting and useful. G

[reohn2]

FWIW,for 25+years I ran LWB semi high roof Ford Transits for my work,I would never have dreamt of using them as leisure vehicles,we owned a car for that purpose.
It's similar with cargo bikes,and if I needed one tovhaul stuff around it'd be a Bullitt:- https://www.londongreencycles.co.uk/shop/bikes/bullitt/ and it'd be e-assist.I also would keep a bike of choice for leisure.

My 2d's worth

[jgurney]

This haulage business in Vienna used both:

[Garry Booth]

Heavy pedals indeed!

[Carlton green]

This haulage business in Vienna used both ...

Thanks for those photos which I followed up to here to see the variety of bikes that this commercial haulier uses:
https://heavypedals.at/gallery/

Interestingly their long tail bikes are a very different design from what I was expecting, it’s new to me. Whilst the pictures are split fairly equally I suspect that the long john type of bike does a bit more of their work than the flatbed long tail type bikes. It looks like ‘heavy pedals’ can shift quite a wide variety of things.

Edit. This resource might help with the types of delivery bikes available: https://k4rgo.wordpress.com/best-cargobikes/ .

The flatbed long tail types are, I discover, called low tail. My suspicion is that they are a step beyond the long john type that some will find helpful and others not yet necessary. With the need to keep some weight over the steering I feel that there’s only so far you can extend the long john design whilst the low tail could likely be much longer in load bed and manage (trailing) loads hanging over and beyond the back wheel too.
There are an increasing number of companies that specialise in goods moving - and even people moving - so plenty to copy but also companies providing both public awareness of possibilities and (unwelcome?) competition.

[Stradageek]

I've ended up with both - Pashley postie, second hand £150 and a Carry Freedom Large, new about £300. I use both regularly, trailer for large loads (even a washing machine).

I like riding with a trailer (full or empty) because of all the extra space cars give you

[Carlton green]

I've ended up with both - Pashley postie, second hand £150 and a Carry Freedom Large, new about £300. I use both regularly, trailer for large loads (even a washing machine).

I like riding with a trailer (full or empty) because of all the extra space cars give you

With your comment in mind and mulling a few things over the (now) obvious is that individuals and companies are better served by different types of utility cycling devices. What the companies use must logically be better for frequent use but it’s also pricey too, for my needs a trailer is a perfectly fine alternative and it’s also amazing what you can carry on an ‘ordinary’ bike with a bit of adaption and thought. In terms of utility the ex-postie at £150 is excellent value and good for pretty much any domestic need, easy to store too. I guess that for the domestic user - and maybe for a fledgling commercial carrier too - the next level up is a long tail bike, I’d really like one of those (for all the wonderful things that I ‘could’ do with it) but at the moment I don’t actually need one and can’t see when I will need one either.

[mercalia]

I have seen a few cargo bikes in Streatham. In fact one today with a front area for the cargo - it was packed high with blue boxes of some kind. He was wizzing along. I think it was an ebike

[Carlton green]

I've ended up with both - Pashley postie, second hand £150 and a Carry Freedom Large, new about £300. I use both regularly, trailer for large loads (even a washing machine).

I like riding with a trailer (full or empty) because of all the extra space cars give you

For some reason I was thinking about Long John bikes in the night and why I needed one, the best answer that I could come up with was because I liked what they could do. The negatives reappeared (difficult to store, heavy and I never need to move anything that big) so I won’t be rushing off to buy one.

More usefully what did come to me was the experience of domestic Utility carriers - see also my other comment just above - and the virtue of the Butchers type bike. One improvement on the (large basket) Butchers Bike that would help ‘family’ users and utility generally would be a slightly extended rear triangle to give greater stability and heel clearance from panniers and chid seats (keeps rear load weight within the wheel base and helps to avoid parent’s heels clashing with child’s toes and panniers). The overall length of the bike need not change much as due to the smaller wheel at the front it’s possibly a few inches shorter (than standard) so there’s scope to add some inches to the rear for a more useful load platform. That’s, of course, just a general concept arrived at from considering the diverse needs of business and domestic ‘hauliers’.

We drift away from the OP, however as this diversion is towards the end of the thread that doesn’t seem (to me) to particularly matter.

[UpWrong]

The Circe Helios tandem has a cargo configuration. Not a flat bed though.