Cargo bike geek-out!

[UPDATE:  More video links have been added.  See end of post.]

I’ve been remiss in posting some photos, videos and tales of the 2nd Cargo Bike Roll Call that took place on June 24th — but later is better than never.

This gathering of cargo bike users, designers, builders, sellers and other enthusiasts was held at Cascade Brewing Barrel House on SE Belmont and 9th.  If you’ve never had a “sour beer”, I recommend a visit to this pub. I found the staff to be super, the building to be very cool and the beer to be excellent.

One of the highlights for me was seeing Jake Rosenfeld of Huckleberry Cycles, based in Forest Grove. Jake builds custom bikes…all kinds of bikes…and all kinds of other stuff too. He’s amazingly capable. Jake is also an important partner to PPP in the production of our second prototype delivery and Pedal Ads enclosure, for which he built the aluminum frame. As you’ll see in the photos, his Huckleberry cargo bike is beautiful. It also handles very well.

Please read on…

I also met an amazing woman named Sylvia Halpern, aka “Myrtle the Turtle“, who had just completed a 6,000 mile solo ride from Portland to San Diego to New Orleans and back (I hope I got that right).  Her ride is a Greenspeed GTO tadpole trike with a Cargo Monster frame extension and Xtracycle bags, and boosted with an EcoSpeed 700w mid-drive electric system. WHAAAAAAAT! It’s a dream machine. Read about Sylvia, her journeys and equipment here. She’s downright geeky about her gear and is a lot of fun. I hope to see more of Sylvia.

The other special mention I’ll make is the Yuba Mundo (V4) with Stokemonkey electric assist brought by Wake of The eBike Store. PPP is a heavy user of Mundos, which comprise the majority of our fleet. I’m also a big fan of Stokemonkey and am very happy that Yuba redesigned the Mundo frame to accommodate a standard installation of the recognizable red motor, as well as a slick space for the battery. Wake gets to take some credit for prompting these developments.

Now, see and hear PJ’s incredible audio equipped Bullitt that would impress any audiophile in video #1, and some footage of the Huckleberry cargo bike as Jake discusses some design details with Joe Doebele of Joe Bike on Video #2. [Additional video footage added:  Cargo Bike Roll Call – part 1 video includes the ride-in of the fabulous all wood bakfiets that you can read about on the makers’ website at www.boomstik.blogspot.com as well as Bill Stites talking about his tadpole trike design that can be configured as a five wheel big bad cargo bike.  Cargo Bike Roll Call – part 2 video includes some more close up footage of the all wood bakfiets as well as an inside look at Portland Pedal Power’s latest delivery enclosure design and an up-close encounter with Metrofiets’ new rentable beer bike with an introduction by Phillip Ross].

These gatherings have been a lot of fun and I thank the folks who have helped to organize them. I look forward to the next one!