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Comment by noelwelsh | Hacker News Reader

If you haven't considered it already, a bike trailer is likely to be a cheaper alternative to a cargo bike. I've had a bike trailer for years. Mine is a Croozer 2. I transported my kids to nursery in it, and did supermarket runs etc. The tradeoff is it is an extra thing you have to worry about. It's much less convenient to park / lock-up than just the bike on its own. Regardless, I'm looking forward to getting it out when we more to a more bike-friendly place in a month.

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I have a trailer for grocery store runs. I feel like a total hipster, probably because I am.

But I have so much shit to do and so little time to exercise I have to multitask and game myself into doing things. A good grocery store recently opened up near me and I committed to riding my bike there whenever possible.

It literally takes 5-10m more but in return I get 20-30m of good exercise. Seems like a good trade.

This. I have made it a rule to always use the bike when going around town. With kids and family, this is pretty much all the exercise I get, but it's enough that I haven't gained any weight from 8 years of free food at the office.

FWIW, a good pannier bag will fit a day or two's groceries just fine. I have both a trailer and a pannier, but the pannier is less hassle for small trips.

I have a huge pannier that fit a pair of large groceries bags. I fitted two large holes on the front side for a strap that goes around the saddle pin.

On Saturdays we strap it on our bike, ride to the farmers market and fill the bags up with grossiers for all week for a 3 persons household no problem. Probably some 30kg it can carry with ease. Back at home we take the panniers off so the bike fits in the typical Amsterdam bike shed and fits in the 2 stories bike-racks the train station for daily commutes.

So much more convenient than a Cargo bike that can not be properly stored in 90% of the Amsterdam bike sheds and therefor will need to stay outside all year and take precious sidewalk. At the farmers market it would be quite difficult to find a proper location to park it too. And at train stations even more difficult to find a place to park it.

Taking 30kg on our back in a backpack is not an option for us. Neither is walking through the narrow alleys of a farmers market with a huge backpack.

In the busy pedestrians & bike traffic of Saturday Amsterdam, mounting a canal bridge with an additional 30kg can be quite a feat but not more difficult than a with Cargo bike.

IMHO a large and dismountable pannier is a economic and more convenient alternative for a Cargo bike that can replace it for almost everything except transporting a couple of kids. It's time this means of groceries transport is revived.

Check out this invention my buddy made - it turns ANY bike into a cargo bike!

https://argobikes.com/

Backed Kickstarter for the Argo and the delivered product exceeded all expectations.

I hope they catch on, the Argo is 1/3 the price of the fancy euro cargo bikes.

AWESOME! I started a new HN thread on it (for what its worth):

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17484959

Scott @ Argo ran the best bike shop ever, before starting Argo. Such a clever solution!

I absolutely love the Argo but would caution to make sure your bike plays nicely with it before committing to purchase. Argo claims it should work with Aluminum bikes but I would be very wary of that combination, most AL bikes are near the edge of their engineering parameters and the Argo loads the frame in ways that I'm not 100% comfortable with. If I were to use one - almost bought it but then settled on a 2nd hand Christiania - I'd use it on a steel bike, not an aluminum one. (The bike it was supposed to go on was an aluminum one and that is why we ended up abandoning the Argo.)

I have a trailer for my windsurf. It's a great way to get around and it doesn't affect my bikes handling. I have an electric bike so I don't notice the weight either.

My windsurf is more than three meters long so I am worried about the tail end swinging out when I turn. A rear view mirror would make me more comfortable. The trailer is low so I'm also worried about a car passing behind me driving into it.

Consider putting a flagpole with brightly colored flag on the back of your trailer. I often see these on child trailers and sometimes recumbent bikes - it helps immensely with visibility by putting something in the sight line of drivers.

> The trailer is low so I'm also worried about a car passing behind me driving into it.

I wonder if this concern is really valid. I have a Burley Bee trailer and I've tested out approaching my bike with the trailer attached from behind both in my minivan and sedan vehicles and had no problem seeing the trailer. I've also noticed that vehicles tend to give me more space and are more conservative when passing when I'm riding with the trailer attached, so I don't think they have a problem seeing it. I don't bother using a flag though.

I picked up a portage bag, which is a heavy duty waterproof backpack big enough to hold a dead body, but I use it mostly for groceries and other big hauls on a bike. It's basically just a big bucket you wear on your back. I suppose it's less comfortable than a trailer, but it doesn't require setup time, stores away nicely, and can hold 2 week's worth of groceries for 2.

OTOH, if you use panniers, the heavy load is borne on the bike rather than your back.

I'm a hipster who rides a stripped down fixie, I don't want to bolt a bunch of crap onto my bike. Minimalism is my thing.

Really what prompted me to get it was this big sketchbook I have that I wanted to be able to ride around with, and there was no regular bag of any sort capable of holding it except the portage bag.

I've done lots of backcountry hiking so I'm not afraid of carrying a big heavy bag on my back for a few miles.

You don't hike on your taint.

A bit of weight on your back while biking is fine, but it gets untenable surprisingly quickly.

I feel like OP knows what it’s like to have a heavy backpack on a bike

> You don't hike on your taint.

In general, you shouldn't be putting weight on your perineum (taint) when in the saddle. You should be putting weight on your ischial tuberosities (sit bones) instead. The former can result in blood circulation problems, and possible damage to the nerves and urethra.

Would you link the portage bag youre refering to?

My family called them Duluth Bags: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duluth_pack

They're just giant bags with straps: no frame, no padding. They might be hard to find online but you should be able to find one in pretty much any outdoor shop. Maybe look for a 120L duffel with straps. Love 'em.

Northwest River Supplies is one common source.

This, except in black:

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5012-988/Pro-Pack

A bike trailer has the dangerous property of not being in your peripheral vision. I personally would never transport kids in a bike trailer; I have seen my sister (her daughters) get into hurtful situations and potentially dangerous situations. Whenever you can spend more for a front-load cargobike, I would highly advise to do so.

Would you suggest it for hauling inanimate objects? Does it handle well?

If you're never going to haul kids, just get a utility trailer. They're much cheaper, probably because they don't have to be designed to protect humans.

I'm a long term cyclist, run a cycling business, ride tons of bikes. I can definitely say the bike with a trailer is easier to ride, and is safer by far. Full harness, roll cage, head whiplash protection etc. Just putting this comment out there so other people reading see another perspective and don't dismiss trailers as unsafe. They are great!

This bike trailer of my sister was with all that. My 3 year old niece managed to rip apart a cover and stuck her hands outside. The bike rode near some poles, causing potential hurt. My 4 year old nephew in the same trailer was close in "trying out what happened if I stick my finger there" (the wheel). I had to make a yell to impress him enough to stop. Luckily, I was cycling behind.

Likewise, if your kid gets acute illness (throwing up, dizzy, etc), you're not going to notice it right away.

I would go as far as outright banning these things for transport of living beings, with hefty fines for it. Please stop selling these things for living being transport, you will make the world a better place and have better margins on cargobikes.

I ride with a Burley Bee trailer with my 2 and 5 year old inside to and fron their daycare (3 miles each way). After probably 700 miles of riding with them, I haven't had the problems like you describe. Also, with the handlebar rearview mirror, I have no problem checking up on them while riding.

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