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Comment by lock-the-spock | Hacker News Reader

I own a bike with a big box in the front and parking has absolutely not been an issue for me. In the last six months I rode > 2600km in and around one of the densest European cities and parked in many different places. I have yet to find a place where I cannot park the bike . You can use regular car parking, but you will always find a dead corner, bike rack, big sidewalk, etc where you can leave the bike. And to be clear, I don't block the sidewalks or otherwise selfishly get in the way of other city dwellers.

My bike is an urban arrow, so one of the bigger two wheelers. ~7500€ new with all possible add-ons and a €150 annual insurance that covers the bike in full if ever stolen or damaged in an accident, so I also feel safe parking in rough areas with it.

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Not easy at home in London. Our flat would not allow a cargo bike (1st floor) and there is no where outside to lock it safe and dry.

60,000 people on a 4 year waiting list for on street bike parking:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-cyclists-bike-...

London core requires a special solution -> bikes with folding handlebar stem, folding pedals, possibly a longtail if you need to transport two kids.

All of this stuff exists but the bike industry can't put 2 and 2 together.

Here is a link to a folding handlebar stem that is sometimes in stock: https://flatbike.com/product/thinstem/

In your case, a Tern HSD/GSD longtail may be a better option. It’s not quite as convenient as a long John, but much more compact and parks upright, so it fits even a small apartment.

Transport capacity is still great and the bigger version can seat two passengers, but the kids need to be old enough to sit and hold on themselves.

I cannot speak for the safe part, but here in Belgium plenty of people leave their Urban Arrows outside (with a rain cover).

ive seen recently a new model of cargo bike that can be folded and it takes much less space. Myabe this helps

I got an e-Muli, which is a sorta “short john” but where the front basket folds and handlebars pivot 90° so parking it is a bit more slim, more or less the footprint of a normal bike. It’s amazing — a little heavy so probably not luggable up stairs, but small enough when basket is folded that I prefer it even on errands where I don’t need the cargo space, just cause it’s electric (nice to throw a backpack in the front basket and close it, too. A little pricey since it’s made in Germany, but absolutely worth it: https://muli-cycles.de/en

Glad to hear it. The biggest barrier for me is parking it at home. I don't have an indoor space big enough for a cargo bike and don't want to leave a $8-10,000 bike exposed to the elements and thieves (regardless of insurance).

A coworker of mine has a cargo bike from a company called Tern. I thought that is was the GSD but looking at their website it's different than the one he rides. Nevertheless, a neat feature is you can kick the bike backwards onto its own cargo rack, and the bike stands on its own vertically. He rides it to work and it fits in his comically small office; the footprint is about the same as a vertical filing cabinet. I'm told several of the newer cargo bikes have this feature.

It’s probably a HSD, the GSD’s bigger sibling. I know folks that bought it exactly for that feature and are very happy with it.

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