Saturday, March 9, 2013

Tom's Cargo Bikes — another option!



Today at the Chicago Bike Swap one of us met Tom Labonty, a cargo bike builder from Portland, Oregon, who was in town to personally deliver a Creamsicle bike (which I think is the one in this picture cribbed shamelessly off his website). He and the new owner told me about the bike, which Amtrak had unfortunately delayed, made from most of a women's 26 inch frame and the front parts of a child's 20 inch bike. He uses sheet metal for some of the boxes he makes; I think this is one of them.  They are all different.  Unfortunately, since the bike was stuck in Amtrakland I was unable to ride it around, but I was told its handling was as good as some of the other cargo bikes that were shown at the Bike Swap.

Looking at the pictures, it seems to be a cruiser frame in back with a mountain bike derailer on it, making for maybe 7 or 8 gears, a similar choice to the back of our Haley trike. There are no fenders or lights or back rack, and the chainguard is partial, but all those features can easily be added, changed, customized, or put off til later. The box and the kickstand look to be well thought out and durable from the pictures.

He builds each bike according to what is available or what the customer is looking for - look at his website to see some of the amazing creations he has put together, including cargo bikes, themed bikes, advertising or promotional bikes, and the occasional bike shaped sign. In our brief conversation he repeated what his website points out — that these are simple bikes that inexpensively do what they need to — but he clearly takes a craftsman's pride in making everything himself and not outsourcing a mass produced model to someone else. And it looks like customers are able to provide their own favorite bikes to build from, so if the derailer gears or something else bother you on this bike, you could order one made from an internal hub donor bike or ask for a different geometry as you wish. He noted that all his bikes ride slightly differently, but he has a good understanding now of how to bend the steering linkage and plan the angles so the bikes don't steer badly when they're finished.

In the world of cargo bikes there are very fancy rides, custom made without many compromises by small manufacturers, pricy but mass-produced utilitarian indestructible Dutch models, inexpensive Asian imports, and there is a niche for inexpensive, custom US-made bikes like these. It is easy to talk to Tom about his bikes and you might find just what you are looking for, especially if you have a special idea in mind. I enjoyed meeting him, hope he has a great visit to Chicago, and if I'm lucky I'll run into the new owner again for a spin on the bike itself.


8 comments:

  1. Beautiful Bike, love to have a cargo bike, my two kids are outgrowing my Trek Trailer which I had been pulling with my Dahon Folder for the past two years, running all over the place here in Chicago.

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  2. If your small people are out growing your trailer you might want to consider a double tandem as well or an old schwinn set up for two kids depending on how big your kids are! WE do love our cargo bike. We're lucky to have so many places to take a test drive on them now. Kidical Mass rides are a great place to try out different cargoes and rigs all over town. There is one each in Logan, Lincoln Square and in Hyde PArk. Everyone is usually very happy to share bikes for test rides! J.

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  3. Hi, I am not sure if this is the right place to contact you. We have a Bullitt and an Xtracycle, but are considering getting an Onderwater tandem as our girl gets older. She is only 2 now, but we are looking forward to when she will want to pedal by herself. My one concern is that I see that it is only recommended for children from age 4-8. I am hoping to get a few more years than that. Have you had any experience with older kids on the Onderwater? What would you say is the top age? Thanks!

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    1. We still ride with our 12 year old on the Onderwater without (much) complaint. With feet on the frame, not pedals, it works for the 4 year old (since age 3), maybe at 4-5 they can "pedal" a bit, 6 is perfect, and with a longer seat post and maybe even a handlebar extension you can extend it as desired. Did you see the blurry picture of two grownups on the Onderwater on the Cargo Bike Roll Call post?
      Remember also that the regular Onderwater (with one kid pedaling, one on a jumpseat, you, and a baby in back in a rack seat) can be adapted, using fancy parts from Holland or locally built versions, to hold a big front box for cargo or whatever instead of children. All the extra kid bits disconnect. The extra long Onderwater, with _2_ kids pedaling, another on a jumpseat and still another on the back, has a lot of these parts welded so you can't adapt it the same way.
      Tandems in general are really good for older kids - Bike Friday, Schwinn Sport, Onderwater (lots of kids, kids in front is a big advantage). We don't like tagalong trailer bikes since you can't be sure what is going on back there in traffic.
      You can also sell an Onderwater after you are done with it. It'll last that long. Keep it shiny and you can certainly get 2/3 of the cost back out, I think. Much better made than the alternative that's cheaper.
      Let us know what you do, but we really don't think you'll regret buying one. We couldn't afford it either and now look at us.

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  4. Thanks for the response. It helps to know we can be riding for many years with her on the Onderwater Tandem. We do have several tandems, but after having her in front of us on the Bullitt, we are in love that setup. Do you have any ideas where to look for a used Onderwater bike? We have some time since our daughter is only 2, but I don't see many of them in the States.

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    1. I guess the usual CL and so on... You could probably inform the owners of Rolling Orange in Brooklyn and JC Lind in Chicago and wherever else they're sold, maybe they can put up a sign or keep your info to give old customers looking to sell theirs? We find amazing things in used bike stores sometimes.
      But an Onderwater is pretty rare; there are probably very few imported. What about buying one used in Holland and shipping it? The rental companies on the offshore islands rent them and sell them when no longer shiny - maybe they can send it with a shipper? I think Onderwater itself had a list at one point. We nearly bought one from a rental company on Texel years ago. Might need a big overhaul but that would give you a chance to choose your own improvements, and I can't imagine much wrecking the heavy steel frame.

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  5. Hi,
    In case your interested, I'm the owner of this bike and have a short video of us riding it to a show loaded with music equipment. Nice to meet you at the bike swap and sorry I haven't communicated sooner!

    http://youtu.be/7IqrW2Lz6Ak

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    1. Thanks for the link. How are you and the bike getting along?

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