Haul-a-Day update and Cycle Truck fun

Photo by G'ampa.

Haul-a-Day's first passenger, Charis!

The Bike Friday Haul-a-Day has been a fantastic addition to our stable! While we are still in beta mode and working out a few kinks here and there, I think this midtail cargo bike is going to help us out immensely. 

The only real issue that we had was our kickstand. No matter how much time John at Edible Pedal could put into adjusting it, we still couldn't get it to keep the bike upright. Loading and unloading the kids was a nightmare and it was impossible to leave the bike for even a second if they were onboard. This was seeming to be a real downfall until I reached out to John Lucas of Cycle Trucks to take a look at it. He immediately figured out an answer and even though I couldn't picture what he was suggesting, I brought him the bike the next day. 

In almost no time at all, John added a split collar to each side of the frame and attached a cable to the kickstand. This gave the stand enough tension without putting undue stress on the frame. 

We went from having a terribly useless kickstand to one that is practically earthquake proof. To test it out, John even climbed up the side of the bike and over the hooptie without so much as a wobble. Now I can get the kids up and off without them screaming. 

While I was lurking around John's shop, I got to check out his newest idea--the Cycle Truck rack/Bike Caddy. 

His plan is to create a multi-purpose, super strong rear rack for cargo bikes and potentially standard bikes as well. The rack is solid enough for a passenger to sit on, has crossbars to hold panniers, and side bars at the bottom to tow up to two additional bicycles or just about any other cargo one can think of. 

This rack has so much potential to it and I'm already picturing being able to tow bikes on the Bullitt--both boys' bikes at once, the Haul-a-Day, carry passengers. It would basically (at least) double the Bullitt's cargo carrying capacity. 

Photo by Collin

I couldn't even tell that I was towing a cargo bike on the back of John's Cycle Truck. The long train maneuvered easily around tight turns and the Beavertail (John's newest midtail Cycle Truck) was held securely and comfortably. 

So, after all our cargo biking playtime, I had to get the Haul-a-Day home with my parents' car (for reasons too boring to explain). It was quite a conundrum to figure out how to load up the long and weirdly-shaped frame onto our Serius rack. I came up with this solution but it was certainly not the best one. In fact, one of the buckles snapped and the three mile drive home was one of my most nerve-wracking experiences ever. When I sent the following photo to the folks at Bike Friday, Walter mentioned that it made their engineer a "little nervous" to see it like that.  

So, next on the agenda is an awesome set of Carsick Designs Mondo Sling Bags in neon green. I've already gotten the prototype back to them and am eagerly awaiting the results. We should be getting the Bike Friday half-hooptie that we had ordered sometime in the next couple of weeks. This will lighten the bike a bit and make it easier for the boys to climb on and off without my help. 

Sling prototype

Once we have this bike all kitted out, it'll be time for us to say goodbye to the Mundo. That's going to be a bittersweet day for sure.