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HaulaDay so far

10/22/2014

25 Comments

 
It's been about four months since we received our Bike Friday HaulaDay and we love it! While there have been a few adjustments along the way, I will say that this my favorite cargo bike. The HaulaDay is easy to ride, can carry a ton, and is still lightweight and transportable--everything on our cargo bike checklist. The fact that each HaD is made to order gives people the opportunity to build it up exactly as they need to suit their lifestyle and terrain. Our bike is one of the beta models and the frame has already been updated from this. Bike Friday has taken all the feedback from the initial users and continues to modify their first cargo bike as needed. This post is in regards to our experience with Bike Friday and our HaulaDay fun. 

Assembly

The HaulaDay was shipped in one box (the Hooptie took up a second box). The frame breaks down into three pieces. This isn't technically a folding bike, but if you're mechanically inclined, you could probably take it apart for more compact transport. 

I, personally, am not so inclined. I tried to put it together myself and failed. Good thing I have an awesome local bike shop and Bike Friday dealer, John Boyer at Edible Pedal, who could help out. 

The OSATA (One Size Adjusts To All) feature is awesome! The frame can be squeezed down to someone 4' tall and extended to fit those over 6'. This could be your child's first cargo bike! 
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There's a cargo bike in there!
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If you look closely, you can see I've just attached the frame pieces trapping the chain in between them.
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John saved the day!
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First look
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Photo by my dad. Capitol for scale.

Compared to other cargo bikes

The midtail cargo bike market is small--Yuba's Boda Boda, Kinn's midtail, the HaulaDay, and Cycle Truck's Beavertail are the main ones I know of (Kona's MinUte has been discontinued **See Dorie's comment below**). The Boda Boda and Kinn midtails have a pretty short deck making it difficult (not impossible) to carry two passengers. Both the HaulaDay and Beavertail are built on 20" wheels, allowing for a short wheelbase but an almost-standard length deck. We chose the Xtracycle deck for our HaulaDay, giving us plenty of room for those squirmy boys. 

Compared to the Yuba Mundo and other longtails, the HaulaDay is about half the weight. The 20" wheels are quick to get rolling and self-balancing, which is a big bonus in city traffic with lots of starts and stops. The deck on the HaulaDay is lower which brings down your center of gravity making a more stable load for a longtail design cargo bike (same reasoning behind Xtracycle's Edgerunner). The 20" wheels can make the bike a bit more squirrely to ride than the tank-like Mundo, however, with the addition of our front basket, I find the HaD to be more stable now. We did, in fact, sell the Mundo because the HaulaDay was able to work better for us. 

Long John/bakfiets-style bikes like the Bullitt or Workscycle have a learning curve associated with the linkage steering. Some people are fine with it, some are not. When I loan out a cargo bike, it's always going to be the HaD, unless they already have bakfiets experience. Anyone can ride the HaD without much adjustment. Again, the HaD is much lighter and has a much shorter wheelbase, making it easier to maneuver and find parking. 

HaDs are custom built so you can choose which components best suit your riding needs. 
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Carrying passengers 

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...is super, duper fun. 
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By car

I use a standard 3-bike rack from Sarus to carry the HaD. It takes some creative thinking and lots of tie-downs but it works. I usually take off anything that is removable except the seat and flip the bike upside-down because it doesn't have a standard top-tube. The bike's center of gravity is farther back than you might imagine, making it stick a little farther out on the handlebar side. I've gotten better at this with practice. I can actually load the bike up onto the rack on my own but it's nicer to have help. 
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By public transportation

Most cargo bikes aren't allowed on Amtrak unless you can strip it down to 50 lbs or less and cram it into their bike box. Amtrak's roll-on service isn't much better because it still has to fit in a narrow space, hanging from its front wheel. The HaD can fit on both without much adjustment. 

We haven't tried taking the bike by bus, yet, but it's doable. I really like that I can pick up this bike on my own, not an easy feat with the Mundo or the Bullitt. If you squish the OSATA option down to one of the first two buttons and turn the front wheel 180 degrees, you have a standard bike wheelbase. Great! 
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Naptime

Bikey parents know about naptime. Poor child usually has their giant head flopped over in some awkward angle and you keep wondering if they can still breathe. At this point in our lives, Little Brother is the only kid who falls asleep on the bike still (in fact it's the only way he naps anymore). Luckily, he's big enough to not need a child seat but I was worried the first few times we went out on longer rides. Turns out, he figured out his own convenient way to sleep on-the-go. 
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A little help from Big Brother.
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Hauling bikes

Tuck the front wheel into the side bags and secure the front wheel letting the rest of the bike trail behind. 
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Hauling gear

We can fit plenty of gear for camping trips and still have room for passengers. The front basket is a wonderful addition to help balance the weight. So far, I haven't had an opportunity to run out of space on the HaulaDay. Rumor has it that someone loaded up the HaD with about 800lbs and still didn't manage to break it. There's a reason these bikes keep winning all the Disaster Relief Trials--they're lightweight but heavy haulers, a perfect combination! 
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Photo by Bike Friday's Jeff Strehl-Roberts
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Accessories

Here are some of the accessories we chose: 
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Standard Xtracycle deck with Xtracycle Hooptie. Notice the deck bowing. Happened because I didn't realize there were other adjustments before I secured the Hooptie and then the plastic deck had conformed by the time I tried to fix it. This has actually made taking the bags on/off really easy.
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The BF's Whoopie-Deux and diamond plate deck. We don't have these, yet, but will be soon. The WD bars will make climbing on and off easier for the kids. The Piccolo mount on the back isn't in production as of now.
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Big Foot Running Boards help stabilize the loads in our bags and give a nice solid foundation for the boys' feetsies. One downside for us is that one side rattles and we need to shim it up. The running boards pop out easily for transport or to lighten the load. We also chose fenders because we're dirty.
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Frame mounted basket. It's amazing and, for us, essential. It helps stabilize and balance out heavy loads, gives quick access to storage, and makes the bike easier to handle. Basket comes off and the diamond plate deck becomes a platform for any other type of storage you want--yellow kitty litter tub, maybe?
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Kickstands. We had some trouble with this part. The first kickstand (above) didn't work at all--makes a cargo bike nearly useless to the family biking crowd. The bike tipped over all the time, broke part of the shifter and scratched up the frame a bit. It also made the kids terrified to get on the bike because it was so unstable getting on and off. Our friend John Lucas of Cycle Trucks helped stabilize it with the cable and then we were back in business! We found out later that the split collar got in the way of our highest gear which wasn't an issue as I'd rather be able to get the kids on the bike than use my top gear. Eventually, the split collar broke. Luckily, it broke the same day the newer, more stable kickstand arrived. You can see below that I couldn't figure out how it worked but then I got it. Now, it's pretty darn good. 
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Wrong
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Right!

Unofficial assessories

We added these beautiful Carsick Design Mondo Slings. Bike Friday makes a set of their own but I like the durable fabric and color of the Carsick ones. Both bags provide needed footsie protection from the wheel and tons of carrying capacity. The straps can be buckled across the deck for weirdly shaped loads. Less beautiful are our $5 Ikea chair cushions that I literally stole off of our dining room chairs, folded them in half, and strapped them down with a giant zip tie. Not waterproof at all, but they get the job done. We will probably have to find a better solution during winter or just wear rain pants. 
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Locking up

Locking up your HaD can be tricky. There's no downtube to make an easy locking point for most racks. I have a long chain lock that is flexible enough to get through the back tubes of the frame. If I'm going to be stopped somewhere for long, I'll bring a second lock or cable to get my front wheel. Make sure you always invest in a good lock and check that you're locking to something secure. The HaD is fairly short and light making it easier to get close to racks/poles for parking. This is the only cargo bike that I've been able to fit at Trader Joe's terrible bike rack. 
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Weather

Rain suits, plastic bags, and fenders work for us. There are some nifty sun/rain shades out there and the Hooptie is a great foundation for creating them. We'll see how this winter goes. 
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8legs2wheels.com has an awesome setup.

Issues

Besides the initial kickstand problems, the hardest thing about getting our HaulaDay was the wait. We waited a couple extra months to finally get our bike because of some delays--the fact that this was a beta model and because Alan broke his thumb. The earliest bikes were only being built by Alan, the CEO, and an engineer. The HaulaDay is a brand new design and took time to develop. Once there were more on the road, they could figure out other issues that needed to be solved (the kickstand, for example). Now, they have a larger team working on the bikes and are able to get them out quicker and more efficiently. 

There are also a couple of accessories that I'd love to see in production sooner, especially the Piccolo mount. A few of the accessories have only just gotten to us recently. Custom bikes take time and Bike Friday is a little shop trying to do it all. It can be difficult to be patient. I still heartily recommend the HaulaDay and Bike Friday but be forewarned that you won't get instant gratification after you place your order. Still, it's worth the wait!  
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John of Edible Pedal has his own HaulaDay frame, the first of the newer style. Note the extra bracing tubes. He said a few of the holes didn't quite line up, which seems to be a common issue with the first-run frames and accessories.

Customer service

What these guys lack in speed, they make up for in incredible customer service! Any questions that I've had or feedback to be given, they've been there to listen and help. The stem for my Whoopie-Deux was lost in the mail a couple days ago and before it could get back to them, there was another already shipped out and being delivered tomorrow. I think I've been in touch with just about every Bike Friday team member at this point and they're all so nice and helpful. I love giving my money to people who make a very high quality product (in the USA!) and are passionate about what they do. 

There is so much exciting news going on at Bike Friday in regards to the HaulaDay, it's hard to keep up with it all. I know they have great plans to get as many of these bikes out on the roads to help others out of their cars.
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If you've made it this far, congratulations! Now you know just how much we love our Bike Friday! Ask me anything about it and if you're nearby, come for a test ride. If you've got one, tell us about what you think. 
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25 Comments
Devin
10/22/2014 08:43:56 am

I'm glad that your basket attached so easily. 3 of the hole on our plate deck are off by about 1/2 an inch. My hubby has the tools to just make the holes a bit bigger, but it was a bummer when I tried to put it on before our picnic and couldn't get it installed. LOVE our Haul-a-Day as well. :-)

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Elle
10/22/2014 08:53:34 am

I did have some trouble installing it, mostly because I kept dropping the screws. I thought the holes were off on mine but I was able to really squash the frame part around and they managed to line up eventually.

I would like to see a frame-mounted basket that is easier to get on/off but am really happy with it anyway. (I guess if I wanted to remove it all the time, I would have gotten the handlebar basket).

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Eric Saathoff link
12/1/2014 10:31:14 am

I had a hard time with this basket, too. I had to take my drill to the holes and make them closer together, but I finally got the basket on. The one time I really used it and put a lot of groceries in, it really made the front wheel wobble and sort of made me feel unsafe. It made me think about trying to install it further back on the frame, but I don't think I would be able to bend the arms around the head tube then.

I've also had the tipping problems with my bike, but I didn't know anything about the improved kickstand. Did you have to purchase the upgraded parts?

My other issue with the kickstand was that the nylon cord stretched, became loose, and the kickstand started vibrating against the frame. I just put some tape or something down there to muffle the sound and it was ok. I also retied the cord to make it tighter.

Our Hauladay has been awesome. I've taken it on the bus, and both my 5' wife and 6'2 friend have ridden it comfortably. Unfortunately, it's the off season for the Hauladay in Minnesota.

Elle Steele
12/2/2014 12:54:08 pm

Eric,
I think the front basket's weight limit is about 40lbs. Is it possible you had more than that? I find that the basket stabilizes the front wheel more. Feel free to send me photos or ask the folks at Bike Friday. They might have some suggestions.

Also talk to them about the new kickstand. They replaced mine for free. That first kickstand was useless to me and it's such an important part of a cargo bike, especially for family biking. The new kickstand's cord untied but it hasn't caused any problems for me. I keep meaning to tie it back on. It stays up on its own, so far.

Maybe it's time for a vacation with your HaD to warmer (less snowy) parts :) I haven't taken mine on the bus, yet, but I look forward to.

If you have a chance, I'd love to see some photos! My email is tinyhelmets@gmail.com.

Dorie link
10/22/2014 09:12:00 am

Just an FYI, Kona is reissuing the MinUte for 2015 (it's listed on their website now). It has some different strengths and weaknesses--e.g. better gears for hills v. shorter and higher deck.

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Elle
10/23/2014 02:22:00 am

Good to know, Dorie! Thanks! I thought it was a shame that they discontinued it. I think it's a pretty valuable asset to the midtail market.

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Kaycee Militante link
10/23/2014 10:58:21 am

We ordered ours in July, our estimated ship date is TOMORROW! (plus or minus a week...) Thank you for the thorough write up. I've already warned my favorite bike mechanics I'll be contacting them when it's finally 'out for delivery' and can't wait for my tracking number!

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Elle
12/2/2014 12:47:23 pm

Love your post about assembling and testing it out!

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Sue
11/17/2014 01:06:05 pm

I could not agree more about the awesomeness of 20" wheels. I've not ridden a Haul-a-Day (I would LOVE one). John at Cycle Trucks is building us a Caddy Rack for our Fr8 (I contacted him after I saw yours on the Bullitt). He's lending me his Beaver Tail while he has the Fr8, and it's awesome. It is sooo much easier for me, at 5' 3", than either our Fr8 or Workcycles Bakfiets! Easier to ride, easier to maneuver from the ground, and the kids really like it.

Thanks for your blog - we just moved to Davis and your posts have been so helpful to our cargo biking family.

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Elle
11/19/2014 04:05:12 am

I was wondering who had the Fr8 that John was working on! Welcome to the area. Davis is wonderful for biking. We love hanging out there. If I had known about the Beavertail before I ordered my Haul-a-day, I'm not sure which I would have gotten. They are both great bikes. Keep me posted on how the caddyrack works for you.

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Sue
12/1/2014 12:06:27 pm

Thanks for the welcome. The caddy rack has been great so far. Just a few details to figure out - like dress guards so the kids' feet don't get caught in the spokes.

Melissa
11/26/2014 03:17:05 am

Hi Sue,
I also have a Fr8 and I'm very curious about what John is doing for you. Is he replacing the stock rack with a Caddy Rack or somehow adding lower supports/Piccolo mount/towing trays to the long rack? If he's entirely replacing it, will it still fit the GMG 911 seat? Maybe you could send Elle pictures of the finished product to send to me?

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Sue
12/1/2014 12:17:20 pm

Hi Melissa,

Yes, he replaced the stock rack. He was able to use its mount points to mount his rack (so a slightly customized version of the caddy rack). He also had to add a fender mount, since that rear fender is mounted to the stock rack, and a rear light mount. We don't have a Piccolo, we are just towing a 16" kids bike (soon to be a 20" kids bike). I don't know about the GMG 911 since we aren't using that either. Our Bobike Maxi no longer works though. I don't have Elle's email address - but perhaps she can see mine and send it to you. Otherwise, just contact John. He has photos and is super nice.

Sue

Elle
12/2/2014 12:55:01 pm

Sue and Melissa,
I'm glad you two are able to connect! I've just sent Melissa your email address, Sue.

Andrew Ashton link
3/25/2015 09:17:42 pm

Always enjoy your posts.
We really like our yuba mundo raincover set up. Have had it on for a year or so and still works great.
https://makingconcretejungle.wordpress.com/

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Amy
4/28/2015 02:45:42 am

How do the wheels do in the rain. I have heard that the small of the Bike Friday wheels slip on wet surfaces.

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Elle Steele
5/4/2015 06:17:09 am

The smaller wheels are a bit more squirrelly in general but I haven't had any issues riding in the rain (what little we get). Kaycee Militante of ChicagoBikeMom.com has ridden her Hauladay in the snow so I'm sure she would have more to say on the subject. Check out her post here for more info: http://chicagobikemom.com/?p=958

I often compare the HaD to a zippy sports car and the Mundo to a tank but I haven't had any problems with handling the HaD in numerous situations with varying loads, including wiggly kiddos.

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Eric Saathoff
5/4/2015 06:31:04 am

I really think this would be more of an issue regarding tires. The Schwalbe Marathons are great tires. The bike is heavy enough when loaded to provide enough friction with these tires, that I can't see what would make them perform poorly on wet surfaces, and the few times I've had it on wet ground I've noticed nothing different.

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Liea
5/19/2016 07:55:20 am

We are considering buying a used Haul-a-day that has the Whoopie-deux already already installed. We are going to be using the bike with a Yepp-Maxi seat for our 1 1/2 year old and we'll have our 4 year old riding in front of the seat. I see you used the xtracycle Hooptie set up on your Haul-a-day. Did you need to use a different deck with it? I'm thinking it's longer than the Haul-a-day standard. Also, since it seems you've used both, could you tell me the advantages and drawbacks of each? The model we are considering is the newer one, with the closed back. This will be our first venture into cargo biking, so input would be appreciated!

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Elle
5/19/2016 07:50:11 pm

I used the hooptie in the beginning, before the Whoopie-deux came out, which is what I have now. You can fit a Yepp Maxi in it and I think the mount bolts directly onto the deck. If you call the Bike Friday crew, they'll happily help you out. They're awesome! We have the xtracycle deck now which is a bit longer than the diamond plate one and ours has cut outs for the Yepp easy fit to slip directly into it. The holes don't quite line up so both holes could be used but it works for us. Ours is a first generation so they were still working out some kinks. We love our HaD! Totally recommend getting it and you'll be able to figure out accessories with Bike Friday or your local HaD dealer.

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Sara Jennings
1/22/2017 11:27:04 pm

I am looking into getting a mid-tail cargo bike. I have two bigger kids to haul (9 and 4). I would prefer an electric assist model, as I live in a town with lots of hills and find the combined weight of the kids too heavy for some of the hills (so the oldest may have to walk them). I also need to take the bike on a bus (hence, mid-tail). I am having a hard time choosing which mid-tail to get. Also need to be able to carry lots of stuff, along with the kids. Anyway, it sounds like you have a lot of knowledge of the various models. I am trying to decide between a Haul-a-Day, WorkCycle Fr8, Beavertail, and a MinUte. Also considering the Kinn bike or a xtracylce folding bike (but have concerns about both of those working for me). Anyway, wonder if you might have any insight. Such a hard decision...especially since no one has any in my area (small town), so I can't try them out!

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Melissa
1/23/2017 08:24:27 am

Sara,
I owned a Fr8 for 3 years and have now had a Hauladay for just over a year. My kids are 6 and 8 now and weigh a little over 100 pounds together. While I loved having the Fr8 with the front seat when my kids were young, I would not recommend it for anywhere with hills. Even with an e-assist, my Fr8 struggled up hills. It was also too heavy to realistically put on a bus. The Hauladay is worlds better in terms of being an easier bike to ride. How well it works on a bus will depend on what type of rack your local transit agency uses. Unfortunately, the Hauladay doesn't work in the Sportworks Apex 3 bike rack, which is what our local transit agency uses -- the rear support doesn't extend far enough back support the rear wheel, so it drags and can bounce right out. Otherwise it is a great bike. I think the deck on a MinUte is going to be too short for your kids to comfortably share. Have you considered the Boda Boda V3? I think the newest version with a longer deck can comfortably fit two older kids, it is lightweight, and it has the option of the front frame-mounted basket for extra hauling capacity.

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Elle Steele
1/23/2017 08:41:19 am

Hi Sara, I agree with Melissa that a Fr8 would be really heavy. Midtails are tricky because the deck is much shorter and it can be a challenge fitting two kids on the back, especially a big one. I love my HaD and have been able to get it on our light rail trains but it didn't work as well on the bus rack. I think others have had better success, the folks at Bike Friday would probably be able to help you with that question. Any bike with added assist will be relatively heavy from adding the 15-20 lbs for the electric assist.

The Xtracycle folding bike wouldn't fit easily on a bus because you would still have to carry it on board with you. Beavertails are not really being made anymore but John is selling a different version, the Cycle Truck SUB. I haven't seen it, yet, but it has great review so far although the deck would also be on the short side for two kids.

My experience is mainly with the HaD and we love it! I've had three kids on board and while it's tight, they were fine with it. Whichever bike you decide on, definitely go with a front basket because once you have kids on deck, that eats up most of your cargo space (same issue I had with any cargo bike, I had to keep reminding myself that kids are cargo, too).

The trickiest thing is that there is rarely one bike that can do EVERYTHING you need it to (hence the n+1 theory of owning bikes, there's always one more that you need). Have you checked on the Facebook group (R)evolutions Per Minute as to whether there are any local families/cargo bike owners who might have a bike you can try out? That would be the best way. Not everyone chooses the right bike for them right away. Sometimes you think you know what you want and it doesn't work out. Keep gathering info, asking for suggestions/experiences, try to find some bikes to demo if you can. The Boda Boda v.3 or the HaulaDay would probably be your best bet for what you want out of a bike. Good luck on your search and keep me posted with what you decide or if you have any questions (tinyhelmets at gmail.com).

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Andrew
3/27/2019 01:39:37 pm

Hi! Love all the great pictures. How did you mount the xtracycle deck? Did you use the superhooks or mount directly to the HaD frame? Thanks!

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Elle Steele link
3/27/2019 02:47:36 pm

This was the beta tester Haul-a-Day that I requested to have an Xtracycle deck put on. I'm not sure if the holes would line up with the braze-on mounts for the new HaDs. You'd probably have to drill new holes if you were going to mount directly to it. If the superhooks work, that's probably the easiest solution.

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