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The Bike Friday Haul-a-Day

4/6/2014

19 Comments

 
We drove all the way up to PDX to test ride this bike. After about a month of back-and-forth emails with our friend, Kidical Mass co-creator, and Haul-a-Day beta tester/consultant, Shane MacRhodes, I had some pretty high hopes that this bike could help fill the gap in transportation needs--a multimodal cargo bike. Being able to take the train or bus with the children and still have a way to get around when we arrive would be incredible. Our big summer adventure is coming up and there's still the issue of getting to our starting location and getting back home at the end. To take the Mundo on Amtrak would mean totally stripping the bike of everything removable so that it would fit in the generously-sized box AND be under 50 pounds. Also, with the local tours I'm planning for my starting business, my trips don't always start in Sacramento. If I could take the train or light rail to begin the trip, I'd be much happier and not feel like a big fake by driving to the starting point. 

So without further ado, the big reveal: 
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Midtail Haul-a-Day with Bike Friday's version of a half-Hooptie. I love this design!
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Shane's personal Haul-a-Day longtail. It has a standard Xtracycle deck on the back, usually equipped with a full Hooptie for his three wee ones. A new addition is the custom Burley Piccolo mount on the back.
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This blue HaD has a frame mounted basket in front like the Mundo's Bread Basket.
And the action shots: 
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Rez tried to explain the frame-mounted basket to me. He didn't realize I was already a pro :)
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Little Brother got a ride and cackled the entire way. He definitely gave it a thumb's up!
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Little Brother followed the two-hand rule and didn't even take his hands off to wave at the camera.
My thoughts: 

This bike is great! It's light and easy to ride. Unloaded if feels like a standard bike, loaded it's even more stable. The little front wheel takes more attention than I'm used to and it felt a bit wiggly. The ride was an upright, comfortable position but that can be adjusted with the OSATA telescoping tube. The blue bike was closer than I would choose. The standard gears are just an 8-speed cassette and although that would be just fine for Sacramento riding, for longer tours, I'd want a double or triple chainring added. I did notice that riding around the shop and the little hills I encountered were fine to pedal through at the highest two gears, even with my little passenger. It was nice to have a low deck that Little Brother could climb up and down off of but the kickstand wasn't stable enough to allow him to sit unattended. 

The standard build up comes with a rear disc brake but only a front v-brake, I'd probably choose to add a front disc as well. The Bike Friday handlebars were very comfortable for upright riding and I noticed a range of widths so they're probably easily customizable. I like that it includes a flag mount for my usual pinwheel flag. The side bags were on the small side on the midtail whereas the longtail would have the Xtracycle freeloader bags. I think if I were to get the bike, I'd have to get another set of Carsick Design slings to fit. Sadly, the Mundo's would be too long. The midtail deck also fits an Xtracycle deck and all the accessories. It would be interesting to see how it would work because the deck would hang a little over the back of the frame. 

To continue the fantasizing, I would probably need to add their half Hooptie design and a Yepp Maxi for Little Brother. I think that I'd be able to fit the seat directly onto the new Xtracycle deck with the optional cutouts. I'd also want to get the stationary front rack since that's been such a bonus with the Mundo. One of the bikes also had a couple of quick releases mounted near the rear axle that turned out to be a new towing mount. They still haven't done much testing but it's possible that it could be a trail-a-bike option to allow for a second bike and pedaler. If it even just tows a bike easily, that would be great because with the Peanut Shell on the back of the Mundo, it keeps me from easily towing regular-sized bikes or adding a trail-a-bike. One final addition that I might consider would be a trailer hitch since my dad has a couple of Bike Fridays and a suitcase trailer. That would solve my one worry that a midtail would be too little space for our touring. We could add soft, bulky gear in the trailer without feeling cramped on the bike. 

This all leaves me with so many things to consider. The bike would fill a great void in our fleet but I would feel a bit excessive having the two big cargo bikes already. I'm not sure if I'm ready to totally give up the Mundo but I'm happy that it's being used and loved at the moment. One option would be to keep both cargo bikes and add the Haul-a-Day but allow for one or two of the cargo bikes to be rented out for the bike tours or borrowed by visitors and friends. The other option would be to sell the Mundo and add the Haul-a-Day so I don't feel so greedy. The other option, of course, is to not get the midtail at the moment and see how often we miss out on bike riding opportunities because we end up having to drive or leave the bikes then decide if it's something we really need. We'll be heading over to Bike Friday tomorrow on our way back home to follow up and chat about options and pricing, hopefully getting an extra test ride or else how will I fit in a day of riding for 30 Days of Biking? 

What would you do? 
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19 Comments
Eric S
4/6/2014 09:20:56 pm

I'm very interested in this bike, too. I had a Workcycles Fr8, which just proved too heavy. I then switched a lighter normal bike with a front and rear seat. What I really want to know about this bike is whether it will fit on a standard bus rack. I've seen a picture of it on the Seattle but racks, but those have open ends rather than the normal closed ends on buses I've seen.
If it can fit on a bus rack it seems like a no-brainer to me.

Reply
John Rezell link
4/7/2014 12:04:33 am

The beauty of the Haul-a-Day is the adjustable frame. At the smallest setting of 46 cm top tube, it fit into Portland's bus rack. I hope to have a photo of that on the Bike Friday blog [bikefriday.com/blog] soon.

Reply
Ryan Balciar link
4/7/2014 12:13:55 am

We use a Tern Joe Cargo on a daily basis. A full size cargo bike that folds for under $1000.

Reply
Elle
4/9/2014 10:54:50 am

I have a friend who has a Cargo Joe and they really like it. When I tested the Xtracycle conversion, I didn't like the flex. Also, the Cargo Joe still wouldn't be able to fit in the train because it would be too wide when folded.

Reply
Sachi Wilson
4/7/2014 01:41:38 am

How sturdy are the rear stays (can’t call them the rear triangle on that bike!)? They look a bit flimsy from the pictures, especially given the length. Can you feel much flex in the frame?

Reply
Elle
4/9/2014 10:56:24 am

I couldn't feel any flex in the bike, actually. The tubing did seem thin to me but I didn't notice any problems. The bike isn't actually much longer than a standard bike. In the post above, you can see a photo of me riding with an adult on the back. I didn't feel any flex or wobble. I was very impressed.

Reply
Chris Fischer
4/7/2014 02:00:56 pm

I just have to say how cute and full of joy Little Brother is! He made me smile!!

Reply
elle
4/9/2014 10:56:44 am

Thanks, Chris! He is something special!

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Kaycee link
4/9/2014 01:11:55 am

Gah!!! It's my DREAM bike :) Can you tell me where you got in touch with someone? Chicago needs to see it!

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Elle
4/9/2014 10:58:23 am

This bike is pretty amazing! Call Bike Friday directly. I'm not sure if they're starting to ship the bikes. Because they're still in a bit of beta testing, I have a feeling that they want the bikes to be close by for now. Check with them about their schedule to start standard manufacturing and distribution. Maybe if this works out for us, we can travel around the country for them :)

Reply
Tom
4/15/2014 09:07:07 am

I'm 6 months away from acquiring a cargo bike to haul my two kids. Would the haul a day be able to fit two rear kids seats?

Reply
Elle Bustamante
4/15/2014 10:41:46 am

It should be able to because it fits a standard xtracycle deck, even though it's a midtail. I'm having them cut out one of the Yepp compatible holes for me for my youngest and my 5 yo will be inside the half-hooptie. It's nice because you wouldn't have to buy the Yepp brackets. If the Yepp Junior is imported in time, I'm hoping I can go with that one. It has a higher weight limit. How old are your kids?

Reply
Kaycee link
7/27/2014 09:35:01 am

I'm in a similar predicament! I love our Yuba so much, but want to be able to do some travel with the bike. Thank you for the post and pictures- I was thinking about a family tandem for me and my kids, nearly 4 and 6. Then Bike Friday called to say these are now shipping. My question- how is.the fold/dissassembly? Would this get on transit easily- or fit in a trunk? (We rent cars, no bike rack.) We also want to do Amtrak, but I wish it was easier to get bikes on... Thanks, Elle!

Reply
Kaycee link
7/27/2014 09:35:43 am

I'm in a similar predicament! I love our Yuba so much, but want to be able to do some travel with the bike. Thank you for the post and pictures- I was thinking about a family tandem for me and my kids, nearly 4 and 6. Then Bike Friday called to say these are now shipping. My question- how is.the fold/dissassembly? Would this get on transit easily- or fit in a trunk? (We rent cars, no bike rack.) We also want to do Amtrak, but I wish it was easier to get bikes on...Thanks, Elle!

Reply
Triops
3/7/2015 07:20:14 am

I can't seem to find anything online discussing how to put an Xtracycle deck on a Haul-a-Day. Could you please tell me about it? Did that bike require something welded onto it to mount the deck, or did it attach with the hooks on the deck, or was there an entirely different solution?

Reply
Elle
3/7/2015 11:10:15 am

It should bolt straight into the deck with bolts, no hooks. I had to slightly drill out some of the holes for mine but it otherwise fits well.

Reply
Elle
3/7/2015 11:11:35 am

Here's a more detailed post of our recent deck change: http://www.tinyhelmetsbigbikes.com/1/post/2015/02/the-great-deck-change.html

Reply
norza zainal
10/21/2016 05:56:24 pm

Hi, does it only fit the yepp child seats? I have the polisport guppy (rear rack mounted) on my current bicycle and thought of using it when we get the haul-a-day.

Reply
Elle Steele
10/22/2016 09:56:31 am

Hi Norza,
I don't have any experience with that kind of rack, unfortunately. the folks at Bike Friday could probably help you. they're really great about finding solutions. I have the Xtracycle deck with cut outs so the Yepp mounts directly into the holes in the deck. The HaD deck has mounting points but if it's a specific rack that's used for the seat, it might not work. how old/big is/are your kiddo(s)? if they're close to 4 years old, they might be ready to use the Whoopie Deux bars instead of a seat.

Keep me posted with what you choose and if you have any other questions.

happy riding!

Elle

Reply



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