Hi,
What is a cargo bike?
see the pictures above and below.
When I was young, in the 1950s and 60s , we had the Asian version which is also called the "beychak" in Singapore. Most small businessmen had them to transport their goods. I even remember the bread seller who would go on his rounds every morning with his four wheeled version of the beychak laden high with all types of bread. He would stop at specific stops and we children would run out and buy slices of bread, not loafs, for the day's requirement. We did not have refrigerators and so we bought groceries from various beychak men who came at different times of the day.
The three wheeled versions were popular with the delivery men. Muscle power was used to deliver rice in sacks, biscuits in 5 or 10 kilogram tins, and bales of cloth to tailors, etc. These deliveries are now done in the petrol guzzling vans.
The rise in petrol prices in 2008 and the global financial meltdown have made cargo bikes appealing in countries such as the USA, UK and of course the Netherlands. It is getting popular as an alternative to cars to go shopping down the street, or bringing young children to school by their parents. Of course it is cheap to maintain, does not require fuel purchases and is good for the health of the rider.
Click on the link to read the article on this big thing to change the way we travel.
Cheers
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