Thinking outside the boxbike

[j4]

A quick update on the bike: I went to look at it last night. There was more rust than was obvious from the photos on the bits of metal holding the box on to the bike; and the brakes weren't very good, though may have just needed tightening somehow -- they were hub brakes, despite what htfb thought from the photo (the thing that looks like a brake is

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[julietk]

Two-wheeler cargo bikes (IMlimitedE) are just *heavy*/ponderous, more than anything else. I haven't ridden one heavily-loaded, so that might well affect it; but then I remember when I was cycle-touring, every time I switched from riding with front panniers to riding without (and vice versa) there was maybe 30 seconds of "whoa shit the handling has changed" and then I was good. So I imagine the transition would be much easier than the trike, even for a front-loaded cargo bike. A back-loaded cargo bike ought to be even easier.

(Have been in touch with ex-colleague, btw, but not heard back yet.)

Legal snippet that didn't fit on Twitter: there was quite recently a case of a parent being fined for carrying a child on an 'inappropriate' bike-seat. He refused to pay, went to court, & then pled guilty, so sadly no court details available nor were the facts of the matter legally established (damn these guilty pleas!). Newspaper reports are, unsurprisingly, not entirely helpful (i.e. conflict on the factual details), but it looks like it was either a home-brew top-tube solution, or a heavily-duct-taped/altered version of a shop solution. So, um, perhaps legally best to stick to things actually sold as child seats (though sadly there's no British Standard for such).

(He would probably have got off with a polite warning, but apparently he had a row with the officer & got fined for that as well...)