But no:
Tax
Insurance
Yearly MOT
Fuel costs
Parking costs
And infinitely more fun
I sort of know this chap who gives a great case for ditching the car in favour of a cargo bike: https://youtu.be/CRUXhYcFWUk
Not sure about the second hand market for cargo bikes tbh. I think people tend to hold onto them so theyāre not as readily available as regular bikes on a second hand market.
We have a cargo bike but a long tail version (Tern GSD) not a bakfiets type. Itās our āsecond carā and Iāve never regretted selling mine. As Niki points out the running costs are much less. Ours was 5k, minus tax from the bike to work scheme, and spread over 2 years.
I love it. It easily replaces 95% of our journeys.its actually easier to cycle through our town and park right outside a shop than driver round the one-way, find a space, then walk from the space to the shop etcā¦ great for takeaway pickup.
I am 10000% going to get a very expensive cargo bike as soon as we have space to store it and Iām probably more excited about that than any other other bike purchase ever.
Think kids are able to sit in seats as soon as theyāre able to support their heads, about a year?
Ok one thing that does get forgotten about expensive (cargo) bikes. Insurance. Weāre lucky to have a spacious brick garage but itās a separate outbuilding and no bike over Ā£1k is covered by house insurance.the cargo bike then costs Ā£20 a month alone to insure. And some insurers insist on it being locked up in your garage too.
When are out we have a gold standard chain lock, and a cafe lock on the front wheel.
But despite that, still massively cheaper than a car. I just gasp when someone tells me the cost of 4 new tyres. Thatās like 2 years worth of cargo bike maintenance right there.
This is going to be a lot more of a process than I anticipated, Iād probably better get back into the idea of cycling myself before I start throwing thousands of pounds and my kidās lives into it, huh?
I think the usual min age is 9 months for a kids bike seat, though on a bakfiets bike you could just put them in the front box with a car seat from an earlier age.
This is whatās getting me, all over Cambridge they were just sat in front of peopleās houses! (Although, my car is parked on the street right now, so maybe I shouldnāt be shocked).
This is nextdoor to the place weāre hoping to buy
That one wonāt cost as much. It doesnāt look like it has a motor. If you live somewhere flat and are just going to the shops/park you can get away with that.
But it does highlight what little cycle storage there is if you live in neighbourhoods like this. Yet each of those houses will be allowed 2 parking permits.
I like it. There was a Decathlon one for Ā£250 that seemed fine but it doesnāt exist on their webpage any more so maybe itās gone now.
I know youāre now thinking āĀ£300 ffs, I donāt need to spend that muchā and youāre right, you donāt! But my Carrera road bike was (supposed to be; ended up getting a double discount for reasons) Ā£300 and it is a complete heap of shit in comparison to my new single speed. You get more for your money because itās simpler, I guess.
So I dunno, I reckon either pay Ā£300 for a nice one or find the cheapest thing on gumtree or whatever that isnāt completely rust. The in between stuff is frustrating false economy if you want something that isnāt annoying and works properly. Imo. Donāt really know anything about bikes though, donāt really like them tbqfh.
Eh theyāre just lazy I think, thereās space behind the little wall to put it, plus access via the rear to put it in their garden if they want it out of sight (and parking is a free for all on the street)
