Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Cargo Handling on a bike





Here are a couple of cheap solutions for hauling stuff. On the recumbent I a common milk crate can be attached to the rear rack for hauling things. This works well for carrying oil jugs, gas cans, groceries, or materials for recyling. This picture shows the crate attached to my 20x20 LWB homebuilt recumbent using 2 toestraps at top front and a bungee cord across the bottom.



Folks with Rans 'bents that have highback seats can carry things pretty good in plastic grocery bags tied to the top crossbar of the seatback.




I like to use a crank forward for short errands around town and for this I usually use a cloth shopping bag with about 20" of nylon tent rope to connect the handles to the other side of the rear rack. I leave the piece of rope attached to one handle and when its ready to load on the bike I take a loop around the second handle ane hook the 2 loop ends onto the lower hooks of the rear rack.
















This system is works pretty well for carrying 5 qt. oil jugs, library books, or groceries. One caveat here; if the bag is not filled very full, it has a tendancy to rub on the rear wheel--this could cause real trouble if it gets mixed up in the back wheel so some experimenting with the load before getting up to speed is strongly recommended. If I don't have much stuff to carry, I just bungee the bag on top of the rack. This bag system has two strong points; price ($1.00 per grocery bag) and it doesn't weigh much or take up much room when not in use.



1 comment:

Saturnino said...

Talking about creativity right here! But really, it simplifies the task of bringing something to another place, which is the basic essence of logistics. It may be simple, but it is effective in doing the job. :)

[Saturnino Walmsley]