Sunday, September 12, 2010

Cargo bikes in Canberra

I spotted this Zigo the other day at Cooleman Court in Weston Creek. I think that this is the bike I will get when I sell my other car. 


 











Yes we are a two car family at the moment! I could make a lot of excuses here ,' like Canberra is two spread out and the public transport isn't very good' but I won't. We have bought a family car recently as we have four children, so it is a seven seater. The Kia Rondo which is the smallest in its class and the most economic according to the NRMA





So getting back to the cargo bikes ,In Australia and Canberra, many families have the tag-a-long as they are considerably  less expensive than the bucket style of cargo bike that you see in Holland and Denmark. Here is Laura, a friend of mine form SEE Change ,on our way back from the farmers market in Woden.










You can see here,riding next to a main arterial road . It has bike lanes but no physical protection, so we stuck to the 1.2 metre wide shared path here. Some of Canberra's infrastructure doesn't support family cycling very well.

According to some of the resellers in Australia of cargo bikes, Canberra is a big market for them, though I haven't seen many about. Many people argue that you can't take your kids to school by bike or do your shopping by bike here in Canberra, and that you have to use a car.

But if you look at what is available, all is needed is the infrastructure to support it.



The Bakfiets two wheeler Cargo Bike,they do a three wheel version as well.










            The Christiania Cargo Bike





The Kangaroo, by Winther. I suppose I should get this one being Australian.
I wonder why they called it a Kangaroo ,the smaller two wheeler is also nicknamed  after a native animal the wallyroo!








             














             







Yes the Prince of Denmark with his children ,and there is and Australian connection of course.









While price might sway my decision ,all I know is that I want one!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

These bikes look fantastic but is there anywhere in Canberra that sells them?

Paul van Bellen said...

Hi, Paul from Gazelle Bicycles here...

Also the Gazelle Cabby is available in Australia :)

http://www.gazellebicycles.com.au/gazelle-2011-collection/cabby.html

Monica said...

How does the Gazelle compare in price to the other models available in Aus? I know Lonsdale Cyclery can order them in. Thinking of selling my under-used car and getting a cargo bike to replace it.

LauraW said...

Christiania bicycles are sold by Peter Santos from psbikes.com.au He just fabulous!

von said...

We'll be bring an Xtracycle Edgerunner over, we are moving from the United States in February.

We hope to see some other cargo bikes and car free families!

Anonymous said...

does anyone own a cargo bike and is riding in Canberra? we are thinking about buying one to transport our twon children, 2 and 4, to and from daycare/school. does anyone know if we need special permit to cycle cargo bikes on ACT roads (being that it is bigger than usual and is transporting multiple passengers). any tips or suggestions much apreciated!

WalkOnMoreland said...

Hi! Cargo bikes in Canberra seem to be few and far between - but we've got one! A Christiania bike from psbikes and loving it. Only challenge for being car free is kids birthday parties 'just 15 minutes (drive!!) away'. We need car share in Canberra! We have 3 kids and live in O'Connor.

Anonymous said...

Hi!

We live in Canberra and just bought a Bakfiets E-Bike from a private seller. I would like to get it serviced.. does anyone have a suggestion where to have that done in Canberra?

Cheers