Cargo Bike Conversion: First Operational Test Ride!

Well, I rode the single speed cargo bike down to Trader Joe's for the first operational test ride, and all went well. I was able to carry about 47 pounds of food back from Trader Joe's without incident.



My ride is about 2 miles down to the local train station, a short train ride to the shopping center, and about a half mile ride to Trader Joes. Pretty easy ride, with only one major hill to climb on the way back. As such, I was able to handle the increased weight. While the increased weight on the back of the bike was noticable, it was managable riding it home. The bike rack and the ulock securing the bike to the rack held the bike firmly upright as I loaded the cargo container with the grocery bags. Of greater concern is handling the bike after loading it but prior to riding it: It was difficult to handle the bike while unlocking it from the bike rack, manuever it toward the street, etc. The weight on the back made the front very light and relatively unstable side to side, and made me worry that the bike might tip while I was pushing it the short distance from the bike rack to the street. It was a pain balancing the bike while stowing the bike lock in my bag, as the loaded and heavy bike would have created a mess had it tipped at this vulnerable moment. Luckily, nothing did!

Once on the bike, though, it rode well. The cargo container held up, buldging a bit at the bottom, however it suffered no strain great enough to cause white stress marks in the plastic that would indicate potential failure. The bungee cord I used on the top helped hold the lid on, too. The container (Rubbermaid Roughneck) was strong enough to keep the groceries secure and upright. The two bags fit tight enough in the container to keep everything in place without shifting or moving too much.

Overall the system worked well. I look forward to using it on future shopping trips, and would recommend the modification to anyone else that is looking to make their bicycle more practical for short trips. It was easy to manufacture, easy to install, and best of all: easy to remove and place on another bike that has a rear rack mount.

Waffle Bike!

Wow! A self propelled, waffle making machine! Check it out. Truely inspiring... I can't believe they actually 'weaponized' this bike, though. Kind of weird. I wonder if the ATF got involved in regulating those two hand-made shotguns. The islamic/religious slant is kind of wierd, too, especially considering the Norwegian flag on top of the trailer. I think the guy might have a bit of an identity crisis. Otherwise it is neat to see the stuff all crammed onto a bike, everything, including the egg making chickens, on the bike and trailer.

Cool Kids

A friend and co-worker of mine was talking with me today about the blog, and about some of the rap groups I featured in the previous entry. We ended up talking quite a bit about the Cool Kids "Black Mags" video. Great song, great visuals. I had to admit that I didn't know much about them, the Cool Kids, except that they are from Chicago, and that they have this old school 80 rap style which is so rare today, and considering everything that is going on in hip hop, is actually quite refreshing. My most memorable music moment is actually with Old School Hip Hop; I remember listening to and being totatlly mezmorized by Run DMC's Peter Piper playing on my cousin's boom box at some family holiday. It was totatlly different type of music that I was hearing for the first time, and I'll probably remember that moment probably for the rest of my life. I also remember moving from Minnesota to Connecticut, where I could listen to the rap music being projected from the top of the Empire State Building in NYC. I remember listenging to Slick Rick, Run DMC, and other great innovators in hip hop.

The Cool Kids rewind hip hop back to the 80's, a music era that is special to me because it signifies the change, discovery and challenges that I faced moving across the country with my family, and it also signifies the musical landscape of the place I would call home: the East Coast.

The Cool Kids have also brought a breath of fresh air for me, as Chris Rock said, "it is getting hard to justify listening to (gangster) rap, even though I enjoy the music." While most of the hip hop "world" has been tainted by violence, drugs, and negative lyrics, the Cool Kids have stepped it up, providing the fan of hip hop what it always was in the 'good old days': fresh, funky and fun.

I really enjoy the music their music, as it reminds me of Run DMC, Tribe Called Quest, and other great hip hop artists of what I thought was a by-gone age. I thought I would learn a little more about them, listen to more of their music, and share with whomever is following my blog.

The following is a video introduction of the Cool Kids produced by german TV:


Of course, their is their 'Black Mags'. I love how they merge BMX bike culture with Hip Hop culture. This is a live version:



Bassment Party!



What Up Man: a lot like Run DMCs "you be illin" from Raising Hell...



I'm Mikey, bike style!...



One of my fav's: 88...



TV debut featuring 'What it is'...



Maybe more to follow...

Hip Hop Bicycles

Hip hop culture has usually been automobile-centric. That is, rappers and R&B artists have usually been shown driving expensive, customized, and tricked out cars, usually with loud radios, hydraulic lifts to make the car bounce, etc. Interestingly enough, I have seen two new hip hop videos on YouTube that are all about bikes and their place in hip hop culture.

The latest video I discovered was called Scrapper Bikes by a San Fransisco/Oakland based group known as the Trunk Boiz. While I find the video, song, and overall theme of the so-called Scrapper Bike scene rather bizarre, I think it is interesting that bikes are merging with hip hop culture.

If you listen to the lyrics closely, you'll hear: "I don't need no car..." on the songs chorus. With fuel prices and general cost of vehicle ownership on the rise, will hip hop include more references to bicycles as inner city folks choose or are economically forced to use something other than cars?

Watch 'Scrapper Bikes' here:



Less recently, I've been listening to Cool Kids on YouTube. They are a rap group from Chicago with a style reminiscent of 1980's rap. From the little I've listened to their stuff, they, to quote another viewer on Youtube, "got mad style". Anyway, they have a song/video out called "Black Mags", which highlights the love for their BMX bikes. The chorus chants "...Dyno with the black mags..." while they rap about how they trick their bikes out, pick up girls on their pegs, and fill their spare time on their bikes. Pretty cool song and video.

Watch Cool Kids' "Black Mags" here:



While I enjoy the Cool Kids' more than the Trunk Boiz (probably because I am still a big Run DMC fan, and they share similar styles), I wonder if we will see bike and hip hop culture intersecting in the future. I think that more middle and upper class folks will be riding bikes out of an active choice to reduce their commuting costs and in an effort to improve the environment, and there may be an increase in references to bikes in mainstream popular culture because of this trend. However, I suspect that lower and lower middle class will have a greater impact on bicycles in popular culture, especially in hip hop, where a lack of economic potential equates to street credibility. I suspect that while mainstream pop culture may show some bicycles to sell goods to reflect an increased environmental awareness, hip hop culture will more accurately reflect the transportation trends that poor folks are having to make, especially as more poor folks are relegated to taking the bus and riding bikes as costs associated with vehicle ownership rise . Hip hop culture is often about individuality, and it is displayed in vehicle customization, and interestingly enough this carries on not just in cars with spinning wheels and hydraulic lift kits, but also in custom painted Scrapper Bikes and BMX bikes "tricked out like MacGyver".

It will be interesting to see how popular culture shows bicycles as transportation costs continue to rise.

Sweet Cargo Bike

This awesome cargo bike features enough storage space to carry about 4 years worth of groceries, or alternatively, the cyclist could transport a small family (less than 5). I really like the vents (ie air brakes), too.