Electric assist is a game changer for bike culture in North America
The explosive growth of electric assist for bikes has given a big boost to utilitarian cycling: moving kids and cargo.
Proposed Ontario law may accidentally ban cargo (e)bikes
The London Bike Cafe informs us that "the Ontario Government has introduced a Bill into the Legislature (Bill 282 An Act in respect of various road safety matters), better known by its catchy title “The Moving Ontarians More Safely (MOMS) Act.” The MOMS Act will regulate e-bike and cargo bike use across the province."
In some ways, the MOMS Act is an improvement on existing e-bike law, but it seems that the government may accidentally make your e-bike or cargo bike illegal.
Getting the cargo (e)bike religion in Ontario
"A new vehicle type has also emerged and is poised to enter the Ontario market - cargo e-bikes," says the Ministry of Transportation in Ontario, they mention in their recent call to the public to respond to changing e-bike regulations. It's too late to provide comments (sorry! I meant to post this earlier).
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My kid loves this kid seat
It's awesome to have a setup that everyone loves. This kid seat from Workcycles is made to work with their amazingly sturdy Fr8 and Gr8 bikes. It just fits. I've got their frame-mounted front rack and the kid seat attaches to that and has special foot rests. The bike is so sturdy that it hardly notices when there's a 40 pound kid, two saddle bags, and a front rack full of supplies for going to the beach. It can handle it all.
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We all need special bikes at some point in our lives
You might not need the Nihola Flex shown in the image above, but at some point in your life, whether as a child, adult or elderly, you may need some special adaptation so you can continue to bike. The Nihola Flex, by the way, is imported by Curbside Cycle; speak to my friend Eric who has always pushed the boundary of city and practical cycling. I've documented who carries special needs bikes. Here are a few:
Making the journey even sweeter
Some mornings I take the preschooler on my e-bakfiets (from Dutch bikes.ca) to Nan's. And sometimes I take her loopfiets (walk bike from Hoopdriver.ca). Then when we get to the trail she gets on her loopfiets and rides along side me for a good chunk of the way. Until we get to the flooded part of the trail, where she gets back on for a few metres. Or until we get to the steep part where even I have to get off and push up a 20% grade for a few metres.
We're lucky enough to be close enough to a trail that we can enjoy these moments.
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Utility, comfort and assist: name of the game at the Toronto Bike Show
Last weekend I made a trip down to the Toronto Bike Show. This bike show is more about people getting discounts on last year's models than about showing innovation in active transportation. Regardless, some innovation still shines through. I got to take a few crappy photos of these plus ride a handful.
Installing the canopy for our box bike
We recently bought an "e-bakfiets" and have been getting good use out of it. With fall weather it came time to assemble the Clarijs canopy we bought as an add-on. Clarijs is another Dutch company that makes various bike products. I decided to document the process since it's a bit involved in the current instructions leave something to be desired. I got some help from this article by Bicycle Belle out of Boston.
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Our other car is an e-bakfiets
We just bought a box bike (from the Dutch "bakfiets") from Urkai. It's quite a bike. It's large, long, heavy. But it rides smooth and easy even when the box is loaded with a kid and everything for an outing.
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