For Father’s Day this yr, we’re profiling numerous tremendous cool eco-friendly dads who use electrical cargo bikes to move their youngsters round their dwelling communities. The next interviews had been facilitated by Bunch Bikes, North America’s greatest front-load cargo bike model, which despatched out an inventory of questions that Treehugger had supplied to a number of of their loyal purchasers.
The response was terrific. Clearly, persons are keen to speak about their experiences with cargo e-bikes. Hopefully, these tales will encourage you to do one thing related—swap the automotive for a motorbike and all the nice adventures and conversations that go together with it.
Word: That is the second spherical of profiles. You’ll be able to learn the primary one right here. Profiles have been shortened and edited for readability.
Paul Gargagliano (Tampa, Florida): “The bike is known as Margo the Cargo Bike.”
Paul Gargagliano by way of Bunch Bikes
We stay in Florida and like to be exterior as a household (me, my spouse, and two ladies ages 5 and seven), using bikes to varied locations in Tampa and having fun with Bayshore Blvd, the world’s longest steady sidewalk. We had a trailer that I towed behind my bike, but it surely was difficult at instances navigating sidewalks, curbs, and the children combating one another within the trailer. It was harmful to show round to see what they had been doing. I’d normally should cease using and determine it out.
Then I began researching alternate options to the trailer and got here throughout cargo bikes. I honed in on Bunch Bikes, as I figured the cargo field being in entrance and being pedal-assisted was the best way to go. The largest profit is when the children are arguing, I can simply attain out and contact them no downside.
On the weekends we not often use a automotive, except there isn’t a various. We take it to brunch, lunch, dinner, or simply to hang around on the wharf in downtown Tampa. My children adore it! The bike is known as Margo the Cargo Bike. So we simply say, “Let’s take Margo to lunch!”
Eric Cruz (Bronxville, New York): “I want I had a greenback for each time somebody mentioned, ‘Oh, you are the man with the bike.'”
Eric Cruz by way of Bunch Bikes
There have been two causes we opted for buying our Bunch Bike. The primary was with the pandemic lockdowns. We wanted actions for our two-year-old. The second was shifting from Brooklyn, NY, the place we used to stroll in every single place, to the suburbs of Bronxville, NY, the place you must drive in every single place, however we wished to make use of our automotive much less.
Bunch has exceeded expectations on each fronts. We’re very fashionable on the town, as we’re the one ones with one. My daughter and I journey as a lot as we will from our Sunday rides on the Bronx River parkway that’s closed to vehicles on weekends, to breakfast and bagels, flower runs, feeding the geese on the lake, and even grocery buying on the town. We simply adore it.
Now and again, we’ll choose up my spouse from the Metro North practice on the bike as an alternative of utilizing the automotive. The household (together with the canine) makes use of the bike to go to dinner, choose up treats—you identify it, we do it. Bunch has been superior for us all.
It brings plenty of pleasure to lots of people, particularly once we adorn the bike for holidays. Our present theme is Fourth of July, with streamers, flags, America stickers, music, and a few pink, white, and blue Christmas lights. It’s fairly cool to be acknowledged round city by random folks. I want I had a greenback for each time somebody mentioned, “Oh, you are the man with the bike.”
The bike is actually one thing that has made the pandemic bearable and can proceed to be a part of our on a regular basis subsequent regular.
JP Roach (Newport Seaside, California)
JP Roach by way of Bunch Bikes
I used to be a really early adopter of this bike, going again when founder Aaron Powell first beginning delivery the bikes about three years in the past (nonetheless underneath the City Tribe model).
I stay in Newport Seaside, CA, and this bike has been among the finest investments I’ve ever made. It makes every part we do way more enjoyable and memorable. We put music on with a Bluetooth speaker and cruise throughout city—to the park, eating places, associates’ homes, birthday events, the seaside, the Balboa Bay Membership… in every single place!
It matches my three children, two Labradoodles, all of our seaside gear. I’ve even received racks on the facet for our surfboards. Through the summer season, it’s virtually all I take advantage of on the weekends for us to get round. I keep away from parking points and site visitors and simply journey our household bike wherever we have to go.
Biking is likely one of the most enjoyable actions you are able to do. It provides you a very totally different perspective of your environment versus being in a automotive. With the ability to get pleasure from this with my children—who’re in full view whereas I journey—has made for a few of my favourite instances of being a dad.
I can’t inform you what number of instances folks roll down their home windows and yell, “That’s wonderful!” or “Wow, cool bike,” as we journey round city. I’m an enormous fan, love our bike, love the corporate, and suggest it to all of my associates. Now we have a crew in our neighborhood now of about 7-8 people who have them. It’s wonderful.
Blake Corridor (Lexington, Kentucky): “Our 1-year-old twins prefer it way more than the automotive as a result of they’ll see me.”
Blake Corridor by way of Bunch Bikes
I had been fascinated with cargo bikes for some time. We stay in a reasonably walkable space and I assumed a cargo bike could be various to getting a second automotive.
I just about use it for any journey inside two miles. I may go additional, however my metropolis would not actually have protected bike infrastructure. It’s my principal mode of transport and I journey it considerably greater than I drive. I take advantage of it for weekly grocery runs, taking the child to highschool, and every other errands from mailing packages to going to the ironmongery store.
Over this previous yr, it has saved me in higher form and provides me a psychological break. We had twins in the beginning of the pandemic, so it gave me and my then 3-year-old son an opportunity to get out of the home and spend a while collectively. Now that the twins are older, I can journey with all three of them, which provides my spouse a break with a home with out children. I could not actually do the identical factor with a automotive or strolling; they do not significantly look after the automotive journey, as they can not see a lot and it is troublesome to push a double stroller and management a 4-year-old outdated.
My older son loves it. He’ll ask to go for bike rides and once we sometimes use the automotive for a visit he’ll ask, “Why aren’t we taking the bike?” Our 1-year-old twins prefer it way more than the automotive. I think about as a result of they’ll face and see me, whereas additionally seeing extra round them.
For the primary few months, I could not journey it with out somebody asking questions on it. I had a girl in her SUV beside me at a stoplight ask to take an image. A number of instances I’ve heard children inform their mother and father they need one as I journey by. And it is at all times enjoyable to see folks’s reactions once I’m choosing up perform.
Michael Prommer (Davis, California): “They aren’t low-cost, however we did promote our second automotive, so it is price it!”
Michael Prommer by way of Bunch Bikes
We had used cargo bikes on visits to Europe and it made sense to have one in Davis, California. Small city, all flat, and bike-riding climate all yr.
We bought our second automotive and I take advantage of the Bunch Bike to buy groceries. It is a lot simpler and nicer to journey a motorbike than a automotive. I take advantage of the Bunch Bike to drop the children off in school and it is nice for all of us to (a) journey the bike paths versus the streets, and (b) get some recent air earlier than the day begins. The children adore it. Within the cooler months, they’ve complained about being chilly, however blankets took care of that.
As soon as the Shark Tank episode ran, folks typically requested us if that was the bike from the present. Our normal solutions had been, “Sure, that’s the bike,” adopted by, “No, they don’t seem to be low-cost,” and “We did promote our second automotive and hardly use the opposite one, so it is price it!”
Marcel McManis (Harmony, California): “The infant passes out each single time we exit.”
Marcel McManis by way of Bunch Bikes
As quickly because it arrived, I instantly put my boys on the bike and took them for a journey. They had been tremendous excited. I had been speaking in regards to the bike for a month earlier than it arrived.
We stay in a busy metropolitan space, so the bike is a night and weekend factor for me and the boys. It grew to become a substitute for staying at dwelling in entrance of the TV. Now, I normally take the children for a journey anytime. I am unsure what else we could possibly be doing to go time.
The children adore it. They at all times attempt to get a pal to journey alongside. They wave and say hello to everybody on the highway once we are passing. They like to listen to all of the feedback about how cool the bike is.
I feel the very best factor for me is that the child passes out each single time we exit.