Grocery Bike

For awhile after my concussion I lost my driver's license and so did all of my traveling and grocery shopping on a Schwinn Voyager. I mounted a rack and that wasn't very successful since grocery bags fall apart. Then I got a handlebar bag of the little old lady kind that was like heavy screen metal. The Chinese were selling something similar made out of bamboo that looked like wood. As long as you weren't carrying a load this worked out. Now I see that you can get something seminar to fit on the rear rack.

I tried saddlebags but my heels kept hitting them and the bike would rock around. I don't remember how I handled the long distance touring but everything must have been tied down pretty tightly.

In any case, after I got my license back I sold the grocery bike off. The good point about it was that it didn't look worth stealing and so I could park it in front of a store and just put a lock through the wheels.

Now that I'm trying to sell off a large part of my inventory I'm thinking of getting another grocery bike. I'll have some room for it. The store furthest away from me is next to the drug store I use and that is only a mile and a half away. The store I use most often is only half a mile away.

I am now thinking that it is rather silly to be driving to a store that close.

The problem is - do you continue to use a bike for shopping after the immediate idea that driving there is dumb? Some of you probably have some experience with this - what is your take?

On Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at 6:05:03 PM UTC-5, wrote:
For awhile after my concussion I lost my driver's license and so did all of my traveling and grocery shopping on a Schwinn Voyager. I mounted a rack and that wasn't very successful since grocery bags fall apart. Then I got a handlebar bag of the little old lady kind that was like heavy screen metal. The Chinese were selling something similar made out of bamboo that looked like wood. As long as you weren't carrying a load this worked out. Now I see that you can get something seminar to fit on the rear rack.

I tried saddlebags but my heels kept hitting them and the bike would rock around. I don't remember how I handled the long distance touring but everything must have been tied down pretty tightly.

In any case, after I got my license back I sold the grocery bike off. The good point about it was that it didn't look worth stealing and so I could park it in front of a store and just put a lock through the wheels.

Now that I'm trying to sell off a large part of my inventory I'm thinking of getting another grocery bike. I'll have some room for it. The store furthest away from me is next to the drug store I use and that is only a mile and a half away. The store I use most often is only half a mile away.

I am now thinking that it is rather silly to be driving to a store that close.

The problem is - do you continue to use a bike for shopping after the immediate idea that driving there is dumb? Some of you probably have some experience with this - what is your take?

I use my bicycle for 99% of my shopping. I have 56 liters capacity panniers on t he rear rack and they do NOT get hit by my heels. I also have a front rack and panniers I can use if I'm doing major grocery shopping. I once mounted a pair of homemade flat metal J-hooks on another bike so that I could bring home a 4 feet by 8 feet sheet of Melamine from the hardware store a mile from home. Granted I had to walk the bike home with that on it. LOL

I figure that the more shopping I can do by bicycle the better it is for my health. Plus I keep in practice for loading the bicycle for touring trips.

There are neat wire folding baskets you can get for rear racks on bicycles. Example:
https://www.amazon.com/Axiom-Folding.../dp/B001DMXGY6

They work quite well. I prefer my panniers because they have a lower center of gravity and I modified the locking hooks so I can get the pannier off easily even in -0F temperatures.

Good luck and cheers

On 30/1/19 10:05 am, wrote:
For awhile after my concussion I lost my driver's license and so did
all of my traveling and grocery shopping on a Schwinn Voyager. I
mounted a rack and that wasn't very successful since grocery bags
fall apart. Then I got a handlebar bag of the little old lady kind
that was like heavy screen metal. The Chinese were selling something
similar made out of bamboo that looked like wood. As long as you
weren't carrying a load this worked out. Now I see that you can get
something seminar to fit on the rear rack.

I tried saddlebags but my heels kept hitting them and the bike would
rock around. I don't remember how I handled the long distance touring
but everything must have been tied down pretty tightly.

In any case, after I got my license back I sold the grocery bike off.
The good point about it was that it didn't look worth stealing and so
I could park it in front of a store and just put a lock through the
wheels.

Now that I'm trying to sell off a large part of my inventory I'm
thinking of getting another grocery bike. I'll have some room for it.
The store furthest away from me is next to the drug store I use and
that is only a mile and a half away. The store I use most often is
only half a mile away.

I am now thinking that it is rather silly to be driving to a store
that close.

The problem is - do you continue to use a bike for shopping after the
immediate idea that driving there is dumb? Some of you probably have
some experience with this - what is your take?


I don't like having to start a car for a short trip I could easily make
by bike. While I was living in Brisbane I bought a Bob-Yak trailer, and
with that I could tow at least 20 kg of groceries behind a mountain
bike. I also hitched it to the road bike a couple of times to go to
shops much further away when there was something not very heavy to bring
back.

The benefit of the trailer is that it is not a special bike for
shopping. It is a shopping trolley you can use an appropriate bike to tow.

--
JS

On Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at 7:38:13 PM UTC-5, James wrote:
On 30/1/19 10:05 am, wrote:
For awhile after my concussion I lost my driver's license and so did
all of my traveling and grocery shopping on a Schwinn Voyager. I
mounted a rack and that wasn't very successful since grocery bags
fall apart. Then I got a handlebar bag of the little old lady kind
that was like heavy screen metal. The Chinese were selling something
similar made out of bamboo that looked like wood. As long as you
weren't carrying a load this worked out. Now I see that you can get
something seminar to fit on the rear rack.

I tried saddlebags but my heels kept hitting them and the bike would
rock around. I don't remember how I handled the long distance touring
but everything must have been tied down pretty tightly.

In any case, after I got my license back I sold the grocery bike off.
The good point about it was that it didn't look worth stealing and so
I could park it in front of a store and just put a lock through the
wheels.

Now that I'm trying to sell off a large part of my inventory I'm
thinking of getting another grocery bike. I'll have some room for it.
The store furthest away from me is next to the drug store I use and
that is only a mile and a half away. The store I use most often is
only half a mile away.

I am now thinking that it is rather silly to be driving to a store
that close.

The problem is - do you continue to use a bike for shopping after the
immediate idea that driving there is dumb? Some of you probably have
some experience with this - what is your take?


I don't like having to start a car for a short trip I could easily make
by bike. While I was living in Brisbane I bought a Bob-Yak trailer, and
with that I could tow at least 20 kg of groceries behind a mountain
bike. I also hitched it to the road bike a couple of times to go to
shops much further away when there was something not very heavy to bring
back.

The benefit of the trailer is that it is not a special bike for
shopping. It is a shopping trolley you can use an appropriate bike to tow.

--
JS

That is very true about the trailer. I'd love to use one on my bike but I live in an apartment that's not ground floor and often the elevator is DOA. That would mean me having to take the groceries upstairs then the trailer and then my bike. With the panniers (or wire baskets when I had those) I can put the tires on the side support for the stairs (it's flat and about 2.5" wide) and push the bike up. I can lock the wheels with the brakes if I need to rest. However a trailer with a cargo box has the advantage that you can load it almost instantly.

Cheers

On 1/29/2019 5:05 PM, wrote:
For awhile after my concussion I lost my driver's license and so did all of my traveling and grocery shopping on a Schwinn Voyager. I mounted a rack and that wasn't very successful since grocery bags fall apart. Then I got a handlebar bag of the little old lady kind that was like heavy screen metal. The Chinese were selling something similar made out of bamboo that looked like wood. As long as you weren't carrying a load this worked out. Now I see that you can get something seminar to fit on the rear rack.

I tried saddlebags but my heels kept hitting them and the bike would rock around. I don't remember how I handled the long distance touring but everything must have been tied down pretty tightly.

In any case, after I got my license back I sold the grocery bike off. The good point about it was that it didn't look worth stealing and so I could park it in front of a store and just put a lock through the wheels.

Now that I'm trying to sell off a large part of my inventory I'm thinking of getting another grocery bike. I'll have some room for it. The store furthest away from me is next to the drug store I use and that is only a mile and a half away. The store I use most often is only half a mile away.

I am now thinking that it is rather silly to be driving to a store that close.

The problem is - do you continue to use a bike for shopping after the immediate idea that driving there is dumb? Some of you probably have some experience with this - what is your take?


There are a host of products to carry cargo on a bicycle,
most of which will be helpful to you. I'm not recommending
any one style or product because nobody agrees and taste is
fine. I will suggest flat bars (or riser bars) for short
trips with cargo for vision and visibilty, slow speed
control and so on. As with your prior errand bike, it need
not be an expensive vehicle and, for me at least, one
appropriately low gear is plenty.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 2019-01-29 15:05, wrote:
For awhile after my concussion I lost my driver's license and so did
all of my traveling and grocery shopping on a Schwinn Voyager. I
mounted a rack and that wasn't very successful since grocery bags
fall apart. Then I got a handlebar bag of the little old lady kind
that was like heavy screen metal. The Chinese were selling something
similar made out of bamboo that looked like wood. As long as you
weren't carrying a load this worked out. Now I see that you can get
something seminar to fit on the rear rack.

I tried saddlebags but my heels kept hitting them and the bike would
rock around. I don't remember how I handled the long distance touring
but everything must have been tied down pretty tightly.

In any case, after I got my license back I sold the grocery bike off.
The good point about it was that it didn't look worth stealing and so
I could park it in front of a store and just put a lock through the
wheels.

Now that I'm trying to sell off a large part of my inventory I'm
thinking of getting another grocery bike. I'll have some room for it.
The store furthest away from me is next to the drug store I use and
that is only a mile and a half away. The store I use most often is
only half a mile away.

I am now thinking that it is rather silly to be driving to a store
that close.

The problem is - do you continue to use a bike for shopping after the
immediate idea that driving there is dumb? Some of you probably have
some experience with this - what is your take?


I use my bike whenever I can. Even if that means a few miles of riding
in the dark like Monday night. My car gets way less miles per year that
the two bikes (each).

For your prupose I'd get a trailer like the others suggested. A local
cycling friend bought a kids trailer. They can often be found cheaply on
garage sales when a couple's kids have outgrown them. Lot of space for
groceries in there. Maybe some stores even allow you to use it as a
shopping cart so you don't need an extra lock for the trailer.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On 1/29/2019 6:05 PM, wrote:
For awhile after my concussion I lost my driver's license and so did all of my traveling and grocery shopping on a Schwinn Voyager. I mounted a rack and that wasn't very successful since grocery bags fall apart. Then I got a handlebar bag of the little old lady kind that was like heavy screen metal. The Chinese were selling something similar made out of bamboo that looked like wood. As long as you weren't carrying a load this worked out. Now I see that you can get something seminar to fit on the rear rack.

I tried saddlebags but my heels kept hitting them and the bike would rock around. I don't remember how I handled the long distance touring but everything must have been tied down pretty tightly.

In any case, after I got my license back I sold the grocery bike off. The good point about it was that it didn't look worth stealing and so I could park it in front of a store and just put a lock through the wheels.

Now that I'm trying to sell off a large part of my inventory I'm thinking of getting another grocery bike. I'll have some room for it. The store furthest away from me is next to the drug store I use and that is only a mile and a half away. The store I use most often is only half a mile away.

I am now thinking that it is rather silly to be driving to a store that close.

The problem is - do you continue to use a bike for shopping after the immediate idea that driving there is dumb? Some of you probably have some experience with this - what is your take?

I tell people a bicycle is the only proper way to arrive at a grocery
store. Or the library. But I admit, when it's below about 40 degrees F,
these days I take the car.

Our grocery store choices are between 1.5 miles and 3 miles away. I
usually go to the closest one, but I take a roundabout route on
super-quiet streets and get 6.2 miles of riding.

The bike I use is the one I commuted on for decades, a 1992 Raleigh
Super Course frame with all components replaced at one time or another.
It has a Blackburn rear rack and a huge handlebar bag I made in the late
1970s. Also fenders, hub dynamo and B&M headlight, etc.

I use old open-top fabric grocery panniers that fold easily. They came
from either Nashbar or Performance. They're easy on, easy off so they
stay off the bike unless I'm going shopping. They did hit my heel, so I
extended the lower part of the pannier rack to enable them to slide back
for clearance. Yes, when packed full they wiggle a little bit. I deal
with it pretty easily. A stout bungee cord helps a bit, hooking into
grommets I added at the far left and the far right of the respective bags.

My wife usually comes with me on her bike. She has only a handlebar bag,
and usually some of our purchases go into it. But I can pile a lot of
stuff onto my rear rack, with things that aren't fragile or squashable
piled up 8" above the rack, held on by bungee cords. As on some of our
tours, I try to leave her bike as unloaded as possible.

I'm lucky that the store is uphill and home is mostly downhill. Oh, and
sometimes my wife gripes about having to ride the bike for groceries.
But absolutely every time, she later admits it was fun.


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Tue, 29 Jan 2019 15:05:01 -0800, sltom992 wrote:


I tried saddlebags but my heels kept hitting them and the bike would
rock around. I don't remember how I handled the long distance touring
but everything must have been tied down pretty tightly.

There are racks and racks, and panniers and panniers, and what combo
work on one bike, may not work on another. It has taken decades for me to
build up a mass load carrying combo with full rear panniers. You need a
rear rack that will allow you to move the pannier aft/back and thus not
clip your heels when bulging. on a "racing"/shortened frame this can lead
to a light nose and so you realise the advantage of front panniers.

As always, your panniers should fit your needs and there is no point in
fitting panniers that are great for long distance self contained touring,
when you just want a ride to the shops to buy milk and bread.

As I make my own panniers from light canvas. I've been able to make small
and medium saddlebags and large rear panniers to suit needs. My current
ride is a 1988 MTB fitted with rear racks front and back, so I have the
capacity to fit four reart panniers for the shopping, boosted by whatever
duffle bags I can strap on top. Everyday use has just a pair of saddle
bags of 4L capacity.

Another workable alternative for larger/extra loads, is what is commonly
known as a bob-style, but AFAIK, was around in the early 1900 in England
in a flat bed design. Caveat, IME, you'll fit more on a bicycle than on
these.

Now that I'm trying to sell off a large part of my inventory I'm
thinking of getting another grocery bike. I'll have some room for it.
The store furthest away from me is next to the drug store I use and that
is only a mile and a half away. The store I use most often is only half
a mile away.

You'll also say a lot of money in running the car. More if you can get
rid of it entirely. For what we spent a new basic model car, we could
have purchased three top of the line electric cargo bikes. given what we
use it for, this would have been a good idea with the occassional car-
hire when we need to go very long distances.

FWIW

I am now thinking that it is rather silly to be driving to a store that
close.

Should be healthier and save "gym membership" if you are one of those who
do so.


The problem is - do you continue to use a bike for shopping after the
immediate idea that driving there is dumb? Some of you probably have
some experience with this - what is your take?

The only reason we didn't use the bike was periods of bad health. Or when
we needed the cargo van for very heavy loads like bags of cement, or 8
meter lenghts of steel or sheet of ply, etc.

YMMV, but many times, going somewhere around town was faster on bicycle
than fighting traffic congestion through town.

I am fortunate to have a grocery store only 3/4 mile from my house. So I walk for groceries. Home Depot and Target are 2 miles. I sometimes ride to them and carry the goods home in a backpack. Small goods. Not 8 foot 2x4s or 4x8 sheets of plywood. I relegate my loaded touring bike and four panniers and handlebar bag to only loaded touring. Not carrying groceries. Even though it would work splendidly for that purpose.

On Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at 6:05:03 PM UTC-5, wrote:
For awhile after my concussion I lost my driver's license and so did all of my traveling and grocery shopping on a Schwinn Voyager. I mounted a rack and that wasn't very successful since grocery bags fall apart. Then I got a handlebar bag of the little old lady kind that was like heavy screen metal. The Chinese were selling something similar made out of bamboo that looked like wood. As long as you weren't carrying a load this worked out. Now I see that you can get something seminar to fit on the rear rack.

I tried saddlebags but my heels kept hitting them and the bike would rock around. I don't remember how I handled the long distance touring but everything must have been tied down pretty tightly.

In any case, after I got my license back I sold the grocery bike off. The good point about it was that it didn't look worth stealing and so I could park it in front of a store and just put a lock through the wheels.

Now that I'm trying to sell off a large part of my inventory I'm thinking of getting another grocery bike. I'll have some room for it. The store furthest away from me is next to the drug store I use and that is only a mile and a half away. The store I use most often is only half a mile away.

I am now thinking that it is rather silly to be driving to a store that close.

The problem is - do you continue to use a bike for shopping after the immediate idea that driving there is dumb? Some of you probably have some experience with this - what is your take?

Oh, one hing I forgot to mention that I found with a two wheel trailer and that is that it's a lot harder to pedal uphill with the one I have than it is with the same weight on the bicycle. One really needs to weigh the pros and cons of a trailer for THEIR needs if they are considering getting a trailer; and that includes the weight of the empty trailer too plus the storage of the same when it's not in use at home.

Cheers