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D. Hauling Cargo
MAXIMUM WEIGHT LIMITS
WARNING: Maximum weight of rider and cargo is 400 lbs.
Only ride with loads that you are comfortable with.
Carrying large objects requires more planning than your average ride. For starters, route planning
becomes really key - slipping between bollards might not be possible, and streets with one lane and lots of
traffic pose a hazard. Hills become a major obstacle, both going up and coming down - carting 350 pounds
up a hill is no small feat, and it requires good braking practices to bring it all safely down the other side. Ask
your shop to explain how to use disk brakes
safely on hills.
Large cargo will also change the handling of the bike dramatically: Box springs make for a large sail,
long ladders can set the bike a-wiggling, and lopsided loads can pull the bike to one side.
For this reason it's important to get a feel for the bike and cargo's behavior in a low-traffic area before
charging onto the streets. It's also important to make sure you've secured your load and to check it after
the first few minutes of riding. Ratcheting straps are great for this because they let you get everything much
tighter than with rope or plain webbing, and you don't need to be great at tying knots to use them. There are
a few accessories to help you carry bulky cargo on the EdgeRunner. As mentioned before, ratcheting straps
are invaluable, but a Kickback and U-tubes make it significantly easier to load the bike.
WARNING: Your bike will handle differently when hauling cargo. Ride cautiously and never
perform stunts (like riding without hands).
TIPS TO LOAD CARGO
1. CLEARANCE
Make sure that you have enough room to get onto the bike, pedal, and control it safely. This means
that long objects should be positioned so that they clear the pedals, tall ones so that you can still sit in the
seat, and no cargo should block the normal operation of the rear brake and derailer. If you cannot position
the cargo to fulfill ALL of these requirements, do not attempt to carry it!
2. CENTER OF GRAVITY
Center of gravity is the balance point of the bike. Position the cargo so that its center of gravity is as
close to the centerline of the bike as possible: The bike should be able to balance more-or-less vertically
when loaded. For example, when carrying boxed bikes, you should try to carry two if possible.
A box per side balances the bike nicely, but just one will make the bike pull strongly towards that side.
Try to keep as much weight near the front of the rack as possible, because the farther back the weight is the
more likely it is to induce vibrations in the bike.
3. GOOD VIBES
Good vibes are something that we think about more when listening to music than loading cargo
bikes, but it comes into play with long, flexible cargo. Like a guitar string, long cargo can start wiggling at a
specific frequency - resonating - and that in turn can make the bike wiggle too.
The trick is to minimize these big wiggles and turn them into smaller, higher frequency vibrations
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