17 April 2009

Another Cargo Bike Option: Madsen Cycles


My wife and I were talking yesterday about how to get three small children (ages 1 to 3.5) to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium by bicycle from our house about five miles away. Our Xtracycle will soon handle two kids, but the third one would end up in a trailer, which is not my favorite option for crossing Tacoma. Trailers are great on trails (ya think?) and back roads, but not so much on narrow city arterials. And what if I wanted to take the threesome some where by myself?

Enter Madsen Cycles out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Madsen has pioneered the bucket bike, a take-off on the tried and true Dutch bakfiet, or box bike. Madsen mounts the box behind the pilot instead of in front, and the box is actually a 40-gallon bucket made from the same material as a kayak. I feel like the Madsen likely offers a similar handling quality to my Xtracycle (which I like) and several reviewers have said so as well. The bike is rated up to 600 pounds and can accomodate four small children in the bucket.

Madsen has some scratch & dents on sale, and will ship the bike to your door, fully assembled, for free through the end of May. My wife and I felt like these discounts easily made the bike worth a try, so we ordered a blue one this morning. More to follow.

5 comments:

melanie said...

squeal! the blue ones are my favorite and i think will offer you good road visibility. that is so awesome... can't wait to go for a spin! when's it coming?

Matt in Tacoma said...

No ETA yet. Hoping to have it before I visit SLC so I can give some feedback in person.

Julian said...

Go go SEA-TAC bucket bike brigade!!!

I think you'll love it. 3 kids in the bucket is a blast, and the scratch deal with free shipping is a screaming deal.

Can't wait to hear what you think ...

Matt in Tacoma said...

It shipped today! Should be here by midweek...

Mum said...

I want to take it for a spin as well complete with kids. This is so cool!