Heyo everyone. For the first time in my life I'm in a position to be able to use an ebike for most of my commuting needs, which I'm pretty psyched for!

As ebikes are a somewhat hefty investment, I want to do my best to get one that will last a good while, and can be maintained and repaired by just me. I've read that Bosch motors are proprietary and refuse to sell parts to anyone who isn't a dealer, so I figured I'd ask here for advice before making any decisions.

The criteria I'm looking at is:

• Budget of around $1200
• Plan to haul groceries uphill regularly (not super steep though)
• Decently fast, at least able to achieve Class 3 speeds
• Enough torque for hauling a small trailer (costco runs)
• Replaceable/repairable battery
• As many non-proprietary parts as possible
• Ability to fold is a bonus, but not a requirement

If any of you have any experience you can share, I'd be most grateful!

My husband bought a Stark Drive bike through Kickstarter about 6 years ago. It's served us incredibly well, and we've put thousands and thousands of miles on it, but the battery is now truly cooked.

I think it's time to finally buy a replacement, which sells for $600: https://starkdrive.bike/accessories/17ah-battery-pack/

Before I do, though, I just wanted to get some expert opinion. Are there any other options that are cheaper or more environmentally conscious? Are there places that can capably disassemble the battery locally and rebuild it with fresh cells? Would doing so have any advantages against just buying the new one? Thanks.

I picked up a Burley Flatbed to compliment my Burley Travoy and Wike City cargo trailers.

The Flatbed seems to offer a nice bit of versatility when it comes to strapping rubbermaids to it.

I've seen 150L+ sizes, but I'm curious if anyone has actually been doing this. If so, any tips or things I should watch out for?

Obviously, securing the front and rear of the trailer (both sides are fully open) is probably going to be really important. LOL

cross-posted from: https://fedia.io/m/[email protected]/t/1590564

Chicago-based nonprofit World Bicycle Relief (WBR) doesn't distribute just any type of bicycle ??? it distributes bicycles meant to navigate the unimproved roads and rough terrain of developing nations, empowering populations to access healthcare, education and economic opportunities that would???

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/16474902

Side view:

I've made a few trips to the hardware store and other errands over the years, using a backpack on my bike (years ago, when it was my only transportation, I hauled a small amount of groceries in a backpack and just made multiple trips) but this is the first trip I've made since I started trying to turn this mountain bike into a cargo bike. I've got the rear rack I talked about in that post, some basic secondhand fabric panniers secured with straps and zip-ties, and a milk crate from a consignment shop. I went for a pretty light grocery run for the first trip, just two totes of frozen stuff, and it rode just fine on the way home.

Thanks for all your advice! I think I'm going to upgrade to bucket panniers at some point soon, but I'm glad I can at least start using it like I'd planned.

I previously posted looking for advice on turning my old steel-framed mountain bike into something I could use to haul groceries and maybe some bits of furniture I find on trash day.

I got a ton of helpful suggestions, and started out on what I think will be a gradual project as I make incremental improvements to this bicycle.

Step 1 was adding a rear rack, so I could add cargo panniers, or a basket behind the seat.

I settled on this one because I liked the extra support legs, and because it claimed to be able to support more weight than most other designs (something I remain skeptical about, but I'm pleased with the overall construction so far).

I did find th

Youtube / Invidious

I've been cycling for utilitarian purposes for several decades, but I never had a community for that before.

I've been riding the same Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo Mountain Bike since my uncle found it in a sandpit and gave it to me to ride while away on my first internship. It was in somewhat rough shape back then, and it's kind of the bicycle of Thesius at this point as parts failed and I found ways to replace them.

I was replacing the front tire and realized I'd like to make this thing into a cargo bike (I currently use it to scout for furniture to restore on trash days, but usually have to ride home and return on foot to grab anything I find, plus I could get groceries). I'm not sure what level of standardization this bike follows and I have no familiarity with cargo bike parts, but I was thinking I'd like to add a Rear Pannier Carrier Cargo Rack and perhaps a large basket on top of that - in fact, I happen to have this homemade welded steel basket I pulled out of a dumpster a couple years ago:

![](https://lazysoci.al/api/v3/image_proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fslrpnk.net%2Fpictrs%2Fimage%2F63a57

I love seeing this. I'm not quite ready to by this particular bike, but I'm definitely going to share the info with my husband and see what he thinks. This could suit our needs in the next year or two.