A recent GOOD Design post asked the question, “What if Your Bike Was a Station Wagon?” The bike that they featured in that post, Camioncyclette by Swiss designer Christophe Machet was designed to carry loads up to 150 kilograms (330 pounds) in the big yellow integrated front and rear wire baskets.
“What do you get when you mate a bicycle and a shopping cart?” was the reaction from Xtracycle on Twitter. They hit the nail on the head with that description, but I do think that it is an interesting concept. I am still not sure how this bike would ride fully loaded, but the pictures do indicate that it is a rideable prototype that has been tested with different types of loads (including a passenger). Camioncyclette was Machet’s graduate school project, so it is only a concept bike at this point, but I believe a bike like this could find a place in the market along with the other cargo-oriented bikes that are a growing in popularity at a rapid rate (here in the U.S. at least). Longtails like the ones from Xtracycle, Madsen, Surly, Yuba, and many other companies are becoming more commonplace, and new variations on traditional bakfiets designs and cargo bikes are popping up all the time.
Personally, I am always glad to see new ideas for bikes that can “carry a lot of stuff.” I am curious what you all think about this concept though. Is the Camioncyclette a viable solution for shopping and running errands by bike, or just another designer bike that will make the blog rounds and disappear? Let me know what you think in the comments.
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