You can contact me directly for a direct purchase, or go though Etsy. I’ve put the details there. If you buy directly from me it is simpler and I don’t have to pay a selling fee to them. Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions. Please come by for a test ride, you will like it

Some Details: (also see the concept, and box design pages for the development)

A comfortable ride to replace your car. The cargo/precious cargo is up-front where you can see it. No need to tie anything down. Just the pleasure and convenience of riding with all the stuff you need for your daily errands.	Hand-built Human Powered Machines 4130 CrMo frame. Light. Solid. Low centre of gravity. Bend over backwards warranty support coverage.
Strong Wheel, Sun Rims. Full fenders, dress guard, ease of use is paramount. You don't have to prepare to ride your bike you just get on and go! Strong and low maintenance disc brakes included, or you can go with cantilever brakes for a $100 discount.	AXA Defender integrated frame lock is so easy and quick you'll never want a U-lock again. The bike locks to itself so you don't ever have to find parking. There is a chain on the same key so you can lock up your friends bike with yours - or lock to a pole for overnight storage. Spring release takes only a second and you are rolling again.
Easy gearing to get you up hills with a full load of kids and groceries without breaking a huffing and puffing. Manually machined cherrywood bash-guard/pants-protector for convenience and style. The strong and dense wood originates from a tree the city took down on a street near my house. Fully weatherproof. Fun wooden painted metal pedals and a coloured BMX strength chain. (Among other options)	Sturmey Archer 8 speed (pictured) or Shimano Internal Gear hub. Internal gears are enclosed to protect from the elements and provide years of maintenance-free service. Frame can also accommodate a derailleur if you prefer. The choice of drive is up to you but the standard options are very nice indeed.
The hand-built Vancouver made family cargo box is made of Marine grade plywood and aluminium diamond-plate with 6061 angle and Stainless hardware. There are plenty holes to tie down large loads but the greatest feature is you don't have to tie down, balance or think about the cargo for normal loads - you throw it in and ride off - easier than a car. Weight is balanced low so even heavy loads are a breeze. Flatbed option also possible for ultimate cargo flexibility.	Toehold steps make it easier for the little ones to climb in. Seatbelts and bench (not pictured) for 2 children plus groceries. The extremely convenient and strong spring loaded kickstand means you can use the parked bike as a stable platform. It's perfect for loading/unloading and just about anything else you might imagine.
Lots of little fun details including cherrywood bar end plugs and a brass bell. Many futuristic LED lighting options.	Ready for you to test ride.

The timeframe is about 2 weeks for consultation and 5 weeks for production. So it currently takes 7 weeks from placing the order to delivery. 50% payment is due in the first week to confirm your purchase and 50% is due before painting – by about 3 weeks. There are financing options. Please contact me if you with any inquiries ASAP. Act fast, this is a rare opportunity as I will not be able to supply a HPM frame that I have personally built for about a year after this one. Until then I will be importing quality hand built frames from Oregon. I am accepting pre-orders for those now but the wait is currently 9 weeks for the imported frames.

The Human Powered Network is a new network built by the Center for Appropriate Transport in Eugene, Oregon, and her apprentices. Its a way of bringing local production (micro manufacturing) to cargo biking around the world with the benefits of the internet age and global sharing. It is the lifelong work of bicycle visionary Jan VanderTuin.

What this means to those of you here in Vancouver reading this is simple. Anything you see on the CAT Human Powered Machines website (Or the CAT online store) can be also available locally here in Vancouver – The Bicycle Family can handle all the cross border shipping, exchange rate issues and customisation. We may even make locally some of the items:

• Cargo bikes, Recumbent bikes, the Swift Folder bike, and HPM trailers.
• Items from the CAT store: ponchos, booties, rain covers.

So check out the CAT/HPM websites (click on picture to link), then contact us for Canadian pricing and delivery options.

I’ve got the important features on this cargo bike done now. I still need to do the kids bench, seatbelts, step-in and the lighting… and all of the other little tweaks I want to do one day Basically, this platform will be a testbed of new design features and I will ride it around town. So, it will always be a work-in-progress and you can check it out as I ride around town or arrange a test ride to see how you like what I’m working on! Still in the R&D phase is a fully enclosed chain case and a rain cover for the kids (really wished I had that Saturday, some crazy hailstorms that day!)

Over the next few weeks I’ll be detailing some photos of this bike in the Bikes for Sale section. I have another Human Powered Machines Frame in stock and ready for whatever colour powdercoat paint you need. I could build a box for it just like this demo one, like the HPM box designs, or custom. If you are interested in being an earlier adopter then please contact me!

The Officially Bicycle Family launch and public display of the demo bike is coming soon. Stay tuned!

Finn and Dad present the Bicycle Family Cargo Bike.

A milestone: Friday night I got to ride my Long Haul for the first time. It’s at a stage where I can throw a few parts on it and give it a test spin. Jane and my Mum both said they enjoyed riding it – the test was overall very positive. My Dad didn’t ride it because he was afraid he would scratch the new paint job.

Finn was the most excited to ride it on Tuesday. I couldn’t really pedal him around on it since I haven’t built the safe family box to carry him yet. That didn’t stop him from taking it for a stroll with me pushing. He also insisted on sitting in the drivers seat and steering it while I pushed him.

It was pretty nice to finally take it for a spin even if there is more to do.

The launch of the completed demo bike and an invitation to come test ride it will be announced soon.

Rendering of cargo box with design modifications.

Here is a design I’ve been working on for the family cargo bike box. It is to be made from water-resistant lightweight marine plywood and aluminum diamondplate. This is a take off from the design of the HPM family box. The modifications I’ve made to that design are:

• moved brackets to outside, so they don’t get in the way and collect dirt
• rounded brackets, so they don’t catch and also styling
• holes and hand holds, for tie down but mostly styling
• raised rear of box, better back support and possibility of future design head support for child
• curved edges, styling

The above changes are for the above reasons and also that I have a lot of experience riding with Finn in our Workcycle Bakfiets. Taking from that I wanted to improve the setup a little from the perspective of the parent using it everyday. The seatbelts will be the superior HPM design which allows 3 seating positions on the bench with 2 belts – also it allows the belt to be easily done up after the kid has a helmet on which is a small annoyance of the Workcycle seatbelt.

There are other front cargo beds (see HPM examples) besides the family box style but I’m designing this family box to also be good for loads that are all cargo – a good all-round functional box.

Update May 9, 2011 — It’s built :

Thanks to my very special helper, the box is together now. I’m still working on the seatbelts, bench, step-in and rain cover but that will all come soon…

We’re planning for the first demonstration version of our Bicycle Family Vehicle to look like this. You can can get an idea of the features:

• Family cargo box up front where you can see it! No tie-down or bungees, no squeezing into panniers, you barely even have to consider balance: just throw in your load and off you go. Carry up to 200lbs (100kg) no problem! No more special consideration just to go buy the groceries. If you want to buy a watermelon or other bulk/heavy items just throw it in, stop working for your bike and have it work for you.
• Big easy comfy bench seating for 2-4 little wonders  (folds out of the way when not in use) with seat-belts that can be put on after the kids helmet. Having the kids up front means it is easier to keep and eye on them and talk to them. Also the kids love being the captain!
• Super awesome stable kickstand that means you can park anywhere, load up or even use your parked bike as a freestanding stable platform.
• Upright riding posture – comfy seat and handlebars for everyday use in the city and good visibility.
• Full fenders, dressguard and chainguard (not pictured). We believe that less effort required in choosing cycling clothing is a good thing.
• Frame lock and chain. Since I got one of these locks I’ve never looked back even though I was wary of them before I got one. These locks are uncommon in North America but in places with more daily cycling like Europe and Asia they are ubiquitous. The bike can be parked and locked on the street – more easily than parking a car. You don’t have to find a bike rack or pole – you can roll right up to the front of your destination and just lock it to itself, unload with the fabulously stable kickstand then be on your way. The frame lock is a great feature for a cargo bike. It’s large enough that you can lock it to itself without worrying that someone will pick it up and walk away (a frame lock is not made for fixies) but there is also a built-in chain for when you need to lock overnight. You’ll just have to experience the ease of this lock to understand why I have to make it a STANDARD feature.
• Lights. Because riding home at the end of the night should not be an afterthought: Built in generator lights are preferred but customers can customise to their heart’s content (I have contacts with some very creative lighting people). If anyone has any idea where I can get ahold of some awesome fender/light integration as I’ve imagined in the drawing please contact me.

(This is a general idea of standard features, we will be ultimately making custom bikes one at a time so you can always get more or less than this as your needs dictate)

This is a long list of great features. I’m trying create the ease of use that comes with the world famous Workcycle Bakfiets from the Netherlands. My bike is a synthesis of the Bakfiets universal usability with the superior CAT Oregon CroMoly Long Haul frame design. The Long Haul is hand built in Oregon (soon in Vancouver, BC) and lighter weight than even the Danish Aluminum Bullitt frame.

My impetus for building this bike is riding with a family and trying to build solutions that don’t require me to rely on automobile transport. The inspirational designs I am trying to combine are those of the CAT Oregon Long Haul frame, the usability of Bakfiets, the style and some of the production ideas of Metrofiets.

I really respect all of the bike producers that have inspired me and recommend their cargo bikes to people all the time. My distinct combination of features, usability and local production have not been seen before. There is so much room for innovation and expansion of cargo bikes. Just look at each car on the road now and realise that bikes can do 99% of that. We’re building a future of cargo bikes that will replace cars in cities because it will be the more appropriate technology. Convenience is a huge aspect of technology. Yay future!

Update May 9, 2011 — It’s built : 

Hey, am I psychic? Looks just like the drawing. Told ya so! The only difference between this and the drawing is that this is better. Ding Ding!