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Green Ideas We’d Like To See: The Bike-Shopping Cart |
39 Comments |
| By Michael d'Estries in Bicycles, Green Living, Green Products | September 5, 2007 | ||
I had a great idea forwarded to me by RubenMiller through StumbleUpon. Basically, it’s a shopping cart bike that adds to the already growing list of ways you can go bagless at the supermarket. In his own words,
“Here’s a scenario: Imagine riding up to the grocery with a shopping cart bike. You park your bike at a rack and unlatch the cart to wheel into the store. Without using any bags, you can pay, put the groceries back in your cart, hitch up to your bike and ride off!
Some years back, IDEO worked on a concept for a smart shopping cart. I wasn’t sure how practical it would really be. Somehow, I think this simpler variation is much more likely to make it past prototype phase and into real stores.
You might argue that multi-level dwellers couldn’t manage without bags, but for those who don’t have an elevator, a removable insert/basket could be built into the design.”
It’s a cool idea — perhaps not practical for all and a little unwieldy — but an interesting integration beyond the traditional bike basket. What do you think?
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Amanda Kerik said,
This is actually a really cool idea… a bit low-class, but I think being fashionable is a bit over-rated anyways.
I wonder how well it would corner…?
Ozza said,
I really like this! It would make it so much easier to go to the market without your car. Where can I buy it?
Kyle said,
Cool idea, but you’d have to rig the crap out of the wheels. Not only would they be horrible for going over rough surfaces at fast speeds, it’d be close to impossible to turn. Maybe add a detachable bike wheel in/under the shopping cart?
Scott said,
i think if someone could make it easily attachable and removable, and work on some new wheels to make it less clumsy this could really be a good idea. i’m not sure if you could make money off it, but cool nonetheless.
Olmec Sinclair said,
That looks like a very difficult bike to steer. Shopping carts always have those gamy wheels that wobble all over the show and force you to crash into other shoppers. Nice idea but not realistic.
lynx said,
a very cool idea but there are a couple of barriers.
1 – it would have to be a specially designed cart with bigger more bicycle-like wheels in order to ride effectively. trying to pedal something with shopping-cart type wheels on the front would be incredibly difficult and slow.
2 – the larger wheels would make it stick out and store personnel would not necessarily be happy to allow it inside their stores since it’s not one of “their” carts. not a major barrier though.
3 – the bigger barrier would be that stores use bags not only to hold goods but to signify that the goods have been paid for. just try telling hte checker not to bag your groceries and look at the reaction of disbelief – and then be prepared to wait around when security stops you for shoplifting and triple-checks your receipt in disbelief on your way out the door. This has actually happened to me in real life. the solution to that is to use cloth bags that you bring with you.
that said, I’ve seen folks in the oakland / berkeley area with specially modified bikes they’ve designed that include huge baskets or pull trailers, things not unlike this. so in a way it actually already exists, just not in this form.
cheers,
lynx
Amber said,
The idea is great, but I worry about the person who gets the wobbly cart
Joor Kiddin Rite said,
Ever gotten one of those carts with the annoying wheel that refuses to go in the direction you want it to? Now imagine your bike doing that. Not fun.
andrew mossberg said,
How’s the concept different from an adult tricycle?
Jon said,
great idea. If the cart was in the back the steering would certainly improve…
June Campbell said,
Utterly cool. I would love one.
Mike Combs said,
Ever heard of an automobile? Jeez…
Tim said,
@andrew mossberg: For starters, 2 more wheels, a basket…
Greg said,
I love the concept yet I se it working better as an adult tricycle with the cart behind you as you pedal. Then when you get there, you disconnect the basket from the “port” and use it. When done, you clip it back into its port and pedal home.
I am sure stores won’t mind you NOT using their carts too!
fr3orb said,
I’d suggest instead trying a Bakfietsen. Check out this article for example.
http://practicalpedal.com/summer2007/dutch.html
I’m not and owner or operator but I love these guys. http://www.clevercycles.com
Matthew said,
Very innovative idea. I also see the flaw of the wheels come into play if you want to ride this ‘thing’ to the ‘market.
Nice idea nonetheless!
Tony said,
Good concept in that it would give people an alternative to driving the car to the shops, so it would help pollution etc. But the idea that this helps reduce shopping bags is laughable. Someone’s getting confused here about which “good cause” this helps.
Let me explain why: at the moment, I drive to the shops. AND I use a trolley/shopping cart to ferry my items between the shop and my car. Yet, just because I use a trolley does not mean I don’t need shopping bags. I’m sure everyone else is the same – trolleys don’t save bags. You don’t want your jars of jam/jelly and individual apples etc rolling around the trolley.
Again, I think you’ve just confused which cause it is this contraction is aiding. It’s aiding “reduce pollution”, not “reduce shopping bags”.
Richard Sargent said,
It’s been done.
Ginger said,
Hah good point Tony. I didn’t even think about that when I read the article, but I guess I’d still use bags with this bike. The best would be this bike + cloth reusable bags. That way you’re getting the best of both worlds – save the ozone, and save the landfills.
Andy Benson said,
^ Ever hear of chronic fat-ass disease?
Jeez.
meh said,
A stable version of this exists already, and is in mass production. They are called “bakfiets”, “cargo bikes”, or “barge bikes”. Do a google image search… It’s not a new idea, just one nobody’s bought onto in the U.S…. yet.
If you really want one, a google for “bakviets” returns the only U.S. distributor I know of.
(I test rode one – very stable, easy ride)
John said,
http://www.bicyclelaneindustries.com/bli/cartbike/
Deltaplan said,
In France, some big supermarkets have been provided their customers that kind of shopping carts, but powered with electric motors, to ride IN the store. Basically it looks like a kind of big scooter, with a more confortable seat including a backrest, and a storage unit on front that is lightly smaller than a regular shopping cart. It is driven a bit like a bike, with a handlebar.
These electric carts were intended for people with walking disabilities, either people in wheelchairs or people who would have difficulties to walk and push a shopping cart (if they’re too old, or have a broken leg for example). But it turned out these carts were often used for fun by youngsters, and therefore the supermarkets quickly put restrictions on their use (requiring official handicap cards, forbidding to go outisde on the parking lot with it – wich is probably the most annoying thing since the people who use these carts can’t walk very well, how would they walk to their cars with big bags full of stuff ?), and now they have almost abandonned the idea, replacing it with simpler carts specifically designed for people in wheelchairs (they’re much lower than regular carts, and with a handlebar that is way further in the back so that people don’t have it difficult to push it when sitting on a wheelchair).
The other reason why they’ve abandonned this equipements is that it used to require a lot employees to help the people who were using it (to get access to products that are stored on top of shelves for example, or simply to teach them how to handle the cart), and now the store prefer these people to buy their grocery directly on their websites and to be delivered at home, for which they charge about 30 to 40% more than the prices in the stores…
Binky Huckaback said,
What a pathetic idea. If you want to go green, stop shopping at the supermarket. Use your local farmer’s market and take a cotton bag. If this is the best green idea someone can come up with there is no hope. Utterly, utterly dismal.
Deltaplan said,
Here’s a picture of one of these “shopper’s scooter” I was talking about :
http://www.accessams.com/scooters/Rally_Shopper/Rally_shopper04.jpg
Otherwise, if you want a better cart/bike, you have that thing :
http://antivoitures.free.fr/cartbike.jpg
Iain Dalton said,
In other words, a cargobike: http://www.bakfiets.nl/eng/models.php
Joost schraag said,
You might check the collection of de Fietsfabriek, http://www.fietsfabriek.nl/index_eng.htm
We Dutch have a way with transport bikes.
Anders said,
Coming from Denmark this is not something weird; you see them all over:
http://www.christianiabikes.com/english/uk_main.htm
http://nihola.info/en/
derek said,
RIPOFF!!!!
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-6796654441449463797&q=derek+w+rules&total=10&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
Matt said,
@Mike Combs: Ever heard of the environment? Jeez…
WTL said,
I would be more tempted to make the basket of the shopping cart into an easy to hook up trailer, so that your bike wouldn’t be sole-purposed. Those small wheels would potentially get swallowed by pot-holes as well.
brenbart said,
I think the picture is of someone who had the front wheel of his bike stolen and he in turn stole a shopping cart so he could get home.
Ruudjah said,
Well, in Holland we do this all the time. Very simple: We have shopping bags which can contain quite some groceries. We go to the grocery store in the cities by bicycle, carrying these bags o the back of the bike. We further also use ‘bakfietsen’. Just make a quick search on Google on bakfiets: http://images.google.nl/imghp?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=nl&tab=wi&q=bakfiets.
Nothing new.
peet said,
why not just have a normal front wheel, and have a shopping cart body welded on the back (possibly with a third wheel for support), but still having a normal rear wheel
Lorry said,
This is the worst implementation of a cargo bike I’ve ever seen. It’s not innovative. It’s stupid. And the guy wants people to MAKE them, meaning you’d have to steal a shopping cart. (http://www.instructables.com/id/EOHJ5QSF5HVPDCE/) If you’re going to steal a shopping cart, which of course you shouldn’t, at least make a better cart bike with it (http://www.bicyclelaneindustries.com/bli/cartbike/). Me, I’ll stick with the Christiania. After 30+ years, I’m pretty sure they’ve refined the design better than shopping cart dude.
Shopping Cart Software said,
This is an ugly idea lol. I heard BlingCart this company that sells shopping cart software is designing a pimped out shopping cart to offer to thousands of homeless people. It will come with a solar powered tv, toaster, and microwave. That is not all It will also come with a built in sleeping bag holder which extends for the person to be able to sleep comfortably. It also has a built in can crusher to make an extra buck when they are cruising around.
shopping cart bike said,
[...] to the already growing list of ways you can go bagless at the supermarket. In his own words, …http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=1791Auburn Bike Works :: Your shopping cartX-Cart: full-featured PHP/MySQL shopping cart software & [...]
DennisTheBald said,
I think you’ve gotten the cart before the horse, so to speak. Bringing home the bacon is an old problem, this new idea isn’t that great. But it’s not too far off of what people have been doing for a long time.
People that propel great loads with a bicycle either have have a bike with a cargo compartment designed into the bike like a Worksman (or them funny looking Dutch numbers) or they pull a detachable trailer along behind them. Plenty of people on this big blue ball are hauling their groceries home with pedal power; Even though the Chinese are rapidly converting to petrol power the venerable wire donkey still out numbers the spawn of motor city about 4 to 1 on a global basis.
The trailer with the load behind is a much more practical device than this shop class drop-out’s hybrid.
Here are some links to existing vendors:
http://www.dutchbikefactory.com/pages_eng/cargo.htm
http://www.bakfiets.nl/eng/models.php
http://www.workcycles.com/workbike/selection-of-all-workcycles-and-workbikes.html
http://www.dutchbikeseattle.com/html/bikes/bakfiets.html
and of course Worksman:
http://worksmancycles.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/index.html
solarpanelsforsale said,
I think it’s a great idea, but needs to have a little bit of thinking put into it. Living in Japan and having spent a lot of time riding a bike, I can say there is no way that would work everyday.