International Cargo Bike Festival 2018

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INTERNATIONAL CARGO BIKE FESTIVAL 2018 “The future of cargo bikes: bigger and stronger!” An interview with Bradford Vidal, Designer and Engineer at Urban Arrow’s Cargo Division. Could you introduce yourself? Hi, I‘m Bradford Vidal, 46 years old. I have a background in mechanical engineering, architecture and industrial design. At Urban Arrow I coordinate our manufacturers and suppliers and manage the in-house assembly of the Tender. I’m also responsible for some custom builds and developments such as the Taxi-bike or Cargo Small. I see Urban Arrow bikes everywhere I go. You seem to be doing very well. Thank you. A lot of the Urban Arrows you see are from the Family division, but our Cargo bikes are growing in number, meaning they are more and more visible. Our bikes are popular because they are high quality and sturdy. This makes them perfect for every day heavy use, from school runs to hauling cargo. What developments do you see in the world of cargo bikes? At the moment mobility is changing rapidly. Especially in the city where air quality and traffic congestion means that environmental zones and restrictions on freight traffic are becoming more commonplace. We are slowly beginning to see in what direction mobility will develop; bicycles seem to be taking a more and more important role. On one hand there is the somewhat traditional two-wheeled cargo bike for the lighter, less bulky cargo that can move through traffic easily. At Urban Arrow, we meet this demand with our Shorty, Cargo L, XL and the quite big XXL. On the other hand, there is increased demand for bigger and much sturdier cargo bikes that have very large capacity in terms of both volume and weight. These bikes are for city centre use by couriers; that demands a strong bike which can withstand rough use. For this we have the Tender 1500 and 2500. I’m also developing the Tender 1000, which is narrower and has a little less volume, but keeps the same sturdiness and weight capacity. The Tender is enormous; why was it necessary to create such a large bike? Until the Tender there wasn’t a cargo bike that could transport such a large volume and weight which was also strong enough to withstand the rough daily courier use. Urban Arrow Tender 1500 18
#ICBF2018 We saw that occasional rough treatment of the bikes already on the market would often result in damage or breakdown. So one has to be very careful with them and of course couriers aren’t always able or willing to do that. It has been my view for a long time that for cargo transport in the city it is not necessary to use big and heavy trucks and vans that are capable of highway speeds. This can be done with more economical, smaller, less polluting and lighter vehicles that can transport the same cargo with speeds which are appropriate for urban environments. There is an existing and growing demand for these larger cargo bikes, but they need to be strong enough for their task in reliable every day use. The Tender still uses our already existing rear frame albeit with the very powerful Bosch CX, and very strong Rohloff hub. I designed the front end to withstand the forces and abuse it will encounter in daily use. To be able to do that, the design is inspired by custom automotive techniques and solutions. During the design process, the steering geometry and front suspension received extra attention; we wanted to make it very strong and give it safe handling characteristics. The result is a robust, stable bike that is up to the task with an almost maintenance-free front end. Now that you have the Tender, what’s next? The future is bigger and stronger still. There is demand for even larger, more powerful cargo bikes, and that is possible. Weight, capability and volume will have to double whilst keeping the overall dimensions of the vehicle as small as possible. The size will still be smaller and the energy consumption much lower than the vehicle it replaces: the delivery van. “Our bikes are popular because they are high quality and sturdy.” 19
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