Intense Cargo Bike

Extreme Mobility for the Homeless

One thing I enjoy about New York City is looking at bikes. Unlike Seattle’s bright yellow panniered commuter set or hipster kids on fixies that you see nearly everywhere, NYC’s most obvious bicycle culture are the swarms of delivery bikes.

As an outsider to NYC culture, it seems to me that most restaurants have a Central American immigrant attached to them doing delivery on cheap, sturdy Mad-Max mountain bikes with baskets and immense locks. They work without lights, helmets or any other gadget on their bikes that could possibly be lifted or slow them down.

It is odd to see bikes like these in Seattle and I’d really have to scratch my head to think of a place that deliveries food by bicycle.

In addition to the delivery bikes, there are plenty of mash-ups. While you’ll likely see the pedaling ice cream bike and tourist’s contraptions, I can’t help but to admire these hauling bikes the most. While the red bike looks easy to control and well-designed, I’d be very curious on how the shopping cart bike steers. What is it they carry that this mash-up makes sense?