I put a basket on my bike and you should too
An old-timey upgrade to your modern micromobility setup
Is that not the most compelling title you've ever seen?
Yes, I'm trying to be a little cheeky in order to appreciate the simplicity of something. With as much as I love futuristic technology, maybe this year I'll have a greater sense of reverence for well-designed things that serve their purpose without being on the bleeding edge of innovation.
Take for example, a basket for your bike.
Baskets and other means of carrying goods have been attached to bicycles almost from their inception. Many folks would never dream of owning a bike without strapping on a basket of some sort to hold gear while they travel around.
You can have your choice of placing the basket on the front of your bike or the rear of the bike. Maybe you could even figure out some clever ways to affix it somewhere in the middle too!
And let's set something straight right now. There is nothing at all feminine or emasculating about a bike basket! It's likely more of an American thing, but growing up, only girls bikes had baskets. My sister always had a convenient place to store her toys or bike helmet while I always felt disheveled with things falling out of my pockets or helmet dangling on the handle bars.
Those days are over because I have a new basket for my bike.
If you've been reading my work for a while, you know how bullish I am about micromobility and e-bikes in particular. I've ridden them for years with various cargo solutions. I've had panniers and rear rack trunk bags, etc. And yes I sometimes ride my wife's Tern HSD cargo bike that has a basket attached to the front stem. But up until a few weeks ago, I never had a proper basket on any of my own bikes.
My bike seemed fine with a pannier to carry odds and ends. And when I needed to, I could bungee down larger items directly to my rear rack. But a sturdy basket that's properly secured to the rear rack? That's just a huge improvement in convenience and carrying capacity!
To be fair, I guess I did opt for one of the most futuristic and high-tech looking bike baskets on the market today. Hell, it even has "tech" in the name. Maybe it was just great marketing to win over the previously non-basket believers, but it worked.
This thing is spacious, it's durable, and it's light weight. It even has handles for me to pop it off my rack and use it at the grocery store or farmer's market. Its "innovative Textonile material" claims to be just as durable as metal with less bulk to weigh you down. Weight is of less of a concern with an e-bike but it does make a difference when using it as a hand basket for grocery shopping.
The thing just looks cool on my Gazelle Ultimate C380+ bike. And to throw in another fun, techy feature, the basket has it's own glowing red safety light on the back! In my opinion, you can never be well-lit enough when riding a bike at night. I'll happily accept another light added into my rig, especially one that is so cleverly integrated as this one. And the other important safety feature is the built in strap to keep anything in your basket secure. It uses the popular MIK (Mounting is Key, great name right?) system to attach securely to your MIK rack or carrier plate attachment if your bike rack doesn't fit it straight away.
Anyway, this isn't a paid endorsement of the Basil basket, pretty much any four-walled vessel will serve the same purpose. I'm just writing this as a reminder that bike baskets have been used forever for good reason. They're amazingly practical no matter what type of setup you have.
And as much as I love and recommend a proper cargo bike, you can essentially turn almost any bike into a "cargo bike lite" with a pannier or two and a basket. My bike isn't marketed as a cargo bike per se but it has a beefy integrated rack that can easily handle at least 65 pounds of weight. Why not make use of that? This is the part of the story where I remind everyone to be safe and adhere to the weight limits of your individual bike, rack, panniers, and basket. Load up your cargo but be safe and make sure everything is secured before taking off.
2024 may be the year of the electric cargo bike for lots of people and that's great! But if you're just looking to ride your old bike without getting a sweaty backpack back this year, by all means treat yourself to the bike basket experience. There is a reason why it has passed the test of time.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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This is great. Thanks, Chris! I'm doing a lot more commuting by bike these days. But have been lugging everything in a backpack. Do you happen to have a recommendation for a rear rack that would work on an older road bike?