Where to Buy a Cargo Bike in Vancouver

Cargo bike party outside Velo Star Cafe!

If you're looking to buy a cargo bike in Vancouver, the options are getting bettter & better. But, there's no one stop shop to test ride different brands. Quite a few brands of cargo bike, like our Bakfiets, aren't even sold here in brick & mortar stores--your only option is buying online.

Until we get a great family & cargo biking shop (like Seattle's G&O Cyclery) here in Vancouver, you'll have to pound the pavement a bit.

In the interests of making that easier for you, I've updated my list of bike shops that sell cargo bikes here in Vancouver. There are a few disappearances from my previous list--Grin Technologies has stopped carrying complete cargo bikes & is focussing on adding electric assist, or regular e-bikes. Dandy Lion Cargo has also stopped selling Bullitts, & Phil from Metrofiets has stopped building his gorgeous long johns.

Cit-E-Cycles 3466 West Broadway Vancouver 604-734-2717
Riese & Mueller Load; Tern GSD; Benno Boost
Their Surrey location has Pedego cargo bikes on the floor to test ride as well. Read about the daily school dropoff run on an electric Pedego Stretch by Lee-Anne Ekland on Mom Pardigm.

Dream Cycle 1010 Commercial Drive Vancouver 604-253-3737
Surly Big Dummy; Bilenky custom longjohn
Dream focuses on custom bikes, but they do sell Surly longtails--they usually don't have a floor model, so give them a call if you're hoping for a test ride.

Mac Talla Cycles 2626 East Hastings Vancouver 604-707-0822
Babboe
Mac Talla has no floor models available for test rides, you can order Babboe through them.

Mighty Riders 10 East Broadway Vancouver 604-879-8705
Surly Big Dummy; Xtracycle Edgerunner
Ed generally has both bikes in stock for test rides, but call ahead to make sure they're ready for a test ride.

Rad Power Bikes 3296 E 29th Avenue Vancouver 1-800-939-0310
Rad Power ebikes
Note that you can test ride bikes at this location, but they are currently not offering ebike purchases from the Vancouver retail store. All ebike purchases must be made online.

Reckless Bike Stores 110 Davie Street Vancouver 604-648-2600
Babboe City; Urban Arrow
Reckless has two locations, but the Davie Street location has Babboe & Urban Arrow on the floor.

Sidesaddle Bikes 2496 Victoria Drive Vancouver 604-428-2453
Bike Friday Haul A Day, Yuba Spicy Curry, can order Tern & Surly
Andrea opened Sidesaddle specifically as a women-friendly shop. They have at least one Haul A Day & a Spicy Curry available for test rides. I posted about the shop not long after they opened.

Velo Star Cafe 3195 Heather Street Vancouver 604-376-8223
CETMA; Douze Cargo; Yuba various models; Bullitt; Triobike; Bike Friday; custom longtails
Velo Star carries the widest variety of brands of cargobike... but the small shop doesn't have room for floor models. Owner Clint's personal CETMA is  available for test rides most days--call ahead to be sure it's at the shop. Here's a short review I wrote after borrowing Clint's CETMA for an afternoon.

Pro tip: this is where we go for service on all our bikes--the mechanics here really know & love cargo bikes.

UPDATE: (January 2019) Tandem Bike Cafe has been renamed & is currently undergoing renovations but is still doing bike repair & sales. 

That about wraps up my updates to the list. Please let me know if you know of other cargo bike selling shops in the city that I've missed!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way to list these bike shops & have no affiliation with them, other than being friends with Clint from Tandem. The above information is correct as of the writing of this post & opinions above are my own, as always.

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Learn to Drive with Modo

I've written many times about how we've made carsharing work with babies & young children. Modo makes it possible for us to save thousands a year by not owning a car. But what about when they want to learn to drive, eventually? Will we need to buy a car then? Or pay thousands to get every minute of practice in a driving school vehicle?

I've got good news for carless families with teenagers who want to get their drivers license: Modo is launching a new category of membership, Modo Green, allowing new drivers to use their carshare fleet!

Teens 16+ with a Learner (“L”) licence haven’t been able to take advantage of the benefits of carsharing, because previously, drivers needed to be 19+ with an “N” licence; as old as 21 with some other carshare providers. In fact, Modo is actually the first carsharing organization in North America to offer this to members.

Why? Modo believes the benefits of having younger people develop their driving habits & behaviour early is good for everyone. Modo's wide range of vehicle types mean new drivers can get practice manoeuvring different sized vehicles. It can also save parents a lot of money, which is important, since we live in one of the most expensive regions in Canada. Now you don't need to own a car or spend hundreds or thousands on driving school to teach your kids to drive. It also saves on insurance costs, as you don't need to pay higher rates to add a new driver.

Modo Green has some conditions, of course. Learner drivers can only be added to a Primary Member’s account & they don't get their own fob, since they have to drive another member anyway. For all the details, visit the Modo Green page here.

Happy carsharing!

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