What’s your name and where you from?
My name is Tuomo Kuivamäki, from Helsinki, Finland
What do you do for a living?
I´v been a bike messenger for 6 years and started my own indie company last year.
How does bicycling fit into your lifestyle?
Bicycling is what I do – for living and for fun. Beside cycling, I rock climb and practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
How did you find out about Larry vs. Harry?
One of my messenger mentioned Larry vs. Harry to me
What other cargo bikes have you tried?
I´ve tried traditional Monark Long John, various Filibus- type bikes, and tested briefly a Bilenky and a Work Cycles delivery bike.
How does the Bullit compare to other cargo bikes you’ve tried?
Bullit is obviously a lot lighter and quicker than most cargo bikes I´ve tried. SRAM iMotion gear range is excellent. Despite being made of aluminium, the frame is not painfully stiff – even on the cobblestone streets of Helsinki. The riding position is very XC-ish and quite stretched out. Adjustable SpeedLifter stem helps in fine tuning the position, and making room for bigger cargo items as well. Loaded up, the bike handles admirably.
Plus and minuses of the Bullit?
The turning circle is somewhat bigger than that of a Filibus, so it is quite not so agile in navigating a crowd of pedestrians, for example. I am not totally sold on the flat bar – I am pretty sure I´ll be replacing it with an On-One Mary bar or similar. Other than these minor issues, it is a pleasure to ride, leaving me a lot less fatigued after 8 to 10 hours of riding.
What’s the most you’ve carried? Strangest thing you’ve carried?
So far, the biggest load was today, several hunderd fair-trade t-shirts to a print shop. I guess somewhere in the region of 100 lbs. or 50kg. Pretty standard fare for me – I am pretty sure Bullit would cope happily with twice that amount. Among strangest things I´v carried recently would have to be big bunch of balloons (inflated)
What’s the current configuration of the bike? Can it be modified to take a derailleur system?
My bike is set up with SRAM i-Motion 9-speed disc hub – the frame is equipped for a deraileur as well. Larry vs. Harry offer a Shimano Alfine and full XT versions, too. I opted for internal gear hub to help the bike cope with Finnish winter – slus, gravel and road salt. The front disc brake is Dia Comp Anchor Sport, rear is Avid Juicy 3. Zero complaints so far. I only added a Brooks B-17 to standard build.
Anything else you’d like to say to your cargo bike brethren here in the US?
Obviously, I see cargo bikes as being a viable method of inner city transport – especially with the price of gas rising. Demand more bike lanes and car free areas – this will help to vitalize cities economically as well.
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