We want a cargo bike.  It’s been something we’ve thought about for a while, especially since we got rid of our car, but the price and the bulk have always kept us from getting one.  Now there’s an option that we can’t pass up:  The LIFT carrier that turns your regular bike into a front-loading cargo bike.  They just launched their Kickstarter campaign, and it’s one of the first Kickstarters that I jumped on early enough to score one of the super-early bird specials.   (Yay for me; hurry up for you…)

The LIFT cargo attachment, by itself and with a bike attached. (Images from The LIFT installation video.)

The LIFT is the cargo portion of a cargo bike that attaches to your existing bike.  In the simplest terms, it’s like a wheelbarrow for the front of your bike.  You remove your front tire, attach the LIFT in three places, and you’re off to haul up to 150 pounds of stuff.

The comparison to a wheelbarrow is also appropriate, since the LIFT is also about the size of one.  Instead of having to store a large cargo bike, you only have to store the wheelbarrow sized portion.  That ease of storage makes it particularly useful when space is tight, such as when living in a big city.  Or on a boat.  Or both, which is why we’re particularly excited.

In addition to size and ease of storage, the price is the other aspect that caught our attention.  Front loading cargo bikes usually cost thousands of dollars.  And because of their bulk, they are very costly to ship.  Since the LIFT uses your existing bike for much of the hardware, it costs much less than a traditional cargo bike.  Retail price will be $899, with lower prices available for a limited time through their Kickstarter campaign.

Switching between regular bike and cargo bike is supposed to be quite easy and takes less than a minute.  (This video shows the process.)  This ease of conversion means you won’t have to dedicate a bike exclusively for use with the LIFT.  You can use your regular bike with the cargo addition, and still easily switch to the normal configuration for any light trips (or for those uphill commutes to work).

The combination of low price and compactness should make the LIFT a great alternative to a traditional front-loading cargo bike.  I’m particularly excited about this project, which might be obvious since I sat down to write this the day they launched.  The first batch is supposed to ship in December, which should make for a particularly merry Christmas.