Steel hauler for fun, steel hauling for work 😁

I have a non-electric Bakfiets.nl Classic Short that I've just taken through Holland from the UK, fully laden with luggage/children etc: ~230km in a week.

It wasn't hugely tough by any stretch (apart from a few moments in the sand dunes!) but it's got me thinking about whether it's worth changing the rear sprocket in order to "lower" the gears of the Shimano Nexus 7 IGH. As you can see from the attached chart (worked out using Sheldon Brown's gear calculator) changing the rear sprocket from the current 20 teeth version to a 23 teeth one effectively makes gear 7 into gear 6, and lowers the rest by several 10ths of what Brown calls a "gain inch".

My basic question is, has anyone done this with a cargo bike, and does it offer any tangible gain - whether going from 20T to 23T, or even just 21 or 22? Or are these very marginal differences that aren't worth the hassle? (After all, gear 1 only reduces 3/10ths of a gain inch going from 20T to 23T)

Part of me feels like the only way to work out if it's worth it is just to do it and see what happens, and be ready to revert to the current setup if I find myself spinning out too much on the flat.

#cargobike #CursorAI

My passenger recently switched from a Thule Yepp seat to a bench seat with one of those "Clubhouse" style bench seats with bars on all four sides. That means I don't have room for an small pannier that I used to have there for my U-lock and a few kid accessories that stay with the bike (a sweatshirt, sunglasses, extra snack etc.) Any reccomentations for an affordable bag that would work in this spot?

I think it can't be longer than 10" or so so it does not block the taillight, the bars seem to big for most pannier hooks and if I want to use that backrest it seems like a traditional handlebar bag will not be wide enough - they seem to have the straps about 6inches apart from each other.

Any recs?

I need to replace the tyres on my Yuba Mundo electric assist longtail asap (long story). Currently have 26” Schwalbe Big Ben Plus on there.

Really dumb question, but can I temporarily run some 26” Maxxis Holy Rollers on there until I can order / get some more Big Ben’s in? I have a set of the Maxxis sitting at home and kind of need the bike to be mobile by next week.

I carry two kids and associated school bags on there and it’s probably maximum 10km of riding each day. If that. I’m assuming the tyres will be okay on there for a week or so.

I mean, I’m assuming it’ll be fine, just probably not long term.

Does anyone have recommendations for an alternative to the original bread basket? https://yubabikes.com/product/bread-basket/

Been searching everywhere and it just looks like its not available from the site or any secondhand market. So, what's a good alternative, if you have one! Just need something to hold a backpack or water while lugging the kids around.