Say hello to Clydesdale

Some exciting changes have come to my Brodie bike. A couple months ago, I purchased a Clydesdale fork. It was a bit of an impulsive buy. I had recently bought my Bullit, and perhaps having already spent a lot of money, it was easier to continue spending money on bikes.

Previously, I had been daydreaming about getting an Omnium someday. I had no idea that there already existed cargo forks that allowed you to convert existing bikes to be able to carry more weight with a fork that had a platform built into it .

Now, are these bikes as capable as cycle-trucks where the platform is welded to the frame itself, à la the Omnium Mini or Soma Tradesman? No, but they are a compromise I’m willing to take instead of buying a whole 'nother bike. While the Crust Clydesdale fork is not cheap, it’s a fork that can be moved from one bike to another. When my Brodie eventually wears out (if ever?),I’ll move the Clydesdale to another vintage mountain bike. It may not carry cargo as well as a cycle-truck, but anything it can’t handle will go onto the Bullit anyway (yes, this sounds like me justifying my purchases).

Anyway, the story goes like this: I put in an order for the Clydesdale, which was out of stock at the time, and when it came in, I purchased it without too much hesitation. Originally, I decided that I would do the rest of the job on my own as DIY as I could. I spent about a month looking for a 20-inch wheel that would work for the Clydesdale. I perused around the co-op, Kijiji, and Facebook marketplace with no luck. It would have been possible, probably, to use a kid's bike, but I didn't go much farther down that road. All the while, time ticked away.

I wasn't making a lot of progress, and we've got a significant change coming with a baby on the way. The free time to scrounge parts and go the DIY route was running out. So I eventually caved and brought the bike right on back to my local bike shop, where I purchased the fork and asked them to slap it all together with a BMX wheel they sourced for me. They did this in short time, and I picked it up today.

I've been pretty excited about this as much as I love the Bullit already. I do want some kind of lighter (and shorter!) commuter that can still carry a lot of weight. Every day, I carry a backpack with at least 15lb in it, and it gets a bit precarious in my current Wald basket. Having this fork platform will probably give me the concessions that I want. I won't have to lug around a massive cargo bike, but I can also get like the support I need to carry heavier stuff.

In true MOBIB style, I awkwardly mounted the bike I rode to the bike shop onto the Clydesdale and rode it home (thanks for the help, Alex!). It was definitely an unwise decision. Nobody got hurt, but it could have been a pretty dicey move if the bike had flown off the fork.

Stay tuned for the 6-month review!