Beefed up bikes

Sometimes Bernd Hoppe needs a helping hand to unload the cargo from his bicycle - and sometimes he needs a forklift.

Hoppe pedals deliveries to their destination for the Berlin-based Messenger transport and courier service, which is trying to establish itself as an environmentally friendly means of transporting up to one large pallet weighing as much as 250 kilograms (551 pounds).

While German traffic regulations categorize the "Cargo Cruiser" as a bike, the three-meter-long (9.8-foot), 1.2-meter-wide vehicle looks more like a giant egg with windows from the front and resembles a silver filing cabinet on wheels from the back.

Solar panels provide the bike's electric motor with the extra power that helps riders reach speeds of up to 24 kph (nearly 15 mph). Two batteries charged via a regenerative braking system provide enough power for around 80 kilometers of riding.

Traffic jams a thing of the past

With all of the gadgetry - the bike boasts 27 gears as well as the front axle, wheels and handlebars of a motorcycle - the bicycle weighs about 180 kilograms and its body is made of reinforced plastic.

Despite the total weight of 430 kilograms, the vehicle is allowed to ride on bike paths and Hoppe has said that helps him weave in and out of cars and trucks stuck in traffic jams. Pedestrians, he added, have learned to keep out of his way.

Hoppe said he's had to answer a lot of questions about the bike from curious onlookers in Berlin who sometimes keep him from getting to his customers, which include federal ministries, the post office and several large companies.

"It's usually older men who want to take a closer look at my bike," he added.

Not a moneymaker

While pedaling hundreds of kilos of cargo around Berlin keeps the 50-year-old fit, it's not fattening his wallet.

"I'll be on the road for about 12 hours today, but I'll only make about 80 to 90 euros ($115-130)," he said. "The job's not going to make me rich."

Olaf Lange is also not going to get rich with his tricycle construction company Dreiradbau. Also based in Berlin, Lange and two employees tinker away on a Cargo Cruiser in a small courtyard workshop.

Standing among the scattered bicycle parts, tools and cans of paint, Lange looks into the half-finished driver's cab of his latest creation, a "Velotaxi" with room for luggage. Still a labor of love, cargo-carrying bikes aren't proving lucrative for Dreiradbau, according to Lange.

Currently, five Cargo Cruisers exist: two in Berlin and three in the Netherlands, where a pilot project has a small town is trying to its trash on the Cruisers.

"We still need a major client," Lange said, adding that there are few profits after investing in prototypes.

The Messenger courier agency is Dreiradbau's last hope. Though the Cargo Cruiser are unlikely to replace trucks in German urban areas, Hoppe said he still believes the Cruisers could eventually help cut down on some of the trips the trucks have to travel - one day making their construction viable for Dreiradbau.

Achim Beier, managing director of Messenger, agreed.

"According to our calculations, the Cruiser could replace about 20 percent of cargo-carrying vehicles in Berlin in the next five years," he said. "That's about 200 trucks."

Author: Pelzel Svenja (als)

Editor: Sean Sinico