Vehicle of Urban Transformation?

As an advocate for cycling as a means of daily transportation, I often get push back of the form: “Well, you can’t ________________ on a bicycle” (pick your objection – kids to soccer, stock up at Costco, etc.).

But we’re increasingly seeing creative solutions. In many families the bakfiets has begun to play the same role as an SUV, hauling the kids to school, stocking up at the grocery store, etc.

But there has not been a bicycle analog of the pickup truck – a way to carry large, heavy or odd-sized loads. But I think one may be aborning.

I first saw this trailer on Bike Portland and was intrigued enough to make a Kickstarter pledge.

Why I became entranced after the jump.
I wanted to learn more, so I contacted designer Len Rubin and met with him to get a closer look.

It’s the modular nature of the trailer that appeals to the open source developer in me. There are so many ways to potentially configure the trailer, and the key is a very easy to use clip that connects the square tubes that make up the framing and extensions.

I can easily imagine 3rd parties creating additional add-ons that are compatible with the clip-in system.

I encourage as many people as possible to support the Kickstarter project. With only a week left, it may not fund on this attempt, but I’d like to see momentum build for getting this manufactured!

You can see the trailer in various states and configurations below.