It feels like ages ago, but we’ll never forget the day Ty reached out to test the Brompton G-Line. He introduced himself and his new YouTube channel, My Other Bike is a Bike, and immediately, we were smitten. Ty’s enthusiasm for city cycling is infectious, and he tackles tricky issues with a wry smile and a charming setup (his virtual ride with Doug Ford is pure gold). His G-Line video – which happened to involve the best banana bread we’ve ever had – has gotten over 10K hits.
Over time, Ty has become a good friend of Pedaal. He’s made a few more videos for us, including a delightful winter muse where he rides the Brompton G-Line all the way to the Leslie Street Spit for a warm thermos of tea.
Kid’s Play
Ty is a huge Brompton fan – he even rode one on a long tour of Japan – but he’s also a volunteer for the Bike Brigade, Toronto’s grassroots collective of over 1,000 cyclists delivering food, supplies, and essentials to underserved communities. (Fun fact: Bike Brigade was started by David Shellnut, another passionate Bullitt rider).
Ty dreamed of getting a cargo bike for his deliveries, and then… he discovered he was going to have a child! New bike and a new kiddo…amazing. At the same time, Ty makes a good point of showing how a cargo bike can carry kids, but also makes you feel like a kid.
Bikes Carrying Bikes
So, one frigid February day, Ty rode his Brodie Torque to Pedaal to collect his new cargo bike. But Ty didn’t just want to pick up the Bullitt and ride away- he wanted to help put it together. Ty and Pedaal’s Timm spent a fun little evening assembling the bike, and the resulting time-lapse video gives a glimpse into how a Bullitt is put together.
We transported Ty’s Bullitt on a Bullitt from our warehouse to the shop, and Ty strapped his Brodie Torque to his Bullitt when everything was done. Bikes carrying bikes. We love that. (In fact, we do this all the time).
Muses From The Last Mile
Ty’s videos tend to be part meditation and part muse. They are thoughtful, adorable, and remind people that city cycling isn’t just efficient and political, it’s fun. Owning a cargo bike made him muse on cargo bikes – how they’re used, why they’re used, and how they transform people’s lives. He reached out to meet several riders we know, and even though Ty chose a Bullitt for its lightweight design, we helped introduced him to other cargo bike users too.
In a past life, we used to sell Urban Arrows, and we’ve always seen Bullitt and Urban Arrow as serious competitors transportation within the last-mile. The Urban Arrow is heavier but offers a roomier box for two (or more) kids, while the Bullitt is lighter, more versatile before and after kids, and also a great bike to take beyond the last mile on bigger adventures. Ty wanted an acoustic (non-electric) bike, and, given it’s super light weight, Bullitt tends to be the best choice here. (Read more about acoustic versus electric cargo bikes here).
Stories From The Last Mile
Along the way, we met Chad – a legend who rides 23,000 km a year volunteering for the Bike Brigade, probably holding the record for how much a Bullitt can carry. Then came Madeline and Yohann, car-free families who actually own two cargo bikes (much like suburban families might own two cars). They shared stories about growing up with cargo bikes, how drivers interact with them, and their joy in seeing cargo cyclists slowly shift from a minority to a majority.
Ty’s journey – and the people he meets along the way – reminds us why we love what we do. Ride on, Major Tomato (you’ll have to watch the video).
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