I have seen quite a number of 4-wheeled cargo cycles in Bristol and managed to photograph a few of them as they are ridden around the city. The most recent addition is the VOK U four-wheeled electric cargo bike operated by Priority Express which was reviewed by Global Cycling Network. The interesting thing about it is that there is no chain connecting the pedals to the drive wheels. All the rider has to do is rotate the pedals and the electric motor drives it forwards. I chatted to this rider who said it was very easy to ride compared to the others, especially when climbing Park Street.
By contrast the EAV has a chain and the rider has to contribute to the effort to move the machine forwards. There are many of these being used around the city.
Used by a variety of companies, from coffee suppliers,
All these vehicles feature electric motors to assist the rider. By contrast my Brox Compact comes from an earlier generation of work cycles which are entirely leg powered. This machine is around 20 years old and has been used for various events like Critical Mass and carnival parades. I have yet to attempt to ride up Park Street on it...
I joined November's Critical Mass bike ride and was disappointed that there were only seven of us. Bristol's first Critical Mass, back in February 1994, had around fifty people on the ride, and other rides have many more, most notably Dom Whiting's Drum & Bass On The Bike events which have attracted thousands of people.
However, D&B On The Bike didn't start out like that. I recently came across the video of the first Bristol ride in 2021 and that had fewer than twenty riders. It is interesting to see how much of the route was on cycle tracks and pavements rather than roads.
Only a year later in 2022 the ride had grown to several hundred people, almost all on bikes and the riders were able to dominate the road space quite comfortably.
By 2023 the smoke canisters had appeared and people were starting to join on scooters and even on foot. By now the ride is well over a thousand strong, as can be seen from the drone footage at 58:40, and moves far more slowly through the city.
The 2004 ride is much more like an organised music event with many more people on foot and several sound systems throughout the ride relaying the music via a Facebook Live feed.
The most recent ride in 2005 was of a similar scale, but opting for wider roads and a more level route, rather than blocking Park Street.
Drum & Bass On The Bike will probably be back in Bristol in the spring of 2026, so watch out for news of the date and route.
Meantime, the scale of the D&B rides shows that there is the potential grow the monthly Critical Mass rides and perhaps even put on regular music rides.
Given the popularity of Drum and Bass in the city I was wondering if anyone knows whether Roni Size rides a bike?
