Before you buy

[tdayuk]

Before you buy

• Check that the pedicab you wish to use will be legal in your state or country ie, recumbent, front loader or trailer.
• Some places like London will be asking for the manufactures product liability insurance, this is for the UK a staggering £5 million !!!!!
• The owner/operator will also need public liability insurance, set between £2 million and £5 million depending on location of operation.
• Check that you can get spare parts.
• Talk to people who have already used the product (but don’t want to sell !)
• Try before you buy

Good luck and enjoy your pedicab future

[pedicab4life]

nice 1 cool

[Ken Cameron]

I posted this in response to a question from another user trying to draw attention to a pedicab similar to a Velotaxi, but costing less and made in china. I hope to be proven wrong. See it in it's original context here:

http://www.pedicabforum.com/forums/talk-about-veloforms-citycruiser-velotaxi/1719-much-cheaper.html

<rant on>

I think one day the Chinese manufacturers will indeed make a first rate pedicab. But that is not their current strategy. They are making cut rate copies. In general the American and European makers are very price conscious. But they also know that if they sell crap they will get fewer repeat customers. Currently the Chinese makers are just selling cheap low quality knock offs that have to be heavily reworked to get them to be usable.

Most people buying pedicabs do not know how to rework the brakes, and axles to get them to spin freely. Often people buying the cheapest pedicabs do not know the consequences of having a vehicle with low end derailers, brakes and chainring sprockets.

Penny wise and pound foolish.

It is kinda tragic how frequently people get in to this business to only realize that they have no idea how to maintain their fleet. Either their fleet deteriorates to a unsafe state of repair, or they spend a great deal more to refit their machines than they would have in the first place to get top quality bikes, or they give up and sell out. If they do manage to get the bike running well, the Knock-off version will often weight 25% to 50% more than the pedicab they copied. Operators of heavier pedicabs are at a long term competitive disadvantage compared to operators using lighter pedicabs.

As for the Chinese, they can and do make some serviceable and in some cases very high quality bikes. There is no reason that they cannot do the same with pedicabs.

That being said they have some significant obstacles working against them:

1. Few if any of these guys are running their own fleets. As such they have no idea if their products work in their own market.
2. Second, there may be a language barrier that prevents them from learning if their product is working in other markets.
3. Third, I have yet to hear about a Chinese pedicab manufacture really taking an interest in the success of their customers. This is not in the business model of low cost production.
4. Fourth, they are shipping their products a long way. While oil costs may be low at the moment, that is not always the case.
5. Fifth, in China and many nations pedicab drivers are very poor and have never been exposed to top quality bicycles or pedicabs. They often use single speed, one wheel drive bikes with no brakes. I would think that a fixed gear pedicab might be most appropriate to these markets.
6. The economic conditions surrounding pedicabs in developing nations are such that there is no way to justify the cost of a bike with disc brakes, 9 speed cassette hubs, 12v LED lighting systems, differentials, and thin walled high strength alloy steel tube frames.

I would guess that cultural attitudes toward pedicab driving plays a large roll in holding back the advancement of Chinese pedicabs. It's not that they can't do it. It is more that they can't see how pedicab owners could justify spending $3,000 to $10,000 on a tricycle.

It's unfortunate when people who don't know anything about bikes get in to the bike business. They make bad decisions. They loose money. In the case of poorly made pedicabs, people get hurt and killed.

</end rant>

[Mr. Shaw]

Some places like London will be asking for the manufactures product liability insurance, this is for the UK a staggering £5 million !!!!!

That will get more than a few rickshaws off the road.

[Carl]

Hi Mr Shaw, i am new to the forum
how do i go about doing that in state of Mass?
will the witchcity or bostonpedicab people know?
are there different rules for state highways verses town roads?
I would like to buy 3 used and 3 new with electric
we are in the Berkshire Hills

[Carl]

Please tell me more about traffic and the safety of pedicabs
are they treated like other bicyclists and get right of way
are there different rules for state highways verses town roads
i am looking for a business plan, whose is most knowlegable?
want 3 new electric & 3 used cabs to service hotel spa and concert venue

[Ken Cameron]

Carl, go rent a pedicab and operate it fo a while before you buy one. That way you don't waste money only to realize you don't like the work for what ever reason.