Surrey Bikes: Paging Chalo

HK12K

100 kW
Joined
Jul 24, 2019
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1,168
There is a local company who rents Surrey bikes that is selling their business. For kicks I reached out and expressed interest in potentially buying a single bike, not really expecting them to want to unload them piecemeal. They responded suggesting that I contact them.

With no current knowledge of the bikes aside from the attached photo, would buying one of these things with the intent of electrifying it be a terrible idea?

Any idea of rough value for such a cycle? I'm completely out of my element here, but I've got a dream.
 

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If you have the space to store it
Its so wide it wouldn't be practical to ride it anywhere but the roads.
Theres a store in the yuppy downtown area here that rents those out, they have one maybe two, not sure how much they rent them out for but they are a joke on the pathways because they are so wide. I've never seen them out and about, but yesterday I did see the guy locking it up in a good advertising spot along the pathways and I joked about him electrifying it. Minion grumbled something over Danko Jones playing in my ears.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.0523622,-114.0693268,3a,15.1y,135.72h,86.92t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMlF1k3TwytoTwfbSfbhq8Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.0522641,-114.0693439,3a,15.5y,115.2h,85.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjl9PyHAnumROVKTQZ8mBMQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

You could make good money renting it out, $120/day, $20 per 1/2hr, $30/hr, $90/half day.

I really do want to hear what Chalo has to say.


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HK12K said:
There is a local company who rents Surrey bikes that is selling their business. For kicks I reached out and expressed interest in potentially buying a single bike, not really expecting them to want to unload them piecemeal. They responded suggesting that I contact them.

With no current knowledge of the bikes aside from the attached photo, would buying one of these things with the intent of electrifying it be a terrible idea?

Any idea of rough value for such a cycle? I'm completely out of my element here, but I've got a dream.
 
HK12K said:
There is a local company who rents Surrey bikes that is selling their business.
Out of curiosity ... where is local ?
 
Not worried about pathways here. There is basically no cycling infrastructure where I now live. Small town, light traffic, fairly smooth roads (except the expansion joints in the road once you get out of town).

I could totally see this as being a car replacement and around town family hauler. QS205 or Mxus v3 and a Nuc would handle any hill. Already have a fresh 20ah 66.6v lipo pack in an enclosure that would be easily swappable between this and my Revive, and space for more capacity would be no problem on that thing.

Storage might be an issue, but I bet my landord would let me park it in the yard next to his RV.
 
HK12K is somewhere else in Canada, probably in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
I just wanted to get a visual on those hulking beasts, and that one picture I posted with 3 adults sitting in the back of the 2-row beast gives a good perspective on lengths/widths of the beast in question.

I don't see it as a practical day-to-day usage, where would you park it at the grocery store, a parking stall is about it.

Warren said:
LewTwo said:
Out of curiosity ... where is local ?

Picture says Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Oops! I was wrong. It appears they have one in Canada too. :oops:
 
My direct experience with surreys is limited to having rented one in Galveston and riding it with my three sisters. It was heavier and slower than I thought it would be.

A lot of the parts are proprietary; there are few regular bike parts on one. Surreys are very crude but durable. They look and feel like pre-WWII tech. Motorcycle tires and heavy steel everything.

Would I own a surrey instead of a pedicab? No. I mean, it would be fun to take to Burning Man or some other completely level surface where you're not allowed to go fast anyway. But for actually going anywhere, a pedicab trike is better transportation and easier to service.

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Pandemic time has been a buyer's market for used pedicabs, though the industry is waking back up. There are probably still plenty of them around at fire sale prices, though.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

I am no longer in Canada fwiw. The push from Socialist to Communist was too much, too quickly. :lol:
 
I think you're confused about what those words mean.

Anyway, it looks like a fun project, and if the price is right you could pass it on later without taking much loss.
 
They used to be made in Italy and as Italian they're temperamental. now they're made in China. They rent them down the beach from me they must have 10 of them. I will ask the price of their worth. They're made like a tank. They have a special custom made for ft Long bar they put on the pedal arm so they can straighten it out. As they take off a whole lot of abuse.
 
Chalo said:
I think you're confused about what those words mean.

Anyway, it looks like a fun project, and if the price is right you could pass it on later without taking much loss.

Dictatorship then, albeit Communist owned :lol:

I'll see what kind of price they're thinking. I haven't ruled it out completely, but you enlightened me and I'm a bit less enthusiastic about it now what with the proprietary nature of them. :thumb:
 
999zip999 said:
They used to be made in Italy and as Italian they're temperamental. now they're made in China. They rent them down the beach from me they must have 10 of them. I will ask the price of their worth. They're made like a tank. They have a special custom made for ft Long bar they put on the pedal arm so they can straighten it out. As they take off a whole lot of abuse.

Thanks, I'm curious as to what they have to say about their value. :thumb:
 
Heavy beast add QS205/MXUSv3 and Nuc equals not that heavy a beast, just awkward to ride, limo style turning radius, add more battery because of weight.

Trike's the way to go, or what about just getting a bobber style trailer for your regular bicycle converted to ebike, building an ebike for your partner with bobber style trailer (one wheel) as well then depending on the ages of the kids build them ebikes, or go Xtracycle or cargo bike with kids seat.
So many choices to chose from.

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HK12K said:
QS205 or Mxus v3 and a Nuc would handle any hill. Already have a fresh 20ah 66.6v lipo pack in an enclosure that would be easily swappable between this and my Revive, and space for more capacity would be no problem on that thing.

Storage might be an issue, but I bet my landord would let me park it in the yard next to his RV.
 
I've got the Raptor, the wife can ride the Revive (detuned) and I have the 250w geared Hilltopper kit in a 20" wheel for when my little guy gets big enough. He's still on a Specialized Hotrock atm with 14" wheels.

Still though, something makes me want to hot rod that Surrey Cycle. Not sure if it would ultimately be worth the cost or effort though. If the price is right, I guess.

Back when he fit, this is how we used to roll:
 

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So to much sushi and spinach.

Yeah if the price is right, anything is doable.

Everytime I see a Tesla I say to myself I want them batteries :lol:

:mrgreen:
 
HK12K said:
Still though, something makes me want to hot rod that Surrey Cycle. Not sure if it would ultimately be worth the cost or effort though. If the price is right, I guess.

Might be a nice ride for local parades if you have those sorts of things there.
 
A mini party bike
https://www.dreamstime.com/nashville-tennessee-march-pedal-tavern-party-bike-broadway-beautiful-sunny-day-crossing-image185940692
https://www.pedalpub.com/calgary-ab/news/drink-on-pedal-pubs-party-bikes/


LewTwo said:
HK12K said:
Still though, something makes me want to hot rod that Surrey Cycle. Not sure if it would ultimately be worth the cost or effort though. If the price is right, I guess.

Might be a nice ride for local parades if you have those sorts of things there.
 
If nothing else, a bit tricky to electrify with a simple hub motor. I think thats drum brakes on the rear wheels.

Nothing impossible on a steel frame of course. But if you put two hub motors in the rear, i'm not sure you'd still have brakes, without a welding job to add a couple disk mounts.

Personally, I'd only want one for burning man.
 
After the Revive, the Surrey!
You are a client for weird bikes...
:mrgreen:

I now wonder what next.
:D
 
MadRhino said:
After the Revive, the Surrey!
You are a client for weird bikes...
:mrgreen:

I now wonder what next.
:D

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There's a burning man bike, but where's the cup holders.
 
:lol:

I never did contact them. Was a neat idea but all considered not a great time for such a project. I'd end up dropping a fortune into it for something technically illegal to ride on the roads, and I already have two of those. :mrgreen:
 
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