THE
GINKGO
STORY
Why another cargo bike? And how did it end up like this?
THE BEGINNING
Development of the GinkGo cargo bike begun in 2016, when two friends were each expecting their first kid. Both being passionate cyclists having ridden lots of cross country, trials, road bikes, downhill bikes, and gone on extended tours across continents, we were looking for a solution to bring our kids on adventures with us.
We wanted a cargo bike that would provide safety for the kids, handle like an ordinary bike, and be light enough for both city use and extended tours.
After having tried what the market had to offer, we came to the conclusion that we needed to build our own bike. Both being engineers, and having been involved in structural design optimization within several land vehicles and airplanes, we tackled the problem bottom up.
TESTING MAKES PERFECT
After several attempts, we arrived at a prototype that we were happy with. It was made of heavy tubing and did not have the nicest of finishes. But it had the riding feel that we were after.
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Thanks to both being on parental leave, we could take the GinkGo prototype, together with our newborn test riders, on weekly full-day test rides.
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We rode on asphalt, grass, gravel, trail, mud, and ice. Often we brought along other cargo bike brands, which left us even more convinced about the GinkGo concept.
DESIGN OPTIMIZATION
After​ a year of experimenting, we had found the geometry and handling dynamics we wanted.
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Now began a careful process of material selection and structural optimization. We wanted to maintain the handling of the prototype, but at a much lower weight, combined with better durability.
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For this purpose, we finally chose to use T 6061 aluminum alloy. This enabled a superior stiffness/weight ratio, as compared to steel and titanium alloys. It also resulted in a much less brittle frame, than if we had gone for carbon fibre.
LOCAL PRODUCTION
The first series of GinkGo bikes were produced locally in southern Sweden. Skilled craftsmen have contributed to the high quality frame sets through careful cutting, bending, welding, sandblasting and finally powder coating.
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The picture to the left shows the very first two GinkGo frames. To date, they have have witnessed thousands of kilometres and smiles.
AND SOME MORE TESTING
Among the first things we did with the new GinkGos was to go on multi-day family tours with our one-year-old kids. We did one trip from Berlin to the Baltic Sea, and one week-long excursion in Denmark.
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Having seen that the bikes worked perfectly for daily commutes as well as extended touring, we decided to take one to Åre bike park, to find out that they are fun to ride on technical trails too.
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The same summer, we managed to win Svajerløbet, which is the unofficial cargo bike world championships, and we got heaps of positive feedback as well as some pre-orders at Eurobike.
JOIN IN THE FUN
Having created the ultimate commuting and touring cargo bike, that has taken us to so many nice new places, we are of course very excited about being able to pass this experience on.
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The GinkGo comes as complete bike, equipped with high end components. You can also get is as a frame set and build it up with your components of choice. Hope you will enjoy it as much as we do.