Why I ride a long john (and why 40 makers build for it)

Before you start reading this, future long john... ehm, sorry, cargo bike rider. You should know a few things.

1. I ride a Bullitt every day. I love it.

2. This is a completely biased opinion. It does not represent the reality of the market, your opinion, someone else's opinion, or your dog's opinion. Actually, yes. I know your dog's opinion.

3. There's no bad choice. As long as you're not thinking of buying something that runs on fuel.

4. I like to be a bit opinionated. I'm French. That's what we do.

Alright. Now, go choose your cargo bike. And whatever you choose, mine is better. Because it's mine. It fits me.

The thing nobody says out loud

Most cargo bike comparisons give you a balanced list. Long john pros, longtail pros, "it depends on your lifestyle." Very diplomatic. Very useless.

I've ridden both. I chose the long john. I'd choose it again tomorrow. And the 43 independent makers building 303+ products for the platform didn't do that by accident.

Here's the honest version.

The longtail problem

Longtails are popular for good reasons. They're smaller. They're easier to store. They feel closer to a normal bike. The price is often lower. For a lot of people, that's enough.

But here's what bothered me every time I rode one:

The kids are behind you. You can't see them. You can't talk to them. They can't see the road ahead. They're staring at your back, sitting high up on a rear rack, exposed to everything on both sides. For the child, it's a passenger seat. Not an experience.

The weight sits high and behind. A 30 kg child plus a 15 kg seat, all on the rear rack, takes weight off the front wheel. At higher speeds, the steering gets light. I'm sure the better longtails have engineered around this, but the physics don't disappear. Heavy things high up and far back make a bike want to lift the front end. That's not where you want the instability.

Climbing on is a challenge. For small kids, getting up onto a high-mounted rear seat isn't easy. For a dog, forget it without a ramp.

When the kids grow up, what's left? A longtail with a rear rack is a longtail with a rear rack. You can carry panniers. You can strap things down. But the platform is fundamentally limited. You're not going to mount a dog box, a custom wooden crate, a professional delivery system, or a workshop setup on a rear rack. The form factor has a ceiling.

The long john argument

A long john puts everything in front of you. Low, visible, protected.

Your kids see the world. They sit in an open or covered cargo area at the front, facing forward, watching traffic, pointing at dogs, having a conversation with you while you ride. They're not passengers. They're co-pilots. They learn to read traffic. They apprehend the city. Ask any kid who's ridden in the front of a long john whether they prefer the front or the back. You already know the answer.

The weight is low and forward. The cargo sits between the wheels, close to the ground. The centre of gravity stays low. Steering stays predictable. Even with 50 kg in the box, the bike handles the same. Stable, composed, no surprises.

Crash protection is real. A closed canopy or a box with solid sides is a structure around your child. In a side impact, in a fall, there's material between them and the ground. On a longtail, a child on a rear seat has a harness and your hope. I don't want to be dramatic about this, but if you've ever seen a cargo bike go down in traffic, you know which format you'd rather have your kid in.

The adaptation is real, but short. Yes, a long john feels different. The steering is indirect. The front wheel is further away. You need a ride or two to get used to it. Then you're hooked. The stability, the visibility, the control. It becomes natural faster than people expect. Every cargo bike dealer will let you test ride. Go do it.

And then the big one: what happens after the kids.

When your children outgrow the cargo box, the bike doesn't become useless. It becomes something else. A hauler. A dog carrier. A delivery platform. A mobile workshop. Whatever you can imagine.

That's not a metaphor. That's the literal reason opencargo.bike exists.

The aftermarket is the argument

43 makers across 12 countries build accessories for cargo bike platforms listed on opencargo.bike. 303+ products. Community designs that people built themselves and shared for free.

Dog boxes. Kids boxes. Hard boxes for couriers. Soft bags for everyday hauling. Base plates that turn the cargo area into a modular mounting system. Mounts and adapters that nobody at the factory thought of. 3D-printable designs from riders who saw a problem and solved it in their garage.

This ecosystem exists because the long john format is an open platform. A flat deck with mounting points and space. You can build on it. You can imagine things for it. You can evolve it as your life changes.

You can't build 303+ products for a rear rack. There's nothing to build on.

The long john is to cargo bikes what a blank canvas is to a painter. The longtail is a colouring book. Both are valid. But only one invites you to create something that didn't exist before.

Kai gets it

Kai from Lastenrad-Tuning left a 26-year career at Mercedes-Benz, bought an Omnium, and started building modifications for cargo bikes. Custom mounts for Euroboxes. Dog leash loops. Billboard mounts. Cello holders. Things that no factory would ever produce but that real riders actually need.

He's published over 240 ideas across 50+ brands. Riders send him their own builds every week.

When I asked him why some bikes invite more modification than others, he said: "The main difference isn't the bike itself, but the rider. Some people love to build things, others don't. There's space for both."

He's right. But the long john gives builders something to build on. That matters.

The honest credit

Longtails are genuinely better at some things.

Storage. A longtail fits in spaces a long john can't. If you live in a small apartment with no hallway, that's a real constraint. Some longtails fold vertically. Try that with a long john.

Normal bike feel. If the thought of riding something that looks like a cargo bike puts you off (it shouldn't, but I understand), a longtail is closer to a regular bike in silhouette. Some people care about that.

Price. Longtails start at around €1,800. A long john with equivalent e-assist starts at €3,500+. That's a real difference.

Easier for beginners. The riding experience is more immediately familiar. No adaptation period. You get on and it feels like a bike.

These are real advantages. I just don't think they outweigh what you gain with a long john, especially for families, especially for daily use, and especially when you think about the next 10 years, not just the next 10 minutes.

Go ride both. Then decide.

I'm not telling you what to buy. I'm telling you to test ride a long john before you decide on a longtail because the internet told you it's "more practical."

Find a dealer. Browse platforms. Sit your kid in the front of a long john and watch their face. Then put them on the back of a longtail and watch yours.

If you still want the longtail after that, great. It's a good bike. You won't regret it.

But if you ask me, you already know which one I'd pick.

Proof

That's my mum's Bullitt. Even she thinks hers is the best.

That's my brother and his sons. They also think theirs is the best. Copenhagen, -8°C. Still riding.

We go on dates, me and my bike.

Me getting ridden on my bike. Yes, the cargo area fits an adult. No, it's not dignified.

Me and my bike on adventures. The sign says "danger" in four languages. We didn't care.

Sellaronda, 4 Dolomite passes, on a cargo bike. The road cyclists had opinions.

We travel in packs.

Spring. No kids, no dog, no cargo. Just us.

That's my bike. I told you it's the best.

Oh, did I forget to tell you I'm biased?

Long john or longtail, honestly, I don't really care. As long as you don't get a car, we're friends. Welcome to the cargo bike community.

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opencargo.bike. Independent aftermarket directory. Just the parts that fit your ride.

Thanks for riding cargo bikes.

— Vince