Jakub from DUBA Joinery: A cargo bike as a comfortable means of transportation

Jakub Voverka has a lifelong connection to bicycles, having grown up in Prague and ridden bikes since childhood. During his adolescence, he even engaged in assembling and repairing old bikes. However, what led him from these relatively common interests to obtaining a cargo bicycle?

He found inspiration within his family, as his father is the founder of a well-known courier service, Messenger. Later, he moved to the Šumava region, where he actively cycled and observed from a distance how Messenger introduced the first cargo bicycles in Prague. ‚When I saw them for the first time, I thought that if I lived in Prague, I would definitely get involved.‘

Eventually, luck was on his side: ‚By coincidence, we relocated our joiner’s shop to Prague a year ago, and just before that, my dad was getting an electric version of the cargo bike for himself, so I tried it as well and started riding on it.‚

It only has added value

He adds that it took mere minutes to confirm that it was the right choice. ‚I was thinking that it wouldn’t be as flexible and maneuverable, and that I wouldn’t have to carry so many things all the time, so that therefore I wouldn’t need such a big bike. But that was basically immediately disproved. I rode to school on a bike throughout my adolescence, and I know Prague very well from the saddle. Honestly, this is much more pleasant and safer, it only adds value. I do behave a bit more respectfully and align more with the behavior of cars, I yield more to them, but at the same time I see how cars perceive it, that it’s bigger, and they automatically show more respect for it, which makes the ride enjoyable,‘ he adds.

And he’s not the only one in the family who succumbed to the charm of cargo bikes. ‚My brother has an office right next door and ended up getting one as well. I lent it to my cousin for a week, and he’s also planning to get one.‘

Jakub uses the bicycle on a daily basis. His main route is from Jinonice to the joinery workshop in Řepy, but he also ventures beyond this. He mentions that on average, he covers around 300 kilometers per month on the cargo bicycle. The distance from home to work is 7 kilometers.

He adds that it’s actually surprising how many things one ends up needing to transport daily. ‚I remember from Šumava, where I commuted on a regular bike, it was a beautiful landscape, the rides were longer, but I always took a trip and thought I should plan it so that I wouldn’t have to bring a computer, that I’d leave it here and there. But still, the situation arose that I forgot something, or that I didn’t feel like riding the 30 kilometers that I used to ride with a backpack on a road bike, and actually, often it was about transporting something somewhere even on those sporty rides.‘ He now easily manages that with the cargo bike. ‚I transport my computer and other things, for instance, when we have orders in the city center, often involving measurements, so I bring measurement tools or items for smaller assemblies. But actually I use the bike more for private matters. The joinery focuses on solid furniture, so the cargo bike is not for company use on a completely regular basis.‘

The bike can handle Petřín Hill with ease

And what about the assistance of the electric motor? Jakub says that with his model, it completely negates the added weight of the bike and the cargo. ‚A person can easily ride up Petřín Hill. The automatic gearbox has about five speeds, and even the light gear isn’t exactly light. On steep passages on Petřín, one definitely has to put in some effort, but it’s completely disproportionate. I used to ride up Petřín every day, and with the assistance of the electric motor, it’s something entirely different even on a similar bike. Even similarly steep hills can be climbed with ease.‘

Of course, one needs to be mindful of the battery capacity. ‚When it runs out, suddenly you’re very surprised by how heavy everything is. I have an added seat for my two-year-old son, and we go on trips together where we take his balance bike, and he rides alone for a while, then I put him back on the cargo bike. The last time we were in Řevnice, we covered more ground there, there was some rain on the way back, so I added more assistance from the electric motor and thought it would be fine. But then it didn’t work out, and it was a sudden stumbling block. The hill in Prokopské Valley ended up costing me about ten times more energy than the entire 60-kilometer trip before that.‘

He adds, though, that a lot depends on the terrain and the level of electric motor assistance. On flat ground, from his experience, the battery hardly depletes, and one can cover a lot of distance. However, if strong assistance is chosen and one is moving uphill, it lasts a maximum of 50 kilometers, and then the bike needs to be recharged. Even so, he says a person gets a lot of exercise and definitely stretches their muscles; it cannot be compared to a passive car journey.

Besides the DUBA joinery logo, there are also Messenger stickers on the bike. However, Jakub adds that he only occasionally rides for Messenger as a courier, such as during busy periods like Christmas when Messenger enters a hectic phase. ‚Unfortunately, without training one cannot be very effective because one doesn’t have the mindset and knowledge yet to pick up those orders in a way that makes sense. So, I was flying from Hanspaulka to Strahov through the valleys and I was completely swamped with orders.‘

He finds great enjoyment in using the bike for trips with his son. ‚He’s only two years old, but he loves it immensely. Even at home, he shows that he wants to get on it and wants to ride. Even though he’s small, we can take the balance bike and go to places like Dívčí hrady, and I might carry him for half the distance. It’s like a symbolic outing at least.‘

Did he consider buying a different type of bike, or was the choice of Bullitt from Larry vs Harry clear, inspired by Messenger? ‚I considered something like the Omnium, where you also have the cargo space in front of you, but it’s like above the front wheel, so the bike is closer, shorter, and it’s just like a platform. It seemed more agile, lighter to me. That was the second thing I was thinking about. Although I haven’t studied it extensively, in the end, Bullitt seemed more versatile to me. My wife lived in Copenhagen for a while, so I observed it there, and it still seems to be the most widespread cargo bike that suits the most types of situations. It appears to be the most universal replacement for cargo transport.‘

However, the range of cargo bikes is still expanding in Czechia. New dealers are emerging. Jakub emphasizes that longtail bikes (with an extended carrier over the rear wheel) are now even sold by Decathlon. ‚I’m satisfied with the front cargo space. Especially in connection with my child, I never wanted a trailer at the back,‘ he adds, explaining why he wouldn’t switch to a different type of bike now.

It’s pleasant, I feel like I have comfort and I don’t struggle with any laziness. If the weather were worse, I would be debating whether to ride on a regular bike. From Jinonice, I go through parks, and there are quite steep passages towards Plzeňská Street through the valley. On a regular bike, that would be noticeable. But here, that’s not an issue, and yet one still gets a lot of exercise,“ he concludes, explaining why the cargo e-bike has become his everyday year-round mode of transportation.