The right bike for growing old, cargo, versatility, and everything... ;)

Many moons ago I bought a mountain bike. I was "fitted" by an inexperienced store clerk. He had me outfitted like I was buying a racing bike...top tube at the crotch (and I'm 6'4"!!!). I used it a handful of times but the discomfort for it's intended purpose makes it a piece of furniture. Fast forward, I really don't have much of an inclination or interest for mountain biking. I do have an interest in urban biking and cargo. Is there anything to be done with said bike or do I need to sell and start over?

I've only just recently been looking at city & cargo bikes and I don't have the budget for many of them. I was initially thinking about a cargo bike but not with the prices I've seen. Love some of the trailers I've seen as well but...same. I'd like to maneuver us into bikes we can use into old age that allow cargo, versatility, etc. I originally thought about three-wheelers as bases but  don't see many of them so maybe it's not the best option. Further, in another thread on this forum someone who worked in a bike shop mentions they might not be the best safety option.

BTW, it's mostly flat-ish here but we do have some serious hills as well depending on the part of town you find yourself in.

I'm just starting to founder a bit on the sheer number of bikes, options, etc as well as conflicting reviews and I'd like to make a better decision on bike outcomes before we attempt to do far more without a car.

Cargo bikes are very easy to make yourself, and with a good coat of paint and a little time, you can make one that is nice looking as well.  I found a page with plans for 10 different cargo bikes you can make.  These sites are all over the place.  You should easily be able to build one for less than $100, probably much less if you are a good scrounger.  

DIY cargo bikes

C5,  the prepper/survival guy, has a great article about cargo bikes that you can read here:  C5 - ultimate cargo bike

It's not hard to convert a mountain bike into a commuter suitable for city life, but the frame has to fit you. So you should probably replace the mountain bike. If you want only one bike, then a multi-purpose bike that can pull a trailer for cargo might be the way to go. But I'm one of those people that always feels the need for 1 more bike so I say get a cargo bike and a city bike. Budgets though... Whatever you do, test ride before you buy and if it doesn't feel comfortable, move on.

Assuming you don't want to plunk down the cash to purchase a new city hybrid... I see a few options for you. I've listed them below in no particular order.

Any local bike collectives? You may be able to work-for-a-bike that meets your needs. In typical scenarios, I've seen city bicycle collectives that provide in-kind donations to volunteers who donate their time and expertise. Maybe there's one of those in your city.

Retro-fit and customize the bike you have to be more amenable to gentler terrain. This works well, up to a certain point. Go to a new/used bike shop, and replace your knobby tires with mildly-treaded ones, and then lock down the shock absorbers on your mountain bike. Add a bike rack and panniers, and you're good to go. If you want to go in-depth, replace your mountain bike crankset (the gear connected to the pedals) with a larger one so "pedaling like mad" is not required. If you're really, really interested in sticking with that bike then you can invest in an e-bike kit and have electric assist (useful for those "serious hills" you mention). By that point though, I suspect you're toeing the "marginal returns" threshold.

If you have the time, expertise, and other resources available: then yeah, build a cargo bike. Those plans really are fantastic, and you'll know your machine inside and out.

I will with-hold my anecdotes about city bicycling since you're not asking for tips on that (I used to be a five-day-a-week bike commuter), but I will suggest that whatever machine you choose to use, keep your head on a swivel. Good luck!

I'd also vote for adding cargo capacity to the existing mountain bike, https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ has several articles about using his bike whenever possible, including hauling building materials from the big box store and riding through winter snow taking his kids to school from what I recall. So there might be some ideas in there.

If you really want to do this, Atomic Zombie has really, really great DIY plans for building bikes, cargo bikes, electric bikes, recumbents, even a chicken tractor and a greenhouse.  I have some of the recumbent bike plans and they are top-notch with tons of pictures and step-by-step builds.

Atomic Zombie

This will likely be my next build, from Atomic Zombie plans.

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:
I will with-hold my anecdotes about city bicycling since you're not asking for tips on that (I used to be a five-day-a-week bike commuter), but I will suggest that whatever machine you choose to use, keep your head on a swivel. Good luck!

Thanks! BTW, don't hold back. I'm game for the experiences of others as they can help me ask intelligent questions during my analysis of what we need.

Trace Oswald wrote:If you really want to do this, Atomic Zombie has really, really great DIY plans for building bikes, cargo bikes, electric bikes, recumbents, even a chicken tractor and a greenhouse.  I have some of the recumbent bike plans and they are top-notch with tons of pictures and step-by-step builds.

Atomic Zombie

This will likely be my next build, from Atomic Zombie plans.

Can that be pedaled by a single person?!? ;)

Fully electric version that weighs about 400 lbs, but I don't know how strong your legs are :)

The biggest gotcha with hauling on a bike or weighing a good amount as a person, is braking distance on the bike. If your bike has the older caliper style I would replace it with disc brakes. More than a few times I'll be in the bike lane/shoulder with traffic stopped, and a car will pull half way out of a driveway and box me in, and hard braking is needed. If you have extra weight and momentum it can take longer to avoid a collision.