Postal cargo trike

While in Denmark I had an idle moment in the presence of a postal Nihola.  The postal service in Denmark has purchased perhaps a couple of thousand of them.  Its an interesting design, and the parts that they didn't change from a regular Nihola are interesting to note.

A postal Nihola is mostly a standard model with a different front end.

Basically the front is swapped out for a float-loading platform, there is some modification to the frame where the rider steps over, and the rear has a gargantuan cargo rack bolted on.  They use an electric-assisted derailuer system, with what looks like an above-average motor, rim and tire.  But importantly, the rear frame and steering are hardly changed from a regular "little" Nihola.

The rear rack is epic, and the frame is modified for a lower stand-over height.

Also interesting is that they didn't go with a classic box box trike like Christiania.  They have a small number of such trikes already, and apparently did not find them to be the right choice.

Cake, curbs, and paint

Three items for today's post.  First of all, when carrying cream cakes in a Nihola, don't let them bounce around in the bottom of the cargo box.  Put something soft under them.

Ohh, thats a sad thing to see.

Next up, and unrelated to the cakes, I have determined that a good low gear ratio allows some really nice curb climbing even while loaded.  Without any particular effort, I drove something like 40kg of kids and crap up the curb shown below.  I'm estimating it was 5 inches.  Go slow, one wheel at a time, at perhaps a 45-degree angle, but steer into the curb at the moment of climb.

Finally, the paint quality of a Nihola.  I don't know anything about paint really.  I'd say that the quality seems to be pretty good.  It is thick and evenly applied.  I have seen no defects in the paint of either Nihola.  However I have been able to damage it many times.  In particular, the top rim of the box is easily hammered by metal objects being carried, which quickly takes care of paint.  Secondly the front-bottom edge of the box can easily be run into things; a nice rock will also take care of paint without trouble.  The third issue is on the dropouts.  This is the biggest and most annoying problem.  Here I have seen large flakes come off, and it seems to be impossible to avoid damaging the paint if the wheel needs to be removed.

For our black-framed Nihola I got a small can of black paint which I use for touch-ups.  The orange-framed Nihola just gets treated real nice, but the dropouts have now started their inevitable journey towards large scale paint loss (and re-touching).

Paint loss has started.

Advanced paint loss, loose chips removed, prior to a quick sanding and painting.

On the positive side, it seems the frame (especially around the dropouts) does not rust aggressively.  I imagine that nearly all of the many thousands of Nihola owners in Copenhagen ignore it completely.