Editor’s note: Earlier this summer while visiting the Oakland Carnival, we encountered Sulaiman Hyatt, an East Bay influencer committed to build community events with the help of his front-loading Bullitt. Just seeing him (on his cargo biked loaded with sound equipment) begged a question or two about his mode of transporation…leading to this series. Sulaiman, episode #1.

Sulaiman, what bikes have you purchased from BHB? Why those bikes (more like brand and set up than uses) and how did you put them together?

Bullitt – Back in the 90s, I grew up with my dad being a super bike commuter, so I learned biking as a practical way of getting around. I never had a cool looking BMX bike to show off with. Instead, I had a high quality French road bike to travel far and go fast. When I got older and my car broke down, I got back into cycling again. At that time, I got into racing track bikes (fixed-gear bikes or fixies). I was at the moment in bike culture when I did not need a car to get around…I had my bike.

The cargo bike came into my reality when I was expecting a kid. There’s no place to put a baby on a fixie, and I was not going to put a baby seat on my nice track bike – that would look terrible – so I started learning about cargo bikes.

I did a deep dive, about three years of research. I landed on a front-loading cargo bike. I bought the frame from Blue Heron Bikes (BHB), but wanted to build it myself, so I sourced all the parts: spokes, rims, brakes. Six months later, I had a cargo bike. I strapped a car seat into the cargo bike (bucket) and started riding around town. It was amazing, my son and I would ride all over!