Hey guys

I've been thinking about starting a small coffee cart with a friend. Looking at the possibilities around where I live(Copenhagen, Denmark) it seems that a bike type setup could be a more simple and cheap option than the scooter/3-wheeled car type. Copenhagen is a very bike friendly city and many people already use a bike cart in their daily life. Plus, it would save a lot of money and a lower the chance of technical problems that requires a mechanic.
As some of these pictures show, the idea isn't exactly new:






I don't know what kind of setup those cart have, but I was thinking something like a propane powered spring lever machine, small propane fridge for milk and a battery for the grinder. From what i've been able to find that seems to be the recommended setup for small carts, since generators are a no go in public. Then we would "only" be biking around with machine, grinder, fridge, battery and propane tank.

Can you guys think of any problems with this idea? anything i missed that I should be aware of when planning something like this?

I hope this post doesn't come of as a sort of "plan and research everything for me"-post. Making a barista bike is still just an idea and not something that we already decided on, so we are still in the very early stages of planning. I just wanted to hear what thoughts some of you guys have about this kind of idea, before we really decide to go through with it. So if you think there is something critical we should check, or if you just think it's a bad idea please don't be afraid to say what you mean.

Check this out:
http://www.velopresso.cc/about/

If portable generators are not allowed in the public, I don't see how it would be possible to run the standard pump style espresso machine without some serious conversions, that let you heat the water with propane and run everything else off battery, and a fairly healthy bank of those. However, it looks like some have already worked out all the details using lever machines, so I would try to search out someone that has been there, done that.

That one picture that has end flipped up looks like it has a generator stuck inside it.

Next, I hope you are young, because you are talking about some serious weight by the time you get a cart like in that first picture set up.

It's a bugger when it rains......

It's not that generators aren't allowed, i just read that they are quite a nuisance when having a cart like this, and therefore not recommended. Yes i am young, and i do understand that it's not going to be a quick little thing but with several gears and good driving conditions(big bike lanes and flat city) Don't you think it's possible?

Dave do you mean when you have to move it or when you are set up? I was thinking something like a big umbrella(not sure if there's a more accurate word, hope you understand what i mean) when set up and a raincover strapped over it when biking in the rain.

This is another option. Have seen this putting around Toronto:
http://www.macchinamobile.com/#!about-macchina/cy19

I think it would be very doable and if you are a pretty good at mechanical and fabrication, you could do it in a reasonable price range. To have it custom built, that could get a little price. That's when you might want to look into those that have done all the work for you, and you just pay them for theirs.
I think you would have to resolve yourself to using propane for heat, or about a 2,500 watt generator. Honda and Yamaha make some extremely quite, little suitcase type generators that put out 1,000-1,200 watts or so and one of those would run just about everything but your heat. Honda has some fairly quite 2,500 watt generators and you can add an extra muffler underneath to make it a lot more quite. I have a 2,400 watt Honda that I run thru and extra muffler and put it in a vented enclosure when camping and with it just a few feet away, you hardly notice it. However, these are not your bargain basement generators, they are a little pricey for their size.
With enough gearing on a flat surface, you could probably move a freight train on a bicycle, but don't plan on getting very far, very quickly.
Another thought also, check around, somebody else may have thought it was a great idea, bought or built one and decided that idea was not so great after all and have one for sale at a very reasonable price.

Cannuck i've looked at those before, but to me it seems like a lot of extra money for a small convenience. I would prefer to spend my money on a better machine or grinder, instead of spending it on the car. It might also make it impossible to sell in some places where a bike would be allowed in, but a car wouldn't.

Ben just so i understand you correctly, you're saying that I would have to choose between using propane for the machine/fridge or a small generator? or are you saying propane for heating the machine and a small generator for all other power needs?

It is so possible! I have looked into the mobile idea extensively and am in the middle of building a mobile cart for catering; with plans to be done by June.

Your best bet is to do propane for the machine (lever with manual fill) and the fridge and then run the grinders, water supply, pitcher Rinser, etc off deep cycle batteries with an inverter. It's actually not as hard as it sounds! If you have any questions feel free to PM me. We aren't doing a bicycle but id imagine the set up would be almost the same.

Best of luck!

I know there is a guy in Asheville, NC that does one out of a motorcycle sidecar. He runs an Astoria Gloria off propane and somehow makes it work. Definitely possible. You would just need a couple batteries for stuff that would run off electricity so you wouldn't need a noisy and heavy generator. You could probably get something going for under $10k USD. Not sure what Euro prices would be though.