1. Name, Age Occupation?My name is Lane Kagay. I'm 35 years old. I own and operate
CETMA Cargo.
2. Were does Cetma Cargo Live?CETMA Cargo lives in a shared warehouse in Eugene, Oregon, a college town located about a hundred miles south of Portland. It's an odd town that seems to draw the most extreme characters. A Twilight Zone oddball vortex with a mixed population of hobo-anarchist-gutterpunks, frat-boy/sorority-girl college kids, die-hard hippie-activist Earth First! country folk, AND right-wing redneck lumberjack types. First visits to Eugene go like this: "Man, what the fuck IS this place? Wait...I LIKE it here!!"
3. What are you riding these days?I ride a CETMA Cargo bike, a nine-foot behemoth built for freight transport.
4. Tell us all about Cetma Cargo. How was it started and why?This CETMA thing started four years ago in San Francisco, where I worked as a bike messenger. I was getting tired of lugging 40 pound boxes in my bag, and the racks available weren't cutting it. There weren't any (I knew of) with big platforms, just inadequate skinny rear racks and cutoff Wald paperboys. I wanted something wide and strong. Do you know who Erik Zo is? You should. We met at a bar in SF and started talking cargo and racks. Zo turned me on to the benefits of carrying weight up front. I built the first front rack soon after, and within a week was getting requests from friends for them. Then I started getting emails from messengers in other cities. I figured out how to build a website, and have been making racks nonstop since.
5. Cetma is based in Eugene, OR. There is a lot of good beers in them parts. When are we going to see a Cetma Cargo Cooler?Yeah, I know. It's one of the many ways I'd use the cargo bike if I could swing the time. My wife is starting a vegan fast-food joint here in town soon, and we hope to utilize this bike as a mobile food stand.. An on-board keg ain't a bad idea.
6. Tell us about the Cargo Bike. Then, tell us when you are going to design a Cargo TALL Bike?Tall bike? SMALL bike! CETMA Cargo bikes for kids coming soon. No joke.
The CETMA Cargo bike came to life about a year ago, the product of years of dreaming, a talented friend, anonymous idea contributions, and assistance from
Clever Cycles in Portland. It's a dream come true to have a cargo bike added to the CETMA lineup.
I've been riding it everyday for several months. I've carried at least 400 pounds on it. I moved much of my workshop with it. The frame breaks apart in two pieces for shipping or storage. It has disc brake tabs and canti bosses. Medium trail for high and low speeds.. Platform integrated into the frame; no box needed, but addable. NOT DUTCH--Made in the US.
7. How is the riding in Eugene. I have heard amazing things about Portland. Are they similar?In some ways. Both cities have miles of bike lanes and a relatively considerate population--lots of bike infrastructure, shops, and car-free folk. Similar terrain, too, I suppose. However, Eugene’s density is a fraction of Portland’s. There are a thousand more people per square mile in Portland than compared to Eugene. Auto traffic is slow and light here--small town pace.
8. Cetma also makes a great looking Rack Bag. You work with another company Swift Industries on that product. Tell us how this relationship started?Yes! I’m glad you asked. I don’t make the bags, that’s Swift Industries’ specialty. Swift Industries is a two-person operation in Seattle, hand making VERY rugged panniers and other soft goods for bikes. Earlier this year they suggested collaboration on a bag for CETMA racks, which they’d designed. It’s an incredible bag called the
Pelican Porteur Bag. Available now and highly recommended for those people looking for quality handmade stuff. I can’t say enough about Jason and Martina.
9. What goes into making one of your racks? Seeing you are a 1 man operation. Do you ever feel overwhelmed?I did, but not anymore. This year has been the most tumultuous year of my life. The CETMA Cargo bike was almost killed with a lawsuit by a catshit ex-employer. Overhead expenses nearly crushed CETMA racks, creating a backorder which nearly ended it all. A few months back, I’d begun experiencing severe stomach problems, chronic insomnia, and nonstop anxiety. THEN my father committed suicide.
Almost immediately after his death, something clicked in me. I recalibrated and started over. My wife and I had moved from our expensive house into a ridiculously cheap apartment. I’d moved out of the old shop space and into my current location, cutting overhead by 75%, and got down to business, working my ass off. Sometimes twenty racks a day--full speed.
I started considering production systems, the science of production, organization, and efficiency. It occurred to me that if I was to stay afloat, I’d need to focus not only on making racks, but focus on making a system that makes racks. Like a factory or a machine. I know it sounds funny coming from a small producer like me, but frankly, I don’t have a choice. It’s time to figure out how to do what I love, making things, AND have a life and freedom. I’ve already tried the method of winging it, working 18 hour days, and it’s stupid and it doesn't work. It also hurts.
So after going through that very crappy time, things are better in a big way. The backorder has evaporated. The lawsuit fell apart (thanks to public pressure), overhead is where it should be, and my old man now rests in peace. I’ve got a cleaner system, and I’ve been able to lower prices because of it. This makes me very happy.
To answer your first question: Making the rack is only a small part of the operation. Unfortunately, it’s often the only part some people consider when they decide and announce that my racks are “overpriced”, as if they’re somehow capable of knowing telepathically what my time and effort is worth to me. I read it all the time: “WAY overpriced. I could make that rack in ten minutes. It probably costs twenty bucks in materials!” Maybe so, but what about tool depreciation? Savings for winter? Taxes? Dental work? Shoes? Computer equipment? Printer paper/ink? Packing tape? Etcetera. Etcetera.
10. What can we expect to see from Cetma Cargo in the future?FUN. I have so much I want to do. I’ve got a unique frame-mounted rack in proto phase, a cleaner removable fence in the works, cargo bikes for kids, a CETMA calendar, a touring rack, colored racks, a cargo bike movie by Irvin Coffee, and this: CETMA Factory—a sort of online swapmeet/garage sale for small-operation DIYers seeking exposure.
11. Is there anything else that you would like to add? Like when were going to see the Surfboard Rack in South Florida?Yes. I want to add a sincere thank you to everyone for making CETMA racks happen. I really mean it. I’m very grateful.
Friday October 30! Miami's Critical Mass Halloween Ride! Meet up at 6:30pm Government Center in Downtown Miami. Costumes are encouraged. Also lights and helmets. This is sure to be a really amazing evening. The last two months there has been a giant increase in riders and they are expecting the same this time around. Check the route here.
Saturday October 31, HALLOWEEN! The Fraidy Cat 2 Alley Cat! 11:59 West Palm Beach. Meet at Flamingo Park in WPB anytime before the start of the race. A few of us are heading up earlier that night to ride around and get down on the town. $5 with a helmet, $10 without. No big elaborate prizes this time. Winner gets half of the registration fee and the other half is going toward the National Multiple Sclerosis Society! Good idea! Come hangout, get loose. Its Halloween! Better than another year wasted doing the same thing. Costumes are are not required, but what the hell. Why not?
Sunday November 1? Maybe? Long ride? Beach? Anyone?
