Omnium Mini-Max Review: Much More Than Just a Cargo Bike –

After a full year of using the Omnium Mini Max cargo bike, John penned a review that reads like a love letter to this incredibly versatile platform…

The Radavist’s content is built atop layers upon layers of bike nerd deep dives, stacked up over the past eighteen years. One such substrate is Morgan’s Omnium Cargo review from 2022. A year after that review was posted, Omnium asked if I wanted to check out its new Mini Max cargo bike.

I had all but eliminated my need for a car in our hometown of Santa Fe and was curious if the Omnium could help eliminate the need for one entirely. Well, I’ve had this bike for over a year – thank you, Omnium! – and I cannot get over how this one bicycle has fundamentally changed my life, perhaps more so than any other bike I’ve reviewed.

My connection with the Omnium spans use cases and has shaped how I interact with my city.

Cargo bikes can be so much more than load carriers, kiddo transporters, or grocery getters; they’re also commuter bikes and interaction facilitators, and they’re just so much fun to zip around town on. However, what Omnium did with the Mini Max was develop a cargo bike that rides like a normal bike, which is no small task as many cargo bikes can feel cumbersome.

Before we get into it, let’s check out some Quick Hits.

Omnium Mini Max Quick Hits

Frame material: Double-Butted Chromoly Steel Frame
Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
Five colors are available; Afternoon Blue is shown here
1x geared with SRAM Apex (shown here), Alfine 8 belt drive, or e-assist models available
Tire clearance, front and rear 55 mm with mudguards
Rack dimensions: 70 cm x 50 cm, made of aluminum, with optional extension
Standard rack weight: 1320 grams +/-
Complete Medium bike weighs 19 kg
Maximum loading weight on front rack 85 kg
Maximum total loading weight, including rider 150 kg

Geometrically Speaking

I’m riding the size XL Omnium Mini Max as a 6’2″ human with long legs and long arms. I do find it odd that the seat tube and head tube angles, or at least fork offset, are omitted from this chart.

Cargo Taxonomy

Cargo bikes typically achieve their load-carrying ability by reducing the wheel size – typically the front wheel, but oftentimes both wheels. In my opinion, for it to be considered a front loading cargo bike, it needs to have a reduction in front wheel size to accommodate an integrated rack. Granted this isn’t a rule and there are options that fly in the face of this logic.

With smaller front wheels, some cargo bikes extend the platform and split the steering into two pieces, connecting them with a linkage design along a boom downtube. The Mini-Max is one such bike. More on this steering linkage later.

As for the taxonomy and evolution of cargo bikes, Morgan already laid out the evolution of the cargo bike from recumbent bikes in their Omnium review, so if you want the full deep dive, roll on over there and check it out. Here’s a synopsis:

“The root of the Omnium design, and the Bilenky before it, is of a semi-recumbent tandem where the stoker sits in front. It’s quite obvious once you become aware of the connection, the silhouette of the Omnium and semi-recumbent tandems being nearly identical save for the stoker’s front seat and pedals.

Bilenky’s design came from a company called Counterpoint, who began producing their semi-recumbent tandem in the 1980s. The Opus made it through numerous iterations before the company folded in the mid-’90s. The design was at that point sold to Bilenky, who began producing their own semi-recumbent, the Viewpoint.

It’s not surprising that the tandem and recumbent communities overlap, and in reading about the history of semi-recumbent tandems I found a lot of commentary about tandem riding generally. Semi-recumbents have always been a quirky sub-niche of both, but are loved by folks whose stokers may not be able to – or want to – ride an upright.”

The taxonomic evolution of cargo bikes spans well past a few decades. I first saw one during my short stint living in the Netherlands after architecture college. It’s an image that has stuck with me. The cargo bike was piloted by a mother carrying her children, putting on her makeup while riding one-handed, effortlessly gliding amidst a sea of other cyclists like steelhead swimming upstream.

Over the past seventeen years of documenting framebuilder showcases, I’ve shot some images of exceptional cargo bikes myself. Here are some thumbnails of fun ones to check out, spanning a decade of Radavist Reportage:

While a few of these cargo bikes are completely one-off in their nature, a few are production models that various companies or builders offer to the public. Ahearne, Hunter, Monopole, Scissortail, and many more builders have offered production runs of mini velo cargo bikes, long-tail cargo bikes, front loaders, and more.

Build Kit

As shown here, minus the handlebars, stem, top tube pad, and saddle upgrade, this Mini Max is displayed utilizing its stock build kit, including the fenders. I did opt for the dynamo upgrade as well. The bike came specced with hydraulic disc brakes and a decent gearing spread. One note is that the cranks are square taper, and I have had to re-torque them frequently during the winter months.

One crucial piece of kit I used was Austere Manufacturing 1″ Cam buckles and custom-length straps, coming in at 80″ long. These enabled me to carry a bike box securely, thanks to the Bagpro foldable cargo box. All it takes is undoing four velcro straps and the box folds down to a nice and flat platform. There are even two bumpers that run the length of the sides to reduce wear on the box’s material. Omnium has a few other cargo solutions for the Mini Max, but I can’t imagine having this bike without the Bagpro foldable cargo box.

And it goes without saying but a good cargo bike needs a stable kickstand and the Omnium Kickstand ($55) is one of the best I’ve ever used. Even with a full load, it keeps the bike stable, withstanding even the strongest springtime winds here in Santa Fe. And it makes photos all the easier, too! ;-)

Steering Mechanism

The Mini Max relies on a steering linkage similar to a steering rack in a car to move the front wheel based on your handlebar input.

While this seems like it’s another layer of complication for the bike’s mechanical behavior, it is much simpler than it sounds. The steering rod relies on spherical female rod ends at either end. These then bolt to the steering arm that is welded to the bottom of the main steerer tube and the fork crown. By moving the fork away from the main frame’s steerer tube, you gain 13″ number of inches, allowing for a 19.7″ by 27.5″ (50 cm by 70 cm) cargo platform.

The Mini Max even has an optional extender bar that slides into the cargo platform’s structure to grow the length of the bed by another 16″ or so. I truly believe that the Mini Max is a superior cargo bike because Omnium chose a solid middle ground in the fork to steerer offset and cargo platform, resulting in a compromise between ride quality and cargo carrying capacity. If the bike were any longer, it’d lose some of its zippy and snappy ride qualities that I love so much.

A Compromise

Looking at the cargo bikes above, some are very long, utilizing platforms that far exceed the Mini Max’s footprint, whereas others are considerably smaller, using dual 20″ wheels and a demi-porteur style rack. While there is indeed a use case for both ends of the cargo spectrum, there’s a middle ground that I find to be optimal for pushing a cargo bike into the realm of everyday commuter or all-rounder. The Omnium compromises the excessive cargo platform of other, longer bikes in favor of everyday ride quality by being an extremely light-footed platform.

However, by utilizing a smaller, 20″ wheel up front at the end of a boom downtube, hitting potholes can be a very abrupt experience. The smaller wheel is engulfed by large potholes and the boom acts as leverage, transferring the shock straight to the rider. It’s worse when there is a load on the box and thankfully, the Mini Max is able to course-correct under the slightest input, resulting in a wonderfully stable piloting experience. You definitely want to keep an eye on the road ahead!

Ride Quality

I’ve ridden a number of cargo bikes, including the original Omnium, which felt long and cumbersome. In my opinion, the Mini Max is the superior platform for a number of reasons. I’ll start with my feelings on how a bike behaves as being the most important part of the cargo experience. Cargo bikes ought to be zippy and lively feeling, while relying on their longer wheelbase for increased sure-footedness while transporting loads. Mostly because they are often ridden in the same zones as pedestrians (bike paths) and cars (in the street), and anyone that rides a bike in the city knows how erratic both pedestrians and cars can be, particularly towards cyclists. So, a cargo bike needs to be responsive.

The Mini Max achieves this in stride. Its wheelbase is just long enough to carry upwards of 100 lbs worth of cargo on the front end and still behave in a controlled and predictable manner. But unloaded, the bike is zippy, responsive, and dare I say a complete joy to ride. In fact, most of the city rides I’ve done over the past year have been on the Mini Max. Rain, snow, and ice be damned.

Without any scientific data to support this statement, my feeling is that the Mini Max is the most stable bike I own for riding in winter conditions, and I think a lot of that has to do with the wheelbase. I’ve never slipped out on this one patch of ice that gets me on other bikes with similar tires all the time. Even when carrying a big load on the Mini Max, it feels super safe to pedal it in ice and snow.

I absolutely adore diving into corners on the Mini Max, leaning in as much as I can and taking the “hot line.” It truly is a blast to zip around on, which is perhaps why I’ve spent so much time on it commuting around town.

Cargo as Commuter

Up ’til a few months ago, the Mini Max was my only fully-fendered bike, so I would ride it after a monsoon, or during snowmelt, or ice storms. Along with the fully integrated dynamo kit, I felt like the bike was set up perfectly as a commuter bike. And when we happened to swing by the grocery store on the way home, I could carry a legit haul.

While I don’t commute per se, I do ride around town a LOT. Running errands on this bike has replaced the necessity for having a car in town. Sure, we still drive sometimes if we’re short on time, but in general, the Omnium has single-handedly shifted my experience of riding bikes in this city.

Cargo as Conversation Piece

Pulling up to FedEx/UPS with a bike box always elicits the same response: “WOW! You’re hauling quite the load there! Is it heavy?” My response is, if the person is tall enough to ride the bike, “Wanna try it out?” and after some convincing, they have, on occasion, hopped on and taken it for a ride around the parking lot with the load still attached.

The reaction is always the same: glee. But breaking the barrier to get people to consider the bike as a car supplement or replacement would take a great deal of money and convincing. Everyone usually replies something along the lines of, “How do you ride this thing with those crazy drivers out there?”

Cyclists know drivers are nuts, but we ride because of the joy riding brings us. So it’s worth the risk. Even cyclists have expressed an interest in the Mini Max, always going out of their way to ask about the versatile platform. Over the course of a year, many everyday cyclists have thrown a leg over the bike and the take-away commentary always falls within the realm of, “Wow, this rides like a normal bike!” and the second statement is usually along the lines of, “Why didn’t you get an e-assist model?”

Why No E-Assist?

As we’ve stated in the Globe Haul and Tern Orox reviews, e-assist in a cargo bike, particularly when you’re hauling a lot of goods, for sure makes the trip easier. Yet I’ve never found myself in need of e-assist. Our city is fairly flat, and I’ve yet to have to haul a load up a big hill here. Most of the riding I take the Mini Max on is to the grocery store, bike shop, FedEx/UPS/USPS, or coffee shop. There are no “services” uphill here in town, only expensive mansions and mountain bike trails, upon which the Mini Max has no rightful place.

I think if I had children, or even a dog, I’d want e-assist on the bike. Or if we lived up a big, steep hill like the one we lived on top of in Los Angeles. But right now, there’s only about 50 feet of elevation gain on any given errand on the Mini Max. I like that it’s still lightweight and has literally been maintenance-free in the course of this year-long review. Hell, all I’ve done is replace a single thorn-punctured tube and then replaced it with a sealant-filled innertube.

E-assist can really change a person’s view of cycling for the better, but as someone who sometimes only gets out to ride the cargo bike for errands, I like the workout – especially if I have to haul some bikes!

Cargo as Hauler

For city riding, I almost feel like cars give you more room on a big cargo bike. Especially when you’re carrying a load like a bike box. I’ve found it to be the only bike that actually makes cars slow to a stop to ensure there’s enough room for them to pass. Even in rush hour, tourist season peak traffic here in Santa Fe (which is nothing close to what I rode in while I lived in New York City), the Mini Max careens around corners and lane-splits with ease, even with a heavy load.

After we got our Globe Haul and once I outfitted my Bombadil with racks and a basket, we rarely used our cars for in-town trips. In fact, the only thing we’d use our car for consistently was to drop off bike boxes and packages to postal carriers and drop off/pick up bikes from my local shop, Sincere Cycles.

Figuring out how to do all that on the Omnium felt like I unlocked a superpower, to use Morgan’s perfect terminology. Using an old dog bed (rest in peace, Max), I would strap a bike directly to the bed and cargo platform. The main thing to be mindful about is avoiding interference with the Mini Max’s bars and other parts from the bike you’re hauling.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by john watson (@johnprolly)

Cargo as Social Media Clickbait

I’ll end the review with an excerpt from my experimentation with social media videos, as it struck a nerve with my Instagram followers. This was an unintended byproduct of always posting about hauling goods with the Mini Max. I made an Instagram Reel from a series of quick cuts one day with the following caption:

I mostly exist behind a computer in the winter months working on stories for The Radavist and doing everything needed to keep a small business running.

Most days, the only time I get outside is to run errands on the Omnium Mini Max cargo bike, and yesterday, that included dropping off a review bike in a massive bike box to FedEx. I’ve had the Omnium for a while now and it’s become my go-to for errands and even just riding to the coffee shop.

What is so funny to me is how people interact with a person wearing normal clothes on a bicycle, much less a cargo bike, in this mountain town. I’ve had a number of quick discussions at stoplights or while I’m at the store.

(This is a long one…)

People driving expensive cars with expensive ski equipment bolted to them will ask the strangest questions: “Aren’t you cold?” “What do you do when it’s windy?” “That can’t be fun!”

🤔

Y’all ski. You’ll spend hours upon hours in the cold on the top of a mountain, thousands of feet higher than town in elevation, riding ski setups more expensive than this cargo bike that you only use for a few months, and then they go back in the closet.

I get it, but at the same time, it’s so weird to me that people who probably consider themselves “outdoorsy” or claim to be “environmentally aware” would never consider riding a bike in this very flat town to do errands.

I usually answer them: You just wear warm clothes.

Riding in the winter isn’t a superpower. Taking a big box to FedEx with a cargo bike isn’t a feat of great strength. Using our bodies to power the most “green” invention ever, the bicycle, shouldn’t be strange or weird. Normalize this shit.

You can do it too. You don’t need special “gear” or clothing. You don’t have to get rid of your cars, you can just replace short trips with a bike. Cars aren’t going anywhere in America, so let’s be real. Moderation is the key to fixing American cities. But I’m convinced if more people rode a bike around town, it would result in net positives.

It’s the best part of many of my days!

Any Critiques?

After a solid year of use, I do have some notes; some are programmatic, and others are nitpicks, but I’ll make this brief. First off, the size of the Omnium is too large for us to keep indoors. It’s hard to maneuver into and around tight corners or turns. The size XL is very cumbersome. Because of this large footprint, we lock it up outside under a cover.

The second point is tangential to this note: why make a size-specific cargo bike? I wonder if there’s a better opportunity with a mix of telescoping seatpost and stem to optimize reach to make a new model that fits a wide variety of riders. Perhaps the 700c wheel in the rear is limiting the potential for the Omnium catalog. I wonder if a 26″ or 24″ rear wheel could provide some bike fit possibilities and reduce the number of sizes?

I’m sure this sounds easier than it would be to actually make this happen, and it would take some clever engineering to achieve. For reference, our Globe Haul fits riders from 4′ 5″ all the way to 6′ 4″ thanks to the 20″ wheels and telescoping seat post. Cari would have loved to have ridden the Mini Max.

My only other nitpick is the brake lever and stock stem/handlebar spec. The stock bars and brake levers “eat away” at the potential space you can use with the cargo platform. The more you extend your extension with a longer stem, the less vertical room you can use on the Omnium’s platform because as you turn the bars, they’ll hit whatever object you’re carrying.

I’ve fixed this with my 35 mm long PAUL Boxcar stem and DOOM bars, but I wish I had some bars with even more backsweep because the ends of the brake levers stick out so much that when I’m carrying tall objects, I have to rotate them to clear whatever it is I’m carrying. I suppose I could swap out the levers for something less obtuse, but it’s worth a note anyway.

Plans for the Future

While I love my tubeless sealant in inner tubes hack we posted to our YouTube last month, I do want to build some tubeless wheels for the Mini Max. I’ve got Bailey at Sincere Cycles on that as you’re reading this. I also want to go with a better crankset as I’ve had the square taper cranks fall off numerous times. Lastly, I’m waiting on Stridsland to stock its Bullmoose bars because I think they’ll just look plain sick on the bike!

Since taking the bike in for review, a number of people have asked if I’ll take it out on an overnighter, and I can say with great certainty that I cannot see myself wanting to do that. While the Mini Max is indeed a great all-rounder, the idea of descending a rutted and rough dirt road on it does not sound fun. The 20″ front wheel would all but disappear in some of our gravel road ruts and it’s just not that comfortable of a bike for off-road use with the super stiff small front wheel and boom downtube.

Aside from that, the Mini Max is a completely out-of-the-box cargo solution, and upgrades are unnecessary to getting the most out of the experience.

Bikes like this often get pigeonholed into one use case: cargo carrying. But my past twelve months have proven that the Mini Max really has pushed the paradigm of what it means to be a cargo bike and begged the question, “Why don’t more people use these as commuter bikes?” Like Morgan said in their Omnium review, riding a cargo bike that handles like a normal bike really feels like unlocking a superpower.

I want to thank Omnium for sending me this bike and letting me hold onto it for this long and encourage all of you to try one out. They really are amazing bicycles.

Pros