Comments on: Right: Supermarket trolleys with fixed rear wheels http://septicscompanion.com/blog/2008/11/right-supermarket-trolleys-with-fixed-rear-wheels/ Chris Rae's blog Sat, 12 May 2012 05:09:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Tracy Heiner http://septicscompanion.com/blog/2008/11/right-supermarket-trolleys-with-fixed-rear-wheels/comment-page-1/#comment-40310 Tracy Heiner Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:07:23 +0000 http://septicscompanion.com/blog/?p=11#comment-40310 I'm an American living in Ireland, where we also have the crazy four-wheel-steer carts (trolleys). We lived in Scotland for 4 years, as well. I'm amazed at the ridiculous design flaw on these things. I was thinking about it this morning when i blog I read was talking about the "two hole standard" ring binders here. Those are silly, too. The shopping carts trump them by far. So, I googled "Silly European shopping carts with all wheels spinning" and found a slew of people to share my frustration. Thanks for posting!! And Matteo, please bring your spot welder to Co. Cork, Ireland!!! I’m an American living in Ireland, where we also have the crazy four-wheel-steer carts (trolleys). We lived in Scotland for 4 years, as well. I’m amazed at the ridiculous design flaw on these things. I was thinking about it this morning when i blog I read was talking about the “two hole standard” ring binders here. Those are silly, too. The shopping carts trump them by far. So, I googled “Silly European shopping carts with all wheels spinning” and found a slew of people to share my frustration. Thanks for posting!! And Matteo, please bring your spot welder to Co. Cork, Ireland!!!

]]> By: Matteo Watkins http://septicscompanion.com/blog/2008/11/right-supermarket-trolleys-with-fixed-rear-wheels/comment-page-1/#comment-14297 Matteo Watkins Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:19:06 +0000 http://septicscompanion.com/blog/?p=11#comment-14297 Man... finally somebody brings this up. I've lived in the UK for three years.. and yes, as some readers point out above, the shopping "trolleys" here are not too difficult to use, until that is, you begin to fill them up... I'm a big strong lad, but a full, particularly heavy, cart with four castors is just about one of the most unwieldly inventions on the planet... which is especially frustrating since somebody actually purposely designed them that way. Going to your car on a slope is a joke... or turning corners... the whole damn thing just goes into a sideways drift that requires wrestling skills to curb. Having lived in the UK for a while now, I know I will get flack for this (the Brits have a lot of hang-ups about Americans, and the whole bigger and better thing that they think we have.. which may just be an inferiority complex at work... or maybe it's just sometimes true...but I digress), but I genuinely think that given a choice of fixed rear wheel, or four free wheels, anyone who wasn't predisposed to one type or the other would chose the fixed rear wheel... especially with a full cart... oh, and can I also mention the "shelf" on the bottom of American shopping carts... perfect for awkward items like small children, or bags of charcoal... plus they make a good place to stand when you want to "ride" your cart...missing in the UK. Give me Tesco's fleet of carts, and a spot welder, and I could revolutionize shopping in this country. Man… finally somebody brings this up. I’ve lived in the UK for three years.. and yes, as some readers point out above, the shopping “trolleys” here are not too difficult to use, until that is, you begin to fill them up… I’m a big strong lad, but a full, particularly heavy, cart with four castors is just about one of the most unwieldly inventions on the planet… which is especially frustrating since somebody actually purposely designed them that way. Going to your car on a slope is a joke… or turning corners… the whole damn thing just goes into a sideways drift that requires wrestling skills to curb. Having lived in the UK for a while now, I know I will get flack for this (the Brits have a lot of hang-ups about Americans, and the whole bigger and better thing that they think we have.. which may just be an inferiority complex at work… or maybe it’s just sometimes true…but I digress), but I genuinely think that given a choice of fixed rear wheel, or four free wheels, anyone who wasn’t predisposed to one type or the other would chose the fixed rear wheel… especially with a full cart… oh, and can I also mention the “shelf” on the bottom of American shopping carts… perfect for awkward items like small children, or bags of charcoal… plus they make a good place to stand when you want to “ride” your cart…missing in the UK. Give me Tesco’s fleet of carts, and a spot welder, and I could revolutionize shopping in this country.

]]> By: rt http://septicscompanion.com/blog/2008/11/right-supermarket-trolleys-with-fixed-rear-wheels/comment-page-1/#comment-10863 rt Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:50:12 +0000 http://septicscompanion.com/blog/?p=11#comment-10863 The four-steerable wheels is ok on level ground but becomes an onerous activity on undulating surfaces such as footpaths. The natural action of the four-steerable-wheel trolleys is to go down the line of steepest slope, which is not often the intended direction of the pusher. The supermarket trolley technically is no different from a child's pram where only the front wheels are steerable. The four-steerable wheels is ok on level ground but becomes an onerous activity on undulating surfaces such as footpaths. The natural action of the four-steerable-wheel trolleys is to go down the line of steepest slope, which is not often the intended direction of the pusher.
The supermarket trolley technically is no different from a child’s pram where only the front wheels are steerable.

]]> By: Ryan http://septicscompanion.com/blog/2008/11/right-supermarket-trolleys-with-fixed-rear-wheels/comment-page-1/#comment-3980 Ryan Sun, 08 Mar 2009 03:37:17 +0000 http://septicscompanion.com/blog/?p=11#comment-3980 You learn. You learn.

]]> By: Daniel http://septicscompanion.com/blog/2008/11/right-supermarket-trolleys-with-fixed-rear-wheels/comment-page-1/#comment-1706 Daniel Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:28:58 +0000 http://septicscompanion.com/blog/?p=11#comment-1706 Funny article, although in America shopping carts must be made reliable as so many are used as mobile storage bins during extended self-discovery 'walk-abouts' in the larger cities. Funny article, although in America shopping carts must be made reliable as so many are used as mobile storage bins during extended self-discovery ‘walk-abouts’ in the larger cities.

]]> By: Jules http://septicscompanion.com/blog/2008/11/right-supermarket-trolleys-with-fixed-rear-wheels/comment-page-1/#comment-177 Jules Sun, 14 Dec 2008 04:38:30 +0000 http://septicscompanion.com/blog/?p=11#comment-177 I completely agree! Shopping trolleys were not managable at all for me (I lived in the UK for five years....until 2007) with the only exception being Waitrose. Both the trolleys AND the customers at our local Waitrose were orderly! :) Regarding the other stores.....all I can say is if you shop anywhere else with the (trolley/customers), expect a nervous breakdown! Great article, I certainly had a laugh! I completely agree! Shopping trolleys were not managable at all for me (I lived in the UK for five years….until 2007) with the only exception being Waitrose.

Both the trolleys AND the customers at our local Waitrose were orderly! :)

Regarding the other stores…..all I can say is if you shop anywhere else with the (trolley/customers), expect a nervous breakdown!

Great article, I certainly had a laugh!

]]> By: mike http://septicscompanion.com/blog/2008/11/right-supermarket-trolleys-with-fixed-rear-wheels/comment-page-1/#comment-167 mike Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:18:33 +0000 http://septicscompanion.com/blog/?p=11#comment-167 "plans" == "planks" “plans” == “planks”

]]> By: mike http://septicscompanion.com/blog/2008/11/right-supermarket-trolleys-with-fixed-rear-wheels/comment-page-1/#comment-166 mike Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:17:31 +0000 http://septicscompanion.com/blog/?p=11#comment-166 Agree with you here. If you want to recreate that cart-wanders-with-a-mind-of-its-own experience, try IKEA. With what I suspect is a kind of sadistic smirk, they offer carts that feature 4-wheel independent steering, which is particularly, um, challenging when you want to slide an 80-pound box o' unassembled furniture onto them. ("Hey! Damn it, come back here, you stupid cart!") Not that _anyone_ would ever need to do that at IKEA, of course. I do agree that a lot of American shopping carts* are wonky and have their own steering issues, due to (as noted by someone else) indifferent maintenance. The best thing to do in those cases is to offer your cart to a nice old lady and then go get another one. Similar issues transpire with the carts offered by places like Home Depot, which are supposed to help you wheel 12-foot plans and 4x8 sheets of plywood to the cashier. ("Our motto: How about if you do most of the work at our store?") A couple more observations. Target (among others) has introduced carts that are largely made of plastic. An interesting feature of these carts is that they build up shockingly (haha) high charges of static electricity, ouch. And a sociological observation is that carts at places like Costco are HUGE -- the better to buy a bunch of stuff with, my dear. That said, the local supermarket is experimenting with some boutique carts, you could call them, which are slightly larger than the normal hand-held baskets -- useful when you send grandma out for that 24-pack of Budweiser and a selection of chips. * Not including the virtual kind, like on Amazon. Agree with you here. If you want to recreate that cart-wanders-with-a-mind-of-its-own experience, try IKEA. With what I suspect is a kind of sadistic smirk, they offer carts that feature 4-wheel independent steering, which is particularly, um, challenging when you want to slide an 80-pound box o’ unassembled furniture onto them. (“Hey! Damn it, come back here, you stupid cart!”) Not that _anyone_ would ever need to do that at IKEA, of course.

I do agree that a lot of American shopping carts* are wonky and have their own steering issues, due to (as noted by someone else) indifferent maintenance. The best thing to do in those cases is to offer your cart to a nice old lady and then go get another one. Similar issues transpire with the carts offered by places like Home Depot, which are supposed to help you wheel 12-foot plans and 4×8 sheets of plywood to the cashier. (“Our motto: How about if you do most of the work at our store?”)

A couple more observations. Target (among others) has introduced carts that are largely made of plastic. An interesting feature of these carts is that they build up shockingly (haha) high charges of static electricity, ouch. And a sociological observation is that carts at places like Costco are HUGE — the better to buy a bunch of stuff with, my dear. That said, the local supermarket is experimenting with some boutique carts, you could call them, which are slightly larger than the normal hand-held baskets — useful when you send grandma out for that 24-pack of Budweiser and a selection of chips.

* Not including the virtual kind, like on Amazon.

]]> By: Thomas http://septicscompanion.com/blog/2008/11/right-supermarket-trolleys-with-fixed-rear-wheels/comment-page-1/#comment-36 Thomas Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:33:15 +0000 http://septicscompanion.com/blog/?p=11#comment-36 I agree with you on this one. UK trolleys are the most horrible things on wheels- unless you ever experienced a Mini-Moke. They steer poorly, wandering off like a drunken sailor. How could I ever teach my kids to drive one of these? Having said that (and needed more space) I must admit that we Yanks have done a great job of messing up a perfectly good design by often installing square wheels, bent frames and carts that permanently steer to the left. I agree with you on this one. UK trolleys are the most horrible things on wheels- unless you ever experienced a Mini-Moke. They steer poorly, wandering off like a drunken sailor. How could I ever teach my kids to drive one of these? Having said that (and needed more space) I must admit that we Yanks have done a great job of messing up a perfectly good design by often installing square wheels, bent frames and carts that permanently steer to the left.

]]> By: Graham http://septicscompanion.com/blog/2008/11/right-supermarket-trolleys-with-fixed-rear-wheels/comment-page-1/#comment-9 Graham Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:21:40 +0000 http://septicscompanion.com/blog/?p=11#comment-9 I have to disagree with you on this. Trolleys with all four wheels steerable are very easy to steer: you just push the handle sideways until the trolley is pointed in the correct direction, then push it forwards. (Admittedly having non-steering front wheels would possibly be an improvement). Having non-steering rear wheels means you have to swing the front of the trolley around which, if the trolley is full of heavy shopping and you are foolishly holding it by the handle, requires biceps like Geoff Capes'. I have to disagree with you on this. Trolleys with all four wheels steerable are very easy to steer: you just push the handle sideways until the trolley is pointed in the correct direction, then push it forwards. (Admittedly having non-steering front wheels would possibly be an improvement). Having non-steering rear wheels means you have to swing the front of the trolley around which, if the trolley is full of heavy shopping and you are foolishly holding it by the handle, requires biceps like Geoff Capes’.

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