17 Things to Know about Cargo Bikes

Electric cargo bikes are becoming more and more popular. I wanted to make a quick video just discussing some of the tips to consider when looking to purchase an electric cargo bike. We hope you find this video to be helpful and if you have any other questions or comments, feel free to leave them below!

Below is a link to some of our favorite cargo bikes:

Timecodes:
0:00 Introduction
0:40 Make sure the cargo bike fits you
1:50 Facebook groups for cargo bikes for support
2:00 Cargo bike adjustable features
2:30 Consider your current and future needs
3:00 Carrying kids in your cargo bike
4:20 Front loader vs long tail cargo bikes
5:40 Unique features of cargo bikes
6:00 Where do you store a cargo bike?
6:55 Consider your budget for your cargo bike
8:30 Where to service electric cargo bike
9:10 Consider the regulations in your area for bikes with children
9:50 Regulations with ebike speeds
10:50 Think about the specs that you need on your ebike
11:50 Which drive train to choose?
12:30 What type of terrain are you going to be riding on?
13:00 Cargo biking in different weather
13:50 transporting your cargo bike

Musicbed ID: MB01GQEPMAGJ1IC

#cargobikes #electricbikes #ecargobikes

[Propelbikes]

Hope you guys enjoyed the video! ✌

If you're interested in learning more about our favorite electric cargo bikes, feel free to check out the links in the description.🚲

[JimmyBrobeck]

42 years ago I built a bike cart and used it to deliver tofu from my shop to restaurants and stores. I also hauled my daughter in it. 20 years later I was hauling my granddaughter in a Burley cart. I had to turn my head to talk to her. Once the right wheel of the cart hit a curb and put the cart on its side. She was strapped so no one got hurt. I also used a rear mounted child seat but again, I couldn't see what the child was up to without turning around. 15 years ago I got a Bakfiets. Having the box in front allowed me to carry 3 kids and to talk with them and see them while paying attention to what is in front of the bike. My main point is that front loading bikes have great passenger hauling advantage.

[nraynaud]

about the kids in the back, I have heard another educative argument mildly against it: by having them in the front, they can see their neighborhood in the same way they will see it when they will walk or bike into it, it prepares them more to being in charge of their navigation.

[jackoneil]

Excellent segment Chris, and it caught my attention in light of something I noticed when a friend asked me to look at a popular and affordable cargo bike she just purchased that had protected seating for her two children. She'd Stop writing it after about a dozen rides and asked me to look at the brakes. I was surprised to see that factory installed disc brakes were typical of what you find on inexpensive big-box store bicycles. I replaced the pads and adjusted the brakes, but the stopping ability of the bike with just me on board was still concerning if not dangerous. I recommended she take the bike to a local bicycle cooperative, and they were able to upgrade the braking systems what is safe and reasonable for a cargo, for reasonable price and it's huge improvement.

[CycleCalm]

Perhaps it's because you don't sell them, but something else that could have been touched on is tricycle cargo bikes. While I'm not really a fan of them myself because you have to go slower around corners, and can't filter through traffic like a bicycle, those are probably not downsides to an extra cautious parent who wouldn't be going very fast anyway, and combined with the ease of loading and unloading and slow speed maneuvers, I can see how they can be appealing to people who aren't already experienced cyclists, or have some mobility issues.
There's quite a lot of commercial cargo bicycles in London and not so many privately owned ones, but anecdotally, the private ones being used by families I do see are quite often Babboe, Nihola or Christiana tricycles.

[melissasinclair]

I'm a cargo ebike owner and the last segment has been the real difficult thing for me. TRANSPORTING that bike bike is NO JOKE. I can't take it on a train, or a bus, and to buy a rack for the car would be another grand. So, I've had the bike for 4 years and it has never left our local community despite living closeish to many really good bike paths.

[mikescarborough]

I moved to Bogotá Colombia from the US a year ago and I’ve never seen so many cargo bikes in commercial use in my life.

[TheIndustrialphreak]

Hey bro! we really need to bring down the cost of cargo bikes so more people can get access to them! particularly the secondary market. Cheapest front load bikes that are more family oriented are around $3000 not including shipping neither a reasonable electric assist power train. I want to make a open source design that would use gridbeam to lower carbon footprint and make it more modular so it can grow with young under served financially stressed familys vs urban and city hipsters.

[emmy]

I live in the Midwest with a lot of great bike trails. I purchased a rear cargo bike. I’m so excited to have adventures with my kids 🙂 plus biking to go do errands. Yes, they’re expensive but it’s an investment.

[bking]

Great video. I think you are one of the most forward thinking ebike entrepreneurs out there!

[GenderSkins]

Well I built my electric cargo bike, and did it with a used adult trike and here is what I have to say. If you build your own electric cargo bike, spend a little more on the parts such as the conversion kit and the battery as you will be a lot happier in the end. If you go cheap, with a used frame which is OK. But buy cheap parts, like a cheap conversion kit and go with lead acid batteries which you can do. You are probably not going to be happy, with it if it's always breaking down due to the weight of the lead acid batteries or when the batteries die on a ride. Because that is what I did, and trying to ride a cargo bike that weighs 150 lbs empty is not fun. And it is even less fun when you have close to 300 pounds of cargo on the bike, along with the weight of the bike with those lead acid batteries. If I had it to do over, and had the funds I would buy a pre-built one from Propel or some other company with a good reputation.

[Sno_opy_ten__]

Thanks for pointing out these possible problem areas.

[PeterYacono]

Only discovered the channel this weekend. Really like the presentation style and information. Appreciate the chapters. Not sure if any summaries would boost your views too, I always love them. Cheers for the content.

[michaelosmon]

4:40 literally yesterday a guy accused me of trying to kill people when he saw my homemade front load cargo bike. I understand the engineering of this fairly well, I’ve ridden it quite a bit and it feels safe and I really enjoy it. I wouldn’t ride it if it didn’t feel safe.

[JustClaude]

The third option is the cycle truck, with a load platform over a smaller front wheel.
The traditional cycle truck is the same size as a normal bike. With a sturdy rear rack you can carry a heavy load over the rear wheel as well.
And with an extended cycle truck, with the front wheel pushed forward and connected with a push-rod, larger loads can be placed on the front and still be no longer than a mid-tail cargo bike.

[ruudinkeksijat]

Excellent video. If you ever make updated version of this video one thing to add is: How easy it is to maintain the bike over long period of time. Some manufacturers can be easily fixed and serviced for decades. Others are more problematic. How good is after sales service and end-of-life promise for components. There are even some cheap cargo-bikes that you are not able to find tires 5 years after purchase.

[vcie]

Very complete and very helpful!
Thanks !
Greetings from France.

[alexmsmartins]

Even years after, your videos are so informative.

Thank you very much.

[buddy]

Learn from the most frugal country in the world, the Netherlands.
Buy a quality bike, with a bit of maintenance it will easily last your life.

[steve_main]

Thanks Chris, great video. We got rid of one car about 8 months ago and I have gone fill ebike as my mode of transportation and bus and taxi. One thing we discussed was when we have a kid we need to get them to day care. Should we use a come along? like how will we do that. then maybe upgrading it to a snapon tandom when they are older.. Get Ideas in this video. I personally want my next upgrade to be a variable transmission hub with a mid drive belt system and at min 20Ah battery.