https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/09/a-cargo-bike-with-a-low-price-and-pedals-so-low-they-scrape-the-ground/
A budget offering with a torque sensor (good!) and a whole lot of issues (not good).
A budget offering with a torque sensor (good!) and a whole lot of issues (not good).
"low-price"
"$1500"
What?!? This dude should hit Amazon. You can find the models, without the issues, for half that. You can also buy cargo trikes with a 750w motor for $1599, if you need the capacity.
A cargo e-bike -- not a regular bike, a long-tail cargo one -- on Amazon for $750? Link it because I call bullshit.
Please, people, don't buy cheap ebikes from Amazon's, AliExpress, etc. Buy from a reputable brand and dealer.
Why? I am genuinely curious. I have owned about eight such bikes (unfortunate basement flood killed the original set) and other than the weird "brake is on the opposite side" thing, I have never had a problem with ebike makers I find in Amazon.
Do you mean counterfeits?
Because the batteries and charging equipment in them explode into flames far more often than stuff regulated in north America or Europe.
Far too many people have died due to cheap Chinese electric bikes starting fires in their homes.
Or you could spend a bit more and get something decent, like an urban arrow. Especially if you’re getting one instead of a second car.
That's the "can get a good used car" comparison the author makes right off.
Those electric Urban arrows are a dream, but run around 6-7k in every bike shop I've seen them in.
Sure, but if you’re going to use it as a car replacement it doesn’t really make sense to get some cheap piece of shit from AliExpress. The car it would be replacing wasn’t going to a be a cheap Chinese PoS either, right?
Cars are way more convenient in America. It's not a good thing, but it's true. Youre going to have a very hard time convincing people that would be willing to use a cargo bike but who are are on the fence that they should buy a cars worth of cargo bike at the outset.
Adoption of cargo bikes are much likelier in the $1500 range than the $7000 range. You're already asking people to step away from their comfort zones and the norm in American society. Asking them to "spend a used car" to do it just makes it way, way less likely.
The author also acknowledge the operating cost would be significantly different right at the get go though. Used car tend to break down pretty soon since its, well, used. Some part will soon need to be changed, adding fuel cost, fluid change, tyre change, brake pad, it will very likely cost you 50% more than the asking price in 2 years or so, and more in the subsequent year.
But you also get a car for that cost, not just a utility bike. I love these Bakfiets style front cargo bikes and really hope for more US adoption, but our nation was built for cars and fighting that will take decades. Cars have way more overall utility and comfort in America.
I'll say too that used cars are a crapshoot. I once bought a $700 car that I put $800 into and it ran for years without further issue. Ongoing costs like gas and oil are real, but the immense utility makes them feel negligible. Even with those costs, that thing far beat the Urban arrow over its lifespan, and nearly beat even this meh bike in the review. I could have put two bikes in it and a couple of people to boot while going 70+ mph on a highway, a feat no bike will ever match.
We should all shift to cargo bikes, preferably these high utility/high safety front loader styles if we can. We should also advocate for infrastructure changes to make them and others like them more viable. That's the ideal, but if these bikes stay at 7k, getting people to actually buy and use them even with those infrastructure improvements is going to be a big, big challenge all on its own.
You can get a trek marlin 5, a bbshd, and a mid-grade battery for like $1500/1600 and build yourself a quality bike for that price.
This bike sounds a lot like my Lectric Xpedition, down to using some of the exact same parts (which I can tell from the pictures). The differences are some obvious notable feature improvements like the suspension fork and torque sensor, but somewhat less careful design.
Some random thoughts:
My bike has a slight "pedal strike in turns" issue too, but it's not that big a deal. If the cranks on this bike are any lower/longer than the Xpedition's that would be bad, though.
To answer the author's confusion about the folding handlebars, that's mostly just so they can fit it in a smaller box for shipping without requiring the owner to "assemble" it (which scares buyers off even if it's trivial).
My Xpedition's seatpost has two telescopic sections and extends way up. I'm surprised this bike apparently doesn't do the same.
Another example of Lectric's more careful design is how the author complains about how the bolts for the footrests on the review bike interfere with the chain a little. In contrast, on my bike they not only don't interfere but are also toolless to remove (which is good in case you need to get to the axle nuts to fix a flat or other mid-ride problem).
I am very glad that I got the dual-battery version of my bike, not because I need 60 miles of range (or whatever it claims), but because those range estimates are always on flat ground with no cargo at assist level 1, and hauling 100+ lbs worth of kids up and down hills at assist level 5 is a very different thing.
They probably ought to sell the thing as Class 2 by default, with a setting the owner can change to make it Class 3 if they want.
It's not mentioned in the article, but looking at the pictures, even though it comes with a rear hub motor it looks like the frame is compatible with a mid-drive. If it's possible for the owner to upgrade it that way later, that's a big deal!
Personally, if I needed to get a cargo e-bike right now, I would choose this one over the one I have. That said, I fully expect that Lectric will come out with an "Xpedition 2.0" within a year or so that would match the features of this at a similar price and with probably fewer problems, and in that tossup I'd lean Lectric because I've been impressed with their customer support.