How to Choose the Best Electric Cargo Bikes: For Families

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The Best Family Cargo Bike for You

You want it to be easy to switch from car to cargo bike, especially as a family. The electric cargo bikes for families that are listed below have thought about just about everything:

• weather (canopies),
• seats (for 1-3+ kids),
• gearing and e-assist for loads, plus
• built-in lighting,

to name some highlights.

You have thought about all of the various ways to carry kids by bike and have settled on an e-cargo bike. Here are your best options grouped by:

• 2 wheeled box bikes (bakfietsen),
• trikes,
• mid- and longtail bikes, plus
• a note on add-on kits to electrify your bike (DIY).

How to choose the best option

Your very best option will be to support your local bike shop that is familiar with products like these. You want to purchase from someone who knows how to maintain this product, including the electric component, as well as a knowledgeable soul who can help advise you on what option works best for your family’s needs. Things to consider:

• How many kids will you need to carry?
• Budget range? (Remember, the cost of accessories adds up.)
• One battery or two? (Range, how far will you normally need to ride in between battery charges?)
• Storage? Do you have room for a bakfiets or trike? Do you need something more compact like a Tern GSD or even smaller, like the HSD?
• Weather? Planning on riding year round? Box bikes are ideal for that (especially with snow) because of their all-weather bubbles and low centre of gravity; but, longtail brands are getting creative with covers for kids now, too.
• Snowy winters? Internal hubs are a great option if you can afford that choice. Or just a great low maintenance choice, too. Plus, many internal hubs are now heading towards Gates Belt Drive (instead of chain), which is essentially a quiet and maintenance-free perk.

Technological aspects, like power and motor quality, seem to be smoothing out, i.e. there is less variation between models and brands now, but best to chat with your local bike shop about that.

Buy online?

Be wary of purchasing online options, eg. Rad Power or Bunch, because unless you are really good at DIY, you will be very unlikely to get support from your local bike shop in maintaining it. (This is advice coming from someone who bought a handmade bakfiets online and then added at DIY e-bike conversion kit!) Plus, while you may initially save money, the components are generally not as good quality as bikes shown, below, so you will pay for it over time in parts and labour (unless you’re good with mechanics).

Riese & Müller Load 60 or 75

This is one of my most favourite bikes that I have ridden, ever. Yes, bikes. Not just cargo bike.

The Load has full suspension which is a dream on our bumpy streets (and would be amazing in wintertime when the ground tends to get rougher). This modern cargo bike is nimble and quick, super adjustable, and offers everything that you need as a car replacement for young families: canopy, seats, etc. It is fully adjustable (seat post and handlebar height), a great feature for sharing amongst adults in families, too.

Its box design is unique as the frame is around the perimeter (not the base as they typical are), which permits the centre of gravity to be even lower than normal with an even lower-than-normal spot for feet and it is noticeable, especially compared to their Packster models. The Load is available in two sizes, 60 or 75. (75 is pictured here).

Urban Arrow Family

If upright is your jam, Urban Arrow will set you up with a cruisy ride styled for families with their “Family” model. Hailing from Amsterdam, this Dutch company knows cargo bikes and this model has been well thought out.

Heaps of accessories, especially for babies and little kids, like their Maxi Cosi car seat or Yepp Mini adaptors, an extra bench in the front of the box for friends (or a third kid), padded seats, rain cover, and so on.

Here is Genevieve Metzger’s review on the Urban Arrow Family.

Larry vs Harry eBullitt

A progressive aluminum-framed bakfiets that can conquer the hills of San Franscisco. Designed by couriers, this is an extremely responsive and nimble bike. It also seems to be one of the easier to get ahold of European cargo bikes out there.

It comes with a kid-friendly pod that fits 2 small children or one regular-sized (and older) kid. So, not your best bet for ready-made options if you have 2-3 kids, but many people build their own boxes to accommodate their family size. I would argue that Bullitts are one of the most commonly found bakfietsen in North America because they were one of the first readily available (although the eBullitt model is not quite as common yet as it’s newer and more expensive).

Not your best option if you are shorter (it does not have a low top tube), FYI.

Others to consider

Other family cargo bikes that are set-up as e-assisted that are good bets are the bi-partable Douze G4, the small-wheeled Yuba Electric Supermarché, and the Babboe City Mountain. [FYI, Babboe Mountain line — their mid-drive models — are what’s available in North America, not the “-E” versions which are hub motors.]

Babboe Carve-E

This is a smaller, nimble e-trike with a tilting mechanism so that it makes it feel a bit more like a 2-wheeler. Complete review of this unique e-trike can be found here, written cargo biking mom by Sara Hastings-Simon.

Butchers & Bicycles MK-1E

Another tilting e-trike option. This is the only ‘bike’ this company makes and they do it well. Again, another small and nimble e-trike that can comfortably fit two kids.

Xtracycle RFA Utility

A 24″ wheeled bike for life: you can adapt this bike to be a midtail length cargo bike or shorten up the rear end if at some point in your life you feel like you don’t need as long a deck anymore. While this isn’t an “on-the-fly” change, requiring some bolt adjustments and altering the chain length, it means that for those who think they will only use a cargo bike for a few years of kid-hauling, that you could also have a ‘regular’ bike for commuting or grocery hauling, if you like, a few years down the road.

The wheel size is a bit more sturdy and steady than a 20″er, but still a lower centre-of-gravity for your wiggly cargo than a 26″er. The greater circumference of the 24″ (over 20″) also helps to smooth out the bumps in the road. This bike comes in three sizes, but the frame is actually all the same, so don’t worry if you and your partner are in between sizes; just find the right seat post and stem that work for you both and you’ll be set.

Another winning feature of this bike is that it’s built by Xtracycle, the pioneers of the longtail and they’ve been in the kid-hauling game for a long time so there are accessories galore to choose from and they have a proven track record of quality. I also love their solid frame-attached front rack — it’s not on the fork so doesn’t affect handling nearly as much and is quite strong so you can jam all the things you need in there, easily accessibly.

Xtracycle eSwoop

What’s not to like about the eSwoop? It has a nice 26″ wheel up front but a low centre of gravity in the rear with its industry-busting innovative 20″ wheel. Everything that the early Edgerunner’s rocked but with e-assist and a beautiful stepthrough frame, plus the option to add their signature frame-mounted Porteur front rack.

Super stable kickstand. All the kid accessories (and the Xtracycle cushions are the only ones worth buying, FYI, for whatever mid- or longtail you get).

This bike has it all. If you want an Xtracycle that can fit on a bus bike rack, check out the RFA.

Yuba Mundo or Spicy Curry

Yuba’s classic longtail, the Mundo, has been available in electric for awhile now.

Following suite from Xtracycle dropping their rear wheel size, Yuba also produced the Spicy Curry, an electrified version of that set-up (that is now available acoustic, too).

Yuba is another great family-friendly company whose focus has long been on kid-hauling so there are lots of accessories available including the first made-for-specifically weather bubble for a mid/longtail bike, the “Pop Top Canopy”.

Tern HSD

The newly launched HSD is a fabulous midtail option for families with one kid or those who don’t want two larger cargo bikes but would like something with a bit of hauling capacity as a backup or second bike when out as a family.

You can fit one kid on the rear rack (up to 132 pounds) and it’s far enough back that they’re face isn’t in your butt crack! It’s also available with a belt drive, if you prefer (an awesome feature for low maintenance in winter).

I’m honestly not sold on the smaller 20″ for a year-round (i.e. snowy winter city) commuting with kids and prefer the stability that the larger front wheel affords. But — and I really means this — I could totally see this bike fitting into our family as a personal use bike that gives us the ability to pull a trailer with e-assist and/or throw one kid on the rear rack, plus being able to haul much of what we need when doing errands. I always thought I’d get a Brompton once I could afford one, but now I’d consider the HSD.

Riese & Müller Multicharger (Mixte)

There is a non-stepthrough version available, too, (just the “Multicharger”), but when hauling wiggly cargo (and being only 5’4″, myself, and having owned cargo bikes with no stepthrough), I always recommend stepthrough, if possible.

Acquaintances in Edmonton, Alberta, have this bike and have been using it year-round there. They highly recommend it. It is quite a magnificent bike. Enough said!

Surly Big Easy

There are two great and thorough reviews out there already about this bike so I don’t need to wax poetic:

• Surly Big Easy Review by Bike Shop Girl (Arleigh Greenwald)
• The Radavist’s Surly Big Easy Review by Found in the Mountains (Morgan & Stephanie Taylor)

While Surly has been dabbling in kid-hauling since their Big Dummy and then the Big Fat Dummy, and this model looks great for those needing a machine that doubles duty in town and on adventure, there still seem to be some kinks to work out (i.e. the kickstand) which, ironically, is a weak point on more than one cargo bike here (so watch out for that on this bike and others, or… just get yourself a Rolling Jackass Kickstand and call it a day).

Box bike vs. Longtail?

Still trying to decide which style of cargo bike is best for your family? Check out this comparison article, including a table looking at the pros and cons of each.

Add-on kits

Perhaps you already have a cargo bike that you love but are finding that you need a bit more oomph to make the bike a more appealing option or use it for longer distances. Add-on kits are great from the DIY crowd, or if you have a local bike shop that will install it for you, or a handy friend.

If you want to go the way of DIY add-on kits then you will likely be dealing with Grin Technologies, Luna Cycles, or Amazon.

The following is by no means extensive, perhaps I will add to it over time, but for now here is a brief overview of add-on kits for the DIYer:

Mid-drive

This is the style of assist where the e-assist adds power to the crank/pedals region of the bike. In the middle, hence mid-drive and it is where the market is going: mid-drive is the future of e-assist. This is the style that almost (if not all) pre-fab e-cargo bikes have moved to using either the Bosch, Shimano, or Yamaha systems.

Here are some available add-on examples:

Stokemonkey

No longer available new, this beast of an assist was developed for the hills of San Franscisco and later Seattle. In the last year, the current owners of the technology — Grin Technologies — have decided to no longer sell the Stokemonkey with so many other options out there these days, but they are still supporting this robust system.

This is what I use on my Cetma bakfiets.

Bafang

You can sift through cargo bike groups and find instructions and advice about adding one of the Bafang kits to your cargo bike.

Hub assists

While still popular in Europe (mostly because that was the main technology that came out first and they’re having trouble of letting go and moving past what they’re used to…), hub based motors are more-or-less being phased out in North America except as some add-on kits that are still available (although they require a wheel rebuild to install).

Front-drive assist

Where the power helps to turn the front hub. Seen on some older e-cargo bikes but not in newer ones.

Rear-drive assist

Where the power helps to turn the rear hub. You can tell it’s a rear-drive assist by the big disc shaped hub.

Bionx

You will likely still see some Bionx e-assist systems around as they were quite popular for awhile. Unfortunately, this Québec-based company was bought out by a car company and the future of the system is unknown at this time.

Copenhagen wheel

Another example of an aftermarket rear-drive assist, but I have yet to see it used in a cargo bike application. Here’s one review.