Cargo bikes are not a new invention. They’ve been around for 150-odd years, drifting in and out of fashion as technology and society has changed. At first, they were crude machines that could barely compete with a horse; by the time they had modernised in the 20th century, our collective attention had turned to the automobile.
The cargo bike remained relevant for what we’d now call “last-mile” delivery, without ever really reaching the mainstream. But now, as we rapidly disentangle ourselves from generations of car-centric planning, are they becoming centre stage once more?
The answer is a firm “yes”, for two reasons. The first is that we are approaching our last chance to decarbonise road transport, and while electric vehicles have many advantages over petrol and diesel cars, they remain inadequate if we are to seriously reduce emissions.
Secondly, the cargo bikes of yesteryear have been significantly upgraded with the addition of electric pedal assist. Modern ones are now almost always e-cargo bikes, which means they’re a great deal easier to use.
This has helped fuel their uptake in conventionally cycling-friendly nations like the Netherlands and Denmark, where parents have pedalled their children around – manually and with electric boost – for decades.
With their soaring popularity among families, I’m curious as to whether helmets are as much of a necessity for cargo bikers. “Child passengers being transported in cargo bikes are no less vulnerable than children cycling on their own bikes,” says Luke Griggs, CEO of brain injury charity Headway. Note taken.
Copenhagen has around 40,000 cargo bikes in daily use, while there are 15,000 in Amsterdam, with both numbers rising steadily. UK-wide, there are thousands in operation, with sales similarly increasing – about 10,000 were sold in 2022 – but we still have a long way to go before urban centres such as London have as many cargo bikes as other European cities.
London turns to cargo bikes
Transport for London (TfL) has launched an initiative to replace at least some of the city’s endless stream of white vans with cargo bikes. TfL estimates they could replace up to 17 per cent of van kilometres by 2030, something that has already started to happen. Huge logistics firms like DPD are beginning to use cargo bikes in central town, while smaller one-man-band outfits already understand the benefits of low-cost, low-emission mobility.
“I’ve been using a cargo bike for six, seven years now,” says Rob Darbyshire, a plumber and owner of Drain Geeks. “It’s not new to me.”
Rob has used cargo bikes for 98 per cent of his business journeys, capitalising on the low running costs, ease of use on congested streets, and the fact you can park it anywhere. For a small business like Rob’s, it’s the perfect way to reduce both emissions and overheads. He describes himself as happier and more profitable.
“When I was a plumber in Mayfair, I’d literally be able to park outside the front door,” he says. “No one could stop me. It’s like a cheat code for central London”.
The road test
Putting my own helmet on and looking at my new vehicle, for the week, the Raleigh Stride 2, I’m struck by its sheer size. At 2.6m it’s about the same length as a Smart Car and at 60kg it’s daunting to lift, as I found when I helped the delivery driver unload the van.
The e-cargo bike is a strikingly utilitarian machine, with a large black barrow at the front, and a marigold yellow step-through frame. The generous saddle and Dutch-style handlebars are ideal for a taller rider and while the bike has slightly goofy dimensions, I don’t think it’s unattractive.
Using the bike is pretty straightforward. A lock on the rear wheel can be disengaged using a key, and you can immediately ride the bike with no pedal assist. You wouldn’t want to do this for long, though – at around 60kg it’s simply too heavy to ride any distance without the battery giving you a boost.
While you can still buy old-fashioned one with no electric drive system, almost all cargo bikes available today are e-cargo bikes. To engage the Bosch electric motor, there’s a small control unit on the left handlebar, which has settings from “eco” to “turbo” determining how much extra help you get from the bike.
Used in conjunction with the bicycle gears on the right-hand handlebar, this is an effective solution to pretty much any terrain. I’ve cycled the bike fully laden up a challenging hill without breaking a sweat. I’ve also switched the electric power to “off” on flat ground to preserve the bike’s 500Wh battery, which is removable so you can charge it indoors.
The bucket juts out in front of the rider, with space for two very small children or one adult. The latter isn’t really what this bike is designed for, but the fact that my girlfriend could fit in the “front seat” for local trips is testament to the versatility of these contraptions.
The cargo capacity is 80kg and in terms of volume, it probably matches the boot of a small car; you can fit a large weekly shop in the front of the Stride 2, albeit with no passengers. And if that’s not enough space then there is a small luggage rack above the rear wheel, ready for official accessories (or simply a plastic crate secured with bungee cords).
The battery charges up in a couple of hours, and will last you more than a day’s worth of normal cycling on the “eco” and “tour” modes, but might run out in an hour or so on the faster settings. I found myself ramping up the pedal assist on larger hills, and switching it off entirely from time to time.
This is just one of many models of cargo bike available. This format, with a long load area in front of the handlebars, is called a bucket or “long john” cargo bike. Cargo tricycles have a similar shape, albeit with two wheels at the front, one on each side of the load space.
“Long tails” have their cargo or passenger space at the rear, and are often designed for children to sit astride a padded bench on top of the rear mudguard. There are myriad other options, including large four-wheeled models that resemble small vans, often used in last-mile delivery settings. All are available as e-bikes, with a battery and pedal-assist.
The archetypal urban runabout
Cargo bikes are not appropriate vehicles for 50-mile round-trips, nor for commuting on dual carriageways, nor for people who – for whatever reason – are unable to ride bikes.
But for me and a growing number of adoptees, they’re a near-perfect solution to a wide range of problems. Owning a car in town is increasingly difficult and expensive, because of parking and emission fees, along with an increasingly expansive network of low-traffic neighbourhoods. Cargo bikes are immune from all of the above, enabling me to nip around town without having to worry about the dreaded “planters” and no-through roads.
As a result of this, it works out almost as fast as my motorbike for some journeys, not including the added advantage of just being able to unlock it and ride away without the faff of donning motorbike gear.
A great solution with some clear downsides
This is an expensive bike. At about £3,500, Raleigh’s Stride 2 costs more than I’ve ever spent on a bicycle, and about as much as I’d expect to spend on a tatty car. But compared with the cost of running a car – insurance, fuel, fees and fines, and maintenance – the ongoing expenditure on an electric cargo bike is practically nil.
The real elephant in the room is storage. Like most e-bikes, the Stride 2 is too big and heavy to carry upstairs or park in the hallway. Leaving it outside is a constant worry and while the Dutch-style lock on the back wheel will prevent it from being pushed away easily, it wouldn’t be difficult to nick. This is, and remains, one of the key deterrents to e-bike uptake for people without garages.
Ultimately, though, the Raleigh Stride 2 – and the dozens of other cargo bike models that do very similar jobs – are likely to become a much bigger part of London’s roads, and indeed culture.
This feels like a logical next step for a changing world. If you’re a family looking for a practical low-cost “runabout”, a small business, or are just a bloke who lives alone and could do with a bigger bike for local errands, take one for a test drive. It’s only a matter of time before these machines become the norm.
