Electric bikes aren’t cheap and those designed for carrying passengers or cargo are among the most expensive. For many people an e-cargo bike is however perfectly viable for all the local trips and errands that might otherwise necessitate a family investment in a second car. These days, you can get one for under £3,000 and you’ll find the running costs are next to nothing.
Most electric cargo bikes come in two basic designs: front or rear loading. Front loaders – also known as box bikes or Long Johns – are the type that most likely springs to mind when you think of a cargo bike. They have a front wheel that’s moved forward, with a low-slung box between it and the rider. These types of e-bikes tend to be rather more expensive.
Which, for the purposes of this article, leaves us with longtails where the cargo is carried on an extended rear rack (sometimes supplemented with a small front rack).
While not as obviously capacious as a front loader, a longtail can still take plenty of cargo in panniers or you can strap stuff to the rack. With many of them, you can also carry up to two children, once they are able to sit in a child seat, or one adult. Passengers will be positioned behind you though, which is why many people prefer front loaders for smaller children. (Take a look at our guide to the best electric cargo bikes if you’d like a few recommendations along these lines.)
Before we take a look at some options, it’s worth stating that, with one exception, all of the e-cargo bikes mentioned below have been tested by us. Here’s a bit more information on how we review e-bikes.
The cheapest longtail e-cargo bike we’ve tested is the…
Engwe LE20 – £1,499
Terrible name, solid bike, incredible price. Obviously, it’s not flawless. The LE20 is REALLY heavy and the gears are a bit basic, but it’s got a decent enough mid-motor and a positively humungous 922Wh battery. (Mid-drive motors are generally favoured on electric cargo bikes as they apply power more effectively at lower speeds, such as when you’re going uphill or when you’re first getting moving.)
That battery means you’ll get serious mileage from this bike, but set against that it does take a fair old while to recharge. (The fast charger will cost you another £152.)
The biggest downside of the LE20 is however the accessories. Engwe don’t offer many and at the time of writing, most of those that they do offer are sold out. The standard build has padded seats on the rear rack, but no footrests and no rail to hold onto, while the passenger build is currently unavailable. If you’re only looking to carry stuff, Engwe’s panniers cost £89 or there’s a rear rack basket for £95 and the front rack costs £79.
Read our review of the Engwe LE20
Decathlon B’Twin R500E Longtail – £2,799
Buy the R500E Longtail for £2,299 from Decathlon
There’s a bit of confusion with the name on this one. It was an Elops when we first heard about it, but it’s not in that section of Decathlon’s website and it has B’Twin written on the frame. It doesn’t really matter though. The long(tail) and short of it is that it’s the sports giant’s own brand cargo bike.
The pricing of the R500E has been all over the place. It was launched in the UK at £3,499 – a good thousand pounds more than it cost on the continent – but the RRP has since dropped to £2,799 and it’s currently discounted to £2,299. Strikingly, that includes plenty of bits you’d ordinarily expect to pay extra for, such as rear footboards; a width-adjustable support bar for children or other loads; and a frame-mounted front basket. The standard saddle has a built-in handle too, which is a useful touch for both rear passengers and hefting it about. (It weighs 41kg.)
We have two notes of caution, however. Firstly, it’s powered by a hub motor. While this offers 58Nm of torque and is paired with a 672Wh battery for decent range, it does mean the bike probably isn’t too adept at hauling heavy loads up steep hills. Secondly – and related to that – we can’t state that with complete confidence because we haven’t actually had our hands on this one.
> Hub motor v mid motor? What’s the difference?
Estarli E-Cargo Longtail
Estarli’s entry into the longtail e-cargo category is impressive. While it only scrapes under our £3,000 threshold with a 630Wh battery rather than the recommended 720Wh one, it comes with a powerful Ananda mid-drive motor that really impressed us and a two-year warranty on all components – motor and battery included.
The bike offers a 250kg carrying capacity and a front rack as standard, but additional accessories will cost you extra. There’s a good range available though, taking in the usual child seats, bench seats and baskets, as well as a host of bags and panniers, including a ‘cocoon’ that protects kids from the elements while simultaneously turning the whole of the rear of the bike into a great big cargo bucket.
Read our review of the Estarli E-Cargo Longtail
Tern Quick Haul – £2,700 to £3,100
Buy the Tern Quick Haul P9 for £2,999 from E-Bikes Direct
Pushing up beyond the self-imposed £3k limit of this article is Tern’s cheapest cargo bike, the Quick Haul. Sure, you can get the D8 version for £2,700 (allowing us to include it) but we’d strongly favour the more expensive P9 as it has a Bosch Performance Line mid-motor, rather than the sometimes underwhelming Active Line Plus.
The Quick Haul has a few compromises when compared to its stablemate, the GSD – but that’s to be expected given the GSD is 50 per cent more expensive. The Quick Haul is a bit smaller and you can’t carry an adult on the back, but it can accommodate a child in a seat, or a bigger kid using one of the other rear-rack-mounted options
The bike can cope with 150kg in total and the Atlas Q rear rack can handle 50kg. You can also fit Tern’s Hauler or Transporteur rack up front for another 20kg of capacity.
Tern’s wide range of accessories is in fact one of the main selling points here. Take your pick from a storm box, a captain’s chair, a seatbelt, a glovebox and any number of racks and bags. There’s even a Dog Roof so that your little mate can pop his head out of the Dog House. All of these add-ons will obviously increase the cost, however.
Read our review of the Tern Quick Haul P9
Pricier options
You can, of course, spend more on an e-cargo bit. A lot more, in fact. More than twice as much, if you’re so inclined.
To get some sense of what you could get if you spent a bit more, take a look at our guide to the best e-cargo bikes.
