A very clever balance has been struck with the EcoBike Cargo electric bike. It has the capabilities to shift loads weighing up to 55kg while retaining a nippy and easy to ride nature. At first glance it looked to me to be bulky and like it was going to be a challenge to ride through traffic and tight spaces, but whether loaded or running empty, it handles surprisingly well and with 130Nm of torque you’ll not be opting for the flat route.
The bike
At the centre of the EcoBike Cargo you’ll find a hydroformed aluminium alloy frame and rigid fork fitted out with both front and rear racks.
It’s a one size fits all kind of an affair, but with plenty of seatpost to extend and a fully adjustable stem setup, you should be able to make yourself comfortable – especially as the front end allows you tweak those stack and reach measurements.
The bit we’re interested in though is that motor, the Ananda, and those headline grabbing output numbers. EcoBike claim a whopping 130Nm of torque and a maximal power of 780W!
It’s a good one: very responsive to your pedal inputs and when paired to the twin batteries, range anxiety isn’t really going to be a thing – especially if you use the multiple mode levels to control power output and therefore maximise battery life. The batteries give a combined capacity of 1,268Wh with a full recharge time of around about 7hrs.
They can be run independently too, and if you do run them together, the motor takes juice from both of them, rather than running one flat before using the other.
EcoBike claim a range of 90 to 110 miles, and I’d say that is very realistic, and easily achievable when using the lower modes.
You do get some gears, should you need them, a single chainring teaming with an 11-36T cassette. The rear mech and gear shifter are supplied by Microshift and work well enough. A chain tensioner stops any flap when riding on poor surfaces.
Thankfully EcoBike have specced hydraulic disc brakes, which you definitely need on a bike that could easily weigh 85kg when loaded, plus your own weight.
From a wheelset point of view, we’ve got a reverse mullet situation going on with a larger 24in wheel at the front and a 20in on the rear.
Overall, for the money it’s a well specced bike and it feels solid throughout. Definitely reliable and durable for the frameset and components, and after a couple of wet rides I’d have no concerns about using the Cargo through the winter months.
The ride
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I was expecting the Cargo to come with some quirks to the handling considering that long, drawn out wheelbase and heavy, chunky look to the frame.
It is the complete opposite though. The wheelbase brings stability, but the front end feels impressively nimble with balanced steering characteristics which meant even when descending at over 30mph it felt really confident and relaxing to ride.
The bulk of my riding on the Cargo was in the city of Bath and if you know the area, you’ll be familiar with how narrow the roads are for the volume of traffic. Carving your way through it during the middle of the day requires a nippy bike with quick steering and good brakes allowing you to aim for gaps in the start-stop traffic.
That’s something the Cargo did well down to the fact that it’s quite narrow compared to some cargo bikes and the precise handling allows you to aim and shoot this thing into a gap.
Even with the included mudguards you don’t need to worry about toe overlap, so you can turn tightly without fear of catching the end of your shoes.
Things don’t change when the bike is fully loaded either, it behaves in much the same way as when it’s empty, especially at the front end which is a welcome trait on a bike like this.
The Ananda motor responds instantly to your pressure on the pedals which is also a bonus around town. Some bikes I’ve ridden can be quite laggy in this respect and you may end up with a half-second delay from you pushing the pedals to the assistance kicking in – not something you want when you are trying to shift something this heavy off of the line when surrounded by cars, buses and lorries.
The quickness of the motor kicking in means that you can get that quick pull away from the lights or at a roundabout, and while the motor is restricted to 250W to make it UK legal it does go over that for a short amount of time. With 780W on tap and all of that torque, there isn’t much that is going to get away from the line quicker than you are.
Considering the amount of torque and power on offer, the frame feels impressively stiff, helped by that massive down tube (is it still a down tube when there is no top tube?) which houses one of the batteries. There is also an extra section of aluminium used to bridge the gap between the down and seat tubes for extra strength, while the welding can definitely be described as industrial.
In terms of power delivery, you’ll find a large array of modes accessed via the smart looking head unit. There are three power bands accessible via the settings with Eco at the bottom and Power at the top.
Each of the three bands then has six power settings that you can cycle through using the +/- buttons on the handlebar. Zero gives you no assistance, level one caps the power at around 125W, level two goes to 250W etc.
In the Eco mode the power output is the most restricted, while the higher bands theoretically allow more grunt. However, the changes between them are minimal with the bike set up to meet UK legal requirements as the caps on all but the lowest levels of Eco mode are in fact the same.
The speed and power may be capped but with the huge amount of torque on offer the Cargo holds the 15.5mph (25km/h) limit with ease even on the steep hills around Bath. Even loaded up with plenty of kit it maintained pace without much pedal input. It’s the same when pulling away from a standing start. It’s definitely not a bike that is going to wear you out on a journey of a start/stop nature.
Comfort levels are good as well. The Selle Royal Freeway saddle is quite soft, but I found it supportive enough and didn’t cause me any numbness issues on longer stints – which is important as this isn’t a bike that you are going to be standing up on much.
Kit performance
From a kit point of view, I was a fan of the Schwalbe Big Ben Plus tyres as they rolled well, seem durable and offer good levels of grip.
They are wide enough too so that you can ride on rough terrain or broken roads in comfort.
I’m glad EcoBike haven’t got for a suspension fork, as it doesn’t need one. The tyres do a great job of soaking up the bumps while the rigid fork benefits the handling. You also get some flex in the stem too which helps wrist comfort.
As I’ve mentioned, the load capacity for the racks is 55kg with the rear capable of carrying 40kg of that. The racks are sturdy with no sway when loaded and the rear is a good length which allows you to carry things of all shapes and sizes.
It’s good to see the Cargo comes with plenty of accessories included like full mudguards, front and rear lights and a stand.
The guards are a good length which keeps the majority of road spray away from your feet, helped by the mudflap added to the bottom. They aren’t completely rattle-free, but they are sturdy enough for canal and gravel track riding.
The lights are decent and run off the batteries, so you don’t need to worry about them being independently charged. The rear light is a solid-state option only, so I would like to see some kind of flashing mode incorporated there, and possibly a brake light function which is always helpful when riding in busy urban traffic.
The front light is bright enough to ride with on dark roads, offering a wide flat beam for speeds up to around that 15.5mph cut-off. If you are going to be riding quicker on darker roads though I’d definitely add something else to the handlebar for a bit more illumination.
The other issue is that the front light is attached to the rack, which is in turn fitted to the head tube. This means when you turn the front wheel the headlight continues to point straight on – a bit sketchy when you are cornering on a dark road at decent speed.
When walking the bike, you also get a thumb operated throttle which is limited to 3mph. It’s a big help when moving the bike around, although even though it is 30kg in weight, the Cargo isn’t that much of a handful to manoeuvre.
Pricing and value
The EcoBike Cargo has now been permanently reduced to £2,899 which comes in a bit cheaper than the Mycle Cargo which Richard was impressed with when he reviewed it back in 2022 – although he did say that the power delivery from the rear hub motor was a bit abrupt.
Since our review, its price has jumped to £2,499 for the single battery option or £2,999 for the dual, and things like a front rack are an £80 extra. The dual battery set up will deliver 120km/75m of range – so less than the EcoBike’s – but the Mycle does have a far more impressive rear loading capacity of 125kg.
When it comes to cargo bikes Tern are highly respected by us here at ebiketips and the Bosch-powered Tern HSD is of a similar size to the EcoBike Cargo. Prices are higher though with the range-starting P10 costing £4,100 with only a 545Wh battery.
Like the Mycle though, the Tern has a much higher load capacity than the EcoBike for its rear rack, which is capable of carrying 80kg.
The most obvious competitor is however the Estarli eCargo, which is fractionally more expensive at £2,995. This too is built around an Ananda mid-motor and while the 800Wh battery won’t offer quite the same range, it is still pretty sizeable. The rear rack is also rated to carry up to 90kg. Estarli also offer an array of child seats and add-ons – although needless to say these will add to the cost.
Conclusion
Overall, taking everything into account, I think you are getting a capable cargo bike for the money with the EcoBike Cargo. Most important is the fact that it rides very well indeed. I really couldn’t find any compromises here compared to a non-cargo ebike.
You are getting decent kit levels too and the power and torque on tap are very impressive. In fact, all of that torque would be better utilised if only the EcoBike could carry as much weight as its competitors on its rear rack.
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