Hey Seth, I live in a City in northern Germany where I see a lot of these kinds of bikes (in that price range). Riese & Müller Load4, Urban Arrow, CaGo etc. Most of these bikes in Germany (and many other parts of europe) aren’t outright bought but leased through the employer, giving you a small reduction on your wage but in the end the bike costs 30% less and you get a lot of tax incentives as well, because it is kind of like a company car but without the associated costs.
In Kiel and Hamburg in Germany I see a LOT of these sort of bikes, mostly for child transportation but the infrastructure is way ahead compared to USA. Curious when I see one of those tanks here.
@@hansschnier4955 The infrastructure is just a result, not the problem. The problem is the zoning laws, infrastructure design is based on that and not a stand alone part.
I have a friend who married a German and now lives over there. This is absolutely for her. Not that she can afford it, but she does everything by bike.
I agree, the future is now. I work for a specialty cargo Ebike shop in Boston, R&M & Urban Arrows are what we sell the most. I look forward to seeing this stateside.
Very important to note that he exceeded the maximum payload of the bike by 450 pounds for that brake test. It's a testament to the bike that it functioned, let alone didn't snap under the 3x extra weight.
I’m surprised he stopped at all, motorcycles of that weight usually have 2 double piston disc brakes on larger discs in the front with a smaller disc brake in the rear, they also have a wider contact patch
@@nonegone7170 I've riden my Omnium many times for extended rides around bumpy festival grounds and out on the roads with 350kg AUW. The bike is 20kg and has a 100kg weight rating for the rack. I've had the same load many times on my Bullitt too, overbuilt for sure.
Not really, use my GSD R-14 to haul my 30 (about 300# and I weight about 210), gallon sewage tote for my RV up and down hills. I would not want to try the speeds he did, but that was one test not usage. Have only had to have new pads on the calipers. I have no hitch weight to worry about, I admit that does help.
@@davephillips9389 the difference between your example and this is towed weight vs “bed” weight, in the former you distribute that weight mostly on the trailer rather than on the frame of the bike. You can see this difference in pickup trucks, look at what you can tow (what the drive train can handle) vs the weight you can put in the bed (what the suspension, frame, and drivetrain can handle)
Except - no e-bikes allowed on Berm Peak - because Seth is anti-ebike. But he can accept a sweet deal to promote and sell this bike tho. Because he's a complete sell out now.
I moved to Berlin Germany from the US about 10 months ago and I see these things everyday full of kids absolutely stoked to be alive. I also often see BAMF parents ripping through the rain suited up in a parka and the kids chilling in the dry cargobay. It makes me so happy to see this kind of transportation being used instead of cars, especially in dense cities like Berlin. Thanks for showing this kind of bike on your channel
You probably see them in Germany a lot more than you would in the United States just look at every major city Los Angeles Miami Vegas those cities are set up for driving not for you to use a bike like that
I've been riding around in my R&M Load 75 in Atlanta since February. A pricey purchase, but absolutely worth it. My kid loves it. My wife loves it. THE DOGS LOVE IT!!
From NZ, have been riding a front box cargo bike for four years. Didn't own a car for three years. Regulary carried the 2x pre-teen kids on 70km round trips and adult friends around the city. I have put about 8000km on the bike so far. Love it and use it everyday.
That would still be be about 1,4 USD per km if you bought the one in the video. That's about what I'd be paying for a taxi where I live. Don't get me wrong, I love cargo bikes, but the problem with products like this is that it's never going to pay off.
@@shlapdeshre 1. you 'calculate' as if 8k is the end of the line... belt drives are known to go 35k without replacement lol. 2. You can get an Urban Arrow with belt drive for about 6k, you don't have the Automatiq(tm) shifting though. 3. You also 'calculate' as if money is the only factor, or only direct factor. You also safe money by having a beter health and higher standard of living. There are many benefits to riding a bike compared to riding inside a tin can on wheels.
There is a big market for these cargo bikes here in Europe, where they are used instead of a second car. Even where I live in Warsaw/Poland, I see several people riding these with their kids to preschool every morning. And our local councils are not as bicycle friendly as in Denmark, Germany, The Nederlands, etc.
Law of economy, the more expensive it is to do things with a car in comparison the more people will use a bike regardless of environment. I hope there isn't a steep increase in traffic accidents, these bikes aren't very maneuverable and when you mix them with cars I wouldn't want to ride there with my kid ( I'm spoiled, being Dutch and all ).
in big urbanised areas you can also use it instead of your "first car", I live in berlin, haven't owned a car in about a decade, I do groceries with my neighbours cargo bike every 2 weeks and regular groceries just on my regular bike.
@@Roaming50 those are rated far, far above what any human and e bike motor could produce. The only time they will actually tear is if there is damage from excessive wear (usually they last 10.000- 20.000 km). Remember, the same tech (if a bit beefier) is used on belt driven motorcycles
@@Megabear90 I've managed to break the belt in first 400km. I think a small rock got stuck between the teeth of a front chainring and the belt. After a turn of pedals it self ejected. but the damage was already done. The belt start separating into small cords. I had managed to get home. But replacement belt was not easy to find.
No problem. The bottom of the cargo section is all liquid metal. At the push of a button, it'll turn into a T1000 Terminator that will petal the bike up the hill for you.
Hi guys! Guy here from europe. These things are actaully becoming a thing over here, you see them more and more, especially used by smaller businesses, like craftsmen in cities use them to navigate city traffic and still carry their work tools, parcel and food deliverers use them, the other day I saw one with a logo of a local laboratory, that carried some medical gear from a hospital to said laboratory, it just makes sense for all these like under 10km rides all these businesses used to take smaller transporters for. Sure, you see parents transporting their kids as well, but transporting your kids is actually not that much of a thing over here, because it seems to be a lot safer over here, most children still just use public transport or simply cycle on their own, although you also see more and more people... living the "american dream" and drop of their kids at school...^^
40-50k kilometer on urban arrows in the past 8 years here. It's the best thing I ever bought, and I won't get rid of it just because the kids are grown out of it. Groceries, trips to the beach/park/bbq are all now no longer depended on the car and it's a massive win for time and happiness. My 153cm Spanish wife also drives it like a pro.
had a urban arrow for testing for a month. In this time there was a big snowfall, cars where getting stuck for days. The urban arrow worked this extrem days like a champ, it was amazing!
It is just so much fun to take your kids in a cargo bike to the park, beach or ice cream shop. Very handy for taking mates home from the pub who have drunk too much also
Living in southern Germany, you see a lot of cargo bikes - all shapes and sizes. For my family, we don't have a car anymore, we just have 2 ebikes, one child seat and a set of saddlebags - we don't really need much more. The main bonus here is that normal sized ebikes can still fit in a train / ubahn and extend your range immensely - with those larger cargo ones it's not so easy; another issue for my family with the larger cargo bikes: no where to store it, forget the basement - I'm not gonna carry an oversized bicycle that's almost as heavy as I am through narrow stairs every morning and evening and leaving it in the driveway I'm pretty sure it's gonna disappear at some point. But yes, in a future with less cars, better regulations, and actually harsher sentences for bike thieves... those may become the new norm.
"But yes, in a future with less cars, better regulations, and actually harsher sentences for bike thieves... those may become the new norm." This sounds dystopian. No thanks.
@@JellyLancelot Not American. You must be a fool. How else could anyone support being forced to live like a peasant in a dystopian nightmare where the state controls your movements? Rhetorical question.
@@JellyLancelot Not american. You must be obtuse and or gullible to think state intursion into citizens lives by restricting their movment is a good on any level. Back into your shell.
Had my front loader now for almost a year and 3000km on it. Love the bike and experience. Kids love the connection to the nature. Best purchase ever (AU$16k).
14:40 - Hey kids, this is how you warp and crack rotors! Never pour water on them to cool them. It's uneven, so one side will contract while the other expands, causing warping.
@@matijajelic4739 Who knows. Warped rotors can tear up the bearings in the wheel and the steering stem. It can also cause the wheel to shimmy while you're trying to stop / steer. You'd think they'd be less than a motorcycle rotor; but that entirely depends on the availability (if someone bothered to machine them in bulk vs. low volume /on demand). The battery in a $50,000 car can cost $28,000. Small part doesn't mean cheap, even if they know it will wear out!
"Who really wants to pay for that stuff when it's for other peoples safety?" is such a big car/SUV driver mindset. Your points earlier about how it feels like a semi on the green way only illustrate how important these safety considerations are. I am very happy they have spent the money on it and I'm sure future models, bicycle design and public safety will benefit from this.
I did a double-take when Seth said that, going "thinking that way is really just the norm in the states, huh" like what do you mean "no-one wants to go out of their way to keep people other than themselves safe"? How about literally everyone who is not a sociopath? I'm happy there's an ocean between me and society where that is the prevailing way to look at things.
@@MentalEdge Can confirm, most folks in the States would rather buy a vehicle that keeps *them* safe even if it's at the detriment of others. I know people who have bought SUV's or trucks because they think they're "safer"
I live in a German bike centered city. You can bet your a** that this bike is successful here. Everyone basically uses the "shitty" version of this already, plus in germany you can get a bike from your employer, and the state pays some money into it. Im looking to finance a 13k€ Bianchi roadbike through this, and will pay 170€a month, save 3000€ of the total cost and get the bike to my name no problem. Imagine a young family. Safety is probably one of the only issues tilting them towards getting a secondary car. And now its not only much cheaper, can use all sorts of car limited roads, making it faster in traffic, it is also safe, compfy and somewhat proffessional looking. In Europe, this isnt a bike for the future, its a bike for the present, yall need to start catching up.
@@morfeyrun Well, if I want to commute in the 10k E bike or the 10k Roadbike, the state really doesnt care. Its more expensive and difficult to surveil the peoples usage of the bike, than potential money the state could save. Also, this type of loan does not specify exactly how much you need to use your bike. Since we have laws that allow people to get a 50-100k car for free from their employers (tax free and with financial aid from the state) this programme is only fair and a step towards a greener future. Again, 99% of people finace an E bike they use to actually commute.
As someone that lived in Germany for 3 years and seen the amazing bike paths and greenways, it comes down to the States infrastructure. We don't have the bike safe roads and greenways like in Europe for bike travel. In the states bikes are seen as a recreational vehicle more than a transport vehicle.
@@morfeyrun cars by the company for employees (which they use for work and private) or company-owners are subsidised in many ways for decades. Bikes are only catching up in this regard.
I own an nonelectric Yuba Supercargo bike which I paid $2,500 in near new condition. Since my children are adults, it was never my intention to haul kids. In fact, I removed the kid seats on day one of my ownership. I do use this bike to haul my three lap dogs around South Lake Tahoe and they love going for rides. I do use it to grocery shop, or haul beach chairs, umbrella and picnic food from my home on the state streets (in South Lake Tahoe) to Camp Richardson. I love this bike more than my hardtail and full suspension mountain bikes. The best part is when I go to the beach, there is about a mile of cars trying to get to the beach as I whisk by directly to the beach on the bike path. I highly recommend having this type of front cargo bike. They are squirrelly to ride and a lot of fun.
I just want to say as a fellow buncombe county resident and Asheville native, thank you man for your help with the recent hurricane flooding. Shows outstanding character sir. and im glad you and yours are safe as well!
I have rented a similar Cargo Bike before in a big German City. They are very popular with university students at those rentals. If you don't own a car but want to buy something heavy like from Ikea or the Hardware Store, you can save money by renting a cargo bike instead of renting a car. And taking your friends inside the box is very fun while cruising around in pedestrian zone.
@@anubizz3 Sure, sometimes it is! And renting cars isn't that expensive. But lots of German uni students don't even have a driving license, and the parking situation in cities is bad (they are great to live in otherwise!) So if you're moving, yeah, you get a friend with a van. But for getting a mattress, some furniture, or some plants from Ikea? Those things are actually easier lol. It seems counter-intuitive from a US perspective (I lived there for a while), it's just not something you'd want to do. But here it's quite comfy. Last 3 times I was at Ikea or the hardware store it was with my regular ebike. I've also been there with a car, and it takes exactly the same amount of time to get there in city traffic.
When you said you were going to ride down that hill, all I could think was "Yeah, but you're not riding it back up that hill." lol. The brakes getting hot enough to sizzle when you poured water on them was slightly unexpected. But those disks definitely aren't big enough or thick enough to handle that kind of load without getting hot. I just didn't expect sizzling heat. Entertaining video though, thanks for that. My favorite part was when you realized it was a bad idea and then you realized there was nothing you could do about that so you kinda calmed down and focused a little more I guess on maintaining as little control as you were able to exert on it. Well done on that split second shift from panic to control. That shows your experience quite well. I think I'll be watching some more of your videos in the future.
Here in the Netherlands this type of bike is really common and there are many bike producers that have a variant of this model. Especially in big cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam there are a lot of families that own one of those, next to a regular vehicle, because in the city centers the parking space availability is low and the prices to park your vehicle are really high. The prices of this types of bikes vary from €4000 to about €9000 but if you get one without the electrical assist there are pretty decent brands that offer them from around €1200.
@@faustinpippin9208 We don't want to be like fat Americans? Also, the reason we DO is because we CAN. Our schools are within cycling distance of where people live. Our shops are within cycling distance of where people live. Go watch NotJustBikes, try to think for a moment, then come back to this comment.
@@faustinpippin9208 "because in the city centers the parking space availability is low and the prices to park your vehicle are really high" do you understand what you read?
@@george99247 That's not his point. His comparison serves to illustrate the same aspect that people compare when they show motorcycle vs. road bike prices.
living in Europe I see bikes like this all the time. Every time I go to Munich I see plenty of cargo bikes like this. If I lived in the city and not the country side I would have this as the second car for the family. Right now where I live it’s more practical to have a ebike each for my wife and I along with a kid trailer we can use in either bike. If I didn’t have to carry the bikes on the car regularly a cargo bike like this would be more efficient.
Yep. Euro based and actually used one of these for my work instead of a car. They are super common and was surprised to hear his take and surprise. Its just another cargo bike.
Didn't know Ergon owns Ca Go. Love their stuff and this bike looks like a great car replacement. You're looking at the equivalent of hatchbacks in the mid 70s. Gamechanger.
Never been so grateful for a review like this. It’s pricey for sure but if you truly want that less waste life, this is the best errand commute vehicle
We live in Kelowna, BC and use our Urban Arrow as our second car 11+ months per year. The only reason we actually have a second car is to haul my MTB to the more distant trailheads. We do get a ton of funny looks from people riding around, either with the two boys or sometimes my wife in the front bucket, but the looks are mostly mirroring our smiles because it’s such a fun way to get around. I’m always amazed that my 110lb cargo bike has a carrying capacity of 550lbs (half in the bucket, half in the cockpit and on the rear rack) whilst my 4,500lb minivan has a payload of merely double the cargo bike at 1,100lbs. The bucket bike style confers incredible mechanical advantage over the load to the rider and gives a smaller person the ability to carry and manage the heavy load. I highly recommend checking one out if you have the space to store it and want to try a slightly different approach to urban mobility.
In the Netherlands these kind of bikes have almost taken over our bike lanes. Sometimes to the point that it's annoing. They are great fun though. If the infrastructure is there, they absolutely work.
Hey, I'm one of perhaps three people riding a bakfiets in my city (Brno, Czechia, ~400k people). Whenever two of us happen to meet, we honk our bells and wave. Nevertheless, the bike totally works well, I ride it with two kids everyday. Better infra would be fine, but the cargo bikes are so rare the cars avoid us and give us a lot of space (sans a handful of idiots). I occasionally go to Utrecht, Netherlands. It takes a minute for 10 such bikes to pass by. I literally feel like the Little Prince, when he discovered other roses exist, and are, in fact, plentiful. Love the Netherlands tho!
@@kellymoses8566 iv got two so I know how wide they are , in traffic a bike is as only wide as the handlebars the cargo frame is only 520mm wide which is the same as my drop bars on my road bike most flat bar and relaxed bikes have 600mm + bars so I stand by my original statement when in traffic the bike is no wider than a normal bike . You sound lick someone that doesn’t own one and is clueless !
Except for the comments at the end totally dismissing them, and saying maybe its for the future. Like what??? Cargo bikes have been around for more than 200 years.
I rode exactly this bike with my daughter during the Munich EBike Days. It was really a great ride, very smooth and very good handling on uphills and downhills (up and down to Olympiaberg).
Honestly I find the value proposition for a 10k cargo bike with so much engineering and safety features way more appealing than the usual (plus) 10k e-MTB! Going downhill 35% grade with a totally overloaded cargo bike is just mental!! Only 2 pistons Maguras at the front!! "I know how to bail" but just wearing a halfshell no pads and going down like 30mph on it with brakes fading!! How to bail at that speed?!? Crazy Stunt!! 😅
I've ridden with the same magura brakes on my omnium and bullitt with 4 adults on the bike, total 350kg AUW, so very similar, plus on dirt and down similar hills. Theres zero issues with those brakes, the 'stunt' in this video is all for show. Its a great setup and can handle the hill.
i thought the same :D i guess at some point he had got a feel for how hard it was and just decided he could control it and decided to go "full send mode" 😄
Seth, you look incredibly happy riding that bike. It's crazy how far you've come from hucking road ditches on the mission pro to cruising paths with your kids. Glad to have seen it all.
I am a huge fan of the front loader cargo bike. I have built 2 from scratch and the second one is a living experiment which changes every winter after a summer of riding. As a European living outside Seattle, I agree that the US isn’t ready to adopt this style of bike yet. I live in a rural hippy town and the locals enjoy the idea, but everyone is still to set on driving and the infrastructure isn’t there yet. The future is bright though.
In the Philippines we have this side car bike that looks like our tricycles but on bike scale, its called "pot pot" or "put put", its cheaper, its been around for more than a decade, it can go anywhere even in deep floods, and it can carry everything, not to mention the fact that its produced en masse means there's plenty of parts available and they are all cheap and you can customize it to your liking, the people who made the ca go should take notes, rather than re invent the wheel and waste a lot of money, if they wanted a cargo and passenger bike they need not to look further from the South East Asia where these safe and fun beasts roam on the streets providing transportation service in more tighter areas for like a quarter. I own one myself and it is a proper bike for use within my subdivision and I use it often to ride to the gym with all my necessities and even pick up groceries and my brothers from school with it, I used to drive a car but I found more leisure with the humble put put.
I love how unfamiliar you are with European market :) Those bikes are all suburban moms in Europe ever wanted. School runs in my neighbourhood are very short, traffic is extremely congested. Those things are faster than cars around town. Don’t worry, it’s not to early, we love them and we’ll keep on buying. The market will be growing steadily.
We have a disabled child that’s nine years old and this would be an amazing bike. There’s definitely a used case for this for us. We have a Burley trailer, but she is outgrown it so this would be a great idea. by the way, I love that you transported it in a electric lightning pick up truck.
Not sure if you're looking for replacement trailer, but I've been hauling my 17-year-old special needs daughter around in a Wike trailer. We've got the trailer that can go up to 125lbs, but they've got another one that can go up to 150lbs.
@@clawsoon that’s awesome. You mentioned that. I was just on their website last week looking at it. Would love to get your input on how that trailer performs.
Depending on the abilities of your passenger the front box offers better outlook. There are other combinations if your child wants to participate in pedaling, like rear-steered tandems, 3wheeled tandems with backrest etc.......
Ebikes are awesome and ecargo bikes are incredible. It can be hard for people who only view their bikes as toys to understand why e-bikes are so popular. If you only view your bicycle as a fitness device that can only be used one very specific way, then it hard to imagine people using bikes for transportation. You don’t buy an ebike to replace your road bike or mountain bike. You buy an ebike to replace your car
Have had a Urban Arrow cargo bike which looks very similar (but less tech) for over 7 years now. For 5 years it was our second car replacement. Used a infant car seat adapter for our second kid, added a second bench to care up to 4 kids. It‘s amazing.
I absolutely love the concept as well as the final product. $10k is hard to justify knowing you can get a used car for fraction of that but on the other hand, your kid will think fondly about being driven in such tandem instead of 2005 Corolla, this will be its core memory, no matter the age
Rippin around just north of SLC on a R&M Load60 the past 2 years! It was my primary means of transportation Oct '22 - Nov '23. Handles 12+ inches of snow just fine. I hope that's your bike and not just a loaner, they're a good time!
"It's [the Ca Go bike] is really hard to move around if you're not riding it." So, are cars if you're not driving them. I don't think I could lift my car into the back of a pickup truck on my own even if it did fit. 🤣
@@ZesPak Actually, 1kg of steel with an average density of 7.85 g/cm^3 will weigh roughly 999.84 grams at sea level, while 1kg of feathers with an assumed density of 0.8 g/cm^3 will weigh roughly 998.5 grams at sea level, due the the buoyant force applied by the atmosphere; their masses are the same, but the feathers are lighter.
I don't know who you are, what you do not what the Bike is before watching the video; but I love your style of video and how you present it to a new viewer like me 👍
I live in Portland and we have a ton of this type of bike (I have one too) It really is a car replacement and everyone I know that has one loves it. It really is about shifting the cultural norm away from automobiles
Same, I'm in Portland. @jessem9880 is full of it, they're everywhere. I've never seen this specific one, but the main shop (I know of) that sells them also sells the >$10k Riese & Muller front cargo bikes, and they have full suspension! The suspension is a big deal, in my opinion. I've seen the R&M around town, but mostly I see Urban Arrows and Bullitts (which is what I got). I love it. Before the Bullitt I had a Gazelle front load cargo bike, but it was built for - and had the stopping power for - pancake flat terrain. Roller brakes that took as long to stop as it takes to get up to speed. Dangerous with much weight (like my kid) or a significant hill.
I've lived in the Portland/Vancouver metro area since 1996, these are insanely rare in Portland outside of a few blocks of downtown and then like 20 streets/blocks on the east side of the willamette, from about Alberta to Powell/hwy26. Downtown milwaukie has some bicyclists too, with the occasional cargo bike. Y'all need to get out of the superurban core, and visit the rest of the city. Bicycles are actually insanely rare everywhere else. NE portland has one school that tried to make it a thing, but it literally just isn't a thing normally, without outside influence.. Bicycles are cool, I love them, and the perfect vehicle for downtown cores, and small flatter walkable spaces, and I would love more of that, with bike/pedestrian only areas. Don't get me wrong, but despite being bike friendly, even Portland is not embracing, nor will ever likely embrace the bicycle (in our lifetimes) like just about any small flat european country, thought perhaps sometime this century it may occur.. Because 1 - we are not flat, and it many parts, we are actually insanely mountainous and 2 - Oregon State is large. It is larger in area that the whole UK - 255 sq km vs 243 sq km, almost 4 times the size of Switzerland, I believe, and nearly as big as Italy. 6x the Netherlands, about 2/3 the size of Germany. That's just one state. Motorized transport is vital just to visit family living outside of town for many people. Own a farm? Public transport is impossible/cost prohibitive. Live out in the boondocks? Same. As an aside, people working in the city aren't neurotic enough to want to live in one - and no joke, there is a correlation and even a causal link between neuroticism and living in a big city - neurotic types tend to move to cities, and people who live in cities tend to become much more neurotic even when their trait neuroticism is initially low. This may explain some of the superurban/suburban/rural splits in attitude that are currently really messing with American society. Automobiles, and specifically fossil fuel vehicles, are going to be the gold standard for a while, and even when electric range and charge time and infrastructure catches us (which will be very soon) the automobile will still be king. My commute, one-way, is 37.5 miles. I live in the East of Vancouver, so that I can be close to family and 25 minutes from state forest, with the convenience of a city nearby too, but without the traffic, hustle, bustle, noise, and have enough space for my chickens and projects. I've lived downtown, I've lived in suburbia, in the old suburbs and neighborhoods of the area, in new developments, rural areas of the area, etc. Broaden your horizons. Get out of town more often. Get to know the old locals, ask them how things have changed.
@@0hn0haha nah, all wrong. You have an outlier commute. Most cities are mostly flat, including Portland. And we're talking in the context of ebikes which make the small hills we do have moot. Nobody lives in these vast rural sprawls you describe. It's why Oregon votes for Democrats despite all the Bundy psychos living in the high desert. And I am an "old local". Longer than you apparently. Not that it matters what old locals think.
For me, living in Copenhagen, thinking of this as the "second car" is hilarious. Many people dont have a car and if they do, then that is the secondary mode of transport (it is for myself). This bike is way overkill though!
It seems very similar to the top tier (€4000-6000) electric cargo bikes (bakfietsen) that you see everywhere here in the Netherlands. Urban Arrow, Cube Cargo Hybrid, Gazelle Makki Load, etc
Yup. CA-GO just starts off fully loaded with premium options so the base price is higher than the others. But is competitive once similarly specifications.
@@ptamogthey are actually incredibly stable, feel much better to ride than the trikes, with the exception of tilting trikes. Trikes are better at extremely low speeds (sub-walking pace), but much worse at curves.
@@Lolwutfordawin I agree. I was very impressed with the CA-GO. It took only a couple minutes to get used to how it handled. And my daughter absolutely loved riding it in. The Max & Mäleon three wheel is more capable with this leaning tech and larger capacity… but for easy of use the CA GO is really tough to beat.
Iam stoked for the ppl that work at that company to get such a positive feedback on their passion projects🤘🏾 I’ve been honored to have tested different stages of the bike and the stability under load is impressive indeed. If you really want to transport heavy loads more often you can always upgrade to a 4 piston brake on the front too :)
We swapped two medium sized cars for a much better four wheel drive and a second hand cargo bike. If you live in suburban Australia and your job doesn’t require a vehicle, you can absolutely make do with one car. We have a Douze V2 with an 8 speed Alfine gearbox and no motor. My small kids absolutely love riding in it on weekends or going to child care. I use it to go to the shops and cash in the recycling. A motor would be nice if we lived in a more hilly area but you can certainly live without one. The V2 weighs 24kg and once you get going, it feels like nothing.
This style of cargo bike has been an absolute life-changing investment for me and my family, like it's so much more convenient to take the kids to daycare and kindergarten, do the shopping, head to the hardware store and even do runs to the tip or garden waste. It's like having a shopping trolley with you the whole time that you can park anywhere and never have to walk 😂 it's not a product for the future, it's about pushing to make your town or city the right kind of environment where this type of transport is the safest and most convenient. I actually have two of them, one acoustic and one electric Cube Cargo Hybrid 1000, which rules my name world!
I'm honestly most impressed by the fact that it ONLY weighs twice as much as my city E bike. The price honestly makes sense too. It's a replacement for a second car. At a half to a quarter the price of a second car.
The price makes sense only in that it is very useful, but these things are way over priced at the moment. They have to come down. I just don't see how they can justify being more expensive than a very good motorcycle, for example. It's not like they're super advanced, cutting edge technology or anything. I think they're just expensive because they're rare. Hopefully more people use them and the price becomes more manageable. (I say this as a person who has and loves one of these awesome bikes)
@@TheJohnreeves Tbh, this is the highest priced one i've ever seen, and the drive is exactly the same kind as you would find in premium belt driven motorcycles, so the comparision is not as unfavorable as you think. Real prices for basic cargo E-bikes are easily under 2000€ and even under 1000€ for second hand ones. DIY can get you to that level of quality / performance for 4k at most.
@@TheJohnreeves Its that much money because of the enviolo (electric auto shift mind you), integrated GPS, belt drive, etc. There are plenty of cargo bikes that will do the same thing for 60% less $
Urban Arrows, Riese and Muller are getting popular in metro areas in the US. This looks like an excellent option for families considering those when they bring it to the US.
The price is very steep, but for my Urban Arrow family, I also payed 7K. This is on another level. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE my Arrow. Test drove A LOT of cargo bikes and one of the reasons i chose the UA , is bike handling and cargo space. Also: i didnt like the feeling of the cable steering and you have to change the cables every 2 years. Amazing review btw, loved it!
Living in Munich/Germany and I have a bike like this (Urban arrow). Cargo bikes here are very popular and for my family our cargo bike has completely replaced the car.
The way this bike works is really amazing. I got a ten year old bike with a simpler way of working. It just gives you a little kick so you can keep up your speed easily. But because I drive 30 km/h all the time, it almost has nothing to do because it isn't legally allowed to pass a certain speed. So for the steep long hills I use all of it's power and for the normal way it's just a little side kick.
I think this bike purrrrfect! I can go ebike packaging or touring with my dog & a nice big easy tent camping setup. I'll add flexible solar panel to the front to keep a deep cycle battery charging. Then circumnavigate the globe for a few years. As a writer this is the perfect slow travel mode for comfy digital nomading.
Right now, you can find the Cago FS200 for about $7500 in Germany at one my local stores. In Germany, electric bikes are limited to 25 km/h without a special driver's license.
@@faustinpippin9208 can't drive and park the Dacia right at the school / café / whatever in many places though. Add in insurance, higher energy use and it's still gonna be a lot more in the end.
@@faustinpippin9208 yes but the running costs are extrem higher and cost, u only need to fix the breaks sometimes and the belt each 30 000 km of the bike
I want one! In the next video I hope you’ll test if the electric motor and the gearbox are good enough to push back all that gravel, or if that bike can replace your pickup truck for a month. Unfortunately, these kind of bikes will never be popular in a typical USA city, the infra is just too car centric.
That really depends on the city. As time goes on and the car brain worms die off and they start building better infrastructure, they’ll get more popular. You see quite a few in Portland already
Bakfiets, existing for over 100 years in NL. I really like the bosch motor with torque sensor. It feels most like riding a normal bike. Also belt drive are nice, low maintenance, low grease and long life time.
I think as a lot of other comments have pointed out, this is quite an American centric review, because these are all over the place in Europe, absolutely everywhere. If you spend any time in London, they are really common. It looks to be the same, unsurprisingly, in the Nordic’s and Germany. Then again, we have cycle to work schemes, which you pay for the bike pre-tax as part of your salary, saving the tax and only buying it when there is a lower residual value- which on something like this can be a hefty 30-40% saving.
Looks darn impressive, but that 10 grand price tag is a hard pill to swallow. I don't know much about bike prices, but something closer to $6,000 would feel more like something I could proudly pay and not feel like I need to spend the rest of my life justifying the purchase to friends and family.
It depends on how you see it: if it truly is a car replacement, then compare it with the cost of owning a car. But, yes, there are less expensive options. In the US, You can get an Urban Arrow for 7k, for example, and it is already an amazing bike.
@marcosilvaspereira The problem is, without advancements, it isn't truly a car replacement. It functions _like a car,_ but we have to make excuses to ourselves and concessions to justify calling it a replacement. "I don't mind riding in the rain/extreme temp", "I don't mind not being able to travel as far", "I don't mind physical exhertion after an eight hour shift" etc.
It's not so much that it's built for a bike infrastructure that doesn't exist yet as that it's a design that gained popularity in a place whose bike infrastructure is a model the rest of the world should be following. This style cargo bike is very popular in the Netherlands, which has about the best bike infrastructure in the world as far as I'm aware. It's great that this style of cargo bike is making its way into the rest of the world. Now if only we could get our local governments to follow suit and build up infrastructure as well.
@@faustinpippin9208 what? This style of cargo bike starts at 5000 euro new in the Netherlands. Show me a new/used EV for that price. Plus, this gets you to city centers without having to park a car in a paid parking garage. Plus, no taxes, low maintenance cost, much lower energy cost for charging and the kids actually get to see something while riding up front.
@@faustinpippin9208 You should check out the youtube channel Not Just Bikes. In fact, he has a video about this style of bike. If you search for 'Not Just Bikes bakfiets' you should find it. The Netherlands has fantastic bike infrastructure that makes it a serious option for getting around. It really works well as a car replacement over there. Over here in North America, we definitely lack the infrastructure for it to be as viable of a bike. That seems to be changing slowly, but it will probably be a long while before we have cities where that style bike makes sense.
@@faustinpippin9208 Learn that not everything is about 'your comfort'. You taking a car to places where you could ride this bike, means the infrastructure needs to build for cars. Cars and other traffic don't mix, so that's two types of infrastructure you need to build. 'actually useful' -> these bikes are VERY useful, just not for fat lazy Americans who see bikes only as exercise machines and who live in a country where zoning laws PROHIBIT a nice livable city design not centered around car usage. It's not all about you.
@@faustinpippin9208 car infrastructure is very expensive compared to bikes. Cities could save millions if they improved bike ability instead of making giant roads.
i think its a good idea to try and have a bike packing trip with that thing, i can see its appeal to those who like bike camping stuff if its really capable of doing so.
BTW - the "if there's a problem once you leave problem..." is basically filled out the same way as with a car. You get insurance and you can get it "towed" by one of the companies in the bigger cities. If you're in the rural areas, kind of a different situation. Likely gotta rent a van (forget the trucks, they're horrible at carrying cargo bikes). As a rider/owner of an R&M Load 75 (and I've got vids on my channel too under a playlist for it) the gravel stunt is WILD! But then I think about hte things I've carried. Hasn't been THAT kind of weight but I've had a trailer AND the cargo bay stacked before.
I gotta say, that is a really nice, well thought-out bike. I love seeing well engineered things. Where you can tell a team poured over EVERY detail and what if for years. 14:44 Don't ever do that. You'll work harden the steel and make it brittle.
This thing looks so incredible, but I don't think we'd ever see them in the U.S. The only consistently bike-friendly places are some parts of cities here and a bike with that much tech on it would be stolen pronto. If suburbs were more bike-friendly, I could see some richer suburbs having this. It looks like it'd be wonderful for a young well-off family. Looks fun to ride and if I were a kid, I'd definitely prefer being in there than in a car. I'd be nervous off-roading on it because of the length, but I'm sure some easy biking trails would also make for a fun afternoon for a mom and her kids.
"Choosing between a second car or a cargo bicycle" has been the sales pitch all along, but realistically the people who can afford these bikes can afford the bike and the car. So they buy both.
Realistically the bike is a purchase that will last you a couple decades, like a car can. But with the car you are spending $5-10k every year just to keep it running, rego, fuel, insurance, far higher service costs and more depreciation. Its totally not true. I see people ditching their second car and saving buckets of money annually, with savings from the very first year. This bike has ALL the bells and whistles, but you can easily find bikes that do all the same things for 60% less money. Heaps of them
Nah. People who can afford these bikes live - in quite a lot of cases - in a place where they can’t afford a second car, not because of the purchase price, which is like petty cash, but because of ongoing parking cost.
Or, as others like to put it: over engineered and to expensive 🤣🤣 Isn't that why Asia has made such steps, and German car manufacturers have had dropping sales lately?? Btw, Urban Arrow ( German brand no? ) had a recall in Europe due to faulty buckles iirc?
Having ditched my car over three years in exchange for an ebike, I've considered a cargo bike many times. In the end they don't make a ton of sense for most people. Cargo bikes are the pickup/SUV of the bike world. They have their place, but only for a tiny portion of the population. If it goes down the same way as light trucks, we're going to see people riding these everywhere with the box empty. So we'll end up with more strain on biking infrastructure, more space required to park them, and one commenter from Germany already said people are leasing these, so more people buying more than they can afford. All for the occasional haul. Again, they do make sense for people with kids in a very specific age range (too young and it's unsafe, too old and they can ride their own bike), and people who do need to haul stuff all the time for work or projects. Outside of that, the ideal scenario is a happy mix of short term rentals, availability through bikeshare programs, and good old trailers.
Seth proving that the US is the 1970s, but with Internet. Or, a certain Hall and Oates song comes to mind 😂 It’s funny seeing the Americans going “what is this thing, nobody wants that” and the Europeans “I have one like that” (yes I am generalizing).
This bike drives my kid to Kindergarten daily and replaced our car together with a long tail bike for my wife. It is just an amazingly and comfortable bike to ride with or without cargo.
Cargo bikes like these are pretty damn common in the Netherlands. We have one, our neighbors have one, half of the parents we know from daycare have one. The most popular and expensive is the Urban Arrow here, it retails around 6-7k. These prices really aren't high in context. First, you buy them at 6k but then sell them 7-8 years later for 4k. The net cost is not too different from ~2 normal road bikes. They're extremely convenient, way easier to go somewhere with your kids than having to strap them in and get them out of the car. Don't worry too much about the nonsense crash rating. Crash ratings are bullshit in these vehicles, as they have almost no crumple zone, aren't built to absorb much energy and don't have airbags to fix passengers in place during a crash. It's just a way to differentiate their marketing. The price is also pretty justified for what you get. Powerful and long-lasting mid-drive, absolutely top of the line drivetrain, high weight rating and just a lot of aluminum in general, you already get the 5-point harnesses and adjustable seats with the bike (no need for aftermarket seats as is relatively common in e.g. Babboe, Cargobike and even Urban Arrow). Like, just the drivetrain is worth 3-4k in parts.
1 minute in... Seth before you tell us why you think it's not a financially sound idea... did you consider other markets as the US? This kind of bike is perfect in a country like The Netherlands, it can be an actual car replacement for many many people.
lol 11 minutes in... and it's German. Off course it's German.. and it's not meant for the US where city zoning puts schools and places to do groceries in places only accessible through a highway.
@@faustinpippin9208 No it's meant to replace one of this awful tin cans you use to drop of your kids and do your shopping with. Strange for fat Americans who thinks bikes are just for exercise, but pretty normal in the civilized world ;) You should watch NotJustBikes it might open your eyes about the hellscape you call 'home'.
@@faustinpippin9208 It's mean to replace one, not be one. And it works like a dream, just not for fat lazy Americans which think that their cities are the pinnacle of living conditions.
@@faustinpippin9208 ... not for lazy fat Americans or US wannabees perhaps, but in European countries which have decent infrastructure as result of not having the ridiculous zoning laws the US suffers from this is a viable car replacement for many people.
Also it looked like he was braking non-stop. You get way more out of you brakes if you open them up for a split second every view seconds . It’s the same like old cars.
All that amount of research and they did not discover that the word “cago” is Spanish for “dropping a deuce”. There goes a good chunk of potential customers.
Why would people care that much? It's target market is clearly German/English/Dutch/French speakers? The fact that something just so happens to not translate well happens all the time. It's like saying "that Mandarin Chinese song sounds funny in English!" Like cool, I guess?
Hey Seth, german here living in Germany near Frankfurt. I see a lot of people on these bikes on the daily (especially women with kids or groceries in it). It really ist not too futuristic, people are there to buy them and they use them to do exactly what you said, to replace their car. Well they don’t replace them completely as in sell the car but you know, an alternative for short routes
Where I live in DC, bikes like this are extremely common. It's even common for people to just forego any car and just ride with a combination of solo and cargo bikes for the kids.
Hey Seth,
I live in a City in northern Germany where I see a lot of these kinds of bikes (in that price range). Riese & Müller Load4, Urban Arrow, CaGo etc.
Most of these bikes in Germany (and many other parts of europe) aren’t outright bought but leased through the employer, giving you a small reduction on your wage but in the end the bike costs 30% less and you get a lot of tax incentives as well, because it is kind of like a company car but without the associated costs.
In Kiel and Hamburg in Germany I see a LOT of these sort of bikes, mostly for child transportation but the infrastructure is way ahead compared to USA. Curious when I see one of those tanks here.
@@hansschnier4955 The infrastructure is just a result, not the problem. The problem is the zoning laws, infrastructure design is based on that and not a stand alone part.
I have a friend who married a German and now lives over there. This is absolutely for her. Not that she can afford it, but she does everything by bike.
wow that's the future!
I agree, the future is now. I work for a specialty cargo Ebike shop in Boston, R&M & Urban Arrows are what we sell the most. I look forward to seeing this stateside.
Very important to note that he exceeded the maximum payload of the bike by 450 pounds for that brake test. It's a testament to the bike that it functioned, let alone didn't snap under the 3x extra weight.
The higher end cargo bikes are usually so overbuilt, at least frame wise, that i'd be surprised if it snapped with 450 kilograms in it.
I’m surprised he stopped at all, motorcycles of that weight usually have 2 double piston disc brakes on larger discs in the front with a smaller disc brake in the rear, they also have a wider contact patch
@@nonegone7170 I've riden my Omnium many times for extended rides around bumpy festival grounds and out on the roads with 350kg AUW. The bike is 20kg and has a 100kg weight rating for the rack. I've had the same load many times on my Bullitt too, overbuilt for sure.
Not really, use my GSD R-14 to haul my 30 (about 300# and I weight about 210), gallon sewage tote for my RV up and down hills. I would not want to try the speeds he did, but that was one test not usage. Have only had to have new pads on the calipers. I have no hitch weight to worry about, I admit that does help.
@@davephillips9389 the difference between your example and this is towed weight vs “bed” weight, in the former you distribute that weight mostly on the trailer rather than on the frame of the bike. You can see this difference in pickup trucks, look at what you can tow (what the drive train can handle) vs the weight you can put in the bed (what the suspension, frame, and drivetrain can handle)
We need to see this traverse berm peak
With the pea gravel
We need this
Will totally not end up destroyed
Definitely
Except - no e-bikes allowed on Berm Peak - because Seth is anti-ebike.
But he can accept a sweet deal to promote and sell this bike tho. Because he's a complete sell out now.
I moved to Berlin Germany from the US about 10 months ago and I see these things everyday full of kids absolutely stoked to be alive. I also often see BAMF parents ripping through the rain suited up in a parka and the kids chilling in the dry cargobay. It makes me so happy to see this kind of transportation being used instead of cars, especially in dense cities like Berlin. Thanks for showing this kind of bike on your channel
For the last 2 years I've been car free and rode everywhere by bike with kids in the trailer. I've saved a ton of money and stress this way.
@@fiszu4075 And the benefits will just keep stacking long-term
You probably see them in Germany a lot more than you would in the United States just look at every major city Los Angeles Miami Vegas those cities are set up for driving not for you to use a bike like that
I've been riding around in my R&M Load 75 in Atlanta since February. A pricey purchase, but absolutely worth it. My kid loves it. My wife loves it. THE DOGS LOVE IT!!
From NZ, have been riding a front box cargo bike for four years. Didn't own a car for three years. Regulary carried the 2x pre-teen kids on 70km round trips and adult friends around the city. I have put about 8000km on the bike so far. Love it and use it everyday.
That's the spirit!
That would still be be about 1,4 USD per km if you bought the one in the video. That's about what I'd be paying for a taxi where I live. Don't get me wrong, I love cargo bikes, but the problem with products like this is that it's never going to pay off.
Do you repair the bike yourself? Are you depending on the manufacturer because of specialized parts?
@@shlapdeshre 1. you 'calculate' as if 8k is the end of the line... belt drives are known to go 35k without replacement lol.
2. You can get an Urban Arrow with belt drive for about 6k, you don't have the Automatiq(tm) shifting though.
3. You also 'calculate' as if money is the only factor, or only direct factor. You also safe money by having a beter health and higher standard of living. There are many benefits to riding a bike compared to riding inside a tin can on wheels.
@shlapdeshre the first km was the price of the bike/km, they're still using it, it's not a valuable comparison at any point except end of life
There is a big market for these cargo bikes here in Europe, where they are used instead of a second car.
Even where I live in Warsaw/Poland, I see several people riding these with their kids to preschool every morning. And our local councils are not as bicycle friendly as in Denmark, Germany, The Nederlands, etc.
Law of economy, the more expensive it is to do things with a car in comparison the more people will use a bike regardless of environment.
I hope there isn't a steep increase in traffic accidents, these bikes aren't very maneuverable and when you mix them with cars I wouldn't want to ride there with my kid ( I'm spoiled, being Dutch and all ).
1:52 @@MarvinWestmaas
in big urbanised areas you can also use it instead of your "first car", I live in berlin, haven't owned a car in about a decade, I do groceries with my neighbours cargo bike every 2 weeks and regular groceries just on my regular bike.
Even in France nowadays!
yeah and over here we don't consider pedestrian safty a waste of money like he seems to
Now ride it back up the driveway. Do it!
I was honestly curious about it, too. How would the Bosch motor handle that at the highest assistance level?
My guess is it would break the belt drive.
@@Roaming50 those are rated far, far above what any human and e bike motor could produce. The only time they will actually tear is if there is damage from excessive wear (usually they last 10.000- 20.000 km). Remember, the same tech (if a bit beefier) is used on belt driven motorcycles
@@Megabear90 I've managed to break the belt in first 400km. I think a small rock got stuck between the teeth of a front chainring and the belt. After a turn of pedals it self ejected. but the damage was already done. The belt start separating into small cords. I had managed to get home. But replacement belt was not easy to find.
No problem. The bottom of the cargo section is all liquid metal. At the push of a button, it'll turn into a T1000 Terminator that will petal the bike up the hill for you.
Absolute master-class in product review! Well-paced, well-rounded, and super entertaining. Chapeau!
Hi guys! Guy here from europe. These things are actaully becoming a thing over here, you see them more and more, especially used by smaller businesses, like craftsmen in cities use them to navigate city traffic and still carry their work tools, parcel and food deliverers use them, the other day I saw one with a logo of a local laboratory, that carried some medical gear from a hospital to said laboratory, it just makes sense for all these like under 10km rides all these businesses used to take smaller transporters for. Sure, you see parents transporting their kids as well, but transporting your kids is actually not that much of a thing over here, because it seems to be a lot safer over here, most children still just use public transport or simply cycle on their own, although you also see more and more people... living the "american dream" and drop of their kids at school...^^
40-50k kilometer on urban arrows in the past 8 years here. It's the best thing I ever bought, and I won't get rid of it just because the kids are grown out of it. Groceries, trips to the beach/park/bbq are all now no longer depended on the car and it's a massive win for time and happiness. My 153cm Spanish wife also drives it like a pro.
This is the way!
cargo bikes are the best for beach outings
had a urban arrow for testing for a month. In this time there was a big snowfall, cars where getting stuck for days. The urban arrow worked this extrem days like a champ, it was amazing!
It is just so much fun to take your kids in a cargo bike to the park, beach or ice cream shop. Very handy for taking mates home from the pub who have drunk too much also
I would love to see a cargo bikepacking trip!
Yeah with 2 people taking turns. 1 pedals 1 sits and records and takes a break and switch ever so often.
Like the one to key west from a while ago
there are smaller version in ca go and still do the trick on cargo!
I see opportunity for some bike packing product reviews!
Make it happen!
Living in southern Germany, you see a lot of cargo bikes - all shapes and sizes. For my family, we don't have a car anymore, we just have 2 ebikes, one child seat and a set of saddlebags - we don't really need much more. The main bonus here is that normal sized ebikes can still fit in a train / ubahn and extend your range immensely - with those larger cargo ones it's not so easy; another issue for my family with the larger cargo bikes: no where to store it, forget the basement - I'm not gonna carry an oversized bicycle that's almost as heavy as I am through narrow stairs every morning and evening and leaving it in the driveway I'm pretty sure it's gonna disappear at some point. But yes, in a future with less cars, better regulations, and actually harsher sentences for bike thieves... those may become the new norm.
"But yes, in a future with less cars, better regulations, and actually harsher sentences for bike thieves... those may become the new norm." This sounds dystopian. No thanks.
I have a solution for you its called maxi scooter.
@@gardencity3558 you must be American. Don’t understand how any normal person wouldn’t want that, everything they listed is objectively positive.
@@JellyLancelot Not American. You must be a fool. How else could anyone support being forced to live like a peasant in a dystopian nightmare where the state controls your movements? Rhetorical question.
@@JellyLancelot Not american. You must be obtuse and or gullible to think state intursion into citizens lives by restricting their movment is a good on any level. Back into your shell.
Had my front loader now for almost a year and 3000km on it. Love the bike and experience. Kids love the connection to the nature. Best purchase ever (AU$16k).
14:40 - Hey kids, this is how you warp and crack rotors! Never pour water on them to cool them. It's uneven, so one side will contract while the other expands, causing warping.
I wonder how much are replacement rotors on a $10k bike, lol
@@matijajelic4739 Who knows. Warped rotors can tear up the bearings in the wheel and the steering stem. It can also cause the wheel to shimmy while you're trying to stop / steer. You'd think they'd be less than a motorcycle rotor; but that entirely depends on the availability (if someone bothered to machine them in bulk vs. low volume /on demand). The battery in a $50,000 car can cost $28,000. Small part doesn't mean cheap, even if they know it will wear out!
"Who really wants to pay for that stuff when it's for other peoples safety?" is such a big car/SUV driver mindset. Your points earlier about how it feels like a semi on the green way only illustrate how important these safety considerations are. I am very happy they have spent the money on it and I'm sure future models, bicycle design and public safety will benefit from this.
Yeah that was legit terrifying
I did a double-take when Seth said that, going "thinking that way is really just the norm in the states, huh" like what do you mean "no-one wants to go out of their way to keep people other than themselves safe"? How about literally everyone who is not a sociopath?
I'm happy there's an ocean between me and society where that is the prevailing way to look at things.
I was hoping maybe he was joking a little.
@@MentalEdge Can confirm, most folks in the States would rather buy a vehicle that keeps *them* safe even if it's at the detriment of others. I know people who have bought SUV's or trucks because they think they're "safer"
No surprise this is a European product for European consumers
I live in a German bike centered city. You can bet your a** that this bike is successful here. Everyone basically uses the "shitty" version of this already, plus in germany you can get a bike from your employer, and the state pays some money into it.
Im looking to finance a 13k€ Bianchi roadbike through this, and will pay 170€a month, save 3000€ of the total cost and get the bike to my name no problem.
Imagine a young family. Safety is probably one of the only issues tilting them towards getting a secondary car. And now its not only much cheaper, can use all sorts of car limited roads, making it faster in traffic, it is also safe, compfy and somewhat proffessional looking.
In Europe, this isnt a bike for the future, its a bike for the present, yall need to start catching up.
come again, state helps finance 13k superbikes, too? what's the rationale for doing so, I wonder?
@@morfeyrun Well, if I want to commute in the 10k E bike or the 10k Roadbike, the state really doesnt care. Its more expensive and difficult to surveil the peoples usage of the bike, than potential money the state could save. Also, this type of loan does not specify exactly how much you need to use your bike.
Since we have laws that allow people to get a 50-100k car for free from their employers (tax free and with financial aid from the state) this programme is only fair and a step towards a greener future.
Again, 99% of people finace an E bike they use to actually commute.
As someone that lived in Germany for 3 years and seen the amazing bike paths and greenways, it comes down to the States infrastructure. We don't have the bike safe roads and greenways like in Europe for bike travel. In the states bikes are seen as a recreational vehicle more than a transport vehicle.
@@drewfamilyadventures Exactly, but this isnt a futuristic bike, in many parts of the world its a daily driver. :)
@@morfeyrun cars by the company for employees (which they use for work and private) or company-owners are subsidised in many ways for decades. Bikes are only catching up in this regard.
I own an nonelectric Yuba Supercargo bike which I paid $2,500 in near new condition. Since my children are adults, it was never my intention to haul kids. In fact, I removed the kid seats on day one of my ownership. I do use this bike to haul my three lap dogs around South Lake Tahoe and they love going for rides.
I do use it to grocery shop, or haul beach chairs, umbrella and picnic food from my home on the state streets (in South Lake Tahoe) to Camp Richardson. I love this bike more than my hardtail and full suspension mountain bikes.
The best part is when I go to the beach, there is about a mile of cars trying to get to the beach as I whisk by directly to the beach on the bike path.
I highly recommend having this type of front cargo bike. They are squirrelly to ride and a lot of fun.
Price of a damn used car
why not get a regular bike and trailer for the dogs?
I agree that these bikes are expensive. What I paid compared to new electric versions was a bargain.
I just want to say as a fellow buncombe county resident and Asheville native, thank you man for your help with the recent hurricane flooding. Shows outstanding character sir. and im glad you and yours are safe as well!
I just wanted to say thank you for the metric conversion 🙏
I'm just gonna drop this here: "cago" means "I shit" in portuguese (and spanish too, I think)
Also Italian
Yup Spanish too, came here to say that lol
Si.
HeHe, probably a lot of the romantic languages. What do the Romanian's and Portuguese use?
Y la bicicleta? CaGo😅😅
"it's so sketchy" also seth "I think it can fit more"
😂 classic bike hacks energy there
It's so horony
I have rented a similar Cargo Bike before in a big German City.
They are very popular with university students at those rentals. If you don't own a car but want to buy something heavy like from Ikea or the Hardware Store, you can save money by renting a cargo bike instead of renting a car. And taking your friends inside the box is very fun while cruising around in pedestrian zone.
You can carry bed , mattress and big Wardrobes in cargo bike? isnt it cheaper just to pay for delivery?
@@anubizz3 Sure, sometimes it is! And renting cars isn't that expensive. But lots of German uni students don't even have a driving license, and the parking situation in cities is bad (they are great to live in otherwise!)
So if you're moving, yeah, you get a friend with a van. But for getting a mattress, some furniture, or some plants from Ikea? Those things are actually easier lol.
It seems counter-intuitive from a US perspective (I lived there for a while), it's just not something you'd want to do. But here it's quite comfy. Last 3 times I was at Ikea or the hardware store it was with my regular ebike. I've also been there with a car, and it takes exactly the same amount of time to get there in city traffic.
When you said you were going to ride down that hill, all I could think was "Yeah, but you're not riding it back up that hill." lol. The brakes getting hot enough to sizzle when you poured water on them was slightly unexpected. But those disks definitely aren't big enough or thick enough to handle that kind of load without getting hot. I just didn't expect sizzling heat. Entertaining video though, thanks for that. My favorite part was when you realized it was a bad idea and then you realized there was nothing you could do about that so you kinda calmed down and focused a little more I guess on maintaining as little control as you were able to exert on it. Well done on that split second shift from panic to control. That shows your experience quite well. I think I'll be watching some more of your videos in the future.
this is certainly the most brutal gravel ride I've ever seen
Having a name that forces you to become Australian for 2 seconds every time you say it is diabolical
I was thinking Bahstan, but yes. The bike is a wicked pissah though.
Haha
Cago in Spanish 😂😂😂
@@matt.3.14
"Why do you have to stop at gas stations?
Because it makes the Ca go"
It's so diabolical, I love it, I want it.
Here in the Netherlands this type of bike is really common and there are many bike producers that have a variant of this model. Especially in big cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam there are a lot of families that own one of those, next to a regular vehicle, because in the city centers the parking space availability is low and the prices to park your vehicle are really high. The prices of this types of bikes vary from €4000 to about €9000 but if you get one without the electrical assist there are pretty decent brands that offer them from around €1200.
You can buy a leaf for 5k, wtf are you People smoking there....
@@faustinpippin9208 We don't want to be like fat Americans?
Also, the reason we DO is because we CAN. Our schools are within cycling distance of where people live. Our shops are within cycling distance of where people live.
Go watch NotJustBikes, try to think for a moment, then come back to this comment.
@@faustinpippin9208 "because in the city centers the parking space availability is low and the prices to park your vehicle are really high"
do you understand what you read?
@@george99247
That's not his point. His comparison serves to illustrate the same aspect that people compare when they show motorcycle vs. road bike prices.
Seth needs to take a trip over there and collab with njb
living in Europe I see bikes like this all the time. Every time I go to Munich I see plenty of cargo bikes like this. If I lived in the city and not the country side I would have this as the second car for the family. Right now where I live it’s more practical to have a ebike each for my wife and I along with a kid trailer we can use in either bike. If I didn’t have to carry the bikes on the car regularly a cargo bike like this would be more efficient.
Yep. Euro based and actually used one of these for my work instead of a car. They are super common and was surprised to hear his take and surprise. Its just another cargo bike.
Didn't know Ergon owns Ca Go. Love their stuff and this bike looks like a great car replacement. You're looking at the equivalent of hatchbacks in the mid 70s. Gamechanger.
Never been so grateful for a review like this. It’s pricey for sure but if you truly want that less waste life, this is the best errand commute vehicle
We live in Kelowna, BC and use our Urban Arrow as our second car 11+ months per year. The only reason we actually have a second car is to haul my MTB to the more distant trailheads.
We do get a ton of funny looks from people riding around, either with the two boys or sometimes my wife in the front bucket, but the looks are mostly mirroring our smiles because it’s such a fun way to get around.
I’m always amazed that my 110lb cargo bike has a carrying capacity of 550lbs (half in the bucket, half in the cockpit and on the rear rack) whilst my 4,500lb minivan has a payload of merely double the cargo bike at 1,100lbs.
The bucket bike style confers incredible mechanical advantage over the load to the rider and gives a smaller person the ability to carry and manage the heavy load. I highly recommend checking one out if you have the space to store it and want to try a slightly different approach to urban mobility.
In the Netherlands these kind of bikes have almost taken over our bike lanes. Sometimes to the point that it's annoing.
They are great fun though. If the infrastructure is there, they absolutely work.
Why annoying ? They are the same width as a normal bike
Proof once again that the Dutch are living in the future! 🙂
Hey, I'm one of perhaps three people riding a bakfiets in my city (Brno, Czechia, ~400k people). Whenever two of us happen to meet, we honk our bells and wave. Nevertheless, the bike totally works well, I ride it with two kids everyday. Better infra would be fine, but the cargo bikes are so rare the cars avoid us and give us a lot of space (sans a handful of idiots).
I occasionally go to Utrecht, Netherlands. It takes a minute for 10 such bikes to pass by. I literally feel like the Little Prince, when he discovered other roses exist, and are, in fact, plentiful. Love the Netherlands tho!
@@splashpit They are in fact MUCH wider than a normal bike.
@@kellymoses8566 iv got two so I know how wide they are , in traffic a bike is as only wide as the handlebars the cargo frame is only 520mm wide which is the same as my drop bars on my road bike most flat bar and relaxed bikes have 600mm + bars so I stand by my original statement when in traffic the bike is no wider than a normal bike .
You sound lick someone that doesn’t own one and is clueless !
Yes! I love it when sports cycling channels cover utility bikes. Good job Seth!
Sports is sports That guy Does crazy
Except for the comments at the end totally dismissing them, and saying maybe its for the future. Like what??? Cargo bikes have been around for more than 200 years.
I rode exactly this bike with my daughter during the Munich EBike Days. It was really a great ride, very smooth and very good handling on uphills and downhills (up and down to Olympiaberg).
Ngl, a berm peak camping / survival channel would be amazing, with gear review, etc etc
Honestly I find the value proposition for a 10k cargo bike with so much engineering and safety features way more appealing than the usual (plus) 10k e-MTB! Going downhill 35% grade with a totally overloaded cargo bike is just mental!! Only 2 pistons Maguras at the front!! "I know how to bail" but just wearing a halfshell no pads and going down like 30mph on it with brakes fading!! How to bail at that speed?!? Crazy Stunt!! 😅
I know, I like how he said he knows how to bail, but then got it up to a speed where no bailing is going to happen.
@@TheJohnreeves Bailing on his head is still bailing i guess eheh.
I've ridden with the same magura brakes on my omnium and bullitt with 4 adults on the bike, total 350kg AUW, so very similar, plus on dirt and down similar hills. Theres zero issues with those brakes, the 'stunt' in this video is all for show. Its a great setup and can handle the hill.
Stay on the bike, the box is a crumple zone!
i thought the same :D i guess at some point he had got a feel for how hard it was and just decided he could control it and decided to go "full send mode" 😄
Seth, you look incredibly happy riding that bike. It's crazy how far you've come from hucking road ditches on the mission pro to cruising paths with your kids. Glad to have seen it all.
I am a huge fan of the front loader cargo bike. I have built 2 from scratch and the second one is a living experiment which changes every winter after a summer of riding.
As a European living outside Seattle, I agree that the US isn’t ready to adopt this style of bike yet. I live in a rural hippy town and the locals enjoy the idea, but everyone is still to set on driving and the infrastructure isn’t there yet. The future is bright though.
In the Philippines we have this side car bike that looks like our tricycles but on bike scale, its called "pot pot" or "put put", its cheaper, its been around for more than a decade, it can go anywhere even in deep floods, and it can carry everything, not to mention the fact that its produced en masse means there's plenty of parts available and they are all cheap and you can customize it to your liking, the people who made the ca go should take notes, rather than re invent the wheel and waste a lot of money, if they wanted a cargo and passenger bike they need not to look further from the South East Asia where these safe and fun beasts roam on the streets providing transportation service in more tighter areas for like a quarter. I own one myself and it is a proper bike for use within my subdivision and I use it often to ride to the gym with all my necessities and even pick up groceries and my brothers from school with it, I used to drive a car but I found more leisure with the humble put put.
I love how unfamiliar you are with European market :) Those bikes are all suburban moms in Europe ever wanted. School runs in my neighbourhood are very short, traffic is extremely congested. Those things are faster than cars around town. Don’t worry, it’s not to early, we love them and we’ll keep on buying. The market will be growing steadily.
I heard "CaGo" and thought "oh right, he's from Rhode Island"
Long Island…
@@gregmacd2829 same thing
That’s what’s it’s called
I'm Spanish and I hope they use another name for it if it's sold here
@@gregmacd2829 Oh, right
We have a disabled child that’s nine years old and this would be an amazing bike. There’s definitely a used case for this for us. We have a Burley trailer, but she is outgrown it so this would be a great idea. by the way, I love that you transported it in a electric lightning pick up truck.
Not sure if you're looking for replacement trailer, but I've been hauling my 17-year-old special needs daughter around in a Wike trailer. We've got the trailer that can go up to 125lbs, but they've got another one that can go up to 150lbs.
@@clawsoon that’s awesome. You mentioned that. I was just on their website last week looking at it. Would love to get your input on how that trailer performs.
@@BryceLovesTech I've got no complaints. The trailer is well built and my daughter enjoys riding it. It's quick and easy to fold and unfold it, too.
Depending on the abilities of your passenger the front box offers better outlook.
There are other combinations if your child wants to participate in pedaling, like rear-steered tandems, 3wheeled tandems with backrest etc.......
Ebikes are awesome and ecargo bikes are incredible. It can be hard for people who only view their bikes as toys to understand why e-bikes are so popular. If you only view your bicycle as a fitness device that can only be used one very specific way, then it hard to imagine people using bikes for transportation. You don’t buy an ebike to replace your road bike or mountain bike. You buy an ebike to replace your car
Have had a Urban Arrow cargo bike which looks very similar (but less tech) for over 7 years now. For 5 years it was our second car replacement. Used a infant car seat adapter for our second kid, added a second bench to care up to 4 kids. It‘s amazing.
I absolutely love the concept as well as the final product. $10k is hard to justify knowing you can get a used car for fraction of that but on the other hand, your kid will think fondly about being driven in such tandem instead of 2005 Corolla, this will be its core memory, no matter the age
I bought a bullitt bike for the shop run and nursery trip. Best thing I've bought. Ever.
Bullitt is awesome, love mine!
Iv owned one for two decades now bought a second one six years ago.
Rippin around just north of SLC on a R&M Load60 the past 2 years! It was my primary means of transportation Oct '22 - Nov '23. Handles 12+ inches of snow just fine. I hope that's your bike and not just a loaner, they're a good time!
"It's [the Ca Go bike] is really hard to move around if you're not riding it." So, are cars if you're not driving them. I don't think I could lift my car into the back of a pickup truck on my own even if it did fit. 🤣
But steel is heavier than feathers
@@900DonkeyPunches 1kg of steel is just as heavy as 1kg of feathers.
@@ZesPak Listen buddy, I hit someone with a bag of steel once, I was immediately DQ'd from the pillow fight.
@@ZesPak Actually, 1kg of steel with an average density of 7.85 g/cm^3 will weigh roughly 999.84 grams at sea level, while 1kg of feathers with an assumed density of 0.8 g/cm^3 will weigh roughly 998.5 grams at sea level, due the the buoyant force applied by the atmosphere; their masses are the same, but the feathers are lighter.
I could see this bike to help elderly ppl to medical appointments or other, but it really need a door to climb in, i love it
I don't know who you are, what you do not what the Bike is before watching the video; but I love your style of video and how you present it to a new viewer like me 👍
I live in Portland and we have a ton of this type of bike (I have one too) It really is a car replacement and everyone I know that has one loves it. It really is about shifting the cultural norm away from automobiles
Yeahh not really Ive never seen one, theyre not really in the united states that much.
Same, I'm in Portland. @jessem9880 is full of it, they're everywhere. I've never seen this specific one, but the main shop (I know of) that sells them also sells the >$10k Riese & Muller front cargo bikes, and they have full suspension! The suspension is a big deal, in my opinion.
I've seen the R&M around town, but mostly I see Urban Arrows and Bullitts (which is what I got).
I love it. Before the Bullitt I had a Gazelle front load cargo bike, but it was built for - and had the stopping power for - pancake flat terrain. Roller brakes that took as long to stop as it takes to get up to speed. Dangerous with much weight (like my kid) or a significant hill.
I see these are Portland too! Super cool!
I've lived in the Portland/Vancouver metro area since 1996, these are insanely rare in Portland outside of a few blocks of downtown and then like 20 streets/blocks on the east side of the willamette, from about Alberta to Powell/hwy26. Downtown milwaukie has some bicyclists too, with the occasional cargo bike. Y'all need to get out of the superurban core, and visit the rest of the city. Bicycles are actually insanely rare everywhere else. NE portland has one school that tried to make it a thing, but it literally just isn't a thing normally, without outside influence..
Bicycles are cool, I love them, and the perfect vehicle for downtown cores, and small flatter walkable spaces, and I would love more of that, with bike/pedestrian only areas. Don't get me wrong, but despite being bike friendly, even Portland is not embracing, nor will ever likely embrace the bicycle (in our lifetimes) like just about any small flat european country, thought perhaps sometime this century it may occur.. Because 1 - we are not flat, and it many parts, we are actually insanely mountainous and 2 - Oregon State is large. It is larger in area that the whole UK - 255 sq km vs 243 sq km, almost 4 times the size of Switzerland, I believe, and nearly as big as Italy. 6x the Netherlands, about 2/3 the size of Germany. That's just one state. Motorized transport is vital just to visit family living outside of town for many people. Own a farm? Public transport is impossible/cost prohibitive. Live out in the boondocks? Same. As an aside, people working in the city aren't neurotic enough to want to live in one - and no joke, there is a correlation and even a causal link between neuroticism and living in a big city - neurotic types tend to move to cities, and people who live in cities tend to become much more neurotic even when their trait neuroticism is initially low. This may explain some of the superurban/suburban/rural splits in attitude that are currently really messing with American society.
Automobiles, and specifically fossil fuel vehicles, are going to be the gold standard for a while, and even when electric range and charge time and infrastructure catches us (which will be very soon) the automobile will still be king.
My commute, one-way, is 37.5 miles. I live in the East of Vancouver, so that I can be close to family and 25 minutes from state forest, with the convenience of a city nearby too, but without the traffic, hustle, bustle, noise, and have enough space for my chickens and projects. I've lived downtown, I've lived in suburbia, in the old suburbs and neighborhoods of the area, in new developments, rural areas of the area, etc.
Broaden your horizons. Get out of town more often. Get to know the old locals, ask them how things have changed.
@@0hn0haha nah, all wrong. You have an outlier commute. Most cities are mostly flat, including Portland. And we're talking in the context of ebikes which make the small hills we do have moot.
Nobody lives in these vast rural sprawls you describe. It's why Oregon votes for Democrats despite all the Bundy psychos living in the high desert.
And I am an "old local". Longer than you apparently. Not that it matters what old locals think.
For me, living in Copenhagen, thinking of this as the "second car" is hilarious. Many people dont have a car and if they do, then that is the secondary mode of transport (it is for myself).
This bike is way overkill though!
It seems very similar to the top tier (€4000-6000) electric cargo bikes (bakfietsen) that you see everywhere here in the Netherlands. Urban Arrow, Cube Cargo Hybrid, Gazelle Makki Load, etc
Yup. CA-GO just starts off fully loaded with premium options so the base price is higher than the others. But is competitive once similarly specifications.
Do these make sense compared with the two wheels on the front ones? They look too difficult to maneuver when loaded and too long for urban parking
@@ptamogthey are actually incredibly stable, feel much better to ride than the trikes, with the exception of tilting trikes. Trikes are better at extremely low speeds (sub-walking pace), but much worse at curves.
@@Lolwutfordawin I agree. I was very impressed with the CA-GO. It took only a couple minutes to get used to how it handled. And my daughter absolutely loved riding it in. The Max & Mäleon three wheel is more capable with this leaning tech and larger capacity… but for easy of use the CA GO is really tough to beat.
Iam stoked for the ppl that work at that company to get such a positive feedback on their passion projects🤘🏾
I’ve been honored to have tested different stages of the bike and the stability under load is impressive indeed. If you really want to transport heavy loads more often you can always upgrade to a 4 piston brake on the front too :)
that's sr suntour epicon coil fork. best budget fork for mtb. i think you can also buy online for its air fork conversion.
We swapped two medium sized cars for a much better four wheel drive and a second hand cargo bike. If you live in suburban Australia and your job doesn’t require a vehicle, you can absolutely make do with one car.
We have a Douze V2 with an 8 speed Alfine gearbox and no motor. My small kids absolutely love riding in it on weekends or going to child care. I use it to go to the shops and cash in the recycling.
A motor would be nice if we lived in a more hilly area but you can certainly live without one. The V2 weighs 24kg and once you get going, it feels like nothing.
Why, why, why? Why did you do this video? Why should I care? Example of content for content sake. Kind of like the cheap tool videos. Why?
This style of cargo bike has been an absolute life-changing investment for me and my family, like it's so much more convenient to take the kids to daycare and kindergarten, do the shopping, head to the hardware store and even do runs to the tip or garden waste. It's like having a shopping trolley with you the whole time that you can park anywhere and never have to walk 😂 it's not a product for the future, it's about pushing to make your town or city the right kind of environment where this type of transport is the safest and most convenient. I actually have two of them, one acoustic and one electric Cube Cargo Hybrid 1000, which rules my name world!
acoustic bike is wild. actually a great brand name for sturdy, basic bikes
I'm honestly most impressed by the fact that it ONLY weighs twice as much as my city E bike.
The price honestly makes sense too. It's a replacement for a second car. At a half to a quarter the price of a second car.
The price makes sense only in that it is very useful, but these things are way over priced at the moment. They have to come down. I just don't see how they can justify being more expensive than a very good motorcycle, for example. It's not like they're super advanced, cutting edge technology or anything.
I think they're just expensive because they're rare. Hopefully more people use them and the price becomes more manageable.
(I say this as a person who has and loves one of these awesome bikes)
@@TheJohnreeves Tbh, this is the highest priced one i've ever seen, and the drive is exactly the same kind as you would find in premium belt driven motorcycles, so the comparision is not as unfavorable as you think.
Real prices for basic cargo E-bikes are easily under 2000€ and even under 1000€ for second hand ones. DIY can get you to that level of quality / performance for 4k at most.
@@TheJohnreeves Its that much money because of the enviolo (electric auto shift mind you), integrated GPS, belt drive, etc. There are plenty of cargo bikes that will do the same thing for 60% less $
The price makes even more sense when you realize bike manufacturers are trying to sell you a road bike for even more than this costs.
For a lot of people. it's not a replacement for a "second car".
It's a replacement for a car.
Urban Arrows, Riese and Muller are getting popular in metro areas in the US. This looks like an excellent option for families considering those when they bring it to the US.
The price is very steep, but for my Urban Arrow family, I also payed 7K. This is on another level. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE my Arrow. Test drove A LOT of cargo bikes and one of the reasons i chose the UA , is bike handling and cargo space. Also: i didnt like the feeling of the cable steering and you have to change the cables every 2 years.
Amazing review btw, loved it!
I wanted to see the gravel ridden back up the driveway
It was hilarious how he said 600 lbs. Of GRANITE, as if 600 lbs of feathers would have been lighter lmao
it would be, because the feathers interact with the air
also the feathers may be heavier, since they have voids filled with air.
@Blox117 lmao god I hope this was a joke.
The feathers would take up more space / volume though and probably wouldn't fit inside the cargo box.
@@Blox117
Living in Munich/Germany and I have a bike like this (Urban arrow). Cargo bikes here are very popular and for my family our cargo bike has completely replaced the car.
I'd be scared of Rolling into a car. From a stop, wHile the car is in park, at the park
And gut lord if there running at me In the nude
The way this bike works is really amazing. I got a ten year old bike with a simpler way of working. It just gives you a little kick so you can keep up your speed easily. But because I drive 30 km/h all the time, it almost has nothing to do because it isn't legally allowed to pass a certain speed. So for the steep long hills I use all of it's power and for the normal way it's just a little side kick.
i gotta be honest we need more bike oriented cities
It probably isn’t practical for the us/Canada but for Europe in countries where everyone rides, it’s an amazing piece of machinery
GOOD LORD. Yaa Go driving down the frozen mountain side in moose country just to run into a Tim Hortens
He was feeling Eco freindly today..
Yes not even remotely practical in Canada.
"Uses four piston disc brakes" cuts to a shot of a 2 piston brake 😂😂😂
makes sense, on a bike like that rear biased breaking is a good idea.
The other two pistons are on the other side of the rotor
Per side?
Yes, Seth. We'd like to see you camp it and hack a bike rack to it to bring to the trails.
Shout to how good your grass is looking in the background. Something only ppl 40+ will appreciate. 😅
I think this bike purrrrfect! I can go ebike packaging or touring with my dog & a nice big easy tent camping setup. I'll add flexible solar panel to the front to keep a deep cycle battery charging. Then circumnavigate the globe for a few years.
As a writer this is the perfect slow travel mode for comfy digital nomading.
A cargo bikepacking trip would be great!
To key west like before
Right now, you can find the Cago FS200 for about $7500 in Germany at one my local stores. In Germany, electric bikes are limited to 25 km/h without a special driver's license.
Cover & Carry Bag 99,00 € Tablet 89,00 €, Front Organizer 44,95 €, Bosch PowerTube 625 Wh Battery 690,00 €, Bike Garage 89,00 €, Magura IBS 390,00 € and u have 10.090,95 €
Jezus Christ you can buy a brand new dacia ev for 13k lol
@@faustinpippin9208 can't drive and park the Dacia right at the school / café / whatever in many places though. Add in insurance, higher energy use and it's still gonna be a lot more in the end.
@@faustinpippin9208 yes but the running costs are extrem higher and cost, u only need to fix the breaks sometimes and the belt each 30 000 km of the bike
@@faustinpippin9208 Where? Definitely not in Germany, I'll tell you that much. I'd know, I bought one.
I want one!
In the next video I hope you’ll test if the electric motor and the gearbox are good enough to push back all that gravel, or if that bike can replace your pickup truck for a month.
Unfortunately, these kind of bikes will never be popular in a typical USA city, the infra is just too car centric.
That really depends on the city. As time goes on and the car brain worms die off and they start building better infrastructure, they’ll get more popular. You see quite a few in Portland already
Bakfiets, existing for over 100 years in NL. I really like the bosch motor with torque sensor. It feels most like riding a normal bike. Also belt drive are nice, low maintenance, low grease and long life time.
I think as a lot of other comments have pointed out, this is quite an American centric review, because these are all over the place in Europe, absolutely everywhere. If you spend any time in London, they are really common. It looks to be the same, unsurprisingly, in the Nordic’s and Germany. Then again, we have cycle to work schemes, which you pay for the bike pre-tax as part of your salary, saving the tax and only buying it when there is a lower residual value- which on something like this can be a hefty 30-40% saving.
Looks darn impressive, but that 10 grand price tag is a hard pill to swallow. I don't know much about bike prices, but something closer to $6,000 would feel more like something I could proudly pay and not feel like I need to spend the rest of my life justifying the purchase to friends and family.
It depends on how you see it: if it truly is a car replacement, then compare it with the cost of owning a car. But, yes, there are less expensive options. In the US, You can get an Urban Arrow for 7k, for example, and it is already an amazing bike.
No gas....
@marcosilvaspereira The problem is, without advancements, it isn't truly a car replacement. It functions _like a car,_ but we have to make excuses to ourselves and concessions to justify calling it a replacement. "I don't mind riding in the rain/extreme temp", "I don't mind not being able to travel as far", "I don't mind physical exhertion after an eight hour shift" etc.
Overnight trip with cargo bike would be a cool video
It's not so much that it's built for a bike infrastructure that doesn't exist yet as that it's a design that gained popularity in a place whose bike infrastructure is a model the rest of the world should be following. This style cargo bike is very popular in the Netherlands, which has about the best bike infrastructure in the world as far as I'm aware. It's great that this style of cargo bike is making its way into the rest of the world. Now if only we could get our local governments to follow suit and build up infrastructure as well.
Bit why?
Used evs are cheaper and almost free to run and are actually usefull and on top of that take almost or less space then this thing...
@@faustinpippin9208 what? This style of cargo bike starts at 5000 euro new in the Netherlands. Show me a new/used EV for that price. Plus, this gets you to city centers without having to park a car in a paid parking garage. Plus, no taxes, low maintenance cost, much lower energy cost for charging and the kids actually get to see something while riding up front.
@@faustinpippin9208 You should check out the youtube channel Not Just Bikes. In fact, he has a video about this style of bike. If you search for 'Not Just Bikes bakfiets' you should find it. The Netherlands has fantastic bike infrastructure that makes it a serious option for getting around. It really works well as a car replacement over there. Over here in North America, we definitely lack the infrastructure for it to be as viable of a bike. That seems to be changing slowly, but it will probably be a long while before we have cities where that style bike makes sense.
@@faustinpippin9208 Learn that not everything is about 'your comfort'.
You taking a car to places where you could ride this bike, means the infrastructure needs to build for cars. Cars and other traffic don't mix, so that's two types of infrastructure you need to build.
'actually useful' -> these bikes are VERY useful, just not for fat lazy Americans who see bikes only as exercise machines and who live in a country where zoning laws PROHIBIT a nice livable city design not centered around car usage.
It's not all about you.
@@faustinpippin9208 car infrastructure is very expensive compared to bikes. Cities could save millions if they improved bike ability instead of making giant roads.
Easily the coolest bike you’ve ever reviewed. God speed to the company.
i think its a good idea to try and have a bike packing trip with that thing, i can see its appeal to those who like bike camping stuff if its really capable of doing so.
With that much cargo space you wouldn't go camping. You would go glamping 😂
To key west like before
BTW - the "if there's a problem once you leave problem..." is basically filled out the same way as with a car. You get insurance and you can get it "towed" by one of the companies in the bigger cities. If you're in the rural areas, kind of a different situation. Likely gotta rent a van (forget the trucks, they're horrible at carrying cargo bikes).
As a rider/owner of an R&M Load 75 (and I've got vids on my channel too under a playlist for it) the gravel stunt is WILD! But then I think about hte things I've carried. Hasn't been THAT kind of weight but I've had a trailer AND the cargo bay stacked before.
I'd so love to see you on a camping adventure on this bike!
I gotta say, that is a really nice, well thought-out bike. I love seeing well engineered things. Where you can tell a team poured over EVERY detail and what if for years. 14:44 Don't ever do that. You'll work harden the steel and make it brittle.
This thing looks so incredible, but I don't think we'd ever see them in the U.S. The only consistently bike-friendly places are some parts of cities here and a bike with that much tech on it would be stolen pronto.
If suburbs were more bike-friendly, I could see some richer suburbs having this. It looks like it'd be wonderful for a young well-off family. Looks fun to ride and if I were a kid, I'd definitely prefer being in there than in a car. I'd be nervous off-roading on it because of the length, but I'm sure some easy biking trails would also make for a fun afternoon for a mom and her kids.
+1 for camping in the Cago!!!
"Choosing between a second car or a cargo bicycle" has been the sales pitch all along, but realistically the people who can afford these bikes can afford the bike and the car. So they buy both.
Realistically the bike is a purchase that will last you a couple decades, like a car can. But with the car you are spending $5-10k every year just to keep it running, rego, fuel, insurance, far higher service costs and more depreciation. Its totally not true. I see people ditching their second car and saving buckets of money annually, with savings from the very first year. This bike has ALL the bells and whistles, but you can easily find bikes that do all the same things for 60% less money. Heaps of them
Nah. People who can afford these bikes live - in quite a lot of cases - in a place where they can’t afford a second car, not because of the purchase price, which is like petty cash, but because of ongoing parking cost.
Hahaha,yes I want to see you bike camp with this!
This is really nice. I got a used cargo bike off Craigslist and me and the kids love it.
Top quality entertainment! Awesome review Seth!
" so German " says to me high quality and well engineered .
Or, as others like to put it: over engineered and to expensive 🤣🤣
Isn't that why Asia has made such steps, and German car manufacturers have had dropping sales lately??
Btw, Urban Arrow ( German brand no? ) had a recall in Europe due to faulty buckles iirc?
... if you time traveled back to the 1970s
@@MarvinWestmaas
Yes. There are some areas where that still holds true, but at this point it's basically relying on former glories.
As a devoted BMW masochist I'm not sure this statement will age well ❤️🩹😂
@@Exgrmbl due to immigration and loss of its greatest government of all time in 1945
Having ditched my car over three years in exchange for an ebike, I've considered a cargo bike many times. In the end they don't make a ton of sense for most people. Cargo bikes are the pickup/SUV of the bike world. They have their place, but only for a tiny portion of the population. If it goes down the same way as light trucks, we're going to see people riding these everywhere with the box empty. So we'll end up with more strain on biking infrastructure, more space required to park them, and one commenter from Germany already said people are leasing these, so more people buying more than they can afford. All for the occasional haul. Again, they do make sense for people with kids in a very specific age range (too young and it's unsafe, too old and they can ride their own bike), and people who do need to haul stuff all the time for work or projects. Outside of that, the ideal scenario is a happy mix of short term rentals, availability through bikeshare programs, and good old trailers.
Seth proving that the US is the 1970s, but with Internet. Or, a certain Hall and Oates song comes to mind 😂
It’s funny seeing the Americans going “what is this thing, nobody wants that” and the Europeans “I have one like that” (yes I am generalizing).
@ramdynebix Good, modernity sucks.
This bike drives my kid to Kindergarten daily and replaced our car together with a long tail bike for my wife. It is just an amazingly and comfortable bike to ride with or without cargo.
Cargo bikes like these are pretty damn common in the Netherlands. We have one, our neighbors have one, half of the parents we know from daycare have one. The most popular and expensive is the Urban Arrow here, it retails around 6-7k. These prices really aren't high in context. First, you buy them at 6k but then sell them 7-8 years later for 4k. The net cost is not too different from ~2 normal road bikes. They're extremely convenient, way easier to go somewhere with your kids than having to strap them in and get them out of the car.
Don't worry too much about the nonsense crash rating. Crash ratings are bullshit in these vehicles, as they have almost no crumple zone, aren't built to absorb much energy and don't have airbags to fix passengers in place during a crash. It's just a way to differentiate their marketing.
The price is also pretty justified for what you get. Powerful and long-lasting mid-drive, absolutely top of the line drivetrain, high weight rating and just a lot of aluminum in general, you already get the 5-point harnesses and adjustable seats with the bike (no need for aftermarket seats as is relatively common in e.g. Babboe, Cargobike and even Urban Arrow). Like, just the drivetrain is worth 3-4k in parts.
1 minute in... Seth before you tell us why you think it's not a financially sound idea... did you consider other markets as the US?
This kind of bike is perfect in a country like The Netherlands, it can be an actual car replacement for many many people.
lol 11 minutes in... and it's German. Off course it's German.. and it's not meant for the US where city zoning puts schools and places to do groceries in places only accessible through a highway.
This is nothing like a car....
@@faustinpippin9208 No it's meant to replace one of this awful tin cans you use to drop of your kids and do your shopping with.
Strange for fat Americans who thinks bikes are just for exercise, but pretty normal in the civilized world ;)
You should watch NotJustBikes it might open your eyes about the hellscape you call 'home'.
@@faustinpippin9208 It's mean to replace one, not be one.
And it works like a dream, just not for fat lazy Americans which think that their cities are the pinnacle of living conditions.
@@faustinpippin9208 ... not for lazy fat Americans or US wannabees perhaps, but in European countries which have decent infrastructure as result of not having the ridiculous zoning laws the US suffers from this is a viable car replacement for many people.
Cant believe you poured water on those hot brakes, so many kids are gonna see this and warp their rotors.
Also it looked like he was braking non-stop. You get way more out of you brakes if you open them up for a split second every view seconds . It’s the same like old cars.
All that amount of research and they did not discover that the word “cago” is Spanish for “dropping a deuce”. There goes a good chunk of potential customers.
Its a bonus if anything
Why would people care that much? It's target market is clearly German/English/Dutch/French speakers? The fact that something just so happens to not translate well happens all the time. It's like saying "that Mandarin Chinese song sounds funny in English!" Like cool, I guess?
Hey Seth, german here living in Germany near Frankfurt. I see a lot of people on these bikes on the daily (especially women with kids or groceries in it). It really ist not too futuristic, people are there to buy them and they use them to do exactly what you said, to replace their car. Well they don’t replace them completely as in sell the car but you know, an alternative for short routes
Where I live in DC, bikes like this are extremely common. It's even common for people to just forego any car and just ride with a combination of solo and cargo bikes for the kids.
New idea! Strip the cargo box, drop in the liner and fill it with water.
Cargo e-bike HOT TUB! 😂
Legends say that Seth is STILL trying to get the bike back up to the house.