It's an irony of history: around a hundred years ago, the car largely replaced cargo bikes as a means of transport. Today, the tide is turning: cargo pedelecs are increasingly replacing cars on short inner-city journeys. Cargo bikes are more environmentally friendly, space-saving and comparatively cheaper. For their riders, they are a commitment to a more sustainable lifestyle, and at the same time they relieve city centres of car traffic. Some local authorities subsidise the purchase for businesses and private individuals. Because the mini transporters are becoming increasingly popular with families and tradespeople, we took a closer look at five cargo pedelecs.
Three of them belong to a type of bicycle that has rarely been seen to date: they are three-lane vans with tilting technology. When changing direction, their wheels lean into the bend like a conventional single-track bicycle. This makes them more dynamic than the typical kindergarten taxis with a rigid axle. The Chike E-Cargo and Johansson Oscar S are three-wheelers with two front wheels, while the Gleam Escape combines two rear wheels with one front wheel.
MYBIKE test video
Two of our test candidates are single-track vans with a loading area in front of the rider. The Packster 70 from Riese & Müller is a classic long john cargo bike with a long wheelbase. The loading area is low and has a favourable centre of gravity between the rider and the front wheel. The e.Yoonit smart has a similar design, but its loading area partially protrudes over the front wheel. The centre of gravity is therefore slightly higher.
- Chike E-Cargo
- Gleam Escape
- Johansson Oscar S
- Riese & Müller Packster 70
- Yoonit e.Yoonit smart burgundy
You can download the complete comparison test of the e-cargobikes including all individual ratings as a PDF below the article. The test costs 1.99 euros.
Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has a price. In return, we guarantee independence and objectivity. This applies in particular to the tests in MYBIKE. We don't charge for them, but the opposite is the case: we do charge for them - hundreds of thousands of euros every year.
