Haul your groceries, gear, and kids with these cargo bikes—many with pedal-assist motors.
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Losing riding time to run unavoidable errands sucks. Luckily, electrically assisted cargo bikes make it easier to go car-lite or to ditch driving altogether and pedal (almost) everywhere. The latest generation of these bikes are more customizable and offer e-assist and modular mounting systems, making today’s bakfiets and longtails increasingly viable trade-ins for your gas-guzzling SUV.
The United Parcel Service and disaster relief managers across the globe use cargo bikes to transport goods where cars can’t go, and it’s freeing to breeze by traffic in the bike lane with a week’s worth of groceries packed onto your ride. Whether you’re picking up supplies or furnishing a room from IKEA, there’s a good chance that the perfect e-cargo bike for you is on this list.
Browsing for more bikes? Check our picks for the best folding electric bikes, fat bikes, and hybrid bikes.
Domestic and international cargo bike popularity has exploded in the past decade, says Xtracycles founder and longtail cargo bike pioneer Ross Evans. There are generally three main styles of cargo bikes: long tail, front loader, and the bakfiet.
There are also trike varieties for riders needing to transport very-heavy loads or more than two children. The longtail cargo bike is the most agile and lightweight, and it transports cargo or passengers on an extended tail section behind the rider. A front loader places its payload in front of the rider, generally on a low-slung platform adaptable to suit many needs. Last is the bakfiet style bike with its large basket (typically in front of the rider) for carrying cargo or transporting multiple passengers.
To make sense of the recent cargo bike boom, look to e-bikes. “Electricity and cargo bikes go together like PB&J,” Evans says. Schlepping hundreds of pounds on a bike is great if you’re looking for a workout. But e-cargo bikes like the Tern GSD and Benno Boost E use pedal-assist electric motors with more than 50 miles of range to make cargo bikes more accessible to riders who want the convenience of a car in a bike-sized package.
The tech comes at a price, however. E-cargo bikes tend to be pricier than their non-electric counterparts, but unless you live somewhere completely flat (and even if you do), we think an e-cargo bike is still the way to go. The vastly improved usability, carrying capacity, and range of e-cargo bikes save you money in the long run by being more effective car substitutes (versus non-assist bikes that requires more effort to ride).
Once you’ve purchased a cargo bike, you’ll want the right accessories to maximize its utility. Start on the manufacturer’s website: Brands like Tern and Benno sell panniers, racks, and child seats to match their cargo bikes. Alternatively, if your style is more “dump it and go,” bakfiets like the Riese & Müller Load 60 use a single spacious box that’ll fit all your stuff (there are still seat belts for your kids, though). The best way to figure out which style or bike you prefer is by getting out for a test ride.
Approach an e-cargo bike and accessory purchase the same way you would if you were buying a car. Try and test as many options as you can. Prioritize your most common cargo needs. While it can be fun to think aspirationally, getting a bike that’s perfectly suited to your daily needs will mean you use it more often.
These bikes have been thoroughly tested and vetted by Bicycling editors. We used them to fetch groceries or take kids to school, riding them as often as possible to find out whether they can replace our cars for daily use. We also interviewed the product managers who build these bikes and compared them to competitors in the market. Have a question about one of these rides or why a cargo bike you love didn’t make our list? Let us know in the comments.
The Specialized Globe Haul ST packs 419 pounds of cargo capacity into a surprisingly compact frame. With powerful brakes, dialed geometry, and well-thought-out features, it’s ready to tackle commuting, grocery getting, neighborhood errands, or getting a kid to daycare. Without active suspension, the Haul relies on massive 3.5-inch tires, which work well on all but the roughest roads.
What seals the deal on the Haul is, simply put, that it’s a blast to ride, which might not strike you as earth-shattering, but many e-cargo bikes just aren’t. What makes e-cargo bikes good often comes down to their utility, and the Haul ST has that in spades. But what it does so well is simultaneously managing to be incredibly practical and irresistibly fun.
At $2,200, the Abound is Aventon’s priciest bike. But it’s also the second-most affordable bike on this list. The Abound looks fantastic and well-prepared for the designated assignment. The bike’s squat appearance and stout-built frame practically beg you to load it up with every possible parcel, payload, or accessory. Also included in the Abound’s base price are a sturdy rear rack, footboards for a passenger, a center-mount kickstand, and an SR Suntour suspension fork.
The bike also comes equipped with a dropper seatpost. Commonly found on mountain bikes, this post allows the saddle to raise or lower when riding the bike (via a switch lever under the nose of the saddle). The dropper enables riders to get on or off the Abound when it has a full cargo load.
The Generation e1.2 is the most affordable cargo-capable bike on our list. Even at $1,900, it manages to be impressively equipped with hydraulic disc brakes, front and rear lights, fenders, and front and rear racks as standard.
While its total capacity is lower than other bikes on this list, it can be perfect for riders making short trips for light errands and shopping. It’s also zippy and small enough to pull double duty as a commuter bike. The e1.2 is a good option for riders who don’t need to transport passengers or regularly carry heavy loads. Click below for our review of Co-op’s similar Co-op Generation e1.1 model.
The Tern GSD S10 won Bicycling’s Gear of the Year award in 2018 for its car-replacing versatility and range. The current GSD S10 builds upon the original’s success with a Bosch Cargo Line motor, which provides more torque and features a walk-assist mode for easier off-the-bike maneuvering. There’s also a wide-range 1o speed cassette, which combines with the motor to tackle any hill. Like its predecessor, the GSD S10 holds two Bosch battery packs—buying both extends the range to a 155-mile maximum but adds $800 to the price.
There’s something great about the clean design of the RemiDemi 10D that makes you want to take it everywhere. Customize it with accessories like a front rack, panniers, or even a child seat (it comes with a big-ass rear rack). It’ll quickly become your go-to compact e-cargo bike for running errands, zipping around at the beach, and even commuting when the time comes (it gets up to 62 miles on one charge).
You’ll encourage friends and family to “go ahead, take it for a spin” because you want to share the joy it brings. And with its extremely low standover and stable balloon tires, it’s easy to ride for almost anyone. You might not notice at first, but you’ll come to appreciate its integrated lights and the fact that its wheelbase is about six inches shorter than a typical cargo bike (a space-saving feature), but also one that makes the 10D that much easier to maneuver.
A sturdy and dependable way to transport cargo or small humans around town, the Momentum PakYak E+ electric bike lets you enjoy the bicycle ride instead of the frustrations of car traffic and congestion for those short and medium-length trips.
The PakYak E+ is a one-size-fits-most midtail cargo e-bike. It has a front basket, rear rack, a heavy-duty kickstand, and lighting. Momentum offers several options to customize your PakYak based on your intended cargo. A class 3 e-bike, the PakYak E+ has 28mph of power assist via five power levels. Paired with a 5-speed Shimano Nexus internal gear hub, the bike helps you haul kids or cargo efficiently, comfortably, and without breaking a sweat.
The Xtracycle RFA is designed to evolve around your changing needs. Its adjustable dropouts allow you to shorten and lengthen the wheelbase by 5.5 inches. The shorter layout (dubbed the RFA Sport) comes with a smaller rear deck. We’d opt for the RFA Utility with its longer rack (might as well have more capacity, right?), but you can always change the wheelbase length in about an hour. The bike feels sturdy and stiff, plus Xtracycle has one of the more seamless interfaces for selecting accessories and custom options for your bike.
The 2.5-inch wide tires dampen road vibration and make you feel like you can run over almost anything, an admirable trait on a bike designed to carry hundreds of pounds of cargo. The steel frame and fork combined with a front thru-axle gave our test bike a precise and confidence-inspiring steering feel. Our test bike had the Shimano STEPS EP6 motor, which can provide assist up to 28 mph but, under normal riding conditions, would top out around 23-25 mph. The previous version of this bike did not come with stock fenders, but Xtracycle has now fixed this and has also included rear wheel skirts and foot rests. Overall, the RFA is a smooth, solid-feeling bike that's ready for years of riding. Xtracycle backs this with a lifetime warranty for the frame and fork and a two-year warranty for the Shimano STEPS system.
Tern’s GSD cargo bike deserves every bit of the love we’ve lavished upon its kid-hauling, load-bearing frame. But it’s a big bike and potentially overkill if you’re not a family with a couple of kids looking to replace a car. The Quick Haul is like a mini version of the GSD and shares many of its features. Topping out at 20 mph, the Bosch Active Line Plus motor is glassy smooth, as is the 8-speed drivetrain. A 400Wh battery provides up to 65 miles of range. The Quick Haul can handle up to 331 pounds (including the rider), accepts one child seat, and works with various cargo accessories for the front and rear for all your commuting and errand-running pleasure.
The Yuba Spicy Curry is a utilitarian electric cargo bike. Customize it with the proprietary monkey bars, sideboards, cargo bags, and basket, and you’ll end up with as close to a two-wheeled minivan as you can get. “I’ll ride the bike with my son to drop him off at school,” says Bicycling video production manager Jimmy Cavalieri. “The Bosch motor helps me climb the 600-foot hill between my home and work, and I’ll load it up after my grocery stop on the way home.” The low-rider rear rack lowers your cargo’s center of gravity to improve handling.
The Fetch+ 4 is Trek’s take on the classic Dutch bakfiet and is designed to replace the minivan for families with as many as four kids. It sells with two child seats included, but riders can add different accessories to make their passengers more comfortable. These include a full cover for the basket to keep everyone out of the wind and rain. Trek uses Bosch’s latest BES3 system with a Bosch Cargo Drive motor, which delivers its power via a Gates Carbon belt drive that ensures virtually maintenance-free running.
Test Editor Dan Chabanov got his start in cycling as a New York City bike messenger but quickly found his way into road and cyclocross racing, competing in professional cyclocross races from 2009 to 2019 and winning a Master’s National Championship title in 2018. Prior to joining Bicycling in 2021, Dan worked as part of the race organization for the Red Hook Crit, as a coach with EnduranceWERX, as well as a freelance writer and photographer.
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