Firsthand Look: Pedego Cargo Bike

The Cargo bike from Pedego

The general problem with electric cargo bikes is that they’re really heavy. And that typically causes a ripple effect of issues. Tough to maneuver. Bad battery range. Sluggishness. Poor turning radius. You get the picture.

So I was a little reluctant to try Pedego’s Cargo bike, when recently given the opportunity. But I love the brand. The company’s bikes have an excellent quality build. There’s a huge network of shops to take the bikes to, if you ever need servicing. They get solid miles per charge. Great customer service. And they’re overall nice looking bikes. Who am I to turn away the chance to review one?

Now I’ve not really ever had the need for a cargo bike. And this one was delivered to me fully assembled in its most basic version. I could’ve selected from an array of add-ons such as baskets and carry racks, but I chose to just have an extra long passenger bench in back of the regular seat. The wooden side panel has foot rests that fold down and out when you need them – a really cool feature. But the rest of the bike is, well, cargo-y. That is, it weighs 106 pounds without the battery and passenger seat, from what I found online. It has two kickstands, letting you choose which to use based on convenience. It’s 79.2 inches from front to back. A bright color LCD display is flanked by audible right and left turn signals. There are three pedal assist levels, a manual gear shifter, a throttle, cruise control, a zip-up storage compartment underneath the seat, comfortable saddle, and durable tires. Pedego offers buyers two battery options – the larger model getting up to 132 miles with the range extender activated. On paper, it’s a very nice spec’d out model – everything I would expect from Pedego.

For a real life drive, I took it out on my regular test routes. The bike was super quiet and it went up the steepest hill at 20 miles per hour. That matches the best speed I’ve seen on any e-bike going up that hill, by the way. The pep on this machine is fantastic, provided you’re in the highest pedal assist level. Now it’s a Class 2 bike, so it kind of maxes out at 20. Thus, even on flatter surfaces I was only able to get it up to the low 20’s speed-wise. I guess that’s safer anyway for when you are hauling children or packages.

My mileage was super limited. In fact, each of the initial six-mile rides wore down the battery by 26 percent apiece. But both rides were on rather hilly streets in windy conditions, and because I kept the bike in the highest pedal assist mode and often throttled during that ride, that definitely eroded battery range. However, I pretty much needed to keep the bike in the highest pedal assist level – 3 in this case – because the bike is so heavy, it would’ve been difficult to continuously pedal uphill in my area in any level of lesser power. But like I said earlier, it did get up to a nice cruising speed. I also noticed the brakes often squealing, which I’m guessing was caused by – you guessed it – the bike’s heavy weight. Their stopping ability was outstanding, but they were loud enough to catch stares from passers-by. And while I’m listing complaints, my last would be that even though there are two kickstands – in the center and towards the rear – using them was difficult. I kept thinking how tough it would be if I had a child in tow, to park it and lift up the bike enough to set the kickstand. I fear that would be a legit complaint about this bike from parents of young kids. And it’s not like you can lean the bike up against you without the kickstand on, to grab your kid off the seat after a ride before engaging the kickstand.

I’ve only tried one cargo bike before from another company, which was frankly a horrible experience. So I really have no comparison benchmark. But as mentioned above, I can vouch that Pedego is an excellent and reliable brand. And for that reason alone, if I was in the market for a cargo bike, this would be a consideration.

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