As your family grows, so too can your electric cargo bike. Modern cargo bikes are designed to fit a range of accessories to suit the size and number of passengers you would like to carry, whether child, adult or even dog! This guide discusses the different passenger setups available.
If you’re new to electric cargo bikes, you may want to read our Electric cargo bike guide first in order to understand what a cargo e-bike is, the types available and which one might be right for you
Longtail cargo e-bikes
Here, we will use an example of the Ezee Expedir longtail cargo e-bike to demonstrate the passenger and cargo options. Like any bike of this type, the rear of the frame has a long, strong rack that can be fitted with a variety of passenger accessories. The Ezee Expedir, for example, can take up to two passengers or 100 kg. Whilst a number of different longtail e-bikes are available at Glow Worm, they all use similar accessories to carry passengers, some of which are interchangeable between different brands of e-bike.
Stage 1: Two little kids (less than six years)
This arrangement uses two child seats on the rear. We recommend the Thule Yepp Maxi Easyfit, which can take a child up to 22 kg, or about six years of age, and is available in a range of colours. There is still enough space in front of the seats for each child to be comfortable. These seats also have foot guards to protect little feet!
Stage 2: A big kid (over six years) and a little kid
If one child grows out of the child seat, it can be replaced with a purpose-made cushion, generally placed in front of the child seat, as well as a wrap-around handrail (called a Hoopee) that the larger child can hold onto.
Stage 3: Two big kids
Once the other child has grown out of their seat, it can be replaced with a second cushion, so that both children are comfortable and can safely hold onto the handrail.
Carrying cargo:
A pair of pannier bags can also be fitted to the rear rack for carrying groceries and other items. In some cases, it may be possible to fit the bags so that when a child is on the back, their feet can rest inside the empty bags, whilst the bags are used for cargo when the child isn’t on board. We recommend either Ortlieb waterproof pannier bags, which can fit virtually any rack, or bags made by the manufacturer of a cargo bike (such as Tern and Yuba).
Front racks are also available. The Yuba Spicy Curry, for example, can be fitted with a rack with a weight limit of 22 kg. This helps distribute weight more evenly across the bike.
Ezee Expedir with two Ortlieb pannier bags
Cargo-equipped Yuba Spicy Curry
Carrying an adult:
Longtail cargo bikes can generally carry 60-100 kg on the rear, meaning you may be able to carry an adult. It is still recommended that the passenger be seated on a purpose-made seat (as opposed to sitting on the bare rack) and can hold onto a purpose-made wrap-around handrail, ring or under-saddle handlebars (depending on the make of bike). Traveling by cargo bike can be a great way for parents to make date night extra fun and romantic!
Date night on the Tern GSD
Front-loading box bike
We will use the example of the Urban Arrow Family, one of our most popular and versatile electric box bikes.
The Urban Arrow has a generous front box designed to fit up to three passengers, which can include:
- two children facing forwards on the included bench seat (seatbelts included), and
- one child facing backwards towards the rider on an extra seat bench at the front (optional extra), or a baby or toddler facing backwards in an approved child seat (fitted using the Maxi-Cosi adapter made by Urban Arrow), or
- alternatively, one adult inside the box on the included bench seat.
The Urban Arrow can take up to three passengers
The Urban Arrow box can safely carry up to 125 kg, the whole bike can carry up to 200 kg (including the rider), and the rider can be a maximum of 125 kg. An optional rear rack and pannier bags can also be fitted, with a maximum weight of 25 kg.
Whilst riding, passengers can be protected with either a sun or rain cover made by Urban Arrow.
One of our happy customers even uses the Urban Arrow to carry his dogs around the hilly roads of Sydney’s Eastern suburbs.
Making the right choice
There is a huge range of cargo e-bikes and accessories now available. You might see a happy family ride by on a cargo bike and want the exact same one, right now! But all families are different, and it’s important to tailor the right bike and accessories to your family and it’s changing needs. The friendly and experienced staff at Glow Worm Electric Bikes are happy to share their knowledge gained from over ten years of riding, selling and servicing cargo bikes. We recommend visiting our Sydney or Melbourne showrooms with your family to see the range of cargo e-bikes available, test ride some options and discuss accessories for passengers and cargo.
Happy hauling!
