2 months ago
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The Pedego’s Cargo e-bike is marketed as a powerful and sporty ride that’s geared towards parents toting kids around town and anyone who needs to schlep heavy gear.
I spent the summer testing out this cargo e-bike to find out if it met that mission. My take: It’s a stylish ride that can hold plenty of cargo in many shapes and forms. But some tech issues, as well as its heaviness, might give some (including me) pause on shelling out $4,000. That said, Pedego’s five-year warranty with optional anti-theft protection might just make it all worth it.
Pedego, a California-based company, has been around since 2009, so customers can benefit from a robust network of more than 200 stores throughout the country. This may be particularly valuable for e-bike newcomers who want to try before they buy or want a reliable service network — a problem that startups, like VC darling VanMoof, faced by pursuing mainly a direct-to-consumer model with bespoke parts.
Nuts and bolts
Image credits: Rebecca BellanImage Credits: Rebecca Bellan
Pricing is between $3,995 to $4,295, which puts it on the mid-higher end of the Cargo bike price spectrum. The one I tested had a 48V 14Ah battery, which pushed the price to $4,295 (although it’s currently on sale at $4,195). However, riders can also choose the 48V 9Ah battery for a cheaper price. Regardless of the battery size, customers may notice that it tucks nicely into the frame of the bike, and can be removed to charge inside.
The Pedego cargo e-bike has a 750W rear hub motor and 85 Nm max torque. It comes with a throttle and pedal-assist options, which is the ideal combination. I didn’t actually notice much of a difference between the pedal-assist levels, but found it easy enough to move between them. While the throttle was powerful, it often failed to take off right away if I was on a hill or had a passenger on the back.
The color LCD display has enough ambient light so I could view the odometer and other information on the screen on a sunny day, and it has a handy USB-C charge port. The handlebar has a mounted headlight with high and low beams, as well as a running light. On the back there’s a radiant taillight with an active brake light and running light.
Pedego’s Cargo e-bike: what I loved
There’s a lot to love about Pedego’s Cargo e-bike, and that starts with the non-existent setup. Pedego shipped me a fully formed bike in a giant box. While breaking down all that packaging was a lesson in patience and persistence, it was preferable to setting the bike up myself.
I also love the look of the Pedego Cargo bike. A little bit of wood — in the form of folding footplates and an added front basket — goes a long way towards giving an otherwise normal-looking aluminum alloy frame a vintage feel. Many people stopped me on the street to ask about the bike, with one bystander even calling it “sexy.” I rode the black model, but it also comes in white.
The Pedego Cargo bike comes built with a seat in the back for an additional rider, complete with a backrest and a handlebar to hold onto. That seat can be substituted out for a number of Pedego’s accessories. You can mount up to two child seats or an extended rear rack onto which you can secure baskets, pet carriers, and insulated bags.
The bike can carry 400 pounds in total, according to the company’s specs sheet. And I tested that weight limit as best I could, riding on the back while my partner and friends drove it around. And with those 20 x 4-inch fat tires, the Pedego Cargo bike also shreds nicely off-road, in case you were wondering.
And it’s fast. The bike has a top speed of 28 miles per hour, which meant I was able to win a race against my partner who was riding Rad Power’s RadRunner 2.
The Cargo bike also comes with a 11.5-liter water resistant storage compartment that sits just under the rider’s saddle and can be accessed from the top or the side.
Two kickstand options – a single side and center double leg – make parking easy.
Pedego Cargo e-bike: what I didn’t love
The bike is long at 79.2 inches, which made it difficult to store and maneuver. It’s also heavy at 106 pounds without the passenger or cargo kits installed. I had to lift the bike up a single step whenever I wanted to ride it, and found that exercise to be a little challenging and cumbersome. Particularly when it fell over once and I struggled to pick it back up. This bike would only really work for someone with dedicated ground-level storage, like a garage, or absolutely no low back issues. There’s no way anyone would want to lug it up even a single flight of stairs.
While the bike was a very sturdy ride solo, when I put my 12-year-old nephew on the back, the handlebars got a little wobbly – which is really NOT what you want when a child you love is holding on for dear life behind you.
The bike also has turn signals, but they were useless, if not a hindrance, to me. They make a horrible beeping sound when turned on, so I had to immediately stop using them out of sheer annoyance. And looking at the somewhat dim lights from the back, it’s actually not clear to other road users that you’re even using a turn signal. I would have much preferred a bell or a horn, but that was not included in the standard Pedego Cargo e-bike.
The e-bike that Pedego sent me also had very squeaky brakes, and that’s not something you want to go and fix right after opening up a new bike.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Cargo bike kept turning off on me mid-ride. It was never a question of battery life, because I kept it charged. I asked Pedego about this, and they said the problem could be loose wires and recommended that I tighten them all.
This could have been an anomaly, though, and with the warranty and plenty of physical stores to bring the bike to, dealing with any issues like that seem more surmountable than with other brands.
