When Helen King started at Electric Bike Team in October 2024 she thought cargo bikes were for carting kids around…now she’s convinced they’re a great choice for anyone who wants to go car-free. She shares her experience of living in an outer Auckland suburbs and traveling by cargo ebike.
The decision to ditch my car came down to two factors, my car wasn’t going to pass another warrant of fitness and the rising cost of petrol. It wasn’t easy given I live in a part of west Auckland transport planners forgot about. Traveling to the city or neighbouring suburbs takes two buses and a lot of waiting around. The cost was starting to climb even with the cap of $50 a week Auckland Transport put on travel using a HOP card. I’m about to go back to university so cutting costs became more important.
Choosing the right cargo bike
Getting on a bike needed to feel like a seamless choice. My requirements were a bike capable of carrying my grocery shopping, tackling the hills of Auckland, carrying impulsive op-shop purchases, and the potential to carry my dog (more on this later).
Before I embraced the cargo bike life I traveled the 17km trip to work on an eZee Sprint. If you aren’t familiar with an eZee Sprint it is the Toyota Corolla of the ebike world. I have crowned them the unofficial bike of West Auckland because it captures the spirit of the west; sturdy, straightforward, and looks best in black. If the eZee Sprint is the Corolla, the eZee Expedir is the Toyota Hilux of cargo bikes because it’s going to get you from A to B and built to keep going. With my WOF expiration date rapidly approaching I decided to test out an Expedir on subscription to find out if it was capable of replacing my car.
The Expedir is a long-tail cargo bike meaning the bike is designed to carry heavy loads on the back. With a low step through, swept back handlebars and available in a range of bright colours eZee bikes are known for, I’m hard to miss zipping along.
There’s one feature of all eZee bikes that lend them to longer Auckland commutes, they all have a throttle. A throttle makes mince meat of hills and helps with a quick take off at intersections. With a hub motor the power exists regardless of the effort you put in, meaning my long commute doesn’t feel like a chore. If every ride felt like a workout I knew I would be less likely to want to replace trips with a bike.
Lessons from a car-free life
After more than three months of car-free life I’ve clocked over 1500kms on an Expedir. Reflecting on the past two months the pros of cargo bike life for me include:
- Traveling by bike is more reliable and less stressful. I have never taken my bike to work and regretted the ride. I have often traveled by bus and regretted not riding my bike that day
- My commute time is roughly the same by bike as it is by bus. Sometimes I’m traveling at a similar speed to the bumper to bumper cars on the north western motorway during rush hour
- I’ve discovered parts of my neighbourhood I didn’t know existed including a bridge connecting two suburbs
- I’ve become more intentional with the way I do my food shopping because I’m restricted to what I can carry in my pannier bags
- There’s a noticeable difference in my physical health, my clothes are looser, my knees have improved and I have more stamina walking my dog. As a cancer survivor and someone in their mid-40s anything that helps my health is a benefit!
- Parking is generally easy, the Expedir is a long-tail cargo bike but I’ve never had a problem finding somewhere to park
- Recently, I rode a 40km round trip that included a specialist appointment, picking up fabric, coffee with a friend then home
- I do short trips that I would have done by car, for example ‘nipping up the road for milk’ and I’ve traveled 7 minutes from my house to get a blood test
- I genuinely enjoy riding a bike, especially on bike paths.
There are aspects of cargo bike life I’m adjusting to, including:
- It takes more planning and preparation, I have forgotten to charge my battery overnight causing range anxiety!
- Auckland has come a long way in cycling infrastructure but we can’t quite claim we’re a bike friendly city (yet). There are bike paths that abruptly stop, bike lanes covered in glass, sharing lanes with buses, close calls with motorists who don’t see you
- I’m restricted where I can go with my dog who has not taken to cargo bike life in the way I had hoped
- My social life is based on where I can ride safely during the day. Although I’m planning on testing out evening outings
- Sometimes I don’t feel like riding a bike and am hampered by living in a suburb with limited public transport options
- Exposure to the elements. The phrase four seasons in a day sums up Auckland weather. When you’re a regular cyclist you need to carry wet weather and sun protection gear.
The dog and the cargo bike
I had grand delusions plans my dog, Koki, would be happy pulled behind the bike in a trailer. I found a custom made trailer on Facebook marketplace that had been built for a recently deceased golden retriever. The problem is my dog isn’t a well behaved golden retriever and didn’t take to being in the trailer.
I haven’t given up on my dog enjoying cargo bike life, yet. My first dog had a bike trailer and I successfully traveled with him so I’ll write more about dogs on bikes in an upcoming post.
Cargo bikes are for everyone
I recently discovered you can carry an adult on the back of an Expedir which opens up a range of possibilities for outings with friends. The capacity to carry heavy loads, travel long distance or do quick trips is why I believe cargo bikes are a great option for everyone. Cargo ebikes are practical, fun and economical solution to reducing car travel or ditching the car completely.
Interested in finding out if a cargo bike is for you? Book a consultation with our friendly team.
