7 reasons to ride an electric cargo bike with your kids

Question: What's the biggest regret people have after having bought a family cargo bike?

Answer: Not having done it sooner!

Whatever the size of your family, an electric cargo bike will be life-changing.

Here are 7 reasons we think you’ll love cycling on a family cargo bike with your children.

We're basing this on our own experiences of using (and not using) cargo bikes with our families, plus talking to other parents who've made the switch too.

1) It's fun

Anyone cycling on a bike with kids will tell you it is SO MUCH FUN. You can chat with your kids while you’re cycling and you get lots of smiles and waves from other people.

Whether your kids sit in front of you in a box bike or at the back on a longtail, you will have your children close to you and you can easily stop if they need anything.

2) It's cheap (after purchase)

Riding an electric cargo bike is cheap! No need to pay for a bus fare, no need to pay for parking, and most importantly no need to pay for fuel.

The average cost of filling up a 55-litre tank of a family car costs more than £100 (since June 2022).

Electric cargo bikes can come with a high price tag, but there are budget options available, both for electric box bikes and longtail cargo bikes.

Charging the battery of your e-bike and maintenance will be your main expenses for running a family cargo bike, but it will be way less than the costs of running a (second) car.

Find out more about the costs of running an electric cargo bike.

3) You won't get sweaty - unless you want to

With electric assist on your bike, you won’t have to break into a sweat, even when going up a hill.

If you do want to improve your fitness, try cycling without any electric assist or put it in ‘eco’ mode to get some easy and cheap exercise as part of your daily routine.

Cycling is a great form of exercise and can help improve overall health and fitness. The NHS recommends that adults do some type of physical activity every day.

Riding a bike counts as moderate aerobic activity and it will raise your heart rate and can reduce the risk of heart disease or stroke.

4) It's fast

Depending on where you live and the journey you take, cycling might be faster than you think, or even faster than driving the same distance.

On a bike, you won’t get stuck in traffic and you won’t need to spend time looking for a parking spot - you can park much closer to your destination when you arrive by bike, saving time on the school run for example.

5) You can bring lots of stuff

We all know that with kids comes stuff, lots of it - snacks, water bottles, book bags, PE kit, musical instruments, sports kit, and more snacks!

A cargo bike can easily deal with all this stuff; either chuck it in the box if you have a box bike or get some large panniers for your longtail.

With a bit of creativity and some bungee cords, you can also attach small buggies and balance bikes to your cargo bike.

The biggest advantage of a cargo bike over a normal bike with bike seats is the ease of carrying all the stuff you need with you.

6) You can go further and up hills

If you were riding a normal bike before getting an electric cargo bike, you will find you can easily ride further because of the electric assist.

Being able to cycle further with the help of the motor on your bike will allow you to go on a detour to the woods or that lovely playpark that used to be out of reach.

Sometimes they say that e-bikes flatten hills, and it’s true! Where you might have avoided hills in the past, especially with kids in bike seats or in a bike trailer, you can now whiz up hills more easily and can explore places that you previously didn’t visit.

7) Endless possibilities

With a cargo bike, you’ll find you spend more time exploring and being outside than you would be in public transport or by car.

You can park your bike wherever you want and spend some time in a park, go to the shops and then head to the library or a cafe.

This is much more complicated when you need to find a parking spot for your car.

If you’re cycling on traffic-free paths your children might want to walk a section or explore the environment because they’re so close to it.

You’ll also bump into friends more than you would be if you’d be driving a car.

Other articles you might find interesting:

• How much does an electric family cargo bike cost?
• Best electric box bike to carry kids
• What type of cargo bike is best for my family?
• Best electric longtail cargo bike to carry kids
• Top things to look out for when buying an electric cargo bike
• Review of the Bike43 longtail cargo bike
• How to start cycling with a small child in a bike seat, cargo bike or trailer
• 2 vs 3 wheeled cargo bikes; which is best for carrying kids? 
• Mycle launch new accessories for cargo bikes
• E-bike motor and battery options