Author Topic: Decathlon cargo-bike  (Read 1975 times)

Decathlon cargo-bike
« on: 11 April, 2022, 09:57:36 am »
This came up on a Youtube feed. I'm not sure that it's on the market yet and the test was in Belgium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig_4RaYDVkU

I am not in the market for one and I would want to know what the autonomie was in a town with real hills before investing in any e-cargo (Limoges is ruled by e-bikes of all sorts but one does also see a few that have run out of juice) but I can see a real future for this one, especially at the price quoted.

The usual problem is not solved of course - where do the poor who could really benefit from this sort of mobility and who live in flats, tower blocks particularly, keep such a beast when they are not using it? Until the housing providers come up with a workable solution to that one (and a secure one!) this will remain a tool for the garage-owning middle-classes.

Re: Decathlon cargo-bike
« Reply #1 on: 11 April, 2022, 03:14:52 pm »
If it's the same one I saw on a family cycling forum ita not coming to UK for some import related issues

Re: Decathlon cargo-bike
« Reply #2 on: 15 April, 2022, 01:08:45 pm »
I built a cargo bike (box out front) and have fitted it with 48V 15AH battery with a 48V high torque rear hub motor. It sounds as if this one from Decathlon is almost identical in terms of power and capacity. It is hard to say what sort of autonomie you could expect as it would be very dependent on the load and how steep and how many hills you would have to deal with. One thing I can say is that there is very little need use the electric assist on the level or if there is the slightest downhill incline when loaded. The extra weight gives a lot of inertia. My typical trip is to the supermarket each week. The ride in is slightly uphill and I use the power on level 2 of 5 which allows me to put some effort in (which I like to do) and travel at an acceptable speed. For the return journey I don't even use the electric assist. Once up to speed the bike bowls along and on the couple of short inclines, where I would normally expect to put a bit of effort in on my solo bikes, the inertia of the loaded bike carries it up. The price of 2800 euros for a complete package is very competitive. However bear in mind that the kit that I bought for my cargo bike costs £659 https://wooshbikes.co.uk/cart/#/product/uid-251-dwg22c-48v15ahr/shengyi-dwg22c-48v-250w-rear-hub-kit-with-48v-15ah-rack-battery
So don't rule out converting an existing bike if it has the carrying capacity or if a trailer is an option.

BTW in the Youtube video the tester states that the gears use an 11-18 cassette, which didn't sound right, but checking on the Decathlon site it is in fact 11-28.

P.S. "autonomie" is French word  :) but I know what you meant as I lived in France for 21 years.