What it’s like to lease a Lug & Carrie e-Cargo bike

Great cities are becoming more bike-friendly. The streets in Paris are safer, school children are riding to school, the streets are more peaceful and pleasant to be in for people walking and riding.

Similar things are happening in London’s and Barcelona’s low-traffic neighbourhoods and superblocks, and, of course, in the Netherlands, where bike-riding has long been popular and safe.

Electric cargo bikes in particular are becoming more common, and can move children, groceries, pets, and (with a trailer) even the contents of whole apartments.

I hadn’t ridden in Sydney since well before my two children were born, but having seen what was possible, I was keen to try an electric cargo bike.

Many shops and playgrounds near us are simply too far to walk to, but driving has its own problems.

Riding a bike saves money on petrol, doesn’t wear down our public roads (vehicle damage to the road is proportional to the fourth power of the vehicle weight), doesn’t pollute the air (it doesn’t burn petrol or diesel, and its tyres disintegrate much less rapidly than those of heavier vehicles), and besides, is more fun for me and the kids.

I can ride right into a playground, so I don’t need to navigate car parks with two children.  A new electric car can have 10-30 tonnes of embodied carbon, whereas a new electric bike has less than 200 kg.

I started looking up all the different available electric cargo bike models, as well as child seats, bike lock combinations, bike alarms, and other add-ons. I was overwhelmed, but then an ad for Lug & Carrie popped up.

They have done a lot of research and offer only one good bike with two models, but with lots of different accessories that can be bundled. They offer an all-inclusive subscription service, and a four-week cancellation period. I decided to try it out, and have been very happy for the six months that have now passed since then.

They currently serve customers in Sydney and Melbourne.

It has been very convenient – Lug & Carrie even come to you for a free test drive, for maintenance, and to drop off or exchange new accessories (we just got a Storm Shield to make riding in the rain more comfortable for the kids). The Lug & Carrie staff even told me exactly what motorbike rain-cover to get to fit over the bike.

The Tern bike and accessories are really well designed. The Clubhouse – the extended metal rails that go around the kids – are wider at the front and back so little fingers don’t get crushed if the bike falls over.

The lights are all built in; the battery is easy to unlock for recharging indoors; the kickstand is very stable — I’ve never worried about it falling over when parked on a level surface.

The wheels are smaller, so the bike has a lower centre of gravity than other longtail electric cargo bikes – some friends with two kids have just switched from another brand to a Tern GSD partly for this reason.

I’ve dropped the bike with passengers twice: both times I was trying to turn around while walking the bike and I overbalanced, but I controlled the fall.

The second time both kids were on the bike and we were on a small slope, and the additional weight and momentum bent something when it hit the ground.

The wheel was jammed and noisy when we remounted. I wheeled the bike across the road to a playground, then, when the children were playing happily, rang Lug & Carrie.

Within a minute I was speaking to a staff member who was able to tell me exactly what I needed to do. If the problem had been more serious, the insurance they provide would have covered a maxi taxi home.

As this recent review of a Tern GSD attests, it is a delight to ride. When planning routes, I prefer to go up hills because it is so easy, and I don’t have to sit on the brakes (the eldest gets nervous when we go fast).

The acceleration with the electric pedal assist is immediate. I can carry plenty of groceries, as well as the kids, who can see much more on the bike than they can in the car.

The only thing about which I’ve been less than delighted is that the bike’s alarm is loud when it locks – it just feels a little obnoxious to turn it on and off in public. Also, if the wind is strong, the alarm goes off when the bike is parked with its cover on. Undercover off-street parking would solve this. Otherwise, everything has been great.

A major issue has been the quality of the infrastructure – something our Councils and State Governments need to focus on. I stick to the footpath a lot of the time, because even on quiet streets I’d rather not risk a car passing too close to my children at 50 km/h. Riding on a safe, separated bike path is always a huge relief, because trips are shorter and less stressful.

Our local governments are starting to build these safe spaces, and money is available for them, so please show your Councillors support to get these projects built. Send them an email, start a petition, or ask about bike paths in Council surveys.

With a safe, separated network of lanes, bikes are a real option for many people (although perhaps not all – my husband is still yet to ride ours). More people on bikes means less traffic for those who can’t or won’t ride: the best country in the world for driving is the most bike-friendly — the Netherlands.

Please fill in the Inner West Council Bike Strategy survey here before the 11th April, and share it with friends and family. The Yarra Transport Strategy is also open for consultation here until 18th April. Canterbury Bankstown Council has “Planning our Green Corridors” open.

If your Council doesn’t have safe bike lanes, email the Councillors and ask for them (use this website to find their email). The Local Government Climate Emergency Toolkit has great suggestions for Council policies to get this infrastructure built.

Other community projects:

• Safe Streets to School
• Friends of Iron Cove Creek walk and cycle path
• Connect the Build The Boardwalk – Connect Halliday Park and Friend Ave at Five Dock

See also our review of the Term GSD e-bike: How the “mini-van” of e-bikes has helped this family beat the traffic and get stuff done