EbikeTips’ Alex Bowden took the Estarli e-cargo longtail for the full family test. Could it handle the kids and the shopping on the same day? Let’s see…

Alex lives on the outskirts of Manchester and he has two young kids and one car. When everything goes to plan, that’s fine…but he wanted to test out the extent to which the Estarli e-cargo could act as a second car. 

*Spoiler alert* - It beat a second car on so many fronts, and not all of them obvious.

Alex took the kids for multiple rides; park trips, adventures and chores. In fact, it was a trip to Screfix that opened his eyes the most. What surprised him was how this formerly monotonous chore was much more of an adventure for the kids, “any trip – is just really, really, tremendously fun.”

There was one moment of panic mind. Alex was testing our prototype all weather cocoon (coming soon) which doubles as a large shopping carrier. He carefully listened to us explain to him how it becomes a genuine cargo vehicle when the kids have been dropped off and how it can do the whole shop. When he wheeled the family trolley out of the supermarket doors a few weeks later he realised he hadn’t tested this theory out and he might soon be stranded with a tonne of baked beans and Cheerios!

Thankfully the panic eased quickly when everything fitted neatly into the cocoon with loads of rooms to spare. The beauty of it is that the cocoon utilses the foot rests as a base so it can store bottles upright which beats a lot of car boots. This also means that the load sits low down which is perfect for the balance of the bike.

Kids - tick

Screwfix - tick

Weekly shop - tick

It is fair to say the Estarli Cargo passed the versatility test with flying colours.

Of course, there are many factors to consider if people are considering an e-cargo as a car replacement, Alex wrote, “So can an e-cargo bike replace a car even when your family doesn’t live in a city? I think it would be a challenge to go entirely car-free, but for us at least it could certainly negate the need for the (unavoidably costly) second car that so many people seem to feel is essential”.