Mycle Cargo review

The Mycle Cargo electric bike offers a good-value avenue to owning a very capable cargo ebike with plenty of carrying capacity and impressive range.

Cargo bikes are an interesting proposition, thanks to their ability to carry huge loads with the added bonus that they can accommodate multiple passengers. The main issue with non-assisted cargo bikes is you need to be very committed to using one day in, day out as an alternative to a motor vehicle.

But motors for ebikes have changed all that, with an electric cargo bike becoming a genuine alternative to the car for your urban run-around chores.

However, there is one big limiting factor: the price. Most electric cargo bike options start at around £4,000 and with some coming closer to five figures, they aren’t a cheap option if you’re looking to be greener.

However, with a standard price of £1,899, the Mycle Cargo changes all that. I opted for the £2,299 double-battery version, but even that’s half the cost of many of its competitors.

Mycle Cargo details and specifications

The headline figures on the Cargo are impressive. The battery is a huge 720Wh unit, while I had double that on my test bike with the additional range extender, which Mycle claims will see you up in the 120km range. All that and it’s rated to carry a massive 215kg load.

The long-tail design means that from a seated position it feels quite like a standard bike, but at 1.87m in length it’s considerably bigger.

The steering is very light, and the bike is remarkably nimble at slower speeds, which allowed me to easily navigate offset gates entering bike paths and to navigate between stationary vehicles in the city. The steering is damped, so it never feels twitchy, and I came away impressed with how easy the Mycle is to ride.

For such a keenly priced bike, it’s also very well equipped. Shimano’s seven-speed Altus drivetrain works well, shifts smoothly and the cassette’s oversized MegaRange sprocket means it’s easy to pedal up to speed carrying a heavy load, even without electric assistance.

I found the plush saddle comfortable without padded cycling shorts, even after a long ride. The Tektro mechanical disc brakes worked well at halting the 36.5kg bike without protest, noise or judders.

The rack is integrated into the frame, which helps to give the bike such an impressive load-carrying capacity. In its standard form, the rack comes with a plywood deck. This matches the Mycle’s integrated foot boards, which make it easy to carry adult passengers.

There are wheel guards built in, so your passengers’ clothing won’t get caught in the wheel or stained by the extended chain.

The rack’s dimensions will work with most child seats, and the Mycle’s length means you could add two rear seats. Up front, there’s a four-point fixing, which also makes the Cargo compatible with front-mounted racks and child seats.

With its 215kg limit, the Cargo could cope with transporting three toddlers and the rider, making it a viable alternative to a car.

The bike comes with seatpads to make it more comfortable for passengers and Mycle will offer a seatpost-mounted bar to provide a better handhold for the passenger.

Lighting comes as standard, with the front LED powerful enough to provide visibility on unlit roads, and the broad rear light featuring a built-in brightening brake light.

Mycle also offers a few accessories for the Cargo, and I tried out the large and medium rear racks with their waterproof bags. These are high-quality, tidily made accessories and the only issue was the supplied bolt hardware, which wasn’t long enough to bolt to the rear rack. I had to reuse the bolts from the plywood decking to make these work.

It’s a very small oversight on this new range from Mycle and one I’m assured will be addressed on the retail version. Compared with the likes of Tern, Mycle’s range of add-ons is a little thin, and I’d like to have seen some oversized panniers for instance.

Mycle Cargo ride impressions

The rider position is upright and very comfortable, and the adjustable saddle height ensured it fitted both me at 6ft 2in and my 5ft partner. You can further tweak the position thanks to the long, adjustable stem.

The Mycle's super-wide 20in rims are shod with CST’s Big Boat tyres with puncture protection. With their three-inch width, they look like they belong on a motorbike. For such voluminous tyres, however, they roll well and smother rough roads and bike paths with ease. The Mycle really is one very smooth-riding bike.

The Mycle’s rear-hub motor comes from the world of off-road fat bikes, and its 250W rating with an impressive 65Nm of torque is enough to power the bike along at a fair lick.

The e-system is controlled by a simple LED controller with up and down buttons to cycle through its three power modes and a series of five lights to show your battery level.

That said, on the dual-battery setup it only shows a single battery level. Once that battery runs out, you have to switch off the empty battery and then the display relights the levels as it reads the second battery. On more expensive systems, such as those from Bosch and Specialized’s Turbo, extender batteries are used simultaneously.

The Mycle’s system wasn’t exactly a chore to use, though – you just reach down, flick a switch and that's it.

The assistance in level one is good for flat terrain, but I did find myself defaulting to level two for most of my riding. On level three, the Mycle has a remarkable amount of punch, seeing me up some very steep local hills with ease even when loaded up with a week’s shopping or garden centre supplies.

Mycle claims a range of up to 120km with the two-battery system, or 60km from a single battery. My best was 103km/63.75miles with 1,722.5ft/525m of climbing using a pair of batteries.

That's a little shy of the 120km claim, but over different terrain I don't doubt 120km is achievable. I’d also say that over 100km is more than ample for even the longest day delivering or running around with the family.

The Mycle’s power delivery can be a little odd, especially in the top-level setting. The bike has a cadence sensor with a dozen magnetic pick-up points, which sense when to input power. However, there is a definite delay from a standing start, with it taking more than a complete crank rotation before you get full power.

The system has a throttle by the right-hand grip – and this suffers from the same delay. The throttle is really there for assistance when walking, but on similar bikes it usually helps with standing starts, especially when carrying a heavy load.

Mycle Cargo bottom line

I’d like to see Mycle iron out some of the bike’s niggles, which would make it a truly exceptional budget option.

As it stands, Mycle's Cargo is a remarkably capable hauler. It doesn't feel hugely compromised compared to the much pricier Benno Boost or Tern’s premium GSD bikes, and the Mycle’s price includes a full year’s warranty, or two years for an extra £200.

The more expensive cargo bikes are a bit slicker and offer more accessories, but you are paying a big premium for essentially the same sort of workhorse.

Mycle set out to create a bike that’s a truly viable replacement for a car at a much more affordable price – and that's exactly what Mycle has done with its very capable Cargo.

• Buy the Mycle Cargo from Amazon