To celebrate their tenth anniversary, Basel-based bike shop Obst & Gemüse have collaborated with the Dutch frame builder Elian Cycles to build what they say is the ultimate cargo bike... and fittingly, they've called it the Ultimate e-Cargo.
Review: Riese and Muller Load 75 Touring
Aiming to make a lightweight and well-handling machine that can also carry plenty of cargo, the bike is based on the Elian Veltman’s Classic Cargo Tour model, with a hand-built steel frame. Being based in mountainous Switzerland, 95% of bikes Obst & Gemüse sell are electric, therefore it was the natural way to go for this special edition build. The Maxon rear hub has been modified to fit a MX25 Boost motor, with the 250 watts of power/assist up to 25kph as is standard on EU e-bikes. This slick motor will give pedal assist up to 25 km/ph.
Elian say they design their cargo bikes to be less jumpy and more fluid than the competition, lowering the centre of gravity and pairing with a unique central steering system to further improve the handling. The tyre clearance is up to 45mm to take on rough roads and paths, and as you can see the load-carrying ability looks to be huge.
The components are also very high spec, with a SRAM GX Eagle 1x 12 speed groupset, an ENVE cockpit and seatpost and custom made wheels.
Only 20 bikes are available, and the price is (wait for it) a snip at £9,800! To be fair it's a custom build and the spec is suitably high-end, and it's still way cheaper to run than the car and probably loads more fun to ride... more info and ordering options on the landing page here.
