The main issues with businesses switching to cargo ebikes are load capacity and width.As long as the ebike and cargo bay are under 90 cms wide (which covers all but the very largest cargo ebikes) then cycles lanes which are designed to decent standards (min 1.5m wide for single way lane, 2.5m for dual way lane) are fine - and that includes C9. If the larger cargo ebikes, technically mostly e-trikes, 90 cm+ wide become popular then the cycle lanes are going to get a bit tight which raises some obvious safety issues.But whether the really big cargo bikes become the popular option, especially for small businesses, depends heavily on whether the load capacity will be enough for typical use. A good sizeable cargo ebike should be capable of carrying 200kg, but sadly that includes the rider, so actual carrying load is probably 100-120 kg (by way of comparison a smallish e-van could carry 600-800 kg of actual cargo). That should be enough for a lot of deliveries although the physical size of the goods being delivered may preclude using an ebike.However, the big issue may be cost - which is heavily influenced by cargo capacity. A big cargo ebike is not cheap, but still a lot less than the cost of a small e-van. If however a business would need to have to employ 2 riders on cargo ebikes to replace 1 driver in an e-van then the total costs heavily favour leasing an e-van.This is a long winded way of saying that cargo ebikes are likely to be a niche delivery option for most businesses. Great for pizza delivery, small butcher deliveries even some clothes delivery but too costly for large items or where multiple deliveries in bulk are needed to be lugged around.As for individual use, great for a lot of weekly shops
Justin Stephenson ● 542d