Ebike Accessories You Need to Help You Carry More Stuff

When my wife and I bought our first ebike – a Radwagon 4 from Seattle Rad Power Bikes—four years ago, we decided to replace one of our two family cars. For city trips of 5 miles or less, we decided we could (and should!) use the bike. At that time, our children were very young, so we needed a bike that would be able to carry them safely and carry everything we were carrying for the day.

Radwagon answered those needs; the direct-to-consumer company allowed me to tailor the bike to my specific needs at the time of ordering. I chose a front basketa back seat pad to my son, and a Thule Yepp 2 Maxi a chair to protect my daughter. I also bought a few safety lights and a bell from my local bike shop (more on accessories below).

When the bike arrived and was assembled, my wife and I used it to transport our children around town. We drove to and from school and daycare, play dates, and doctor’s appointments; exercise; and I went to wherever we needed to go that was close to home.

On any given day, the front basket still serves as a cornucopia of everything we need for the job or task at hand. On a recent trip to a local stadium, my ebike basket contained the following: a small ball, my wife’s small bag, my bike lock and cable, two water bottles (in addition to the third water bottle in the bike’s bottle cage), three baseball caps, two baseball gloves, one baseball, a small tin lunch box, a small tin box filled with binders and two Pokemon cards. The basket has also comfortably held two large or three small bags, and, on one occasion, a small guitar amp I found in our thrift store.

The bike is still useful and functional, but my family’s needs have changed since we bought it. My 4-year-old daughter is now too big to fit in her Yepp seat, and my 8-year-old son feels out of place on the back of his dad’s bike. (Not to mention, he’s now strong enough to ride all over town on his bike.)

With my kids outgrowing the beloved family ebike, I’ve been thinking about its next iteration as a cargo schlepper – a Grocery Getter, if you will – and how I can set it up to haul as much stuff as possible. Ebikes are now forming a large groupto serve mountain bikers and travelers, folding and sailing to meet different needs. There are clever ways to maximize your ebike’s capabilities for any of these reasons, but here I’ll stick to describing the two I know best: hauling the family (Family Horse) and hauling loads (Grocery Getter).

Family Carriage

Photo: Michael Venutolo-Mantovani

If you use your ebike carrying your childrenYou will want them a good, safe, and suitable place for their age.