One of the greatest aspects of having an ebike is the fact that carrying extra weight will not hinder you in the slightest, whether it is packing your camping gear into panniers and on the back rack, or just some essential, but weighty, shopping. The electric motor is there to assist and that assistance comes to the fore when you, or the ebike, is weighed down with freight.
Before I got my ebike I was always apprehensive when I knew I would have a deal of extra weight to lug around. My poor legs are at an age when cycling a traditional bicycle is hard work at times, and more so when extra weight is involved. On an ebike though, extra weight, whether it is the backpack on my back, or the panniers full of shopping, is a breeze. In fact, the kind of journeys I would always leave to a car trip are now more and more carried out on the ebike.
Why Take the Car When the Ebike Will Do?
Recently, on a trip to a garden centre (now closed due to covid), I automatically jumped in the car. I was planning to buy a few plants for the garden. I bought two, and when I arrived home, one of the pots had tipped over in the trunk, leaving a mess of soil to clean up. I wished at that point that I had taken the ebike with the panniers on. One pot in each would have gotten both plants home safe, with no more effort than a normal cycle ride, and I would not have had a mess of soil to clean up on arriving home. I began to think: how many times do I automatically opt for the car just because I will have something to bring home? And, is the something that I do bring home, able to be transported on my ebike? The answer to the questions is, ‘most times’, and ‘yes’.
Frame of Mind, or Force of Habit?
It is undoubtedly a mindset I have let become a habit over the years. Probably most people without a car don’t have this problem, or even know that this type of problem exists.
They have their ebike, they do stuff, carry stuff, don’t think much about easier ways to get items from A to B because they have their ebike and can do such with it. So, they tend to use their ebike more, and especially for short trips involving carrying goods, supplies, or shopping, it has become a force of habit for them.
I, with the car in the drive, have to learn to break the frame of mind I have conditioned myself to over the years, I need to ween myself out of relying on the car for anything I have to transport, and get into the habit of asking myself the question: can I do it on the ebike? Make the choice of the ebike my first option, instead of default car as it is now.
Can You Free Yourself from the Car?
I would gladly free myself from car ownership if I could. Unfortunately, I need a car for my job. Not for the commute, but for getting around the area and meeting clients and customers. If I could get rid of the car, I could, I am sure, utilise the ebike more and eventually the ebike would become a force of habit and I would miss the car less and less. Short of changing jobs, which is a possibility in the near future, I will require a car, but I am constantly trying now to utilise it less out of work hours, and normalize opting for the ebike first. This is not just the greener option, less petrol used, less pollution, it is also the sensible option, less cost to myself, greater benefits to my health.
See also: What is an Ebike, or Electric Bicycle
Is Ebike Freight Is Good for Business?
There seems to be more and more companies utilising ebikes for freight. Cargo ebikes are a thing, and how much cheaper, and greener, is it to deliver to the locality on an ebike than using a van and driver? It seems that some businesses have already cottoned on to this, and cargo ebikes are becoming an important sector in the ebike market. If your business involves delivering parcels, or small to medium sized items, or even shopping or takeaways to a local area, it is hard not to see the advantages of utilising cargo ebikes specifically for this purpose. As well as the modified to purpose ebikes, there are also trailers available which can help move awkward bulky items.
How Do I Carry Goods on an Ebike?
Fit a back and/or front rack on an ebike and there are a vast range of panniers and cargo holders you can choose from to make carrying almost anything possible on an ebike. As assistance from the motor helps you along, weight is not a big issue, at least not for most items you would want to transport. So, kit out your ebike with the proper equipment and say goodbye to the car for most of your hauling needs.
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