Best Budget Long Tail Cargo E-Bike

Community Pedal Power runs an E-Bike Lending Library with more than a dozen different bike models available, and our volunteer librarians are constantly seeking out access to the latest bikes to find the best things to add to our collection. We help out hundreds of folks a year getting on bikes, trying them out, and listening to their feedback. The recommendations of this article are based on a combination of ride quality, features, accessories, and price, and based on the experience of our librarians as well as members of our community who we have helped both try and purchase bikes.

For budget long-tail cargo bikes, we consider any bike with a list price of under $3000 to be in scope for this category. Each price includes a list price for the bike alone, and configured with our standard recommended set of accessories.

We’ve evaluated each bike in terms of its core features, ride quality, kickstand quality, accessory suite, and price, and identified what we believe to be the best budget long-tail cargo bike, based on a mix of qualitative and quantitative factors. (See the Methodology section at the bottom for more details.)

	Price	Overall	Features	Ride Quality	Kickstand	Accessories
Abound	$2,293
Via Pro	$3,127
Via	$2,927
RadWagon 5	$2,852
Xtracycle Hopper	$3,304
Xpedition 2.0	$1,957
RadWagon 4	$2,135
Packer	$2,181
Comparison to a non-budget model
Tern GSD	$5,363

Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor

Other Cargo Bike Round Ups: Electric Bike Report | Ebike Escape | Cargo Bike Life | Outdoor Gear Lab

Recommended Cargo Bike: Aventon Abound

Aventon Abound ($1799; w/accessories: $2293)

The Aventon Abound is our recommended budget cargo bike for our library borrowers. The ride quality is good: It has a solid assist that feels responsive, but not overwhelming for most riders. It has the ability to get going directly via a cold start, even with heavy weight on the back going up a hill. The throttle can provide extra power for folks who need it, but the responsive torque sensor means that you aren’t forced to use the throttle to get going.

The bike has one of the best kickstands on the market in the budget range: it has a low pivot point, which makes it easy to get the bike onto the kickstand or off even with heavy weight in the back (such as wiggly children). It has a low stepover, but a lot of range in the seatpost, which makes it adaptable to a wide range of rider heights: we’ve had riders as short as 5’0” or as tall as 6’3” ride the bike comfortably, though very tall riders may find the compact cockpit to feel tight.

The bike includes footboards and as part of the base price, and Aventon makes a seatpad, rear child enclosure, and a front utility rack (though the last one is currently out of stock, a new model is coming soon). This means that they provide most of the basic necessities for carrying kids on the bike; with the exception of a rear winter enclosure. However, it is possible to adapt the Tern Clubhouse kit to work with the Abound, which gives it a leg up over some of the competition.

Through the library, we’ve helped put more than 125 of these out into the community, so we know this bike better than any other cargo bike out there. As the first torque sensing budget long tail, the Abound didn’t perfectly hit the mark. On the downsides of the bike: it has sloppy handling due to a combination of geometry and the somewhat sloppy folding stem; this can give the front handlebars a bit of a wobbly feeling, and makes riding with no hands impossible. The rear rack is a bit short, which is especially a problem if you’re putting two Thule Yepp Seats on the back. The gearing at the high end is too low, creating a feeling of ghost pedaling at higher speeds; this can be adapted by installing an aftermarket freewheel that provides higher gearing, but it’s a non-trivial replacement for a novice. After around 2000 miles, we’ve seen more bikes than usual require a new torque sensor; and in the original release, we’ve seen a number of folks have issues with breaking spokes, likely due to poor tensioning out of the box.

Though the Aventon Abound is now somewhat dated, it’s still our go-to model for buyers looking for a budget long-tail cargo bike, given the features and functionality relative to their cost.

One caveat to this is that Aventon has already released a significantly improved short-tail cargo bike model, the Abound SR (referral link), and there is a rumour that a new Abound model will be coming in 2025. If the bike matches the Abound SR for features, it will be a significant improvement over the Abound in a number of ways, and will likely justify waiting for a new bike purchaser.

Runners Up

There are three other models which might make sense as an alternative to the Abound. These may be good options if you need a longer rear deck, or struggle with some of the downsides of the Abound such as the handling, or simply want to look for a different style of ride.

RadWagon 5 ($2,399; w/accessories: $2,852): This bike matches the Abound for most features, and provides improved stability relative to the Abound. However, it lacks the ability to add a rear enclosure for winter, and doesn’t offer any other major differences over the Abound, and has a higher price point. This bike is a good choice if you need more rear rack room (for example, to fit two rear child seats) and are fine with not having a good way to adapt the rear for winter riding.

Radio Flyer Via Pro ($2,599; w/accessories: $3,127): The Via Pro offers improved stability in the handling, but the assist leaves something to be desired; the combination of a torque and cadence sensor can leave you feel like the bike is getting away from you at higher assist levels, especially for novice riders. Radio Flyer has clearly though through some of the needs of riders better, offering a rear enclosure that is a good fit for winter riding, but it has some odd design choices relative to the Tern Clubhouse which make it worse for kids to get in on their own. The Via lacks front suspension, and has some similar issues to the Abound as far as ghost pedaling/lack of high gears, which is fixed on the Via Pro, which makes the Via Pro a better buy for most buyers; but the $600 price difference doesn’t offer a lot over the Abound unless the handling and stability issues are a showstopper for you on the Abound, or you need the longer rear deck.

Lectric Xpedition 2.0 ($1399; w/accessories: $1,957): The Lectric Xpedition 2.0 ride quality is a massive improvement over the previous model, which was far too aggressive for most casual riders. Lectric has produced a nice bike overall, but the very high pivot point on the kickstand makes this bike a non-starter for most families carrying kids; it effectively requires lifting the full weight of the bike several inches in the air to get the bike on and off the kickstand. Because the bike is so new, we have not yet had a chance to try this bike with the full set of accessories, such as the Orbitor. If you absolutely need the rock bottom price of the Xpedition, this bike may be an okay choice, but test out the kickstand in person with your expected load before making the purchase.

Xtracycle Hopper ($2999; w/accessories: $3,304): The Hopper is Xtracycle’s first hub drive cargo bike, and there are a number of ways they missed the mark. The assist system feels somewhat jumpy; the throttle requires being held down for several seconds before it will provide assistance; and the cockpit feels somewhat cramped. Given the relatively premium price compared to many other options, there are better options than the Hopper for any buyer.

The RadWagon 4 ($1499), Velotric Packer ($1699), Radio Flyer L885 (no longer on sale), and Lectric Xpedition 1.0 (no longer on sale) all fall well short of the quality of these bikes, and we do not recommend folks buy any of them (even at used prices).

Other bikes in this category we have seen but have not tested include the Blix Packa Genie ($1699), Blix Packa (no longer sold), AIPAS A6 ($1599), Letrigo Minivan SE ($1699). We do not believe that any of these bikes provides a huge value over the bikes we have listed for recommendations here.

One other bike that is at the top end of the price curve, but we haven’t reviewed through the library, is the Yuba Kombi E5 ($2999; with accessories: $3,779). However, while the base bike falls in our price cutoff for this review, the accessory package really puts it outside the range of “budget” cargo bikes.

Methodology

In analyzing the bike, we have considered a number of features and accessories, as well as some more subjective or qualitative elements such as ride quality. We categorized each bike based on four criteria:

• Core Features: Does the bike include core safety and quality of life features? In particular, we assessed whether the bike includes a torque sensor based assist, hydraulic brakes, a front suspension, and the ability to safely mount children on the bike while mounted on the kickstand. This category also includes assessment of the ergonomics of the overall frame to adapt to shorter riders.
• Ride Quality: This is a highly qualitative measurement, but is based on the “feel” of the electric assist system of the bike and the overall ride quality. This includes an assessment of the ability of the bike to start from a standstill with a heavy weight using only the pedal assist, as well as the feel of the bike when riding normally. It also includes any assessment of downsides of the bike from a handling perspective when riding.
• Kickstand Quality: One of the most important elements for a cargo bike that carries kids, especially for shorter or smaller riders, is the quality of the kickstand. This is somewhat subjective, but the assessment is whether getting the bike on and off the kickstand with 70-100 pounds of weight in the back feels easy and practical for everyday use.
• Accessory Options: Bikes were assessed based on whether the manufacturer provided the option of a flat front rack for storage, rear seating aimed at seating two kids, including with one in a Thule Yepp seat, availability of a winter enclosure like the Tern Clubhouse Fort, and options for larger passengers like the Tern Captain’s Chair.
• Cost: The purchase price of the bike including the bike, footboards and spoke guards (if needed), a full rear child enclosure such as the Aventon Handrail or RadPowerBikes Caboose, seatpad for one larger child, a Thule Yepp Seat, and a flat front rack (or closest equivalent). Price is listed at the current price as of the time of review, and may include sale prices or similar that are not always available.

Pricing Table

Prices are published as of February 15th, 2025.

Disclosure: We have received several donated bikes to the E-Bike Library, which we have loaned to hundreds of borrowers, including 2 Aventon Abounds from Aventon, a Velotric Packer from Velotric, a Radio Flyer Via, a Radio Flyer L885, and a Lectric Xpedition 2.0. We have also purchased a RadWagon 4 and Xtracycle Hopper for testing. RadWagon 5, Radio Flyer Via Pro, and Lectric Xpedition 1.0 were all tested with the help of members from the community. We also use referral links to some partners in order to receive funding which helps financially support Community Pedal Power and our efforts to get more folks on bikes.