New Globe Haul cargo bike.
Sorry, not a singletrack article
At 2700 dollars versus over 5000 quid for the Tern GSD this is going to be popular isn't it? If I could convince my missis and daughter that riding a bike is a good idea, I reckon I I'd be all over this. Unfortunately it'd not get the use with just me riding it because I'm happy on my Trek city bike.
it'll be £5k by the time it gets here...
And only 1 passenger seat?
Looks good though. Possibly more in common with a RadRunner https://radpowerbikes.co.uk/products/radrunner-electric-utility-bike-2
Best looking city ebike on the market by far.
not sure what the point of 3.5" tyres is - a fat bike ridden on tarmac at appropriate tyre pressures is a pretty miserable thing, at higher pressures you can just run 2" tyres.
The bike itself measures 72mm at the widest point of the handlebars
Good for fitting through tight gaps I suppose...
not sure what the point of 3.5″ tyres is – a fat bike ridden on tarmac at appropriate tyre pressures is a pretty miserable thing, at higher pressures you can just run 2″ tyres.
Once you load it up with the equivalent of 2 extra people in cargo some Chonky tyres probably make better sense, smaller diameter wheels to make handling on nadgery roads/traffic a bit easier you don't need 700x2.0" tyres for mostly tarmac but volume helps when you have to deal with extra loads?
I can see some logic to those choices, it's not supposed to be a fast bike or even a commuter, its an urban load lugging bike...
Most interesting thing Specialized have done in a while I think, and that's not knocking their recent enthusiast bike releases.
not sure what the point of 3.5″ tyres is – a fat bike ridden on tarmac at appropriate tyre pressures is a pretty miserable thing, at higher pressures you can just run 2″ tyres
The heavier the load the more a fat tyre makes sense, it'll still cope with potholes and steer ok at a lower pressure than the 2" tyre would need to be at. Whether you need something quite that big is another matter but 3.5" is probably about the image it creates and rider confidence as well.
It does look amazing. By the time it gets over here it'll be £3500 and limited to 25kph. ☹️
not sure what the point of 3.5″ tyres is – a fat bike ridden on tarmac at appropriate tyre pressures is a pretty miserable thing, at higher pressures you can just run 2″ tyres.
My GSD has 2.35" and they're about the minimum necessary to cope with it once it's up at 180+ kg. If wider tyres fitted, I'd be fine with 2.5 - 3". But yeah, 3.5" is kind of the same as putting massive tyres on your 4x4 in an effort to convince people it does more than just the school run...
Fat tyres look comfy and fun to non-cyclists, that's an important thing that Specialized got right here and Radpower have known for 10+ years. Non-bike nerds don't get into volume and pressure debates like we would : ) Does it look appealing? Yes. Sorted.
Pretty spectacular on the range/load capacity. A shame that its one of those 'one size fits all'
I'm not sure I agree with wider tyres (even a bit wider) being needed. I run 1.75" tyres @ 40psi on my cargo bike, with me and the kids on (as it spends 90% of its journeys), its got a total weight of 170kg. I've never felt its under-tyred, and never had a pinch flat, mostly used on the roads but a bit of gravel comes along from time to time too. If I dropped 3.5" tyres on it (assuming I had the clearance), it'd need to be running ~ 15psi (I think? I can't remember how that works out) for similar use of the tyre, which has (ime) odd handling characteristics.
I suspect most of these will end up with 30psi in them, thus making it pointless other than for style
I run 1.75″ tyres @ 40psi on my cargo bike, with me and the kids on (as it spends 90% of its journeys), its got a total weight of 170kg.
That's interesting, quite a bit less tyre and pressure than I would have thought would work well. I guess the 3" + tyres give some safe margin of error in traffic with potholes when you can't steer around things as easily, or don't want to make the sudden moves, but where the optimum balance is I'm not sure. I expect style is some (a lot?) of it for the Globe, if that gets more people trying it and enjoying it I'm all for it.
Agree on the pressure / steering balance. I've not had chance to try loaded bikes like this on different tyres but certainly big smooth tyres at low pressures can get weird on tarmac.
I run 1.75″ tyres @ 40psi on my cargo bike, with me and the kids on (as it spends 90% of its journeys), its got a total weight of 170kg.
I can only presume your routes aren't the equivalent of greenlaning on tarmac then? I'm 64kg and gave up riding on 40mm tyres the roads round here are so bad.
two seatposts (one slots into the other)
Bless, never heard of a Titec Scoper.
Looks like a benno remidemi but with a massive battery. I have a remi. It's a fair bit smaller than a tern. So mini cargo really. You can put 1 kid on the back apparently. Benno range is nowhere near 100k though, not that it matters for my purposes.
For us this size is ideal: no kids to cart about; takes up little space in a bike filled garage; big enough for a 3-4 day food shop; fastest known way to run errands in stupidly congested town.
Every one of those bikes look like they were designed by that AI art thread .....
Think Spesh missed a trick not putting a belt drive on it,budgets an all that I suppose.
The Just Eat and Deliveroo kids are going to love them though 😉 😃
Every one of those bikes look like they were designed by that AI art thread
Yes they look silly to cycling enthusiasts. We are not the target market.
I think it looks great - I'm definitely considering one for when I finally manage to get rid of the 2nd car.
Another article here: https://www.theverge.com/23631257/specialized-globe-haul-st-specs-pics-design-ebike-interview
Yes they look silly to cycling enthusiasts. We are not the target market.
Far from it imo, I think it looks great and I'm 100% part of the target market - some of the market is non-enthusiasts and some of it will be cyclists who are easy converts to lowered car use options like this. I think they're the coolest kind of bike I see out and about locally, they represent something positive.
Why rear wheel motor though?
A shame that its one of those ‘one size fits all’
It's a tool not a recreation vehicle and one size will fit most people without needing a vast range of frame sizes. Let's face it these aren't going to haul the max payload the max distance other than once in a blue moon.
Think Spesh missed a trick not putting a belt drive on it
Is there a belt rated to cope with the maximum payload and the exposed nature of the working environment without adding significant cost to the beastie?
Edit Someone here managed to break 3 Gates belts on his MTB in a short period of time!
Why rear wheel motor though?
One of the options is a throttle. Might be hard to make that work with a mid motor?
Much more interesting take on cargo from a big player than some recent releases.
Wheel motor = cheaper to build I suspect. I agree it is more like a BB Remi than a Tern. I think the tyres are a bit wide but they will work fine when pumped up. Not sure how much tyre choice you will get. I like the rigid forks. The move to suspension forks on the GSD is why I prefer my Gen 1 in Manu ways.
Edit Someone here managed to break 3 Gates belts on his MTB in a short period of time!
Yes, but that was a recreation vehicle, whereas a tool might not be subject to the same sudden stresses. More likely on an occasional short journey it will be plodding along with a minimum load.
I kinda like it for local commuting and trips to the shops, but in reality for a similar cost, a secondhand Vespa GTS300 gives more scope for longer car free distances.
I don't buy into the whole E bike / E car thing being ecological. Lithium batteries are not ecological. Be interesting to see the carbon footprint of an ebike v a petrol scooter.
Travel less and stay/work local is eco.
Yes, but that was a recreation vehicle, whereas a tool might not be subject to the same sudden stresses. More likely on an occasional short journey it will be plodding along with a minimum load.
Remember the SLADDA?
That's why big brands selling bikes to 'Muggles' will stick to chains.
Actually I wasn't being serious 😆 ,it was a tongue in cheek answer to Sandwich.
I didn't know the Sladda was a failure, I really liked them. Only ever saw one in real life on a train ride.
Lots more potential for failure of a chain than a belt IMHO, and I'm sure they see far harsher duty in other applications than even a well loaded push bike.