So, the kids are now both old enough to sit on bike seats and brave the elements if needed. I'm looking for a cargo bike. 2km trip to school followed by 15km to my work.
Ideally I'd have an electric model but it's not a must. I also prefer to avoid steer-by-cable models (like douze) unless cheap (like douze).
Candidates:
Omnium cargo V3 - ti or steel versions
Omnium cargo - electric version
Urban arrow family
Douze cycles heta
Anyone got a recommendation or experience to share?
Ideally I'd have an electric model but it's not a must.
Oh it is! A non-electric cargo bike is a total **** to pedal anywhere (especially with kids on board) and you will almost instantly regret everything that tempted you into buying it.
GCN have done a couple of good videos recently on e-cargo bikes.
(Search YouTube for GCN cargo bike, there's a few on there, that one above is the most recent).
We have the Riese and Muller multitinker for our kids. We test rode the tern but found the Riese was actually smoother and also most importantly, I emailed several dealers and got over 30% off. It's worth finding out what deals are possible (shops won't publicly list such a big discount). The rear seat cage is very good as it has two bars, one for holding on and a second outer bar, so if you do fall off, children's hand should be safe from being crushed. Overall it's a superb piece of kit.
We initially were convinced we needed a cover or splash guard for our kids. In the real world, we haven't needed it. There's only around 10 commutes a year where we resort to using a car. You'll use a cargo bike more than you think, our school drop off is only 1.5 miles round trip but we do 1400+ miles per year, so it's definitely paying for itself.
You definitely need a motor, children get heavier and if somehow you think you don't need a motor, you will once they grow! We have few moderate hills and the bosch motor does a fair job. I'd worry how some of the less proven motors would perform with the weight.
I have a GSD S00 (belt drive version)
You're obviously set on having a front loading type, fair enough if that's what you prefer. I have ridden several cargo bikes of different brands and front/rear loading.
A couple of weeks ago I had a short break in Paris with the kids and we had a cargo bike to get around. We had 2 days with a Tern, and 2 days with an Urban Arrow (not sure which model but. We had to give the Tern back because it was on a very poor state of repair. No bad reflection on Tern, it was just knackered and the urban arrow was new.
The differences are all as you would expect. The Tern rides more like a regular bike, albeit very heavy.
The Urban Arrow felt a bit like riding an HGV at times. It was nice to ride once you are moving, and the kids were very happy in it as we had a full canopy. The length and width make it tricky to park and manoeuvre sometimes. Depends where you are riding and what the cycle infrastructure is like. I know in Bristol I would spend a lot of time sat in traffic jams because the bike lanes are not wide enough. Even in Paris where the cycle infrastructure is great I got stuck a few times.
Other thoughts...
It would be crazy not to have a motor
Belt drive is handy for low maintenance, the are a few brands that do them now
Hub gear means you can change gear while stopped which is a big advantage
Furthermore, on the Tern S10, (rear derailleur version) if you get a flat tyre, the chain and mech scrape on the ground! Or it my case, the Champs Elysée 🙂
Ps. E-starli looks a good alternative to tern for a lot less money
Agreed with above, motor is a must, when got mine work scheme wouldnt stretch to anythingwith a motor. I have a Yuba Kombi, without motor - its a ball ache on any incline, just manageable with 1 but with both mine no thanks. It weighs a tonne too. Mine are 5 and 6 so getting heavy.
Can retrofit motor, but hoping get them pedal themselves more soon so will hold off and still use it as is for shopping trips etc.
I am keen on the omnium models, I know a few bike couriers with them and they ride like regular bikes. None of them have motors and they shift lots of gear. They're also very fit, much more than me.
Their ti framed bikes are about the same price as a motor-equipped equivalent.
Had anyone got any long term experience with Shimano ep motor/batteries and/or nexus hubs?
Yuba kombi e6 owner here. Like previous comments, I would ride all your likely routes first and check the space - with a front loader where I live I would have to do the school and nursery runs on the road, but the long tail allows me to use the smaller cut through routes. Battery wise, 500 Ah for me allows for 3 x 10k commutes with a 2 and 5 year old on full turbo. I would be tempted to go a higher battery in your case. I did also test the estarli mentioned which has great specs for the price but felt a lot less bike like to ride
After having a Babboe trike, I've got a Raleigh stride. I'd wanted a long tail but actually it's really practical as you can chuck a load of stuff in the box, the rain tent works and with the full fat Bosch motor (turbo everywhere) it's pretty nippy. Handles a million times better than the trike, and I can't imagine a long tail will be significantly faster or handle better.
If going for a budget option then Go Outdoors have their own brand long tail ebike at a good price. It's got an Ananda branded mid motor (new to me) but is priced competitively with hub motor bikes.
https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/19624860/compass-porter-cargo-e-bike-19624860
We opted for a Tern after considering a front loader for the same reasons as above: much more nimble for getting though barriers etc which is really useful on all the shared use paths near us.
Also really glad we got a motor. For us using the cargo bike is more about having fun and being active than getting FIT and STRONG. Also having a motor means that we're much more inclined to choose it over the car for a whole number of journeys as we're never put off by the effort of getting it up the hill home. We're on about 2000km per year on ours, and the school run is only 5km.
Decathlon do a decent looking long tail with a larger front wheel. It’s hub drive, which I prefer as the chain and transmission is taking less strain and wear. Downside might need more specialist repair but don’t they all?
Hub drive e-bikes tend to be a nightmare for wheel removal. Make sure that Marathon plus are fitted along with slime filled tubes else it's a call-out and recovery for any rear wheel puncture.
We have the Tern GSD, belt drive with enviolo hub gear. It’s been brilliant and we love it. Turns the mundane aspects of life in to fun. We don’t ferry kids around, but it does our shopping runs, tip and garden centre runs, etc. I’ve also picked up Tasha from the train station on it. We went for an ecargo for the hills around here and not ending up a sweaty mess when running errands. The long tail format as others have pointed out is great for manoeuvres and parking (we don’t use the plant pot mode on the Tern).
I’ve got also belt drive and hub gears on my commuter (non e) combined the Schwalbe tyres on both it’s a set up that really cut down on the faff of maintenance 
There are some places where you can hire them. Ilkley used to lease them, but it looks like that’s gone.
We love it, wouldn’t be without one now.
Cargo bikes are fab, I so nearly bought one but went with a bike and trailor set up. My regular cycle path has staggered gates to keep the baddies out. A cargo bike can't get through, my trailor just about. I reckon I use the trailor twice a week so the bike solo the other 5 days.
The whole front loader vs long tail discussion could also do with some thought about where you'll be storing the bike, I'd it ever needs to go in / on a car, be carried up and down steps, parked in a supermarket / the school yard and how you'll be working on it (strong suggestion that you simply get it to a bike shop whenever possible!).
Once moving, they're brilliant. Once stopped, they're clunky, heavy and cumbersome.
Front loaders tend to be more amenable to heavy loads, weird shaped loads and large loads. Long tails rely on your load mostly fitting into panniers (very big panniers but you're still not going to get a large box in them).
I used a Tern GSD for a year or so, it was a Community bike which got used for food bank deliveries, home shopping deliveries and also got loaned out to people who wanted to try it without spending £6000 on one. I've ridden a lot of front loaders too, personally I prefer the long tail but it's very much subject to requirements and personal preference.
I've an eBullitt.
Awesome thing, but probably not the best if you're transporting kids. There are seats available, but according to my mate who now has the bike they are pricey.
I have a longtail cargo bike, have had it around 7 years now. Surly Big Dummy, was electrified nearly 5 years ago. It's such a heavy lump with anyone on it, the motor made a HUGE difference. So much easier to get around on, I used to push it up anything really steep if I had a decent load on it. Its like a Surly Big Easy
I went longtail over front loader because I want to carry people and longtail was better for that. I think front loader particularly suits cargo but it's not as good for (bigger) passengers. Longtails are normal bikes with long rears so they ride pretty well and fit through all the street and trail furniture. For some loads I'd prefer a front loader but most of the time I use mine to ferry my kids around locally and it works just great. Regularly get two on it, sometimes get three on the back. My kids are 14, 13 and 6
Front loader is good for a very low centre of gravity though. And smaller wheels are also good for that. I've used my cargo bike for normal errand running when I fancy the electric assistance, it's a bike that happens to be more awesome, and longer and much heavier
We also have a multi tinker, 2 yrs and 3000miles now doing only trips within 6km of the house mostly, transporting kids (and the occasional small adult - looking at you Fabian), shopping, bikes and general carryshit olympics stuff.
NOTE: whilst it is possible to fit a bag of cement and large sack of gravel in one pannier, it is much more sensible to distribute the weight across both to avoid turning alarmingly sharply in one direction only 🙂
Granted I am a big fella, but any adult on the front will take most of the wind/cold/rain and shelter anyone sitting on the bench so weather is rarely an issue unless it's really cold.
Belt drive and enviolo is really a brilliant, almost maintenance free, option. Glad we got that rather than chain and mech/cassette.
2 weeks ago had our first puncture - massive slash in centre of rear tire, instant deflation (in both senses). Was not only ride ending, but given the complexity of rear hub & belt drive it was not something I could repair myself. That is one of the downsides of the belt and enviolo.
I got a Benno Boost a few months. Don’t carry kids on it but it’s perfectly capable. With the utility panniers and a plastic crate on the back it’s cavernous.
It’s a beast to lump about when not riding but on the move it’s nimble and fun. I wouldn’t want to ride it without the motor!
I’m averaging 100km a month all from just short cross town trips.
I've owned both a longtail - Radwagon - and a front loader - Urban Arrow.
Urban Arrow is excellent, though not huge inside, I use panniers for schoolbags etc. I don't use the raincover, I found it affecting visibility and was a bit off-putting.
Electric - Bosch preferably - is a must. Hydraulic brakes also a must imo.
Despite what I had thought, front loaders can go pretty much anywhere longtails can. The widest part is still the handlebars. So filtering is surprisingly ok. Rare to encounter a very low pinch point.
Main disadvantage of longtail is the high centre of gravity when you are wheeling it with kids on. It's possible to drop it, both me and my wife did. Wife much prefers the Urban Arrow. Both feel fine once you're cycling though.
Decathlon longtail is probably best bang for buck out there for good quality.
Whilst I know hub gears and belt drives have several significant advantages, I have found that my chain driven derailleur GSD has been really good and I would go for the same again quite happily. I don’t do big miles on it having only just reached 15K miles. I am on the original rear mech and I now just run the chain and cassette into the ground together. At first I tired to change the chain at 0.75% but I think it was more hassle and cost than letting it all wear together.
The advantage of the derailleur version is, I think, lower cost, slightly lower first gear and maybe a bit more efficiency when pedaling over the assist speed - although the motor drag probably eats all that up. I live in a place with short sharp hills so the low first gear is useful when fully loaded. I also like the fact that I can maintain it all like a normal bike without the hassle of sorting a broken hub gear if it does go wrong.
As for the front loader vs long tail… I’d love a front loader but the GSD fits in my house, trains, work vans, estate cars, etc and I can get it through kissing gates and other tight spaces.