Petrol prices are high, the cost of living is high, and we may all be looking at the outgoings on the bank balance and trying to figure out where we can save a few extra pennies; that's where an electric bike comes in. Could the purchase of this £4,395 electric bike be the answer? Let’s investigate as we review the Raleigh Stride 2 Electric Cargo Bike.
This is a bike for people who may be looking at an alternative to a second car, want to reduce their petrol usage, or look for an alternative way to get their kids to school, clubs, around town, or just a lovely day out. eBikes have seen somewhat of a boom of late, and we have rounded up some of the best eCargo Bikes, where the Raleigh Stride 2 features.
www.sigmasports.com
Getting on with the Stride 2
When you first see it and feel the weight of it, the prospect of riding the Stride 2 might be a bit daunting; however, after a few miles, it just all clicks and makes perfect sense. It’s rather obvious what the bike is for, transporting not only yourself around but it can also carry two kids, plus shopping.
The tub can hold up to 80kg, while the rack on the back will also hold 25kg; you may be sitting there thinking that’s all well and good, but how on earth am I going to be able to cycle all that weight around?
Well, the powerful Bosch motor can give you up to 250 watts of power and will help move you onwards to a speed of 15.5mph, where the motor will automatically cut out, falling in line with the law. As soon as you dip under the magic 15.5mph, it’ll kick back in again, helping to push you along. It has four different modes but I found myself in 'Turbo' most of the time, not because I wanted to go fast but because I felt that with all the weight and the hills it's where I needed to be to get the most from the motor. The other modes at 'Sport', 'Tour' and 'Eco', there's even a very handy walk function for when you're crossing a road or need to give the bike a push.
Replacing the conventional ‘stepped’ gearing with the Enviolo stepless shifting system changing gear is easy and you're never in the wrong gearing.
When riding up and down hills, I found this to be the perfect solution as tiny increments made the ideal amount of difference. Sometimes in stepped gears, you can change gear and then get a boost of electrical assistance and find yourself going back and forth between gears; this way, you can make tiny adjustments to your gearing and have a nice balance of electrical assist and leg power.
The kids are easy to load in and out with a super secure three-point harness which can be tightened and loosened to suit your needs. No specific law says you need to wear a helmet, but you can always look through our guide to see if there’s one you might like while riding the Stride 2.
Handy little steps on the side make it easy for kids to climb up and into the bucket, while railings give them something to hang on to.
The Long John style means you can see whatever you have in the loading bay, kids, cargo or your dog. Which I find preferable to having it behind you as you can see exactly what’s going on without being too distracted.
However, on Stride 2, this does something to the wheel balance, a phenomenon known as ‘speed wobble’ where the front wheel, effectively, loses balance and wobbles side to side. This happened on this particular Stride 2 when it went above 14.9mph. One way I found to eliminate it was to loosen the handlebars’ grip. Holding them further out or even letting go instantly stopped the speed wobble, which suggests to me the wobble is coming from the steering system, not the balancing of the wheel. Regardless, Raleigh is looking into this and how to solve it.
Can it replace a car?
In short, yes. Absolutely. It depends on whether you, the rider, are willing to make it work. On rainy days or cold days, it can be oh so tempting to bung the kids in the car and go. But what if I told you there is a cover for this bike? Yes, it doesn’t fully cover the rider, but the kids in the front will be protected from wind and rain.
As for battery range, it’ll be good for up to 40 miles, depending on how much weight you carry, the temperature and how many hills you’re going up and down. As a rule of thumb, I could transport two kids (ages 5 & 3) on a seven-mile round trip a day and only have to charge up twice a week. Once on a Sunday and once during the week, too. It’ll only take around four and a half hours to charge from the flat. You have to bear in mind this bike weighs 60kg without a rider on it or anyone in it; if you run out of battery (as I once found out), it’s a heavy thing to get going again.
The tyres are super durable Schwalbe tyres and are perfect for the heavy loads this bike can manage and for the type of tarmac terrain you’ll be riding over. They’ll even handle a bit of rough stuff, too. Combine that with the Magura CT disc brakes, and you’ll have some excellent stopping power, and you’re going to need it as there is a lot of weight to slow down, but I never found an issue with them and thought they modulated speed well and helped you scrub off speed when going downhill well.
Any downsides?
With the aforementioned speed wobble in mind, that’s a reasonably sizeable downside. However, it’s probable that if you live somewhere flat and ride sat up with a loose grip on the bars, quite like the Dutch, you’ll never experience this phenomenon.
Another slightly moot point is while yes, there is a space for cargo, it's only space. There are no pinion points, storage compartments, or elasticated nets on the inside of the cargo bay – this would really help stow things like kids’ coats or have somewhere to pinion a dog’s lead to, for example.
Price and competition
You may be looking at the stride and thinking, wait a moment, this seems incredibly familiar… I think I’ve seen this before. You probably have in the Babboe City Mountain. Babboe and Raleigh have done something car manufacturers do to bring down costs they share parts. Mainly the bike’s chassis. So you could say it’s a direct rival, and depending on whichever battery option you choose on the Babboe, it’ll either be the same price or for the 500Wh battery, the Babboe City Mountain will cost you £200 more.
Verdict
I loved this bike, the kids loved this bike, and the people you ride past loved the bike. You will tire, very quickly, of people saying ‘oh, nice bike’ as you cycle past. It was easy to fall in love with cycling on this bike once I’d gotten over the annoying speed wobble and figured out how to work around it.
As a bike, when you’re carrying no load, it worked well, and you could corner in it, and it flowed wonderfully. When it was fully laden, the super strong Bosch motor gave you a kick up the hills and the CVT box made perfect sense.
If Raleigh can add some storage compartments in the next updated model and fix that wobble, this would elevate it from a good standard of eCargo bike to The eCargo Bike.
www.sigmasports.com
Pros:
• Comfortable to ride
• Huge loading bay
• Very strong motor
Cons:
• Speed wobble needs addressing
• Second battery pack desirable
• Incredibly heavy bike
Specifications
Frame: Raleigh high tensile steel, low step
Brakes: Magura CT disc brake, 160mm rotor
Cassette: Hub gears
Crankset: Raleigh-approved 38-tooth, 170mm cranks
Wheels: 20" double sidewall rim with aluminium hub, 36-hole
Motor: Bosch Performance CX Cargo Line, 500Wh
Display/UI: Bosch Purion
Charger: Bosch 4A
Dimensions: 258 x 78 x 110cm
Weight: 60kg (Max rider weight: 100kg)
Other items to consider:
www.cyclesense.co.uk
www.chainreactioncycles.com
www.tredz.co.uk
How we tested it
The bike was tested almost daily taking the kids back and forth from school and nursery, while also being a weekend kiddy club run warrior. With hills, descents and flat roads, it was pushed as much as it could be and it still came back wanting.