Surly Big Easy Longtail Electric Cargo Bike Review

This Surly cargo bike is one of the best electric cargo bikes, built from the ground up to maximize space and cargo-hauling potential. The longtail design can easily accommodate one rider and two passengers and the Bosch Performance Line CX motor boasts power enough to haul a trailer (purchased separately) for maximum hauling potential. We also loved the 4-piston Tektro brakes, which we found to offer a stable decrease in acceleration even on wet roads, and the front-loading cargo carrier. After reading this review, you might consider it as the best electric bike for carrying cargo?

Why We Like It – Surly Big Easy Longtail Electric Cargo Bike

The Surly Big Easy Longtail Electric Cargo Bike otherwise known as a long john, can easily accommodate one rider and two passengers, not to mention a whole lot of cargo, with a powerful Bosch Performance CX motor that excels on hills and can even haul trailers. On the other hand, the Surface 604 rook review will furnish you with the details of a commuting or cruising bike.

Durability & Build Quality

Neither the Yuba Spicy Curry Bosch or the Big Easy have a name that screams cargo bikes yet like the Spicy the Big Easy bikes are both high quality performance bikes and cargo carriers, with the max cargo weight of 200 lbs. This bike is unique in it’s make in that the metal is a steel alloy called Chromoly, to put it basically it is a steel that is stronger than carbon steel which is the type of steel most people are familiar with in their day to day life. They also increased stand-over height clearance and threw in dropper post routing to promote bike sharing across different-sized riders. The long tail makes grate for the intended use of storage or to have somebody ride along with you. When it comes to the Big Easy frame Surly Big Fat Dummy, that’s the compien’s blog, has had a lot of good to say both about their own electric cargo bikes and the competition, while some might put it up to oversized ego on their part, but the Surly Big Easy Fork to the Bosch motor and lastly to the E assist show a high degree of quality that not many other brands are matching.

Performance (Speed & Acceleration)

While the Rad Power Bikes Radwagon has a good engine it’s drive unit doesn’t have turbo mode like the Big easy, In Turbo mode, the Big Easy will bury a Cat 1 rider up a long climb they nearly nabbed a KOM on a popular hill without trying to, and it’s not just good in a straight line. It’s good in the twisties, too, thanks to bump-swallowing 26 inch wheels and a slackened head tube angle (as compared to the company’s non-electric Big Dummy). Competitors like the Tern GSD S00 and Yuba Spicy Curry Bosch offer more accessories at the price and likely more wieldy slow-speed handling—you’ve got to treat the Big Easy with respect in tight traffic situations—but the Big Easy presents a different approach. Like other Surly bikes, it’s a lovingly constructed, highly modifiable base onto which you add the accessories of your next adventure, wherever that cargo takes you. But to keep you active around the city, you need to get the bike in the Swagcycle eb 5 pro review.

Range & Battery

Though this cargo bike can accommodate a dual battery set up, for extra range, it does only ship with one battery. Additionally, the 26” Tires Surly ExtraTerrestrial offers a smooth and stable ride while commuting, but is not designed for off-road pursuits, they also took the extra work to make them tubeless ready if you’re ready to never have a flat again. Unlike the Tern GSD S10 your battery compartment isn’t full when you buy the bike, the Big Easy comes with a single Bosch PowerPack 500 which is a lithium-ion battery that requires about two hours to charge to 50% and approximately 4.5 hours to charge fully, but it can actually use a pair of them at once.

Safety features

The Surly Big Easy Electric Cargo Bike might seem like a Fat Dummy at first glance but when you inspect it a liter closer you find the Tektro Orion 4 Piston HD M745 breaks and the Sram NX 11 speed shifter keeping you safer then on the older model of bike, paired with the Sram GX for the chain shifting arm.

Value

The company’s new longtail cargo bike exudes a “they don’t make ’em like this anymore” stature, thanks to a beefed-up chromoly steel frame rolling on tough 26×2.5-inch tires. Because it’s a class 1 e-bike, you can actually ride it in the bike lane, too. The 7-foot-long, 67-pound bike won’t play well with your third-floor walk-up, so it’s best to think of it as a car supplement or replacement, that’s what Surly intended, anyway, as evidenced by the $5,000 price tag. However, if you’re ready to commit to the cargo electric bike life, you’ll struggle to find a stronger platform with the same range of mounting hardware at your local bike shop.

Surly Big Easy Longtail Electric Cargo Bike Wrap Up

While it’s definitely not the type of bike you’ll find in a kid corral despite what the name might imply the bike in arguably phenomenal, though the need to by a second battery when you’ve already bought the bike is a little annoying especially when you consider the 5k price tag it’s definitely a machen to replace the family car, while it can do that some reviews came off as feeling snubbed by the extra slot but no option to bundle in a second battery when you buy.