As a longtime bike tester, I am often asked the same two questions, in this order: “What bike should I buy?” and “What’s your favorite bike?” Almost everyone expects me to answer the latter with some kind of carbon race bike or superlight, long-travel mountain rager. So they’re all surprised when I tell them that it’s my long-tail cargo bike.
Other than the first bicycle I had as a kid—a Schwinn Scrambler—no other bike has changed my life like the cargo bike has. I use it to run every errand around town and even to transport construction supplies. (I’ll never forget the look on the faces of the hardware store employees as I rode off with two 25kg bags of cement on the back.) Unless the weather is really bad, my car stays parked most of the week.
However, traditional cargo bikes have one significant disadvantage: They’re big. Their gangly length and overall weight make them hard to store and transport—mine has never left a five-mile radius from my home. But the Tern Cargo Node solves this problem: It folds down to one-third of its size while retaining the full utility of a standard cargo bike.
The Cargo Node is a collaboration with Xtracycle. Tern made the folding frame and used Xtracycle’s Leap cargo bike extension to complete the bike. That was a smart move, because it makes the Cargo Node compatible with Xtracycle’s Leap accessories such as the Hooptie safety rails, U-tube footrests, and Yepp kids seats.
The weight limit for the bike is 160kg, including the weight of the rider—plenty of capacity for most circumstances.
Quick-release levers with small safety locks at the middle of the frame and stem allow the bike to be opened and folded down in—says Tern—10 seconds. My own fastest time was maybe a second or two longer.
The Cargo Node comes in only one size but fits a wide range of riders thanks to an ultralong seatpost and its adjustable stem, which can change reach and height via two quick-release levers.
Based on previous experiences with folding bikes, I expected a cargo version to feel a little twitchy, but the Cargo Node’s lengthy wheelbase makes it stable even with the 24-inch wheels. I also expected the folding frame to flex under heavy loads, but the bike surprised me with its stiffness. Its single-beam aluminum frame has oversize tubing and feels unified and rides predictably even when the load reaches its limit.
Tern outfits the Cargo Node with a complete package of accessories for an urban ride. A dynamo front hub powers front and rear lights, and a built-in capacitor keeps them on when you’re paused at stop signs and stoplights. Fenders keep you dry from spray, and the bike comes with a small, floor-style pump hidden inside the seatpost. Even while riding urban roads covered with debris, I never experienced a flat—a testament to the toughness of the bike’s Schwalbe Big Apple tyres. I did top them off a couple of times with the pump, which uses the seat as a comfortable handle. Xtracycle’s new, waterproof 35-litre bags not only safely secure multiple small items inside, but also have straps that can attach to one another to close the bags and hold larger items on top of the deck. A bipod kickstand holds the bike up and keeps it stable while you’re loading it.
The Cargo Node took up noticeably less room in my workshop than my standard cargo bike. It also fit in the trunk of my car, so I was able to take it on family holidays too.
My personal cargo bike has electric-assist, and I did miss that feature when I was tired from a road or mountain ride earlier in the day, or had to climb a hill fully loaded. The Cargo Node can be outfitted with an e-RAD mid-drive electric motor system for an additional price. But when you consider the fact that it can actually replace an automobile, even the total price of $3,060 starts sounding reasonable.
Either way, after testing the Cargo Node, I’m pretty sure my next cargo bike will be a folding (and probably electric) one.
Copyright © 2016 Rodale Inc.