Why are cargo bikes so expensive?

[silva]

Can I take it you've never cycled on a cargo cycle whilst using a trailer?
If you had you'd realise that a lot more can be moved in the one go, than just on the cargo cycle.
And, if you'd done your homework before posting, you'd have realised that some of the newer versions of cycle quads have pedal by wire. You pedal to generate a current that lets the battery that actually provides the power to the wheels. The pedals/chainring combination do not provide any actual power to the wheels.
The Velove Armadillo being the last commercially available one where the rider was able to move the cycle under their own steam. With the battery supplying extra power for when loaded.

If you're only now becoming aware of longer vehicles having to go wide into a turn(Opposite lane whilst indicating they'll be going the other way), I'm surprised you've lasted this long.

And it's down to the last major change in the regulations covering electric assist on pedal cycles. For the first time Quadricycles(four wheels) were allowed electric assist. Which allowed some of the bigger delivery firms to experiment with using them.

A lot more can be moved... I didn't talk about transported load.

"Pedal generate a current that lets the battery that actually..." is hard to read/interprete
You mean pushing pedals "loads, "charges" the battery?
Then what? Makes what different than what I said?

If you're only now... I didn't talk about myself, I talked about what I saw happening to others, that as proved weren't aware, or, didn't have the time, chance, to see the danger, resulting in their trailer bumping wild over elevated road elements put there by state for Safety Reasons. Or noticing too late that they are too long to make the For Safety speed limiting corners, resulting in accidents with cargo bikes, after which the corners are removed, or, obstructions ment to force slowdown by zigzag, removed.
Early last year I saw such an accident, the cargo bike got stuck as in "jammed", due to those obstructions, then a car driver that had anticipated it would have passed, wrecked its rear wheel, quite symbolic for the contradictions in the road "infrastructure".

Same story when they turn, as you say yourself, they have to go to the other direction first in order to turn "wide", but, there they get in the way of those coming from the other direction, often surprising these. And if they have to emergency stop there, the result is a jam with further hits.

Those motorized big things shouldn't be on human powered ment for bicycles lanes.
Just like those electric steps shouldn't be on what is reserved for walkers. It's crazy to see them sheering along peoples doors, around corners with no view, stop in a second, reach again speed in a sec, same for those minivan e-cargo"bikes", all surprising real cyclists.

It's also contradictionary to the separation doctrine that state transformed roads to during the past decades. Gasoline motors weren't allowed on bicycle sections, electric motors are, and since Li-Ion, the difference became zero, and dangerous since the former make alot noise and the latter you don't hear, and pedals/cranks serving more to cheat a legal classification as a bicycle and thus allowed to ride on the reserved for sections, than to power it forward.

There is not any traffic safety related reason for an electric motorized whatever to be treated relaxter than a combustion motorized whatever, rather the contrary, the electric is silent and you don't hear their presence if they don't make other noise.

See, what I said is what I've seen in city I daily visit, not by... homework?

 

[classic33]

A lot more can be moved... I didn't talk about transported load.

"Pedal generate a current that lets the battery that actually..." is hard to read/interprete
You mean pushing pedals "loads, "charges" the battery?
Then what? Makes what different than what I said?

If you're only now... I didn't talk about myself, I talked about what I saw happening to others, that as proved weren't aware, or, didn't have the time, chance, to see the danger, resulting in their trailer bumping wild over elevated road elements put there by state for Safety Reasons. Or noticing too late that they are too long to make the For Safety speed limiting corners, resulting in accidents with cargo bikes, after which the corners are removed, or, obstructions ment to force slowdown by zigzag, removed.
Early last year I saw such an accident, the cargo bike got stuck as in "jammed", due to those obstructions, then a car driver that had anticipated it would have passed, wrecked its rear wheel, quite symbolic for the contradictions in the road "infrastructure".

Same story when they turn, as you say yourself, they have to go to the other direction first in order to turn "wide", but, there they get in the way of those coming from the other direction, often surprising these. And if they have to emergency stop there, the result is a jam with further hits.

Those motorized big things shouldn't be on human powered ment for bicycles lanes.
Just like those electric steps shouldn't be on what is reserved for walkers. It's crazy to see them sheering along peoples doors, around corners with no view, stop in a second, reach again speed in a sec, same for those minivan e-cargo"bikes", all surprising real cyclists.

It's also contradictionary to the separation doctrine that state transformed roads to during the past decades. Gasoline motors weren't allowed on bicycle sections, electric motors are, and since Li-Ion, the difference became zero, and dangerous since the former make alot noise and the latter you don't hear, and pedals/cranks serving more to cheat a legal classification as a bicycle and thus allowed to ride on the reserved for sections, than to power it forward.

There is not any traffic safety related reason for an electric motorized whatever to be treated relaxter than a combustion motorized whatever, rather the contrary, the electric is silent and you don't hear their presence if they don't make other noise.

See, what I said is what I've seen in city I daily visit, not by... homework?

You see nothing but unloaded cargo bikes pulling empty trailers then?

I still suggest you do your homework before replying. Half of what you're commenting on holds true of electric bikes, not just electric cargo cycles.

I answered from the point of view of someone who has used a cargo quad(the sort you can't understand being allowed on the roads) but it's pedal power only. Along with two nine foot trailers in tow. Not as someone who merely see's such vehicles.
The quad stands out enough, a single trailer in tow makes it even more noticeable. Loaded, it gets even more notice when on the move.

 

[Andy in Germany]

These suffer from the issues mentioned above, and the same as I mentioned earlier: they aren't built for the sort of use a utility bike gets: they're also too small for a lot of things: I've transported all kinds of items on my Bakfiets, including large (heavy) boxes, planks, and bags of fertiliser. Even if you could fit that in a trailer, you'd destroy it fairly quickly; a heavy-duty trailer costs as much as a cargo bike.

I have noticed the uptake on cargo bikes increased now the more powerful motors are mainstream, and people can have the advantage of a motor without having to fit or maintain them themselves.

@Arrowfoot: the above comes over as if I'm dismissing the use of panniers, which I'm not, apologies. I use panniers regularly for shopping, and they are useful for smaller items or a couple of mildly bulky heavier things, especially if the shop is further away. The work bikes come in when items are just too big and/or heavy to move with panniers.

 

[Andy in Germany]

It's also contradictionary to the separation doctrine that state transformed roads to during the past decades. Gasoline motors weren't allowed on bicycle sections, electric motors are, and since Li-Ion, the difference became zero, and dangerous since the former make alot noise and the latter you don't hear, and pedals/cranks serving more to cheat a legal classification as a bicycle and thus allowed to ride on the reserved for sections, than to power it forward.

No it isn't, because most (legal) E-Bikes assist you when pedalling; they don't provide all the power like a typical IC moped would. They also cut out at a fairly chilled 25km/h which slower than I'm used to riding, and their brakes have massively improved since I bought my work bike.

In other words, I can (and often do) find myself riding faster under my own power than an ebike with a motor, without their disc brakes, and remarkably I've managed not to harm any fellow citizens in the last 17 years of using the thing.

This is at least the legal situation illegal motorised bikes are a menace, but so are illegal e-scooters and uninsured cars.