Meet the VOK U, a four-wheeled electric cargo bike that costs a massive $15,000 but needs no tax, insurance, or even a license. We put this automotive-grade “electrically-assisted pedal cycle” EAPC to the test in the city of Bath, racing it against a pro cyclist and finding out why businesses like Priority Express are using it to replace vans. Is this the future of urban commercial transport, or does it risk overloading our cycling infrastructure?
https://vokbikes.com/vok-u-electric-cargo-bike-by-vok-bikes/
With a range of up to 100 km and a top speed of 25 km/h
maximum payload of up to 200 kg with a hydraulic lift bed
I was looking at ecargo bikes on Alibaba recently to replace one of my family’s cars and there are tons of cool ones on there too for super cheap.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Brand-New-Electric-Bike-4-Wheel_1601234025130.html
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/2000W-Electric-Cargo-Tricycle-2-Passengers_1601596851515.html
Local cops would definitely hassle me about it though so I’m going to do a 2 wheeler (haven’t decided between a longtail or a bikfiets) plus a trailer for bigger trips
This is the one purchase you shouldn’t cheap out on because it will be very expensive. Cargo puts a lot of stress on the bike frame and its components. Wherever that company is saving money, be it in cheaper components or worse customer service, it’s costing you money in repair and medical bills. With this class of bike the top priority has to be the safety of reliable components.
I’d go this route with whatever brand has the closest local bike shop specifically servicing it: https://upway.co/collections/electric-cargo-bike. Upway takes excess dealer inventory and used bikes in good condition, then sells them at a big discount. They frequently have my bike, a 2025 Aventon Abound LR, available for like $1300. It’s a fantastic entry-level model that is better than the other direct-to-consumer brands and I’ve only upgraded the tyres. Spending $3000 on one of those Tern GSDs, especially the 2025 generation 3 series, will give you reliable transport for the next decade that grows with your kids. As much as I’d like a bakfiets to carry my dog and the rare loads beyond 6 bags of groceries, my Aventon feels super nimble as a general commuter bike.
In my experience ordering an eMTB off Alibaba, it’s not really cheaping out it’s cutting out capitalist greediness lol. My bike is every bit as well built as my friends’ Specialized/Trek that I’ve tried (and they agree), but cost less than 1/2. It’s got higher tier Shimano components than theirs, a bigger battery, and parts on the motor/battery system if I ever need to replace anything are way cheaper and actually available.
Also doesn’t help I live in rural Canada so “dealer support” doesn’t really exist anyway, I have to be my own bike mechanic. The nearest Aventon dealer is apparently 600km away haha.
Edit: damn wish we had upway here some of those deals are solid!
I do have a friend who got an ali-express e-bike and did have a frame failure at speed.
They did have prior warning and had attempted to fix the cracks with tape. So basically just be aware of damage to the frame and get it properly fixed.
Yeah the range of quality on Alibaba is definitely quite a bit wider than at your local bike shop, but I’m totally of the belief that the top quality stuff is right there with the western name brands (it is where all their stuff is built too, after all). Thankfully if you dig around there’s some decent online communities where there’s people sharing good quality suppliers.
Fixing a cracked frame with tape is very funny, people definitely underestimate the forces going through a bike frame and how strong that steel/alu/carbon is!
Wherever that company is saving money
15k is OUTRAGEOUS for such a vehicle. The cost of components separately (sourced in industrial quantities in China) can’t possibly reach 4k, this company is either operating inefficiently or, more likely, ripping off customers by doubling the pricetags.
Edit: LMFAO the thing is 250W!!! That’s absolutely ridiculous, 15k for a glorified decathlon e-bike with 4 wheels instead of 2 and a thicker frame.
Edit 2: they’re selling the 2.3kWh battery for 1500€ HAHAHAHAHA LiFePo4 batteries (what this thing should use given it being a cargo bike) can be sourced about 100€ per kWh in Europe, so the battery being over 400€ is absolutely outrageous. This is just a fucking scam for rich Europeans
Oh yeah? Well VOK U too, buddy!
The ideal road vehicle for me would be an electric kei truck with some kind of modular bed. I want something small but hyper-efficient and utilitarian. Cargo ebikes fit the bill within cities beautifully, but they have limitations in terms of volume/stability with extreme weight/range that make them fall just shy of me recommending my workplace swap out most of our trucks for them. For the cost of our new Ford Emotional Support Truck, one in a fleet of maybe 50~, we could have bought 40~ of my cargo ebike that achieves 80% of our work tasks.
This platform seems like it’d bridge the gap between what I want from a truck and what I want from a bike. $15k is intimidating, but a $10k cargo bike is built with top-tier components that you can mostly swap out yourself. With $15k you can’t buy a new version of the cheapest econobox car in the US and any used vehicle for that amount is going to start having expensive issues soon. My workplace could get five of these for the cost of one new fleet truck and accomplish 95% of the workload just as efficiently if not more so. Our shitty combustion engine UTVs that barely work cost as much as four of these and we can’t even repair them ourselves. The only thing this model is missing is battery range and that seems like the next component sector that’s getting big innovations after motors.
I found a YouTube link in your post. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
