MyBike.parts
In november 2023 I bought the Decathlon E-Lastenfahrrad Cargobike - R500E Longtail V2 as a alternative for children transport within our town. After one year with about 900km on the Odometer, I can summarize my experience.
This was my first cargo bike after only using a rented Long John style before as well as severall test rides on bike fairs.
Very good - Pro points
Easy handling, compared to Long-Johns riding is steers almost like a normal bike. After getting used to the general riding behavior, I could steer very precisely between narrow paths and on very straight lines - On Long-John's that was always a hassle.
Sizing: Not a whole lot wider than a normal bike, so you can easily ride on bike paths. That was very important for me, because the path to my bike storage is narrow and most other cargo bikes where to wide
Very Practical for children transport. In the base configuration, it's already very suitable for quick rides. After a while we also bought the cushions for it. The cage-system is not a big problem for the children to enter. Not very suitable to transport bigger people with it, though!
Engine is IMO very powerful - enough to transport 2 kids with baggage up a hill on straight 25km/h (max speed) and leave road bikers in the dust.
Also practical for shopping: Front rack is surprisingly sturdy, A small shopping bag/ bread bag can easily fit inside. The cage can be made narrow or wider - if wider, you can fit a big Eurobox inside. Very convenient for shopping now: Just put the Eurobox from the shopping carriage on the bike
Light works great (standard now, I guess), bright, but a relatively small cone. If you need to ride in total darkness, forest, it might be better to add more lights.
Hydraulic brakes have enough stopping power.
Simple maintenance, so far only:
besides air pumping (about 3 times),
chain lubrication
torque the passenger cage screws again
Negatives/Drawbacks
If you use the engine a lot (Which I do), the range is very limited, about 50-70km I get from one battery, because I usually ride at Max-Speed, even up a hill. Setting 1 Support (ECO) on normal flat road, Setting 2-3 on uphill. When I ride this bike, it's not for sport, but for getting some trip accomplished, fast.
Relatively unstable when mounting/dismounting children - But most cargo bikes with 2 wheels share this problem IME. Make sure either your children are able to mount without fast movements, or hold it by yourself
While the front wheel has a suspension, the rear wheel with the passengers has none, so if you have some curbs or other jumps, warn your passengers before.
8-Gear Microshift is obviously worse than a Shimano 105 or similar that I normally use. But the range is satisfying (max. about 40-45km/h, which is quite enough, especially when transporting children!)
Repairing, maintenance. Because of the 20' wheel, which is also mostly encased by stuff, it's a little harder than usual, to access the rear wheel for maintenance.
Upgrades I bought:
Eurobox for shopping
Eurobox from the department store (GLOBUS Baumarkt about 10 EUR), Very handy for shopping.
Baby buggy hooks
Baby buggy hooks to attach school bags or other bags at the rear end. (Amazon Link)
Rear Mirror
https://www.decathlon.de/p/fahrradrueckspiegel-100/_/R-p-512
Nice, but not strictly necessary. In some cases, when wanting to turn left, it's great to look back.
Cushions for passengers
Original Cushions 2x, a little bit overpriced, but ok. Needed, because of the missing suspension.
https://www.decathlon.de/p/_/R-p-335557
Theft prevention
Two various locks - I usually lock it twice somewhere
Apple Air-Tag for theft prevention. Ideas for hiding it:
Summary
No regrets! Great decision, I should have bought it sooner. I replaced almost 100% of my in-town trips with this bikes. Children-transport, shopping, even personal doctor visits are very quick to do. No need to find a parking spot, easy to take short-cuts like a bike. Sturdy and fast and because of the locks I use with it more peace of mind when locking it somewhere in the public space for a short time (My Gravel and Road Bikes are even faster and more fun, but harder to keep safe)
Several class-mates of my children wanted to ride, too. Much for fun, than in a riding in the back of a dark-tinted, huge SUV, where children cannot see anything at all.
Also, about a dozen or so occasions where some other rider or walker admired the bike and initiated a small conversation.