As an essential part of the inevitable turnaround in mobility, cargo bikes are finding more and more fans, especially among families, especially in metropolitan areas. As a result, they are outgrowing their former niche and are increasingly finding themselves in the limelight: last summer, hardly any well-known daily or weekly newspaper in this country could have done without a cargo headline. Most of the time, the versatile vans shine in a positive light, as the cornerstone of a changing traffic landscape.
How relevant are cargo crash tests?
Every now and then, however, a completely different tone is struck, most recently last July. Numerous media suddenly questioned the safety of cargo bikes for transporting children. What happened? The ADAC had subjected some cargo bikes to a crash test and had come to dubious results overall: the corresponding press release spoke of torn belts, splintering and sliding transport boxes and a high risk of injury. Found food for headline hunters and considerable damage to the image of the cargo bike itself. It was by no means the first time that a big question mark was put publicly behind the safety of cargo bikes. In a crash test in July 2020, Basler Versicherung also found some blatant safety deficiencies and spoke of a high risk of injury. So are cargo bikes really that unsafe?
The answer to this seemingly simple question is complex, because: a cargo bike is not a cargo bike - apart from the different designs, the bikes also differ fundamentally depending on the manufacturer - including their safety features. That is one of the big problems of the crash tests mentioned, because only wheels from a single manufacturer were used in the construction of the Basler Versicherung. Although the ADAC examined several types of cargo bikes, the selection of different models was very limited. The respective results were then nevertheless allocated to all cargo bikes afterwards. Unfortunately, this shortening simply does not do justice to the market and many models. In addition, there is no standardized test procedure and the results of different tests cannot be compared with each other.
Big differences between cargo bikes - what use is the cargo bike standard?
"The safety of our customers is very important to us," clarifies Ingo Kahnt, Head of Marketing and PR at the Koblenz-based cargo bike manufacturer Ca Go. "In this respect, we welcome independent tests and always look very closely at the results." With their cargo bike, the FS 200, the people from the Rhineland attach great importance to the issue of safety. This also shows, for example, that last year the test setup of the Basler Versicherung was recreated by an independent expert office using their own cargo bike. The result: under identical conditions, the children in the Ca Go FS 200 are exposed to a significantly lower risk of injury than on the test bike from Basler Versicherung. How does such a large discrepancy come about?
In the spring of 2020, a DIN standard specifically for cargo bikes came into force (DIN 79010). Numerous structural requirements are formulated there depending on the permissible total weight (up to 250 kg) and also basic safety features for the transport of children. Nevertheless, the experts agree - the standard can only be a first step and initially lays the foundation for future developments. For example, although forces are prescribed for belts, they are unfortunately only static, while in reality the forces are highly dynamic. This also explains why the seat belts ripped during the Basler Versicherung crash test. The accident scenario was not unrealistic: an impact at 25 km/h on the rear of a stationary car.
Ca Go in portrait: "We don't sell cargo bikes, we sell mobility"
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It is therefore worth taking a closer look at the safety features when purchasing a cargo bike. As a “model student”, the Ca Go FS 200 brings a number of partly unique properties with it. "As a manufacturer, we want to make our contribution to ensuring that cargo bikes play an even greater role in traffic in the future. Safety is a very important factor in this." emphasizes Ingo. Only recently, the manufacturer from Koblenz presented the so-called "Ortho-Safety-Collar": An increase in the transport box in the children's head area in order to offer additional protection here, especially in the event of a side impact or a conceivable lateral tipping over of the bike. The sprung seats with height-adjustable headrests are also unique in this form on the market. The headrests also demonstrably prevent overstretching of the cervical spine in the CaGo, similar to that in a passenger car. The restraint function of the 5-point belt system was also proven in the CaGo crash test.
The transport box made of EPP in combination with an aluminum railing running inside creates a natural crumple zone that cushions impacts, but at the same time protects the contents or occupants. "Our tests have shown that EPP is not only more stable than wood, but also has more forgiving properties," says Arndt Graeve, CTO of CaGo and managing director of the Schumpeter company, which developed and manufactures the box. While wood hardly deforms and breaks suddenly at a certain point, EPP initially deforms for a very long time, absorbing force and recovering almost completely even with larger deformations. Due to the special nature of the surface and the choice of raw materials, the box in the Ca Go FS 200 should retain these properties over a long period of time, despite adverse factors such as UV radiation from sunlight.
Influencing factor infrastructure
All good, then, because a safe bike = safe journey? Unfortunately, this equation does not always work, not even with cargo bikes. "As a manufacturer, it is only through our bike that we can more or less directly influence how safe the cargo bike is in everyday life," also restricts Ingo. Above all, driving behavior and the infrastructure are other factors that play a major role here. Helmets for all (co-)drivers should be just as natural as an adapted driving style. The latter is not only, but also of great importance because many municipalities and cities still give the bicycle - whether cargo bike, trekking bike or e-bike - too little space. "The bike simply lacks a lobby here," states Ingo, even though the e-bike boom has certainly brought some movement into the matter in recent years. This is shown by the large funding pots for cargo bikes in many places, as well as infrastructural adjustments and secure parking facilities. So even if there is still a long way to go – a start has been made.