I’m not sure why I chose the middle of winter to set myself a seemingly impossible challenge: ditching the car to cycle from my home in Sydney’s inner west to the office 8km away, while dropping two young children at daycare en route.
But as I strutted through the office doors after arriving at work on time, my feat felt so incredible, I half expected my colleagues to break into applause.
I spent two months trialling the Tern GSD S10 LR ebike to see if the idea of a car-free commute lived up to the reality. The aim was to replace the family’s second car with an environmentally and fitness-friendly option. Typically, on a day when I drive, it takes me an hour door to door, which includes the at-times chaotic daycare drop-off halfway through the journey.
The ebike, fitted with two small seats on the back, was delivered to my apartment by Australian ebike subscription service Lug+Carrie. They gave me a 45-minute tutorial on the dos and don’ts of riding an ebike with a Bosch 400Wh battery and 85 Nm of torque. Its sheer size was daunting: as a casual cyclist the ebike was much heavier than my road bike and I wasn’t sure how I was going to manoeuvre it with my human cargo.
My first few pedals were slightly wobbly, but within minutes it felt like cruising on a cloud. I had been warned about the takeoff of some of these bikes, but it wasn’t at all jolty, and the vehicle moved seamlessly from standstill to cruising up to 25km/h.
Once I got my rhythm, the real challenge was about to begin: getting my children on the bike and to daycare in one piece. My eldest, who is five, was beyond excited once I showed her how to unlock the bike (it comes with a key fob like the car). The one-year-old can’t really talk yet so didn’t appear to have an opinion.
My daily car commute generally consists of a thousand questions from the backseat gallery: “Mum, why is there a bird on that sign?”
“Mum, where is my robot cat for show and tell?”
“Mum, why didn’t you bring me a smaller banana?”
Does riding a bike cancel out all this white noise? No. But it sure makes it more enjoyable. With the wind in my hair and my heart rate rising, the endorphins kicked in as I found myself singing to the kids while navigating the safest route. (I relied on a GPS app which uses a safety algorithm to plan a bike-friendly journey that avoids high traffic.)
One unexpected side-effect: we were being noticed. Was it the mitten-wearing baby waving at everything going past (including telegraph poles)? Or was it just general amazement that this vehicle allowed seamless family travel without a car? Either way, I liked it.
I liked not getting in our car every day to travel short distances. I liked the exercise (I’d usually switch to the bike’s eco mode – which uses the least amount of battery – after dropping the kids off so I could get a workout on the last stretch to work; if I didn’t want to break a sweat or change my clothes on arrival, I’d switch to the more powerful turbo mode).
I liked that the promised bike ride generated such excitement among the kids that our exit from the house only took an hour (it’s normally up to two). I even liked the gentle nods of acceptance from other cyclists as we passed one another.
I managed to get our entire commute down to about 45 minutes door to door. (This obviously fluctuated depending on whether my younger daughter’s separation anxiety was at a 10 or a two that day.) Regardless, most days I managed to arrive at work on time – with a coffee in hand. I really can have it all.
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The question most people asked me about was our safety. Sydney’s cycleways have become more extensive over the last few years, but there were still gaps in the commute which forced us to share the road with cars. Still, I didn’t feel scared at any point – although I’m sure being accustomed to riding in the busy city helped.
The sharp drop in temperature halfway through my two-month trial tested my motivation at 7.15am every morning. Unfortunately it tested my one-year-old’s patience even more; we had to give up in mid-July when the biting air proved too cold for her little face.
Lug+Carrie offer a weather cover called a storm box which is compatible with its bench seat option but not the standalone seats we had. I looked into buying a baby balaclava to protect her cold nose but couldn’t find anything for her age. But we continued to use the ebike for swimming lessons, play dates and weekend rides when it warmed up later in the day.
Come September, I’ll definitely be returning to the ebike morning commute. If you’re unsure whether an ebike will suit your family long term, the rental subscription service is ideal. But you just might find that investing in an ebike outright may end up costing less than a second car.
Pros: Easy to ride, good for exercise, fun for the kids, fun for the parents, test rides are available.
Cons: Can take a while to recharge the battery to full capacity, subscriptions are unavailable if you live outside the operational zones, and you can’t indicate left or right with the ebike (you’ll have to use your arms, as road cyclists do). You also have to contend with the chill factor and (infrequent) angry drivers.
Where, what and cost
Lug+Carrie operates in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Renting the Tern GSD S10 LR ebike starts from $66 a week. Our ebike came with two small seats ($5 each a week) but you can also opt for a bench seat ($5 a week), a captain’s chair ($5 a week) or a combination, depending on the weight and height of your children.
The company offers a range of add-ons for rent with your subscription including pannier bags, a storm shield and transporter rack (all for $5 a week or under).
The Tern GSD S10 LR can also be bought brand new for about $8,000 or second hand for about $6,000.
If you use Lug+Carrie’s subscription service you are covered by the Rider Rescue roadside assistance program, which fetches you and the bike and delivers you to your destination if you experience a breakdown.