Ebike Maker Aventon Goes Big With New Abound Cargo Carrier

I’ve reviewed a number of interesting and innovative ebikes from Aventon over the last several years, but until now, one key model type has been missing from their lineup: a cargo bike. At long last, the California-based company has rectified that situation with the new $2,199 Abound cargo bike.

Cargo bikes are becoming more popular in the ebike (and regular bike) markets for obvious – and not so -obvious – reasons. Obvious: They can haul a lot of stuff, including kiddos, cargo and sometimes pets, often all at the same time, and with a motor added on, their range and flexibility is greatly extended. Not so obvious: If you can do all those things with a bicycle, your very-expensive-to-operate automobile will sit much more than it already does, meaning your fuel bill, maintenance needs and possibly per-mile insurance costs will go down as well.

At essentially $2200 before options (such as panniers, larger cargo racks, passenger seats and even trailers), it’s a chunk of change to invest up front, but if it lowers just your car expenses by $50 a month or more, the math on recouping that investment is fairly straightforward. And judging by the number of cargo bikes I see on Portland streets (and elsewhere in my travels), a LOT of people are doing that math. When I was in Manhattan last year, electrified cargo bikes were everywhere, loaded up and breezing through crawling car traffic.

But back to the new Abound. The new bike is what I call a “long tail” cargo bike, so your cargo is mostly behind you while riding, as opposed to cargo bikes that use a front bucket of sorts like this Supercargo model from Yuba. That means the Abound rides more like a “normal” bicycle than the front-box designs that use a linkage for steering. That’s not to say front-box bikes are a bad choice; it’s just not the form factor Aventon chose. Honestly, the more “normal” design of the Aventon is probably more approachable for those new to cargo bikes than the front box design, but it also a bit more limiting on how much you can carry. It’s good to have options.

The 81-pound, 75-inch long Abound uses 20-inch wheels front and rear with a 750-Watt geared rear hub motor out back supplemented by a 7-speed Shimano Altus derailleur and twist grip-shifter. Hydraulic disc brakes provide stopping power front and rear, and there’s a suspension fork up front with preload adjustment and lockout. A thumb-throttle allows manual control of the motor while Eco, Tour, Sport, and Turbo pedal assist modes are themselves assisted by a torque sensor that detects how much pedal power the rider is adding in and modulates the assist power for both maximum assistance when needed and more efficient use of the large removable in-frame lithium-ion 48-Volt 15Ah (720Wh) battery’s power reserve. Aventon says the battery gives the Abound 50 miles of assist range; that’s likely a best-case scenario in Eco mode with a light load. Stacking up a maximum of 440 pounds of cargo (including the rider) and pointing it up some hills in Turbo mode will result in… less range under power. The Abound is a Class II ebike with a top assist speed of 20 mph.

Aventon did their homework before introducing the Abound, and it has several nice features as stock, including metal fenders, rear wheel valances for keeping small feet and other things out of the wheel, a fold-down handlebar for easier storage and transport of the bike, hydraulic dropper-type seat, and a large rear rack ready for a large number of accessories including seats, panniers, cargo racks and more. A central small soft-sided storage bag is included for things like bike locks, gloves, snacks and so forth.

Aventon also continues to be a leader in bicycle visibility, and the Abound features tires with reflective striping, a bright LED headlight mounted above the front fender, plus a bright rear tail and brake light with integrated yellow LED turn signals activated by two buttons on the controller pod on the left handlebar, a feature it shares with the new Aventure.2. A color LCD display shows signal activation, speed, assist mode (Eco, Tour, Sport, Turbo, and Off), battery level, and some motivational environmental statistics (trees saved, CO2 reduced).

That’s a well-rounded setup out of the box, and Aventon did send me an Abound just ahead of their launch date, but the shipment and any riding time was delayed until now by a historic snowstorm that buried Portland under nearly a foot of powder, making it easier to get around on skis than ebikes. Look for an in-depth review of the Abound here in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the Abound has no shortage of competition in the electric cargo bike space, including from Rad Power Bikes and their new Rad Rover 3, along with the recently introduced XPedition from Lectric and others joining the field. It’s good to see more choices appear, and we’ll be testing the Abound to see if it’s viable to keep the car parked more and while tending to local transport and errand needs with a cargo bike.