The USPS is already testing mail delivery by electric bike with these neat little US-built mail bikes

["A"]

Interesting e-trikes... I guess it beats walking with a huge bag of mail.

USPS already testing mail delivery by electric bike with these neat little US-built mail bikes

The United States Postal Service is testing electric mail bikes to replace mail trucks for certain routes, drastically cutting emissions.

electrek.co

 

[Smaug]

Interesting! I do question two things for commercial use like this:

1. Spoked wheels might be a problem, if potholes are hit. Maybe upgrade to one-piece "mag" wheels.
2. Bosch mid drive (on the front crank) doesn't seem to make a lot of sense here. It will wear the chain & sprockets prematurely with that much torque. Some kind of geared drive on the rear axle would make more sense, or even a big outrunner motor in the front hub.
3. With this much weight to pull, does it make sense to have a pedal drivetrain at all? How much would the postman actually be helping by pedaling?

 

["A"]

1. Similar sized 20" spoked wheels are used in dirt jumping BMX, I'd think delivering mail, even with heavy load, their speeds will not exceed 30 mph. Those spoked wheels should be fine for mail carrier speed.

2. I do agree with the mid-drive motor being dependent on chain & sprocket health.

3. Front wheel with hub-motor would likely slip with majority of the weight residing on the rear cargo box; I would think mail & packages can get pretty heavy.

 

[Smaug]

Another cool thing about them is that they probably don’t need any infrastructure upgrades to charge them. (as they would with a fleet of mail trucks)

 

["A"]

Private sector is going electric for deliveries, too.

Amazon to use walking, electric cargo bikes to replace thousands of van deliveries

Amazon is testing out electric cargo bikes for urban deliveries in a pilot that could see delivery vans replaced with smaller vehicles.

electrek.co