![]() ![]() Specialized isn't resting on its laurels and continues to crank out new and/or updated bikes and gear. But it’s hard to argue with the quality and performance of its top bikes. This is a pretty incredible price for a bike everyone in your family will love.The brand’s size, domination of some specialty retailer's floor space, and its aggressive defense of patents (sometimes at the cost of smaller, revered brands) has cost it some fans. My husband won’t touch my yellow Tern but will grab this without hesitation. Not only is the Globe Haul ST cheaper, it's more universally appealing. Probably the closest equivalent is the Tern Quick Haul ($2,999), which is more expensive and has worse specs (less range, accommodates a smaller range of rider heights). I wrote that the high price tags on Tern’s utility bicycles made me want to vomit. Still, ever since my chain dropped out while I was towing my kids across a busy street, I have been a little wary of passenger bikes that don’t have a carbon belt drive.īut that brings me to my final point. I have full faith in Specialized’s components, and there are very many affiliated Specialized shops for maintenance. I used to think suspension made the bike heavier without adding too much utility, but I do have to steer a little more carefully to keep my kids from bouncing uncomfortably on the rear rack. It's way too easy for them to kick me as I pedal. Both my kids and I are on the far left side of the bell curve as far as our sizes go, relative to the rest of humanity, and it's still a tight squeeze. It has no suspension, and the passenger kit is clearly designed for very tiny passengers. I have two small qualms about corners that Specialized cut to keep the price relatively low. The Tektro hydraulic disc brakes are fine. It has maneuverable, compact 20-inch multi-terrain tires that felt fine when I decided to cut through gravel roads. The front light has multiple modes that go up to 1,500 lumens, and I would suggest not accidentally shining it on our friends if you want to keep them. It’s a basic LED display with a left-hand throttle and a weirdly fun-to-push gray button on the right to turn on the very big and bright front and rear lights. The interface is very easy and intuitive to use. Even on the lowest gear jacked to the highest level of assistance, I still only get about 10 mph unless I use the throttle. I’m lazy, it’s hot, and I’m carting kids and stuff around in the full sun on 95-degree days-even though I have five levels of assistance and nine gears to choose from, right now I want to pedal as little as possible. Just like how the Turbo Tero X ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends) tries to teach you how to be a better cyclist, the Globe Haul ST wants you to put in the bare minimum of effort. One of the worst-slash-best parts about Specialized’s electric bikes is that they’re designed for people who like to bike. It’s been a month and I’m going to have to take it on a 15- to 20-mile ride to get it below the 30 percent level that Specialized asked me to have the battery at when I return it. The odometer currently says that I’ve put 40 miles on it by just riding my kids and myself around our neighborhood, and the battery is more than half full. ![]() If that wasn’t enough, it’s more affordable too. ![]() It’s as if VanMoof and our own Tern GSD ( 8/10, WIRED Recommends) had a baby. Because it’s a family bike, everyone has to weigh in-it’s the bike that my husband, 6-year-old son, and 8-year-old daughter opt to ride. I’ve been using it for a month to bike my family and all our gear around Portland, Oregon. This is Specialized’s first e-cargo bike, and it’s pretty awesome. If, in VanMoof's absence, you are still yearning for a minimalist, Euro-inspired daily driver, I recommend the Globe Haul ST without reservations. VanMoof’s initial success, however, pointed to the fact that a lot of people were really attracted to a bike that didn't look overtly technical. During a brief test of a VanMoof, I had to keep tinkering with the app to keep it from beeping and chuckling at me when I or any of my family walked past it in our garage. I’ve found the idea of a smart ebike to be overrated. ![]() It looks like a step-through VanMoof, the bikes made by the pioneering ebike manufacturer that recently declared bankruptcy after booming during the Covid-19 pandemic. Specialized has some of the most beautiful paint colors, but the Globe Haul ST is a sleek matte black. The first thing anyone familiar with ebikes will remark upon seeing the Globe Haul ST is its looks. ![]()
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