Have you ever wanted to tow an electric bike with your own e-bike? Ok fine, that might be a niche case. But if you ever do in the future, now there’s a kit for you thanks to Tern bikes. And it also works for the somewhat more common case of pulling a trailer behind your e-bike.
Tern is known for having some the heaviest hauling and safest e-bikes in the industry. After testing several models, I can tell you that anyone who wants a cargo bike that can reliably move an apartment or bring home two weeks of groceries would be quite happy with a Tern.
But Tern isn’t resting on its cargo laurels. Now the company is adding to the capabilities of e-bikes with a new towing kit. In fact, the company has just launched two towing kits, one built upon the other.
The first is a more general purpose kit designed to add a trailer tow hitch to the bike. The second upgrades the hitch into a bike-specific tow kit that allows you to tow another bike – or electric bike – behind you.
The GSD is Tern’s most impressive hauler, taking the form of a compact cargo bike with one of the heaviest load ratings in the industry. And the new tow kit makes it even more of a cargo beast.
As the company explained:
Ever thought of hauling even more stuff, your kids AND the doggo at the same time? With the Tail Hitch L, you can attach a trailer to the rear of your GSD Gen 2 and still use your trusted panniers or lower deck accessories. This way, you can bring your whole family on any trip, along with everything you want.
The kit fits a range of trailer hitches and also includes protection plates to avoid scratching the bike while towing.
The corrosion resistant design uses stainless steel for durability and keeps it rust-free. The setup is rated for up to 60 kgs (132 lbs) and is safety tested by the leading German certification lab EFBE Prüftechnik.
The Tow Kit can be upgraded into the Bike Tow Kit in order to pull a second bike – or electric bike – behind you. The rear bike isn’t supposed to be ridden while towing, but the second rider can take their place on the GSD’s back seat between the main rider and the towed bike.
As Tern explained:
With the Bike Tow Kit, you can bring an extra bike along for any ride! Bring your mountain or road bike on your camping weekend, or tow your kid’s bike on longer stretches of the trip. Designed for towing a bike without its rider – your riding buddy gets to become everyone’s favorite backseat driver as they chill and take in all the action from your passenger seat. The Kit keeps the towed bike away from the passenger – giving them ample space to travel in comfort, and giving you more space for cargo on your GSD.
Cargo trailers are becoming an increasingly common accessory for electric bikes, especially as more riders begin replacing cars with e-bikes. Rad Power Bikes, a leader in the US e-bike market, recently launched their own trailer designed for the company’s e-bikes.
Pulling a trailer with a pedal bike would normally be a task only for the strongest of riders due to the extra resistance of a heavy load and two more wheels on the ground. But with an e-bike, the additional load isn’t nearly as exhausting (and it barely makes an impact at all if you’re using a throttle-controlled e-bike).
As more riders begin tackling larger cargo jobs with their e-bikes, expect to see more companies following Tern’s lead and hopping on the bandwagon… or the cargo trailer.
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