Specialized Globe Haul e-cargo bike makes it to Canada

The journey of the Specialized Globe Haul to Canada has been, if you’ll excuse the pun, a long haul. It’s been available in the U.S. for about a year and has finally made it north of the 49th parallel. The Specialized Globe Haul ensures that the company has a range of e-cargo bikes. Earlier this month, Specialized came out with its baller hauler, the Turbo Porto, that starts at $9,000. The short-tail Globe Haul is $3,599, while the long-tail model is $4,299.

A simple e-cargo bike with BMX handling

Like all good cargo bikes, the Globe Hauls are versatile. With a range of accessories, you can trick them out for moving kids, groceries and gear. To make ferrying stuff easier, Specialized ensured the bikes had low centres of gravity and excellent handling. In fact, Erik Nohlin, the Haul’s designer, took a rather rad approach. “The inspiration for the handling has been BMX,” Nohlin says, “so you can almost say this is a cargo BMX, in the way it’s simple and by how fun it is to ride. With its low centre of gravity and the cargo sitting right on top of the axles, it handles very normally, even under very heavy loads. That’s the magic. The cargo is not an afterthought.”

E-cargo bikes can be beasts. With the Globe Hauls, Specialized aimed to maximize their carrying capacities while minimizing their footprints in your garage. The LT’s wheelbase is only about 5 cm longer than Specialized’s Enduro trail bike. You can even put the e-cargo bikes on the right hitch-mounted bike racks.

The key specs of the Specialized Globe Haul ST and Specialized Globe Haul LT

The Specialized Globe Haul ST (short tail) and Specialized Globe Haul LT (long tail) e-cargo bikes have essentially the same spec. The LT, with its 1,356-mm wheelbase, simply lets you carry more, 200 kg worth of cargo. However, the ST (1,089-mm wheelbase) is no slouch with its 190 kg (including rider) capacity. You can carry one kid in the back with the ST. The LT has room for two little ones.

Both bikes come with a 500-W rear-hub motor putting out 70 Nm of torque. The system is powered by a 772-Wh battery that can get you 100 km on one charge, although the range depends on how much weight is being carried, the speed and even the air temperature.

If you’re familiar with Specialized’s ebikes, you’ll know its Turbo models use mid-drive motors. The Globe Hauls have a rear-hub-drive motor. That…