How to Carry Things on Your Bike, with the Globe Haul LT

Let's dive straight in.

• Average Cost per Month of Car Ownership: CA$1387*
• One mile on a bike is a $.42 economic gain to society, one mile driving is a $.20 loss
• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of accidental death for men and women under 45
• Cars sit unused roughly 95% of the time
• Cars and vans accounted for 48% of global transport carbon dioxide emissions

While those stats are from a variety of sources and locations and there's some nuance based on geography, the overall picture isn't drastically different no matter where you are.

Brass tacks - cars are an expensive, inefficient method of moving people and goods that do immense damage to people and the planet. If any of the above is surprising, it's because most of us are hard-pressed to imagine life without cars, and personal vehicle ownership.

As a society, we've normalized and now effectively ignore the enormous cost of vehicle ownership. Many of our weekly journeys unequivocally don't require a car. This mode is often both slower and more expensive than alternatives, but we're accustomed to just ignoring it.

*Please remember how statistics work. Your personal situation may differ drastically, but they're representative of averages across a population. I've included sources for each stat, but if you dive down the rabbit hole you'll find there's variation, which is pretty normal for most science and statistics like this.

I've been trying to gently cajole readers into trying to ride to their ride - however rarely - instead of driving for years now. It's good for the planet, it's good for your health, and it's just... nice. There's an adaptation period, but once you start showing up to the group ride or bottom of the climb warmed up, you'll be hard pressed to go back, especially once you coast past traffic on the way home.

Now I'm going to convince you to try riding for transportation, not recreation. I seeded this idea recently and laid an Easter egg for this piece. But really the roots here go back farther and it's been a long term project, based on my personal experiences, and one-car family life that so many folks seem to think won't work for them.

The goal here isn't to preach, and I'm not here to shame folks for driving - after all, I do it too. And maybe ditching a personal vehicle isn't in your future. But hopefully, through a series of pieces we can work together to unpack the real costs of driving that we've deeply normalized and engrained through policy in our society, compare that with the costs of riding (even infrequently), and if anyone reading this starts occasionally riding in fair weather on trips they'd normally drive, I'm declaring this a success.

The current tool for this exercise in "convincing you that even expensive bikes are way, way cheaper than cars" is the Globe Haul LT. Globe, which is owned by Specialized, is a quirky, fun, smiley-faced brand built to make something historically un-cool, cool. Globe bikes go to non-endemic media like Wired magazine for review, not Pinkbike. They're bikes for non-bike people, for people wanting to cart their things around an urban environment. They're a tool, an appliance, but Globe wants them to be a cool appliance, not a regular appliance. They're built with cutesy city features like 20" wheels to maximize maneuverability, a one-size-fits-all adjustable approach across the two different models, aptly named the ST and LT; that's Short Tail and Long Tail. Everything is identical across the two, save the extra rear center on the LT giving it additional room for things, be it groceries, kids, or dining room chairs.

There's a whole catalog of accessories, to carry whatever you like. Globe wants to be your one-stop-shop for all your cargo biking needs.

Basic Specs and Highlights from Globe

• Designed to tackle the biggest errands you can dream up with a 31 inch long, MIK-compatible rear rack and tons of additional accessory mounts along the frame and fork.
• The extra-wide center stand helps make loading and unloading your cargo, up to 441 lbs of it (rider included), safe and easy.
• LT rear racks have been updated to 176 lbs (80kg) max weight capacity - even those labeled ‘60kg’ – so get Haulin’.
• The full-coverage fenders and rear wheel covers help keep you and your bike clean and debris out of your spokes.
• 500W rear hub motor delivers enough power to get you and all your gear up steep hills and all the way across town at up to 32 km/h. The 772wh battery provides up to 100 km of range.
• Unique, single-size frame fits riders from around 4’5” all the way up to 6’4”. The telescoping seatpost has over 13 inches of adjustability, and the quill stem can extend almost 6 inches. It provides a comfortable ride for almost everyone measured in our giant Retül database.
• 20” diameter wheels help keep weight low to the ground for improved stability. The extra wide 3.5” Carless Whisper tires provide comfort and traction on any terrain and feature a 3-ply casing for superior flat protection.
• A lifetime warranty on the frame, and 2 year e-system warranty will keep your bases covered. With the Specialized network of service centers and superior customer service, you’re never on your own.

There's an aluminum frame, with some beefy four-pot Tektros clamping 200mm rotors, and pedal power runs through a Microshift 9-speed derailleur and cassette. The LT is a whopping 88lbs before you add any accessories.

So what are we doing here, with the Globe? Let's step back behind the curtain a bit. Reviews can happen in a few ways. Often, brands and PR agencies reach out to NSMB to see if we have any one who'd be keen to test whatever new gizmo, gadget, or ride-on contrivance they're selling. This then lands on the doorstep of whatever reviewer in our stable is best suited to the task. Every year or so, Cam and Pete ask if I'm interested in reviewing e-bikes; my answer has always been no. I have basically zero interest in electric mountain bikes. But while I lack interest in electric mountain bikes, I do have significant interest in cargo bikes, increasing active transportation and mobility, and trying to minimize and mitigate the very real effects of human induced climate change.

But more and more I find conventional reviews a bit boring. I now spend inordinate amounts of time conceiving complicated projects, which I then spend more time pitching The NSMB Powers that Be (Cam and Pete) on how great my latest hare-brained idea is, the things I'll need for said idea, and why it matters. Often I'm pitching things outside the realm of what NSMB would normally cover - be it dirtjumpers, the first NSMB gravel bike, bikepacking adventures, or editorials on classic events, and all of them ultimately mean more work for The Powers that Be.

Consider this a first look, a brief introduction to this project. The plan is to document the costs of operation over about a year with some periodic updates and a full breakdown at the end. We can compare and contrast with other modes of transportation, and while I want to discuss CO2 footprints and emissions, the goal here is to make an economic argument more than anything else.

There's 1150 kilometers on the Globe so far and while this is a ton for a normal NSMB review bike, it's hardly scratching the surface for what a car-replacement like the Globe Haul needs to endure. But it's more than enough for me to have some initial riding impressions, and even though the Haul LT is a lifestyle accessory not a high-end luxury good, those are important to people like you and me that care about bikes.

It doesn't feel like any other bike I've ridden. With its high weight, small wheels, and very low center of gravity the Globe is a bit of a riot. The enormous 20" Carless Whisper tires do a decent job of soaking up bumps and providing traction, although they are prone to that fatbike-esque self-steer feeling if you're running pressure that's a bit too low. I also dread the day this bike gets a rear flat - removing the rear wheel for a tube replacement will be nigh on impossible in the field.

The brakes are good - despite sub-par experiences on older Tektros, I've been happy with the power (which you need a lot of when the Haul is fully loaded) and lever feel isn't terrible. The Microshift drivetrain doesn't shift spectacularly, however I'm reasonably confident this is a function of the very long cable and subsequent routing over the actual drivetrain quality. It's a heavy bike - beware those who live anywhere with stairs.

For accessories, I went with the all-important "School Bus Kit", which includes a seat, running boards, rails, a couple of panniers and racks, and a front basket. I've also got a couple of spare MIK adapters to play with, rear cargo bags, and some other odds and ends to mix in. We'll talk more about it as the year goes on, but you can carry a LOT of stuff on this bike, and the modularity and adaptability of how the racks work has my brain working overtime to get creative.

It's taken a little while to get used to the hub motor - our previous Kona Electric Ute had a mid-drive motor. While I'm a bit of an e-luddite, and don't have a broad range of experience, the torque-sensing motor has reasonably smooth power delivery that provides a facsimile of the cycling experience whereby pedaling softer or harder means you go slower or faster in a way that make sense to your brain. The Globe flies up modest grades - which are plentiful around the North Shore, however when fully loaded on the steepest hills (15-20%) the motor will struggle. I've never stopped (or come particularly close), but it's not an effort-free experience. Battery life has been good, especially considering I pedal everywhere in the highest assist mode.

There were also some initial electrical gremlins to chase down, a bit of internet sleuthing indicates these are somewhat common - cutting out under high-load/low-RPM being the most notable. Think starting on a hill at a stoplight. This was a quick fix at the Specialized dealer under warranty, with a couple parts replaced, some connections cleaned, and a shim added in the battery case. The bike has been trouble-free for several hundred more kilometers, which aligns with the experiences of those other folks on the internet.

It's notable how a significant percentage of the 1150 kilometers haven't had me onboard. The Globe is often stolen by my significant other, which is perhaps as much of an endorsement of how fit-for-purpose the bike is. She's not "a cyclist", but has taken to commuting on the Globe, running errands, and carting our four year old around.

Speaking of, I asked that four year old if there's anything he'd want people to know about the Globe Haul LT, and what his favorite parts are. After some consideration, I've been informed "the lights" and "the bars around the back" where he sits are top of the list. It's also "pretty fun", and he'd rather go to daycare on the Globe than in the enclosed trailer - even in the rain. And he's right - the lights are good with 1500 lumens up front, and the bars give everyone some comfort he's not going to fall off.

So far the Globe Haul LT gets a thumbs up from all of us, and I'm looking forward to ripping around on this quirky little big bike for a while here. Oh, and I guess one final important note. The Haul LT rings in at 4,300 CAD. For the rails, racks, panniers, bags, adapters, running boards, and all the other accoutrements you'll see in this project, you're looking at another ~CA$1,500. I know what you're thinking, and you're not wrong: that's a big number. But wait till you see what cars cost.

Globe Haul LT