Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. It’s an admittedly crazy amount to spend on a bike – there are used cars that cost that much (though increasingly fewer given where car prices have been going).
Still, even at that price, I’m convinced that a bike like the Urban Arrow might be one of the best transportation bargains out there – an investment that will save me thousands of dollars per year and that could be worth hundreds of thousands, or even a million dollars or more to me, in future savings. And this doesn’t even include the physical and environmental benefits of the bike, which are significant as well.
So how exactly can a bike that’s as expensive as a cheap used car be a massive bargain, worth potentially a million dollars or more? It’s because of what this bike can do, replacing pretty much every normal trip I might need to take with a car. And this isn’t unique to me either. There are probably millions of families out there that could switch to a car-free or car-light life, all with a bike like the Urban Arrow.
In this Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Urban Arrow Review
My goal with this post isn’t to get too deep into the specs of Urban Arrow, but rather to provide a general overview of the bike and how it works for anyone who isn’t familiar with this type of bike. The Urban Arrow is a top-of-the-line bike, so as you can expect, the bike is well-made and uses all of the best parts.
Rather than focus on the specs, I instead want to focus on the basic things that probably matter to most people, such as how powerful is this bike, what sort of range can you get, what kind of cargo can you hold, and how it handles compared to a normal bike.
To begin, let’s get into the look of this bike. The Urban Arrow is a type of bike called a Bakfiets – a box bike when translated from Dutch. As you can see from the picture below, a Bakfiets features a large cargo area in the front of the bike that can hold people and cargo.
As you can probably tell, the Urban Arrow isn’t a normal-looking bike. The large box in the middle means the handlebars are placed in the middle of the bike, which then controls the front wheel via a pivot bar underneath the frame. I had a bit of a learning curve when I first started riding the Urban Arrow because of how big and bulky it was, but I quickly got the hang of it. If you try it out and it feels weird to you, don’t be discouraged. With a bit of riding, it’ll eventually feel completely normal to you.
The Urban Arrow is a heavy bike – and even heavier when fully loaded – so having a good motor is critical. To move the bike, the Urban Arrow uses a Bosch Cargo Line motor, which is probably the best ebike motor you can use. You’ll get a max speed of 20 mph and it also has plenty of torque to help you climb hills, even when fully loaded with cargo or passengers. I live in a flat area but there are some steep hills in my neighborhood that I’m able to easily climb even when the bike is fully loaded. One thing to note is that the Urban Arrow does not have a throttle and only uses pedal assist. That means you do have to pedal if you want to get moving. This isn’t a big deal for me, but it does mean I can’t just throttle to get around.
When it comes to range, you can expect about 25-30 miles of range on a full charge, although you can get more range if you ride with a lower level of pedal assist. I typically ride in Turbo mode (the highest pedal assist level) and I’ve never had any issues with range. Given how big this bike is, you’re probably not going to be doing many extremely long-distance trips with it, so range shouldn’t be an issue for most people. One nice thing is that the removable Bosch battery can fully charge in about 3 hours, which is much faster than most of the ebikes I own. That makes it possible to do a longer trip, then take a break at a coffee shop and recharge for an hour or so before continuing on.
Why I Bought The Urban Arrow
What differentiates the Urban Arrow from other ebikes is obviously the cargo capacity. Ebikes are valuable tools for most people. Indeed, I’ve argued in previous posts that an ebike may be the best investment you can make (I’ve even given speeches about this too). At the time I wrote that post, I didn’t have any experience with cargo bikes, but wow, if I thought regular ebikes were car replacements, a cargo bike supercharges everything.
As for me, I bought the Urban Arrow a few months before my second son was born. With my first son, we got around using a regular ebike with a child seat on the rear rack or a Burley trailer attached to my bike. This worked great when it was just me and my son, but the problem was that I couldn’t get a baby around using a regular bike. What I needed was something that could safely hold a car seat as well.
At first, I considered getting a second car – something like a used Nissan Leaf. Since I only needed it to get a few kids around the city, I figured even with the battery degradation and limited range, it’d still be fine. And used Nissan Leafs aren’t that expensive – you can get decent used ones for between $7,000 and $10,000. That’s not a bad price for a car to get around the city.
The problem for me is the recurring costs of a car. Cars aren’t just what you pay to buy it. They also come with maintenance, insurance, registration, parking, and fuel, not to mention depreciation. Go to any car calculator and you’ll find that the annual cost of owning a car is somewhere between $7,000 and $10,000 per year.
Car ownership isn’t cheap. For most people, transportation makes up the second-largest expense in a household budget after housing. So given how expensive cars can be, I’ve always made it my mission to do everything I can to limit the number of cars I own. While it might not be possible to go car-free, I firmly believe that most families could probably get by with one car if they really tried.
So rather than get a second car, I opted instead to get the Urban Arrow to get my two kids around. What makes the Urban Arrow perfect for me as a second car/kid hauler is the way it’s set up. Like most Bakfiets, the cargo area features a padded seat that can fit 1 or 2 kids. In addition, the Urban Arrow has a spot to mount a car seat attachment. This lets me safely mount a car seat directly onto the bike. You can also buy a rain cover for the Urban Arrow, so on cold or rainy days, my kids are able to stay warm and dry inside the bike.
Here’s what my Urban Arrow looks like with the rain cover on it. It makes it sort of like a tiny car for my kids.
And here’s a look at the Urban Arrow hauling my two kids around using the car seat attachment.
How The Urban Arrow Can Make You Financially Independent
I went with the higher-end model of the Urban Arrow, which features a more powerful motor and a belt drive system. With all the add-ons and taxes, my Urban Arrow ended up costing me about $9,000.
That might seem like an insane amount of money to spend on a bike – and I don’t deny that it’s a lot of money – but in the long run, opting to use a bike like this as my primary method of transportation will save me money and improve my finances. Indeed, while it might be hard to believe, this single decision could be worth a million dollars or more and make me financially independent.
How is this possible? Consider the math of opting for the Urban Arrow over a car:
- Your typical car costs $7,000 to $10,000 per year to operate.
- An ebike like the Urban Arrow costs very little to operate. At the time I’m writing this post, I’ve had my Urban Arrow for a year and have put over 3,000 miles on it. I’ve spent $802 in maintenance and repairs on it during that stretch, which is likely more than average for most people.
- If I can save the money I would have spent on a car over many years, the money can grow to hundreds of thousands or even a million dollars or more. Setting aside $10,000 per year for 30 years can add up to over $1 million.
- When you consider most of us have cars for longer than 30 years, the amount you can save over the long term can be astronomical (over $2 million over 40 years and over $4 million over 50 years).
- Not spending $7,000 to $10,000 per year on a car also means I don’t need as much in my portfolio to cover my transportation costs. Under the 4% rule (which says we can withdraw 4% of our portfolio each year), $10,000 per year of car costs would mean I’d need $250,000 in my portfolio – all just to have a second car.
Even now, the 3,000 miles I’ve put on the bike have replaced the 3,000 miles of driving I would have done. Even at a conservative 50 cents per mile to operate a car, I’ve directly saved at least $1,500 by replacing those 3,000 miles with my bike.
I’m not saying everyone should go car-free. But when you consider how many people have two or more cars, being able to save the money on a second car and have 1 car along with a cargo bike like the Urban Arrow can directly lead to hundreds of thousands, or even a million dollars or more to your future savings. It really puts things in perspective when you consider just how much that car really costs you.
Final Thoughts
The Urban Arrow is a game-changer bike for me. It basically gives me a little truck that I can use for my day-to-day trips. I’ve hauled all sorts of things in this bike – multiple kids, groceries, furniture, bags of mulch, etc.
This isn’t a bike for everyone because it is expensive and not everyone should spend so much on an ebike. There are lots of cheaper options for electric cargo bikes too.
But if you’re in a financial position to get a cargo bike like this, it can change your life – both now and in the future.
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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($900) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $900 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
I built a human powered heavy hauling Cargo Trike that can pull a 4,000 pound trailer. Its main source of propulsion is flywheels, not an electric motor, so it’s not classified as a motorized vehicle.
I’m building another trike that will have a 10,000 watt alternator, heat, A/C, and a 4 speed truck transmission. This trike has a heavy steel frame and will be able to pull a 10,000 pound trailer. You can see our trikes on YouTube https://youtu.be/1PCMi-gYlz4?si=WV6ajryy1wTjm-aK
A revolution in micro mobility is coming quickly, especially when people finally realize there are much better options for getting around town than throwing away your hard earned money on automobiles. I stopped driving in 1984 and never looked back.
I have a Haibike xdurorx29r with the Bosch pedal assist setup. Rode 6000+ miles to date without issues. Love it bunches & am 80 lbs lighter in weight. I’m six foot one inch at 220 lbs and when my bicycle was new it was $5000 plus change. I’m 59 yo and it was a great investment
Lectric Bikes Xpedition Cargo Bike is $1450 and is durable, can carry 450lbs, has child and extra adult passenger seats, can go 29 mph and has a range 150 miles. These numbers vary a little but check it out to compare. Oh and the handlebars fold down so I can put it in my minivan.
Yep, I’m a big fan of the entry level longtails from Lectric and Aventon. It’s important to note though that the Lectric Xpedition is a longtail bike, which is a totally different style of bike with a very different cargo capacity.
Cheap Chinese-made longtails are a great entry point to cargo bikes, but if you’ve ever ridden a high-quality bakfiets, the comparison is apples and oranges. Front-loaders are way more functional and versatile and high-end e-bikes are a night and day difference in terms of quality of components and the experience of riding them.
This exactly. I’m by no means a bike snob and I’m definitely not saying you have to get the Urban Arrow for moving cargo. For me though, it was the only way I could safely move my young son around in his car seat, since the Urban Arrow has the attachment for the car seat.
Our motivation was different. A Radwagon 3 was our gateway drug to cargo e-bikes, but we upgraded to an urban arrow after a year and a half partly for more versatility (longtails aren’t that great at hauling non-child-shaped cargo where bakfiets you can throw *anything* in that bucket) but also because we live somewhere with winter and the lower center of gravity and rain cover were a game-changer for biking with kids year-round. I did daycare dropoff and pickup for two kids all winter last year on the bike.
There is no world I would want to live in that a $9k cargo ebike did anything less than tow 700 lbs. There are at least 3 manufacturers producing the same or better, specs for $2.5-4k. If I wasn’t already aware that this post was sponsored, I might be mildly annoyed. As it is, I’m impressed with your audacity.
Hey Chris, this post isn’t sponsored. I bought this bike with my own money and I’ve never talked with anyone at Urban Arrow or have any affiliation with them. Urban Arrow is way too big a company to sponsor a blog like this.
Which bakfiets bike do you prefer?
My concern is how to transport to qualified bike shop for maintenance and repair, as it is not a bike you can just throw in the back of your pick up truck.. other than that, which has been my primary negative it would be a no brainer. 🤠
Yeah that is an issue. Theoretically, if you broke down somewhere random, you’d need a flatbed or tow truck to move it. I’ve gotten flats before where I’ve had to walk the bike to the nearest shop, but since I’m in a city, it’s never been too far for me to walk it.
Where do you park this $10K bike while shopping so that it is not stolen?
I lock it up outside like any other bike, using a couple locks, including a wheel lock. I don’t leave it locked up all day outside not in my sight. I also take the display with me, which is what allows the bike to turn on, so if someone did take it, it would just end up being a heavy, hard to pedal bike.
I think it also helps that it’s such a weird looking bike, so it’s not really an attractive target. You might not even know its a bike if you aren’t familiar with it. Plus, there aren’t a lot of these bikes in the US so it’s not exactly the type of bike you’re going to quickly sell without attracting attention.
It’s worth noting that this bike is 9 ft long and weighs 110 lbs, making it much, much less easy to abscond with than most bikes. Just immobilizing a wheel makes it impractical to move without at least two people, and even then it wouldn’t exactly be inconspicuous.