The Ca Go FS 200 E-cargo bike features a Bosch motor and battery capacity of up to 1250 Wh, promising to offer the world’s most comfortable and safest solution for transporting children by bike. We found out whether the weatherproof hood and safety features are enough to leave your car parked at home.
The German company was founded by the managing director of Ergon, relying on German-made cargo bikes and innovative transport solutions as their recipe for success. Franc Arnold and his team developed the Ca Go in a very short time, making the safe transport of children their top priority. As such, the Ca Go promises to be a great solution for your most precious cargo. It comes with a transport box made of so-called EPP (short for expanded polypropylene) that can be equipped with 2 full-size child seats, turning the bike into a spacious three-seater that offers more legroom than most sports sedans. However, you’re mistaken if you’re thinking it’s just a rideable stroller: the Ca Go serves just as well as a full-fledged cargo bike. It relies on direct cable steering and offers pedal assistance via the Bosch CX Cargo Line motor and a battery capacity of up to 1250 Wh. We put the bike to the test to find out how the motor performs in combination with the long cargo bike and what it allows you to transport, which you can read about further down below.
Lifestyle choice – Children or luggage
The Ca Go offers a suitable solution for different lifestyles, allowing you to get by without any car at all or just one car if necessary. Transport for kids or cargo? Sunroof, rain cover or preferably topless? With the Ca Go, the transport box can be freely configured with a range of accessories. If you want a bit of both, you’ve got up to two child seats that can be folded up individually to free up space as needed. If both seats are occupied, you can still transport luggage on the tray above the passengers’ feet.
The 200-litre volume of the box is generous enough to transport both children and luggage. It’s only when it comes to very large, bulky items such as a washing machine or a refrigerator that the Ca Go is limited, unlike cargo bikes like the Kettler FS 800 (review here). Among cargo bikes, the Ca Go is more of a luxurious family van than a workhorse. However, it remains true to its credo of being a transport solution for your most precious cargo and it does a great job doing so.
The components of our Ca Go FS 200 test bike in detail
Our test bike was specced very generously. As with most long john cargo bikes, it relies on a small 20″ wheel up front and a 27.5″ wheel on the rear. At the rear, the automatic geared hub from Enviolo ensures easy and comfortable operation, coupled with a maintenance-free and quiet belt drive. Oil chains, stained pants and miss-shifts are a thing of the past.
The high-volume tire on the rear of the cargo bike provides plenty of cushioning, making for a superbly comfortable ride in conjunction with the optional suspended seat post. Keeping your passengers comfortable is a suspension fork from SR Suntour and you’ve MAGURA brakes to keep your speed in check. There’s a 2 piston calliper and 200 mm rotor up front and twice as many pistons paired with a 220 mm rotor at the rear – the latest tech from the mountain bike sector! There’s enough stopping power to bring the E-cargo bike reliably to a halt, even at the maximum permissible weight of 250 kg and on long descents. To avoid making an emergency stop, reflective strips on the tires and the Supernova headlight with its high beam function allow you to see and be seen. When you do have to stop, the Bosch CX Cargo Line motor and dual battery will get you back up to speed in no time.
A powerhouse – The Bosch CX Cargo Line motor
The Bosch CX Cargo Line motor is specially adapted to the requirements of cargo bikes and with a maximum torque output of 85 Nm, it delivers. Together with the 1250 Wh dual battery option, you’ve got the range too.
As you might know, a motor is only as good as the drivetrain that transfers its power to the rear wheel. With the Ca Go, this aspect is taken care of by a geared Enviolo AutomatiQ hub, which selects the gear automatically via the hub interface. Unlike other geared hubs, the Enviolo relies on stepless CVP (= Continuously Variable Planetary) technology. With this system, you simply select the desired cadence via the Bosch Kiox display, ranging from 30 to 130 in five increments. The automatic system ensures that you’re always in the right gear for the selected cadence, whether you’re climbing or descending. The hub also features Bluetooth connectivity, so you can adjust the settings on your smartphone. With a torque output of 85 Nm, the Bosch CX Cargo Line System isn’t just powerful but it can also unleash that power sensitively when necessary – if you’ve got the correct setting. The support modes available are Eco, Tour, Sport and Turbo. As the name suggests, Eco mode is particularly economical, using as little battery power as possible, whereas Turbo mode always provides full power, regardless of electron losses. The two intermediate modes, Tour and Sport, are the ones you’re most likely to use day-to-day and are almost self-explanatory. Tour mode gives you a little more range by limiting the motor while Sport mode allows you to use maximum torque when required.
The available builds of the Ca Go – As flexible as a Swiss Army knife
The builds of the Ca Go FS 200 can be divided into two sections: the bicycle components themselves and the transport related accessories. With some of the components, Ca Go offer limited flexibility: essential things such as the drivetrain or brakes are fixed. However, there’s a range of components to choose from for things such as the seat post, lights, grips or even the tubes in the tires. One of the optional extras includes a security feature in the form of the CaGo.me app combined with a GPS tracker. This ensures that you can rest assured no matter where you park your bike, or that rescue services are automatically alerted in the event of an accident. The possibilities regarding the transport box are almost endless. To give you a rough idea of the number of options available, there are 3 different types of child seats and 4 different roof configurations to choose from.
Ca Go FS 200 – A delivery box never looked this good
The transport box itself is made of expanded polypropylene – the same material as most insulated delivery boxes. One of its benefits is that it can be made into almost any shape via injection moulding and it’s super durable once set. Ca Go use this to their advantage, partnering with German company Schumpeter to develop a beautiful and aerodynamically shaped transport box that offers plenty of space and lots of configurations. For the transport of goods, the box simply remains empty inside, offering enough room for one 40 x 60 cm box or two cooler boxes the size of beer crates for that summer picnic, which are available optionally. Of course, you’ll also be able to fit two crates of beer placed in front of each other.😉 There is also a lid if you want to close the box, which is available with an optional rail.
When transporting children, most of the changes take place inside the box. The Ca Go FS 200 allows you to fit a child seat, baby seat or Isofix-certified seat from the automotive sector without any problems. However, it should be noted that when using a child seat with an Isofix fastening system, you’ll only be able to transport one child at a time, whereas all other options can accommodate 2 children. The in-house child seats are equipped with 5-point belts and a height-adjustable headrest. There’s an integrated step on the outside of the box to help your little ones climb in and it proved to be strong enough to bear the weight of an adult during our tests! If you’ve got to transport a lot of luggage in addition to your kids, you can order a tray that goes over the children’s feet to create additional storage space. Although there is no luggage rack option for the rear, there’s an inconspicuous rail that’s available as an optional extra and which allows you to attach two pannier bags. The maximum payload for the variant with a single battery is around 171 kg and the box is certified to carry up to 70 kg. That leaves 100 kg for the rider and panniers – excellent!
Kids – Safety comes first
To protect your passengers, the transport box reaches up to about shoulder height and it doesn’t contain any metal or other hard materials on the inside. In addition to the suspended and ergonomically shaped seats with heavy-duty seat belts and headrests, the EPP Ortho safety collar acts like a kind of roll bar, promising to offer a significantly higher level of neck and head protection. If you want to order the cargo bike with a rain cover, this sensible safety feature is mandatory. Moreover, the Ca Go can grow with your little ones, allowing you to transition from a baby seat and an Isofix child seat to the foldable seats offering around 60 cm legroom, accommodating the little ones through every stage until they can get on their bikes and ride alongside.
The Ca Go FS 200 on test – Safe handling or safety in the worst-case scenario?
When riding the Ca Go FS 200, the first thing you’ll notice is the small turning circle when pulling out of a parking space: the 2.70 m long bike is almost capable of turning around on the spot. This is made possible by the low-maintenance cable steering. Although the small turning circle is a big plus when manoeuvring the bike in the parking lot, it takes getting used to it when riding normally. The steering feels a bit more nervous and very direct when compared to rod actuated steering mechanisms. The bike seems to want to corner by itself, though the slight friction of the cables compensates for this behaviour to some extent. In extreme situations and when turning very suddenly, the bike tends to understeer when unloaded, which is common for cargo bikes of this length. As such, less experienced cargo bike riders are best advised to take things slowly at first and practice in the parking lot before hitting the bike path. Another component that is easy to maintain but ultimately failed to convince our test riders in every situation is the automatic Enviolo drivetrain. The automatic system requires you to select your preferred cadence on the Bosch system. Admittedly, it works excellently in flat and slightly hilly terrain but it isn’t very intuitive on steeper gradients. Unfortunately, despite being able to select the cadence you want, it often happens that the gear feels too hard and the range of the gears isn’t entirely sufficient for very steep climbs.
The MAGURA brakes performed convincingly throughout. Paired with the large rotors, they offer lots of braking power while remaining easy to modulate. The high-volume tires offer sufficient grip and traction and it’s only on rough dirt roads that you’d benefit from more aggressive tires such as those on the GX variant of the Riese & Müller Load. That said, the bike’s stand-out feature is the transport box and child seats, always keeping your kids safe while on the move! Whether you’re riding with 1 or 2 children, the handling doesn’t suffer from the added weight thanks to the low positioning of the seats and the even lower batteries. On the contrary, they put more weight on the front wheel, making it easier for the Ca Go to maintain traction through tight corners.
We’ve rarely seen an E-cargo bike that is as versatile and elegant. Instead of sitting on a wooden bench as with other brands, the children can sit comfortably on full-fledged child seats while the EPP box offers added protection in the event of a crash. The Ca Go is clearly aimed at transporting children as safely as possible, combined with a beautiful design and a comfortable chassis. The only small drawback is the somewhat nervous handling, which takes some getting used to.
Tops
- cleverly designed transport box that meets the most stringent safety standards
- highly adaptable and a generous payload capacity
- low-maintenance drivetrain thanks to the automatic gear hub and belt
- position and capacity of the batteries
- high-quality spec throughout
Flops
- automatic drivetrain doesn’t perform well in mountainous terrain
- handling takes getting used to
- design can’t handle bulky loads
Are you interested in finding out more about other cargo bikes on the market? Then check out our cargo bike group test featuring an extensive range of bikes and everything you need to know. It’s essential reading for anyone in the market for a cargo bike! To find out more about what to pay attention to when riding a cargo bike and how to confront some of its unforeseen challenges with confidence, we can also recommend reading our article on everyday life with a cargo bike.
For more information, visit cagobike.com
Words: Julian Schwede Photos: Robin Schmitt, Benjamin Topf
