America’s Tristar Plus Cargo e-Trike Wants to Be the Answer to Your Cargo Needs

If you’ve never heard of iZip, you aren’t alone. This team of e-bike builders, designers, and engineers was founded in southern California and has strived to bring a new era to urban mobility, one aimed at ditching the ever-polluting internal combustion engine. Since 2002 this crew has been producing bikes aimed at changing the way we live our lives, and in 2012, iZip merged with Accell Group, of which brands like Diamondback, Redline, and Raleigh, are a part of.

Today, we’ll be looking at a bike that is meant to embody the goals with which the company initially started out, that of offering a clean and capable vehicle able of completing some of the tasks you’d normally carry out with a car, like going to the grocery store, possibly even running a delivery service.

It’s called the Tristar Plus, an electric cargo bike that may just have enough spunk to be one of the vehicles you consider as your next logistical solution acquisition. Set up on a trike layout, with two wheels on the rear and one at the front, stability and durability shouldn’t be an issue.

The use of two wheels on the rear offers stability, but it’s also this setup that sustains heavier loads. However, exactly how large of a load the Tristar will be able to carry is not specified on the manufacturer’s website.

What is described on the website, however, are the electric systems you’ll find on the trike. Unlike other manufacturers of e-bike or trikes, iZip decided to throw on a motor from TranzX. An M16 center mount motor with a peak 350 watts can push out a top 65 Nm (48 lb-ft) of torque.

As for the battery, a 417 Wh battery is mounted under the rear cargo bay. With it and depending on the level of torque you’ve selected on your motor, you’ll be able to reach a range up to 48 km (29.9 mi). Sure, it may not seem like much, but, as a last-mile logistical solution, it does the trick, and it’ll also do the job in terms of going grocery shopping.

All of that is then mounted on an aluminum frame with low-step entry for ease of access. At the front of the Tristar, you’ll notice there’s no suspension to help reduce any vibrations or shock you and your cargo experience, but the seat includes a classic two-spring suspension system built in, and then there’s always the tires.

To help keep cargo low to the ground and centered, the rear wheels include a 20-inch diameter, while the front is equipped with a 24-inch wheel to help overcome cracked surfaces and other small impediments you may encounter in your travels.

For drivetrain components, don’t bother looking for Shimano as they’re nowhere to be found. Instead, Sturmey Archer, a company with history in producing cycling components since 1902. Shifter and rear derailleur are both from this crew.

One feature that iZip didn’t seem to include is that of tilting feature during turns, something more and more cargo e-bikes are taking full advantage of these days. However, this seems to be the maximum that iZip offers as this is the most expensive and capable of the cargo haulers available. With a price set at $3,150, the Tristar is also going to set you back a bit. Question is, how long is this sucker going to last before its components give out, and is that going to be worth the cash?