As more people are turning to e-bikes as a means to move about our congested, overcrowded, and polluted cities, Specialized has decided to take a huge leap onto the market of cargo bikes – effectively gunning to replace personal cars in the process.
Many e-bike makers will make loud claims like this one regarding their product's ability to substitute a family car. In the end, that ability is relative to the owner (and former driver)'s willingness to ditch some personal comfort in favor of a greener means of transport and no more dead congestion times.
But Specialized is making it very hard for them to say no to the switch. This is the Turbo Porto, the maker's first-ever cargo e-bike and, as of this writing, the only one in the world to feature such a powerful motor and a Garmin radar system. Or so Specialized says.
The Turbo Porto is a longtail bike with a "family first" design that uses modularity to make itself suitable for a variety of purposes. The Porto can be anything from the EV you drop off the kids to school to a military bike for your tools and gear and the vehicle you run errands with, including doing a full restock of groceries. Specialized describes it as beautiful, capable, and high quality.
Photo: Specialized
It's big and powerful, and it will be offered with a series of accessories that will help with accomplishing all of the above. Think foot platforms or footpegs, passenger seats or kiddie seats, kiddie protection, panniers and bags, bottle holders, the works. The standard spec, though, comes with a front and rear rack only, as well as hooks for everything else.
Power comes from a Specialized 2.2 motor with 250W nominally and 90 Nm of torque, paired to a 710Wh removable battery that's good for 5 hours of riding time. The design of the bike, with a low center of gravity, large wheels clad in 2.8-inch Pathfinder tires, an adjustable seatpost and handlebar, is meant to help make it a machine that handles just as well fully loaded as it does when it's not.
The carbon belt drive with internal gears and the ability to monitor battery levels through the Specialized app also serve to make rides smoother and less stress-free, while cargo-specific Tektro Dorado hydraulic brakes offer stopping power. Total payload is 200 kg (441 lbs), of which 39.6 kg (87.3 lbs) is just the bike with the battery and the front rack.
In terms of safety, the Porto integrates Garmin's Radar system, which alerts the rider when cars are approaching from behind, as well as how many of them and the speed at which they're traveling. An integrated wheel lock and the proprietary Turbo Lock System, which allows you to turn off the motor and activate the motion sensors when you're away, make this particular cargo e-bike theft-proof.
If the Porto is to replace your car, it should be less easy to carry off than every other e-bike out there. It will be a bigger loss if it does get stolen, too.
The Specialized Turbo Porto comes with an MRSP of £5,500/€6,400 before you start adding any of the extras. Availability for the U.S. and Australia is yet to be announced, but just so you know, if it comes here, it's not going to be cheap.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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