A children's wagon with an e-bike motor is ridiculous, and yet very tempting...
Have we gone too far trying to cram electric motors into everything?
Recently, I learned about a new product from a company called Ellavate. They're calling it the Ellavate Wagon and it's meant to be a fun way to carry your kids/dogs/and all their cargo. It's a take on the traditional Radio Flyer-style pull wagon except that it has hub motors in both of its rear wheels.
It's a novel idea. In fact, it's an idea that I recently discussed with a fellow dad who was struggling to pull his kid's wagon up an incline. It was only a matter of time until the idea came to fruition. Well, it's not exactly to fruition just yet. Ellavate recently did a presentation at Micromobility America to get the word out about the new product. It's still in the development phase and taking pre-orders. If all goes smoothly, it should actually be in consumers' hands this summer.
If you clicked through on the product page and where alarmed by the price, you are not alone. I don't mean to pick on this company that is solving a very real problem. But a $1,600 battery-powered electric wagon doesn't seem like something that will find mass adoption. I suppose that's ok. Maybe it is a luxury niche product that rides the wave of other "status symbol wagons" that are promoted all across the mommy and daddy blogospheres.
With two hub motors, this thing will also need the batteries to properly power them. The website claims that you'll get up to two hours of continuous use on full power, that's roughly the equivalent of 8 miles of walking. Will that get the job done for most family strolls? I'd say so. And with three electric assist settings, you could potentially go a lot further on a lower setting. It also features the ability to automatically power down after three minutes without use, which is super helpful for the busy parent who likely will forget to power down their new micromobility solution. The batteries are also able to be charged while on the wagon or can be removed and taken indoors to charge from a standard outlet. That flexibility is great.
The issue that I see is with the product's weight. It tops the scale at 40 pounds which is on par with some smaller e-bikes. Lifting a 40 pound wagon into and out of the car or up a flight of stairs isn't exactly easy. It's certainly doable, but may not be feasible for some. Don't forget that you likely will have a 30 pound child and their gear in the wagon as well (plus a 25 pound dog in my case) and you're quickly looking at a potential lift of 80+ pounds. It's nice that it is foldable and easily washable, but it won't be effortless to lift. That seems like a reasonable trade-off for all of the energy you'll save when it propels itself along with minimal pulling.
What about the design of the Ellavate Wagon? It's decidedly minimalist for such a luxurious product. It's basically just one empty bucket to hold all of the things. There don't appear to be any additional raised seats or other storage doodads that adorn many of the other high-end wagons on the market. Maybe this is just while they're in the pre-order phase, I could see additional accessories coming out later. At least it does come in four striking color options that go beyond the typical bland options with strollers or the traditional fire engine red Radio Flyer hue.
The wagon will support a total load of 200 pounds which is nice. For the high price, it will allow you to transport kids well past their toddler years. Assuming of course that they still think it's cool to be pushed around in a motorized wagon past five years old. And they claim that it has "all terrain" capabilities to traverse sand, snow, and various levels of uneven pavement or dirt. Oh, and as is the case for all electric mobility devices these days, it's important to mention that the battery is UL certified to meet current safety requirements.
So will the Ellavate Wagon be a hit? It's hard to say. It seems like this product should be right in my wheelhouse. I was actually in the market for a wagon to haul child/dog/gear when going to the beach or taking urban hikes. And I was prickling at some of the $300-$600 options out there. While an electric assist would be great, I'm not sure it's worth an additional $1,000 over the competition. Clearly the folks at Ellavate are ahead of the curve on this one.
There really isn't a comparable product on the market yet. They have the first-mover advantage and all of the growing pains that come with it. For example, how are you going to get this thing fixed if something goes wrong with it? It's hard enough to get a no-name e-bike fixed, will any bike mechanic be willing to take apart your electric wagon to see what makes it tick? Are they going to have any repair centers or physical locations? It seems unlikely.
Hey, if the fine people at Ellavate are reading this and want to send me a wagon to test out, I will happily put it through the paces. But my instinct is to just go with one of the non-motorized options for now while they iron out the inevitable kinks of a first generation product. Maybe if they can trim some expenses and release a second model for less than $1,000, I'd be on board.
What do you think? Are there any other mobility devices that have yet to receive the electric motor treatment? Is this a sign that we've hit electric mobility saturation?
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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