Tern teams with Xtracycle

“There aren’t many cargo bikes that’ll fit in an elevator,” said Josh Hon of Tern. “This one does.”

Tern has teamed up with Xtracycle to create a longtail cargo bike version of the Node folding bike. Unsurprisingly, it’s called the Cargo Node and will retail for €1900 ($1800).

“Ross Evans, the founder of Xtracycle, is a good friend,” said Hon (pictured below grabbing a slice of pizza at Eurobike). “We went to Stanford University together and have kept in touch.”

Almost literally because the Cargo Node originated from some close proximity thinking: “We were sat in a hot tub, and I said you make this really cool rear rack and we make these cool bikes, maybe the joining of the two could make something interesting?”

The result was a longtail folding bike with a 65 percent smaller footprint than a standard cargo bike. The Cargo Node is equipped with Xtracycle’s new Leap rack, the 2016 version of the Freeradical rack that the company has been making since 1998.

The Leap has a telescoping front boom allowing it to fit a wide range of bike sizes, from a 24-inch-wheel folding bike like the Node up to a 29er.

“The Leap is super solid,” said Shannon Evans of Xtracycle (above), which is sharing Eurobike booth space with Tern.

“It’s torsionally rigid, and it’s not going anywhere, even with two people on the back.”

She said the Cargo Node was a “game-changer” for urbanites: “A lot of people want to use a cargo bike but don’t have the space. With the Cargo Node, you have all the benefits of a cargo bike but you can fold it up, and stick it next to your couch. Even if you have a garage, you may not have enough room for a full-size cargo bike so to be able to stick it in a corner out of the way is huge.”

It’s also perfect for taking on public transportation, said Evans. “I can fold it and get it on buses and trains. If I can’t get a seat on the train, I can use the Cargo Node as a bench.”

It’s also her “date bike,” she said. “To go to the city on the train for dinner with a bunch of friends this is the bike I now use.”