Founding a bicycle brand in the middle of a pandemic is not the easiest challenge. But this did not keep Taiwan-based German Stephan Hahn from doing just that in 2021 with his cargo-bike brand Carlos. SHOW DAILY editor Laurens van Rooijen visited the Carlos booth at Eurobike 2024.
Eurobike has traditionally been a great opportunity for many young bicycle brands to present themselves to the world for the first time. This was also the case for the new cargo bike brand Carlos. It was the first Eurobike show held in Frankfurt (2022), where the brand was showcased for the first time. Using a freight container as its booth, the start-up showcased its C series longtail and the M series mid-tail models in 2022. Two years down the road and the Carlos stand has grown in size with four models on display – and a wide offering of accessories to complement them.
“At Carlos, we are producing sports utility bikes rather than cargo bikes,” Carlos founder Stephan Hahn said at the company’s Eurobike booth. “Our main goal is to build smart and compact bikes that are fun to ride and fit in the back of a car if necessary. The capability to carry children or freight is a welcome extra that should not come at the cost of the handling.” This is evident in the positioning of the 800 Wh battery on the foldable, compact V series Long John model: to shift its weight towards the front wheel and keep the center of gravity low, it has been mounted deep down and centrally.
Apart from the compact F series folding bike that uses a hub motor from Mivice, the other news at this year’s Eurobike is that Carlos is offering its C and V series models with Shimano’s EP6 Cargo mid-drive motor as an alternative to the Brose unit.