The use of electric bikes has been a growing trend in recent years. Surico concludes, from the statistics presented in his Times article on the Popularity of E-Bikes [not] Slowing Down, that “e-bikes—not cars—appear to be the world’s best-selling electric vehicle.” (Surico, 2021) During the COVID bike boom, the e-bike industry grew at double the rate of the conventional bike industry, increasing its sales 145% between 2019 and 2020 (Glusac, 2021) (Surico, 2021). And, although estimates vary, they indicate that, at half-a-million units sold (Austin, 2021), more e-bikes were bought in America in 2020 than all-electric cars (Surico, 2021). Recognizing the products available on the market today, there is an opportunity to create a more affordable alternative to traditional e-cargo bikes that provides the same loadability while being easily installable and removable from a conventional bicycle.

The E-Trailer is an assistive cargo trailer for bicycles. Like a typical cargo trailer, it can be attached to the rear axle of a conventional bicycle and loaded; unlike a typical cargo trailer, drive motors in the E-Trailer deliver an assistive force directly to the rear axle of the bicycle it is attached to create the sensation of riding an ordinary e-cargo-bike. This product provides a more affordable, equally loadable, and uniquely removable alternative to an ordinary e-cargo-bike.