-
Weight limits are a really hard thing to judge for manufacturers, especially when it comes to cargo as the weight distribution can vary so much. Often, the frame can be super solid and tested for high weights, but unless you find a reliable supplier of a fork that can take the braking loads of 200kg low-slung mass then you have to reduce the approved weight of the whole bike. Same applies to stem, handlebar etc etc. Same with racks, the tests are quite harsh, so speccing a weight over 25kg and taking responsibility if a kid is injured is a huge liability most companies aren't willing to take on.
In almost all cases, if you ride the bike sensibly then you can get away with a much higher weight than the specs allow. I've seen 4 grown men on a bucket style cargo bike and it held up just fine. I believe R&M started with a kids 20" Suntour fork on the front of their bike, Suntour have updated it to be Cargo ready now, but I haven't heard any reports of the original ones being a danger in reality.
Take a look at the Bergamont Cargo models, they do an LT which is similar to that Multicharge.
chiroshi-
Haha 'those' forks. Saw so many R+M cargo's over the past 5 years with them wobbling away on the front, looking very sorry for themselves and sounding/handling terribly with all the play they get (after 600 miles/2 months use!!!). Since 2019 approx they seem to have found a better solution, they still get play in them and rust like crazy but not a dangerous amount and dealers seem to spend less time trying to warranty them.
Benno eBoost? Its damn close to a Tern GSD, but a bit lighter, a bit more like a normal bike, quality of accessories is higher, and in 2021 money anyways, its a chunk cheaper than an equiv tricked out GSD.
Yuba Mundo/Surly/Kona/Xtracycle all make decent long johns for less money, sometimes with a mid drive on them, sometimes fully manual and just adapt it yourself!
Cube I have no doubt will make something along these lines in the very near future.
BrickMan
Looking for a family-shared ebike that could carry 2 children in a pinch (total rider/passenger weight pushing 140kg) and I am surprised to see that most are really not rated for that kind of weight. Obviously, we could go full cargo/longtail and get a Tern GSD, Surly BigEasy (if we can find one!), a Riese & Muller Multicharger, or something with a big box, but these just seem less versatile for other riding (a normal cycling day out, where the older child cycles independently/on a trail-gator). Also it seems like we'd get a lot more for our money for a "regular" bike around £2.5k than the other options that are at least £3.5k.
I would normally be slightly dismissive of the max weight loads, but it's the little ones, and I would probably not be the main rider (I can also take both children on my own non-ebike if necessary), and to be honest I just don't understand how a bike like the Orbea Keram SUV 30, which is ostensibly meant for this sort of thing, can only support 25kg on the rear rack!?
In writing this, I think I have basically convinced myself what I really want is the R&M multicharge, but I just don't want to spend £4.5k.
Any advice on options I haven't thought of (or something I am missing on the weight limits)?