JackRabbit MG Cargo Bike Review (2026): Compact and Powerful

This compact, comfortable ride makes a cargo bike for people who don't want a cargo bike. Even riding it is a pleasure.

This compact and handy ride is a cargo bike for people who don't want a cargo bike. Even the ride is fun.

Small, lightweight and attractive for a cargo bike. It can fit in the back seat of the car. Fat tires provide stability. Koshi bike seat is comfortable for long rides. Lots of accessories amazing £500 cargo.

Fast braking requires a firm hand. The range is medium. The battery indicator sneaks up on you. Not as much as the other Jackrabbits. Technically a scooter, not a bicycle.

I'm not a clear target customer for a cargo bike, as I don't have kids to carry and no big space to park my bike. But the new JackRabbit MG Cargo is so small that it doesn't evoke the utilitarian, carefree nature common to other cargo bike models. In fact, when I tested the flashy little bike, I found the fat tires and short wheelbase more like a fast city dirt bike than anything else.

But despite being relatively light (55 pounds) and small enough to fit in the back seat of my old Montero, the MG has a 750-watt motor that can carry nine times the bike's weight uphill. I even dropped a grill on a bike trailer to test the claim and it held up.

Note that like all of WIRED's JackRabbits testers, the MG is less a bike than a scooter that looks and acts like a bike: instead of pedals, you have pedal-like stands plus a throttle. This means that when the battery runs out, the bike stops moving. Also, the quoted 48-mile range drops significantly when you're riding at top speed or carrying a lot of cargo. However, the MG may have converted me to the pannier class.

After a few months of testing this MG, I no longer use my car when I need groceries, even when making a longer trip to the grocery store for steak or salmon. The same is true when I want to take a mud truck over a steep midtown Portland ridge to a friend's house for a cheeky weekday margarita. By not acting like a cargo bike, the MG has convinced me to carry cargo on a bike.

"How exactly is that a cargo bike?" My editor asked when I showed him a photo of the MG Cargo after it arrived. He did not ask out of surprise. That being said, the flat MG looks less like a bike you use to carry stuff and more like a dirt bike.

JackRabbit is known for making lightweight, loud and fun hybrid scooters that physically resemble BMX trick bikes. When I tested that model last year, I loved the easy portability and high-speed capability of the equally powerful JackRabbit XG Pro (8/10, WIRED recommends). I was concerned that the MG Cargo—18 pounds heavier and nearly a foot longer than the XG—would compromise on those features. I needn't have worried as I quickly found out, the peppy MG rides like an off-road bike when you're not hauling too much.

Its three throttle speeds are about 20 mph, 15 mph, and 7 mph, respectively. The slowest speed is manageable for pavement, while the fastest one tops out in about 50 feet on flat ground, unless you have some weight on (or on) your back. MG advertises a range of 48 miles, although I assume this requires a lighter ride and gentler throttle. As a 200-pound man with an admittedly heavy throttle thumb, I only got it to about 25 miles, even with a minimal load. Since the bike's battery indicator will show at least half full for the vast majority of this range, you should test your personal range and learn that doing so is not mission critical.

Note that because JackRabbits don't have working pedals, the bikes are in an interesting technical gray area in terms of classification in some states. In particular, it is debatable whether they are truly a Class 2 bike that can be ridden on bike lanes and paths. Given the MG's 20mph top speed – apart from the honorary 24mph system jailbreak that you can unlock for off-road riding – it's more like a Class 2 bike. In my experience, it is also treated as such.

MG also offers good customization options for accessories. It's easy to add a few backpacks to the back racks or side racks ($75) on each side, which provide enough capacity for most small grocery trips or beach excursions without adding too much bulk. You can also choose a rear basket.

While I can't fit the MG as easily as the other JackRabbit models, it's still small enough that I can pull it on my backseat—as long as I open the front handlebars and rotate the front wheel back (some sources refer to the MG as "collapsible," but that's not entirely true: it only has one quick-release wheel and an easy-to-detach handle.)

That said, even without the cargo components, I can love the MG as a fun little commuter, especially with the addition of a Kinekt active suspension seatpost to help with longer rides.

Despite its small size, the MG serves as a real hauler that you can use to move trailers full of groceries or your children's more precious cargo. I didn't borrow any kids to test the rear child trailers or the Mini Jack Rabbit Rear Seat and Steering Wheel Set ($175). But I used MG's pre-installed Beverly trailer hitch to pull a box containing a 150-pound grill up a 7 percent grade hill. While the MG wasn't up to full speed on the climb, it held up surprisingly well against the grill and my 200-pound weight.

The stability and cornering capabilities of the MG were also better than I expected given its short wheelbase. Cargo bikes tend to have longer frames to provide more stability and room for riders to pedal comfortably while carrying cargo on the front or rear. The MG Cargo's stability comes largely from its fat tires, thanks in large part to a cleverly designed larger front tire that both adds to front-end stability over rough terrain and lowers the center of gravity where the load hangs. Not pedaling also naturally dissipates some vibration.

You will, however, make compromises: cornering while carrying a large load can create a bouncy ride that occasionally leads to overcorrection. Since you can't add your own pedal power, range is significantly reduced with heavy hauls. Braking is quick but requires good grip, especially with larger loads on downhills.

MG Cargo lives in an interesting middle ground between ebike and cargo ebike. If I were primarily using it to haul kids or work, I'd probably opt for a bulkier hauler or the Specialized Global Haul ST, WIRED's top-of-the-line electric cargo bike that offers a longer range.

The best uses for the MG Cargo are as a fun recreational bike that fits comfortably in your backseat or as a multi-purpose commuter with internal storage that saves its rider from wearing a backpack. Either way, the cargo capabilities act as bonus features, while not being the main role.

It's less a workhorse than a hobby settlement: I've thrown books and a blanket in a pan so I can read in the park, and spontaneously brought six-packs home from the brewery a few miles down the road. When I go grocery shopping with the MG Cargo, I'm spared the annoyance of tight parking lots that annoy me before I even get to the aisles. I zip in, unlock the pans, take out my food, and immediately take it out. As such, the MG Cargo also doubles as the cheapest therapist I know.