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MONoPOLE Mini Cargo Bike Review: Ace of Wheelbase

By: John Watson
March 3, 2025

Cargo bikes are great. We’ve featured and reviewed various phenotypes over the years here at The Radavist, but none have proven to be as versatile and nuanced as the MONoPOLE Mini Cargo Bike. John built one up late last year and has been spending some time on this capable platform. Read on for his in-depth review.

Index of Sections:

Nicola and Daniel, photo via MONoPOLE’s website…

Before we begin, a quick editor’s note on the stylization of the brand name: we will refer to MONoPOLE as Monopole within this review for readability.  

MONoPOLE No 01 Origin Story

Founded by Nicola Stäubli and Daniel Freitag, who founded Freitag Bags in 1993, Monopole’s intent was derived from a simple question: “What does the ideal bicycle for everyday urban life actually look like?”

Nicola came up with the parti diagram for the design: a rectangular frame geometry with a pole or boom tube that connects the two wheels. From there, the name was apparent: “mono pole.” The Monopole is a maneuverable cargo bike that makes it easier to navigate crowded cities compared to longer and bulkier cargo bikes.

In an interview with Velo Geschichten, Daniel stated that the design of the Monopole met one of his and Nicola’s main concerns as Zurich locals: “You can easily get across Bucheggplatz [a public square just outside of the main city center of Zurich] with a 30-kilo load!”

Check out the full interview with Daniel at Velo Geschichten.

MONoPOLE No 01 Quick Hits

  • Base frame price: $2,680
  • Non-electric complete price: $4,780
  • Electric complete price: $6,880
  • Three sizes, small, medium, large
  • Innovative Gates belt drive steering system with eccentric bearings that maintain tension and offer a smooth steering sensation.
  • 66 lbs cargo carrying capacity – see more here
  • Three stock colors for frames plus $180 custom color option
  • Weight as reviewed here with size large including those stout Bullship bars, pedals, frame bag, rack, and Eurocrate: 48 lbs
  • 30.9 Seatpost
  • High-quality and long-lasting steel frame made in the EU
  • Minimal, recognizable, unique design
  • For e-version, rear-mounted motor and invisibly integrated battery
  • With an overall length of only 1.9m, transport in public transport and bike rack on the car is easy
  • Build with your own premium components…
  • …Or select a low-maintenance Pinion gearbox and Gates Carbon Drive
  • Modular and agile – easily interchangeable cargo modules for every need

Mini Bike Taxonomy

Mini bikes are bike frames designed for most riders but utilize smaller wheel diameters. Some fold, some roll on 20″ front and back wheels, and others use 24″ or 26″ wheels. The bottom line is that a mini bike takes advantage of small wheels for a number of reasons.

It could be for ease of transport like a Brompton, or space saving for urban living like the Neutrino. My friend Isao got a custom Larkin with 24″ wheels and a Falconer to do the Baja Divide, with the smaller frame size allowing him to fly with the bike in a standard bike box, including all his gear. Our copy editor and contributor Nick found the Kyoot bike a fun and unique way to experience his local trails.

In the case of the Monopole, take a mini bike, with a 24″ rear wheel and 20″ front wheel, and add a fixed front-loading cargo rack. Now you’ve got a Mini Cargo Bike!

Front Loader

I prefer to push my weight, rather than  to pull it. I’ve always run full-sized panniers on front low-rider racks when I tour, and prefer a basket bike over a rear rack loaded bike for city riding. I mentioned in my Omnium review that my ideal cargo bike phenotype utilizes front loading for this reason. And a lot of front-loading cargo bikes utilize smaller wheels to offer more platform space. This keeps the weight as low as possible and allows for easy, center-keeled maneuvering.

Monopole offers two standard front racks made from 6061-T5 that pass ISO standards: the Platform Rack ($220) or the Shopper Rack ($240). I opted for the Platform Rack and I attached a collapsible Eurocrate to it with zip ties. Through my other cargo bike experiences, I’ve discovered that I prefer a collapsible crate so I can strap boxes to it when flat and use it as a large bucket for groceries or postal runs.

Electric or Manual?

As I stated in my Omnium Mini Max review, I personally do not feel the need to complicate my cargo bikes with lithium batteries and motors, both of which have a shelf life. This is why I requested a “manual” cargo bike from Monopole without electric assistance. Without the need to transport a child or dog and most of my loads being groceries, shipping bikes, or bike shop drop-offs, I don’t mind spinning when the bike is loaded. Our town is relatively flat compared to San Francisco or Los Angeles, so I have no big hills to climb with a loaded bike.

To Pinion or Not to Pinion?

Similarly, while I loved the Smart.Shift Pinion gearbox, I wanted to build the Monopole as bare bones as possible with almost exclusively parts bin items. I’m a-ok with a cable-actuated external drivetrain. I don’t live in a place where they salt the roads and with 300 days of blue, sunny sky in Santa Fe, I don’t really ride in the rain all that much either. Normal drivetrain maintenance is ok with me. I found the Microshift Advent X to be perfect for this application.

While the Pinion gearbox is super trick and I’d love to have one on this bike, I wanted the review chassis to be more affordable for our readers. The gearbox would add a considerable expense ($600 for Pinion C1.6 or $1000 for Pinion C1.12) to the initial purchase price of $2,680, plus the platform rack $220.

As a slight tangent, can I just applaud Monopole on its cable management? It’s so neat and tidy on the non-drive side of the bike, keeping the drive side aesthetic very clean.

Designed and Manufactured in the EU

Monopole is designed in Zurich and fabricated in batches in France. Early prototypes were made in Germany, across the border from Switzerland. The final assembly happens in Zurich for the complete build options.

Geometry: It’s a Rectangle

The Monopole is the closest thing to an actual rectangular front “triangle” I’ve ever ridden. Its head tube angle of 74º, fork head angle of 74º, and seat tube angle of 74º are far from vertical, but they are perpendicular to the boom tube and top tube, so it creates an interesting visual first impression. The geometry feels to be mid to low trail, and the bike is easily ridden and steered no-handed by simply shifting one’s hips, even with a load. Its intuitive handling is due in large part to its innovative steering…

Gates Belt Steering

What’s perhaps the most interesting piece of tech about the Monopole – and the one that spurred the most questions during my review period – is instead of utilizing a steering linkage like other front-loaders, the steerer at the headtube and offset boom at the front fork is connected by a Gates belt.

There are two blocks that are bolted to the belt to keep it from sliding off the cog, which Monopole explained a bit more here:

“Each cog has an additional security block for added safety. However, even without these blocks, our tests showed no issues, even under full braking force. We ultimately included them for extra peace of mind.”

 

Monopole belt steering has undergone extensive PR&D and has been tested to 200,000 cycles, twice the recommended testing. It features an eccentric bearing cup that maintains tension and wouldn’t need to be adjusted for many years. Even when loaded down, the steering mechanism does not noticeably flex and offers smooth, consistent operation.

Monopole has a bunch of neat video loops showing the belt drive testing on its website. After a lot of riding on both systems – steel linkage and now, belt – I prefer this system over a bunch of steel linkage bars. And it all adds to the quirkiness and visual identity of the Monopole.

One of my friends who is really into 4WD vehicles said, “Man, that’s so cool. Is that power steering?” lol.

If you were to spec the Monopole with a Pinion and a Gates belt, it would be a neat visual unifier for the bike.

On the first ride, you will notice the “feel” of the teeth indexing around the steering cogs but I became habituated to the sensation rather quickly.

Massive Frame Bag

“Hey Nick, have you ever made a rectangle frame bag? There’s some potential to have fun here!” This was the question I asked Rogue Panda late last year when I found myself wanting more storage on the MONoPOLE for cargo straps, jackets, gloves, coffee canteens, etc.

His response: “Right on! I’d love to make a frame bag for that; so many possibilities. My first thought is to re-tailor the print we made for our tall bike. It was an aquarium scene with a castle and sand at the bottom, fish, etc… But if that’s too zany, we can come up with something else!”

While I was amused and certainly tempted by this design, I went with my tried and true request. “Hmmm… Got any Coyote XPac?”

Old habits die hard, ya know? I sent Nick off my Panda Vision drawing, and he whipped up a frame bag in two weeks.

Wheelbase Indoors

I cannot emphasize this enough. The beauty of the Monopole is its wheelbase, which measures outside tire-to-outside tire at 6′ on the nose. That’s 6″ shorter than my full-suspension bikes, 3″ shorter than my Riv Bombadil, and about the same as my 60 cm gravel bike. This means it can both live indoors, unlike my Omnium, which stays chained up under our carport, and it can be hung up on our wall-o-bikes in Cari’s design studio.

It fits right in there with all my other obnoxiously wide handlebars!

Most days, I’d store the Monopole inside next to our dining room kiva, a small fireplace unique to Southwestern vernacular. This is mere feet from the front door and, aside from the wide ass bars, makes it easy to roll in and out of the house.

Wheelbase Outdoors

While storage is crucial to a mini bike and a mini cargo bike, where the wheelbase shines is its handling while riding. Pedaling the Monopole feels familiar. It has a much lower trail compared to the Bombadil, my other “basket bike,” so it feels more alive as I zip around town on it.

The small 24″ rear wheel and 20″ front wheel make the bike very nimble and responsive, yet the wheelbase still allows for hauling goods in a sure-footed manner. Plus, damn it wheelies so well.

I love popping up onto curbs, zooming around corners, and scorching back streets on this bike. It’s very flickable and playful and really feels more like a BMX than a cargo bike. I will say its ISO testing allows for this kind of riding, but I wouldn’t take it down any jump lines in a MTB park, ok? ;-)

Unlike in my Omnium review, where several people pointed out that my claims of riding three bike boxes to FedEx would be exceeding its load capacity, I tried to stay within the Monopole’s payload…

Payload

Similar to cars, cargo bikes have a payload, or the load that can be carried by a vehicle. There are a number of factors to consider, from structural design to tire compounds. I spoke with Nicola from Monopole about this very subject over an email chain. He addressed a common point of confusion surrounding the Monopole No 01 weight limit of 66 lbs:

“Through recent interactions with potential clients, we’ve noticed that our maximum front cargo weight of 30 kg (66 lb) often gets compared to loads suggested by other cargo brands. However, this comparison needs context, as cargo capacity is determined by several factors.”

 

1. Structural performance of the rack itself.
2. Maximum system weight of the bicycle.
3. Maximum weight allowance for the tires.

Here’s how it works with the Monopole:

“For a rider weighing 80 kg (176 lbs) on a 20 kg (44 lb) bike, the 100 kg (220 lb) load splits approximately into 65 kg (143 lbs) on the rear wheel and 35 kg (77 lbs) on the front wheel. Adding our 30 kg (66 lb) max front load, the front wheel weight becomes 65 kg (143 lbs). Monopole uses Schwalbe Billy Bonkers tires with a 75 kg (165 lb) weight limit for the 20” version. Another robust option includes the Schwalbe Pickup 20″ with a 115 kg limit.”

 

That’s just for the front. When I asked about the possibility of a rear rack, as many people reached out to me on Instagram asking about adding one, Nicola replied:

“Adding the optional rear rack with 27 kg (59 lb) load, the rear wheel load becomes 92 kg (202 lbs – within the 100 kg limit of the 24” Billy Bonkers). This brings the total system weight to 157 kg (346 lb), staying under our certified limit of 160 kg (352 lb).”

 

This is based on the Monopole ISO testing. You don’t want to overload bikes or components. Exceeding ISO can lead to failure.

On that note…

New Heavy-Duty Cargo Rack for 2025

Payload can also be increased by upping the structure of a bike’s cargo rack. Nicola said that he listened to feedback from customers and Monopole is currently developing a bigger cargo rack that will be compatible with the existing interface. The new rack will have a higher cargo limit, targeting 40 to 50 kg.

Wish List

Borrowing from Travis’ genius-named series “Wish List,” I have some products I’d love to see Monopole develop for their No 01 bike. This would not only create a more versatile use case but would really tie together this industrial design project.

Quick-Release Eurocrate Clips

It’d be super sweet to have some 3D-printed clips that attach to the rack and the Eurocrate. Since the Eurocrate is ubiquitous across Europe, a quick survey of how to attach the clips to the bottom of one would be an easy task. Right now, I’ve zip-tied the crate to the rack platform, which is not ideal.

Integrated Lighting

Seriously. How cool would some integrated lighting be? You could run a Dynamo or stash a rechargeable battery in the boom tube’s access port cover!

Monopole Kickstand

I had to use a metal kickstand I ordered from Sincere Cycles for the Monopole. Since the bottom bracket area is meant for a Pinion gearbox (or an adapter like mine), it creates an awkward interface for off-the-shelf kickstands. I made it work, but it’s not ideal, and the chain rubs the kickstand when in the largest cassette cog. A Monopole kickstand would feel more in-line with the bike’s well thought out silhouette and design.

Painted to Match Fenders

For real. Metal, plastic, carbon, whatever. They’d look sweet! It also sucks that you’d have to buy two full sets of fenders since SKS (or others) doesn’t sell individual fenders in the US. Not at least what I could find.

Telescoping Front Rack

I wish the rack platform had some sort of ability to grow in length and width. Only a few centimeters in both directions would be rad.

Kiddo Seat

Some sort of plastic, clip-in child seat would really up the ante for riding your kids around town.

The No 01 is solid, but there’s so much potential for design projects across a branded catalog of upgrades and accessories. I’m looking forward to seeing how the a la carte options might increase for the Monopole No 01 in forthcoming years.

Quirks, PR&D, and Updates

Since I have a pre-production prototype frame, I discovered some areas for improvement on the Monopole. This is common with prototype frames – Whit Johnson and I worked out some kinks on the original Ponderosa gravel bike he made me, I’ve offered feedback to Cy from Cotic Bikes over water bottle boss locations with the FlareMAX, and every one of our bike reviews have a list of Pros and Cons at the end that acts as feedback for brands.

Brake Line

The quirks I unfurled while building the Monopole were slight but are worth mentioning here, as well as Nicola’s replies.

First off, the Monopole No 01 requires a longer brake hose/housing. If you’re running hydraulic or cable-actuated disc brakes, you’re going to need to order a longer brake line for the size large frame. In my case, SRAM’s hose was back ordered for almost six weeks. So if you’re ordering a frame, plan ahead.

Gearing

Due to the small wheel diameter, your drivetrain needs to accommodate an appropriate gearing spread. For example, if you have 700c wheels, a 30t ring by 11-48t cassette will pedal around town just fine, particularly with a load. But when you reduce the rear wheel size to a 24″ wheel, that spread needs to increase as well. I had to update my initial 30t ring to a larger 40t ring to get the correct gearing with my Microshift Advent X kit.

I then had to flip a White Industries 6mm offset chainring outboard to avoid interference with the chainstay. This made the chain line a bit fussy, but it was just a byproduct of the Monopole being designed specifically for a Pinion gearbox.

When I shared this with Nicola, he told me they had also discovered that and had implemented it with the production models.

Stack

Another quirk I found was the stack was too low – a reoccurrence with many bikes – and the steerer tube was too short to add enough spacers to get the cockpit higher. This was a two-part problem.

For starters, the size large Monopole is pretty small on me. I’m 6’2″ with a 36″ inseam and a long wingspan, so I typically run top tubes around 650 mm long, at least. The size large Monopole has a top tube length of only 571 mm.

When I saw the first few builds Monopole highlighted, many had aggressive saddle-to-bar drops. This speaks to Monopole’s urban cycling background and customer base. Couriers and city riders often like to be sporty as they zip around town in a more aero position. While it looks cool, this sort of ride setup is not in my wheelhouse anymore.

This explains why the size large would have a 571 mm top tube, to allow for a road stem, road bars, and brake/shifter levers. However, doing so drastically cuts down on your vertical clearance for carrying items on the platform.

I like to be upright on a cargo bike, which is more visible to cars and helps with counter-steering a load. Especially with the smaller 20″ front wheel, being hunched over in an aero position would make hitting potholes a veritable “oh shit” moment as your weight would be thrust even more forward.

Nicola was on it, once again! He said they were also working on longer steerer tubes for riders who want to be more upright.

“The new, longer steerer will be made from steel instead of aluminum. We realized there is quite some flex in the aluminum steerer due to the distance between the upper and lower bearings. This is especially noticeable when using lots of spacers on top.”

 

Luckily for me, these Stridsland Bullship bars offered a solution. I’d personally love to see a size XL though.

One more question that a lot of people asked when I posted a Q&A request on my Instagram was about a rear rack. This also made my Wish List I had written out before that poll, and Nicola had the following response:

“We are adding optional additional mounting points at the wishbone for a rear rack.”

 

Currently, you can configure a Monopole frame with rear rack mounts.

Critiques

While I found some quirks with the Monopole, it’s safe to say that all bikes are a working prototype, which is one reason why we’re always seeing model year updates. But what’s different about the Monopole is these updates are programmatic, not performance oriented.

Still, the modus operandi of this very unique mini cargo bike is its reliance on not one but two non-normative wheel sizes. Monopole is based in Zurich, so it might be different there, but in the USA, it’s pretty hard to find 24″ tires in stock at local shops. Inner tubes are readily available, but good tires are all special order items. And Schwalbe is the only manufacturer I could find that makes actual matching tires, down to the tire’s load specs, too.

I wouldn’t mark that down as a deal breaker; it’s easy to have spares on hand. But if you’re one of these sadists that wants to bike tour in remote regions with a 20″ front wheel, keep that in mind.

All of my other notes have been addressed with the bike, which I might add is a pretty short list considering the paradigms this comparatively little bike has pushed. Innovation in the cargo bike taxonomy has been building up momentum in the framebuilder world for decades. People like Bilenky, who envisioned a recumbent bike evolved into a front loader cargo bike, are to thank for that.

Buying One

Monopole has a dealer page that points you to dealers in Europe. You can also buy a frame or complete from them directly. Based on my checkout procedure, shipping from Zurich to the States (New Mexico) is about $290 for a frame and $380 for a complete. If you have a bike shop and want to carry them, you can contact Monopole via its dealer page to get signed up.

TL;DR

I’ve shot dozens of cargo bikes over the past 19 years of documenting framebuilders. They all address the programmatic functionality in unique ways. From Ahearne’s cycle trucks to Jeremy Sycip, Rick Hunter, Danielle Schön, Konstantin Drust, and more, each of these builders is adding to the database of solutions for complex problems.

Brands like Larry vs. Harry and Omnium have brought it to the masses, and now Monopole offers a handful of unique and innovative features as well. Speaking of space, the Monopole is bang for buck, the best use of an overall cargo bike footprint I’ve used. Its small wheelbase means it takes up as much space as a basket bike, but its payload capacity is much greater than a Nitto rack and Wald basket.

The bike has some clever design features, is zippy to ride, handles weight like a champ, and offers a ginormous frame bag space! Personally, if I were to own a single cargo bike (we have a few now) and lived in a city or had limited space, this would be it.

Pros

  • Very unique design
  • Superior handling compared to larger cargo bikes
  • You can build it with any cable drivetrain, singlespeed, Pinion, or electronic assist
  • Price is competitive
  • Made in France
  • Rides very zippy
  • Solid payload: 30 kg of weight on the front rack
  • Gates belt steering is smooth
  • Big frame bag space
  • It’s has a small footprint and can be stored indoors next to “normal” bikes

Cons

  • 24″ tires might not be readily available
  • $290 to ship a frameset to New Mexico and $380 to ship a complete one, which isn’t really a “con”
  • Lead time: currently 20 days for completes and 75 days for framesets

 

With this review already hovering around 3700 words (!!!!), I feel like there is so much more to say about this bike. I’ve seen people build them as “gravel” bikes, and others have taken them on bike camping trips, but I’ve yet to see someone do a bikepacking race on one! I didn’t feel the desire to ride the Monopole off-road and enjoyed it plenty as an around-town bike. I’m also curious to know how the steering system works and would love to disassemble the whole thing to inspect it once it needs an overhaul. But perhaps that will be for another day…

Monopole is expecting another batch of frames shortly, so stay up to date with the brand’s newsletter and be sure to poke around on its website.