Cortina E-Common Family DB7 ActiveLine+ MM Electric Bike

Lovely bike with fantastic Bosch system - ideal bike if you have (small) children

We had initially bought the Cortina e-Foss which turned out to be a mis-buy for us (see our other review). We have a 2-year-old toddler and realised that stability with a child's seat on the back is very important to us anyway and realised that we were willing to pay a bit more for that. Fortunately, we were able to trade in (thanks Mantel!) and chose this e-Common Family. And. what a relief! Initially, this is one of the few bikes made specifically for mommas and pappas. Gazelle Bloom is an alternative, but it proved difficult to get. And one advantage of the Cortina is the nice Bosch Active Line Plus system with 50nm - that's more than the Shimano system on the Gazelle, and perhaps the Bosch is just the best there is. Compared to the e-Foss, everything about this bike was a huge improvement (may as well be for 1000 EUR more of course). But especially the fact that a child seat fits on the back (without a spacer), that the centre stand is wonderfully stable, that you can 'lock' the handlebars while putting your child on the back... All 'must have' elements for us to cycle safely with our toddler. Other than that, we are SO EXTREMELY happy with the Bosch system. There are other versions with even more torque, but we really like the Active Line Plus with 50nm and especially love the fact that it cycles so naturally and responds wonderfully to how much you pedal yourself. That means that all support levels ride fine and naturally. We usually use a mix of Tour and Sport and easily reach 60-70km with our 400mwh batteries. An even longer tour (80-100km) would certainly be achievable using only Eco and Tour modes. This is officially a bike for 'flat terrain' but we live in Arnhem and so far find hills absolutely no problem. Do downshift a bit and then it goes up just fine. It is a big and long bike - which feels lovely and stable, like a sort of 'bus'. And with the front carrier you can carry quite a few extra things. All in all, we are extremely happy with our bikes (yes we bought two of them!). At this price range, you come close to very nice electric touring bikes from, say, Cube, with nicer components and even more range, and they might be better for longer rides and touring. But of course you buy this Cortina because you have children, and for this purpose this really is a wonderful bike. We are in love and now want to take our bikes as often as possible (and we use the car much less now!). Thanks to Mantel for the great service.