Mod Easy: A retro e-bike with a sidecar perfect for Indiana Jones cosplay

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As some Ars readers may recall, I reviewed The Maven Cargo e-bike earlier this year as a complete newb to e-bikes. For my second foray into the world of e-bikes, I took an entirely different path.

The stylish Maven was designed with utility in mind—it's safe, user-friendly, and practical for accomplishing all the daily transportation needs of a busy family. The second bike, the $4,299 Mod Easy Sidecar 3, is on the other end of the spectrum. Just a cursory glance makes it clear: This bike is built for pure, head-turning fun.

The Mod Easy 3 is a retro-style Class 2 bike—complete with a sidecar that looks like it's straight out of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Nailing this look wasn't the initial goal of Mod Bike founder Dor Korngold. In an interview with Ars, Korngold said the Mod Easy was the first bike he designed for himself. "It started with me wanting to have this classic cruiser," he said, but he didn't have a sketch or final design in mind at the outset. Instead, the design was based on what parts he had in his garage.

The first step was adding a wooden battery compartment to an old Electra frame he had painted. The battery compartment "looked vintage from the beginning," he said, but the final look came together gradually as he added the sidecar and some of the other motorcycle-style features. Today, the Mod Easy is a sleek bike reminiscent of World War II-era motorcycles and comes in a chic matte finish.

An early version of the Mod Easy bike. Credit: Dor Korngold

When I showed my 5-year-old son a picture of the bike and sidecar, he was instantly enamored and insisted I review it. How could I refuse? He thoroughly enjoyed riding with me on the Maven, but riding in the sidecar turned out to be some next-level fun. He will readily tell you he gives it a five out of five-star rating. But in case you want a more thorough review, my thoughts are below. I'll start with some general impressions and then discuss specific features of the bike and experience.

The Mod Easy Sidecar 3 at a glance

General impressions

Again, this is a stylish, fun bike. The bike alone is an effortless and smooth ride. Although it has the heft of an e-bike at 77 pounds (without the sidecar), it never felt unwieldy to me as a 5-foot-4-inch rider. The torque sensors are beautifully integrated into the riding experience, allowing the motor to feel like a gentle, natural assist to pedaling rather than an on-off boost. Of course, with my limited experience, I can't comment on how these torque sensors compare to other torque sensors, but I have no complaints, and they're an improvement over my experience with cadence sensors.

You may remember from my review of the Maven that the entrance to a bike path in my area has a switchback path with three tight turns on a hill. With the Maven's cadence sensors, I struggled to go through the U-turns smoothly, especially going uphill, even after weeks of practice. With the Mod Easy's torque sensors (and non-cargo length), I glided through them perfectly on the first try. Overall, the bike handles and corners nicely. The wide-set handlebars give the driving experience a relaxed, cruising feel, while the cushy saddle invites you to sink in and stay awhile. The sidecar, meanwhile, was a fun, head-turning feature, but it presents some practical aspects to consider.

Below, I'll go through key features, starting with the headlining one: the sidecar.

The sidecar

The sidecar gives the ride a different feel that takes some getting used to, especially when cornering. The most prominent difference is that the third wheel takes away your ability to balance the bike—it balances it for you. So when you're on a slanted surface of any kind (or you don't have it attached properly so the bike is level), it can be off-putting. You naturally want to shift your weight to adjust your tilt, but with a sidecar, the tilt is what it is unless you get off and adjust the sidecar's mounting arm.

I got used to this feeling, but it took a few rides to get there. It's definitely a good idea to ride with the sidecar solo until you get the hang of it. Korngold also warned me that the sidecar can sometimes lift off the ground on left turns (the sidecar sits on the right side of the bike). To my knowledge, this never happened while I was riding, probably because I took turns slowly. Still, it's something to keep in mind.

Once you're ready for a passenger (a small rider or a pet), the inside of the sidecar is as welcoming as the bike itself. There's a small cushioned seat, complete with a seatbelt—which I very much appreciated—and even a grippy floor mat. Mod says the sidecar can accommodate a passenger of up to 150 lbs, but it's probably a tight fit for a small adult. On the other hand, it was roomy for my 5-year-old son, who absolutely loved riding in it. He was comfortable, he had a great view, and he felt like he was zooming around in his own little car. As for me, it was nice to have him on the side, where I could see and talk with him easily. If you have pets that would like to ride, the sidecar has latches built into the floor that can be used to secure a leash.

As an added safety feature, the sidecar has a sturdy metal step on the right corner. If you accidentally sideswipe something, whatever you hit won't immediately smash into the plastic shell or damage the wheel. Luckily, I didn't need this feature during my testing, but I was glad it was there.

It's worth noting that while the Mod bike itself is eye-catching, the sidecar is head-turning. It's just cool and unusual. As such, it grabs attention. Everywhere we went, we drew looks and comments. Many cyclists offered exclamations and compliments as we passed. If you decide to purchase one of these, be prepared to stand out.

Some things to consider with the sidecar

All that said, the sidecar is not the most practical option for adding a small passenger to your bike. There's the obvious and unavoidable reality that a sidecar adds significant width. While Korngold worked to make it as slim and streamlined as possible, the 42-pound sidecar mounted onto the side makes the bike 4 feet, 3 inches wide. This can make getting around certain places tricky. For instance, on the bike path near me (the one with the switchback path), there are bollards at every entrance. On a four-mile stretch I often take, there are six places with barrier points. The sidecar fits through three of them easily but got stuck (literally) on the other three, requiring me to get off and slowly thread the roughly 120-lb bike with my son through—not an easy task.

Another thing to note is the issue of speed. Mod recommends a speed limit of 10 mph with the sidecar attached, a pretty slow pace if you're commuting or otherwise using the sidecar to get from point A to point B efficiently. Of course, you can throw caution to the wind and go faster. I definitely did at times when I wasn't watching the speed. Still, you won't be rocketing around town with the bulky sidecar attached, especially when it's loaded with precious cargo.

Lastly, there's the issue of storage and setup. The sidecar attaches to the bike via a mounted plate on the side of the rear wheel. The sidecar then bolts onto the plate with an adjustable arm attached to the sidecar's underlying metal frame. We didn’t have a wide enough space in our garage to store the bike with the sidecar attached, so we had to store them separately. That meant attaching and re-attaching it for each ride, which wasn't hard, but it also wasn't effortless.

Each attachment and detachment took a few minutes. The trickiest part is that every time you attach the sidecar, the mounting arm needs to be checked and adjusted to ensure the bike is level. There's no precise protocol for this—it's mostly done by eye, which can take some trial and error, tightening the arm, feeling as though it's leaning one way or the other, and getting off and adjusting again. This process is made more difficult if you don't have a totally level surface to work from.

Overall, the sidecar is very fun and has some great features. It's perfect for leisurely joyrides on roomy residential streets. But there are definitely aspects to consider if you're looking for a utilitarian passenger setup.

The motor, gears, brakes, and controls

As outlined above, the fundamental features of the bike are solid. The motor is mighty, the torque sensors are seamless, and the hydraulic disc brakes are responsive and effective. The Shimano Altus 7-speed derailleur and the shifter moved through the gears efficiently, though they needed adjusting straight out of the box.

The pedal assist has five levels. But instead of labeling the levels by a percentage of motor power, Mod gives each level a descriptive name of how the levels might be used. Going from the lowest power setting to the highest, the levels are Fit (a workout with gentle assist), Eco (a stronger assist for long rides), Cargo (motor support for moving loads), Sport (for high-speed cruises), and Turbo (max speed). The percentage of these levels is adjustable, but I didn’t find any reason to move off the defaults. Even with the sidecar attached, I was comfortable with moving along at just the Fit and Eco level for the most part. But going up to Turbo, I can confirm the level is aptly named.

The controls are mounted on the handlebars in an intuitive and tidy order. On the left side is a handbrake, an aluminum bell—which makes a charming and sufficiently loud ding—and a system-control panel. In the very center is a color system display, which I'll note is perfectly bright and readable in direct sunlight. But once you put sunglasses on for that sunny weather, the screen appears blank, which is a bummer. On the right side, there's a handbrake, a thumb throttle, and the gear shifters, all well-placed and reachable with little movement.

Battery, lights, and comfort

The Mod Easy bike has a MOD Samsung 48 V 15 Ah (720 Wh) battery that promises a 50- to 100-mile range. This tracks with my experience. I first charged it after 25 miles, when it fell to about 50 percent. Most of that mileage was with the sidecar attached.

The Mod Easy has a vintage-looking headlight and a bright back brake light. It doesn't have turn signals built in, but the bike's system can be paired with a Lumos smart helmet, which has lights on the back that act as turn signals when you push the left or right buttons on the control panel.

The bike has front suspension and suspension in the seat post. There's also a very comfortable Selle Royal gel saddle. I took the bike on a variety of terrain and found the ride was always well cushioned.

Assembly

The Mod Easy comes partially assembled, with the handlebars unmounted. As a reviewer, Mod gave me the option of assembling it myself or having a bike technician assemble it for me for free. Not wanting to back down from a challenge, I chose to do it myself. But boy, was that a mistake. As a cycling newb, I had no idea what I was signing up for, and assembly became a lengthy struggle. The biggest problem was that I'm just not familiar with bike assembly generally, let alone e-bike assembly. But I also struggled with the directions themselves. Mod provides written directions as well as YouTube videos of assembly. In my inexperienced hands, they both had points that weren't clear, and the directions didn't always match each other or what came out of the box. I'll be honest: This assembly was not pretty, and it had me longing for Lego-style instructions.

If you're an experienced cyclist, you could probably put this bike and the sidecar together in two or three hours. I would estimate it took me about eight (I worked on it in stages at different times). The two biggest sticking points for me were making adjustments to the placement of the back brake caliper and the derailleur cable, which are not exactly part of the assembly. According to the cyclists on Ars' staff, minor tweaks to these are common when assembling a bike and are relatively easy to handle if you know what you're doing. But they took a lot of time for me to work out.

While the assembly definitely made me intimately familiar with the bike's workings—something I might value if I was a new owner—it was a lot of work. If you're a newb like me and can afford to spring for the expert assembly (it may run a few hundred dollars), I would strongly consider it.

In all, the Mod Easy Sidecar 3 is a stylish, fun, and well-designed bike perfect for head-turning cruising with a small passenger. Just know that the sidecar adds bulk that might not be practical for transportation needs.

Listing image: Mod Bikes

Beth Mole Senior Health Reporter

Beth is Ars Technica’s Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes.

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