Innovative New Urban Urtopia All-Carbon Ebike Looks Amazing, Weighs Just 30 Pounds

I’m at all times in search of an uncommon twist on ebike design. Lately, I got here throughout the New Urban Urtopia (”Urban Utopia”) ebike, a limited-production bike which promised gentle weight, revolutionary options and a really fascinating body design. Just a few weeks in the past, the corporate was type sufficient to ship an early unit my manner for evaluate. Clients who purchase the bike ought to see deliveries in June.

Proper out of the field, their first declare – gentle weight – was simply verifiable. With largely carbon fiber development, the $2,799 Urtopia ebike weighs in at a scant 30 kilos/14kg – a real flyweight in terms of ebikes. It’s even lighter than my non-electric mountain bike. However the Urtopia is a road and metropolis bike to make sure, with a single gear, carbon belt drive and a 250-watt hub motor with 35nm of torque. These aren’t hot-rod ebike numbers, however once more, the dearth of weight is the factor right here. Energy from the removeable 360 Watt-hour battery is channeled in response to pedal help degree, and the Urtopia additionally features a torque sensor to raised match motor help to pedal enter. Hydraulic disc brakes guarantee assured stopping energy. Prime pace for help on the Urtopia is 20mph and the bike has no thumb throttle, so it’s a Class I ebike within the U.S.

There’s a variety of tech at play on the Urtopia. The bike includes a “sensible bar” part on the carbon-fiber steering stem, with a cool/funky white LED dot-matrix show and vivid built-in LED headlight. There’s a single button on the correct bar that reads your thumbprint and will get the bike fired up. As soon as underway, it really works because the bike bell button – and you’ve got a number of sound choices. On the left bar is a 4-way D-pad controller for toggling the show, altering help degree (select from no-assist Pedal mode, Eco, Consolation, Sport, and Turbo), and working the flip indicators. Sure, flip indicators. Extra on these in a bit. There’s additionally a vivid purple LED V-shaped tail gentle.

Push and maintain the correct button and the Urtopia will reply to quite a few voice instructions to alter journey modes and different bits, though it appeared to have a bit of bother understanding me whereas driving rapidly, as wind noise could also be an element. When it did work, it was nice to have the ability to change settings with out having to get out my telephone, poke at a button or faucet on a handlebar show. Holding your eyes on the street forward on an ebike (or any car) is the important thing to secure travels, and the voice management characteristic actually helps facilitate secure driving.

The Urtopia is 4G related by way of an eSIM ($29/yr) and the app for the bike is polished and strong. It additionally makes use of wifi and Bluetooth to speak together with your telephone and the web. The Urtopia can even obtain OTA software program updates, identical to a Tesla automobile. As soon as related, house owners can monitor their bike’s location should you resolve to let a good friend borrow it – or heaven forbid it will get stolen. House owners can recieve notifications if the bike is moved even barely, and may lock out the pedal help and electronics remotely, however the wheels and crank stay free to show, and with a motorcycle this gentle, it may be ridden or carried away very simply. I recommend a very strong bike lock everytime you’re not driving the Urtopia.

The rear tail gentle meeting is rather more complicated than it appears. It incorporates an “ARES” system, a small millimeter wave radar system that prompts the tail gentle when something will get near the again of the bike. Moreover, there are two small projection lenses that solid a vivid techie sample onto the pavement whereas driving; hit the blinker button and the patterns blink. It appears very cool at night time – so long as it’s dry out. Within the rain, not a lot, and the patterns on additionally on the bottom, making them arduous for drivers to see. I’d wish to see Urtopia redesign the rear module and add some form of “customary” model LED flip sign that’s extra obvious to automobiles behind the bike. Cool stuff as is to make sure, however should you’re taking pictures for final security with a radar system and so forth, would possibly as nicely cowl all of the bases.

Everybody who sees the Urtopia drawn to the distinctive body design, which has no heart submit. It’s comparable in some methods to the much more minimalist Gogoro Eeyo 1s I reviewed final yr, however the fancy chicane within the Urtopia’s prime tube serves two sensible functions: it permits a height-adjustable seat submit (additionally produced from carbon fiber) and it’s designed to “match” your shoulder ought to you must carry it, as in to portage the bike up some stairs. Plus, it appears distinctive and I obtained a variety of compliments on my evaluate bike, which arrive in a matte black and evenly striped “Sirius” shade scheme. Two different shade choices can be found, however solely 2,000 bikes are getting constructed.

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New City additionally included a custom-fit bike bag that neatly sits subsequent to the body’s dogleg, however it’s too small for a water bottle. You may get a water bottle cage, fenders, a kickstand and a more-comfortable seat from New City, however my bike included none of these issues as they clearly wished to indicate off the sunshine weight of the bike. Personally, I’d add the non-obligatory fenders at a minimal; that is Oregon in spite of everything.

Driving the Urtopia is nice enjoyable. Whereas it isn’t vastly highly effective, it nonetheless gives a stable enhance to the pedals, particularly in prime Turbo mode. However even in Eco, I might really feel a little bit of a push, and Eco was the very best mode for simply leisurely tooling across the neighborhood. When it got here time to knock out a long way, I often put it in Tour or Sport.

Rolling over to my hill take a look at, which is usually not type to single-speed ebikes, I put it in Turbo and began up the incline. As a result of the Urtopia is so gentle, attending to the summit was no downside. Certain, it was a little bit of a exercise, however I obtained there so much quicker than if I have been simply making an attempt to crank up the hill within the one gear.

Heading down the hill, the Urtopia simply crested 35 miles an hour and felt planted and assured, regardless of having no suspension – measure of street manners. The hydraulic disc brakes are wonderful with stable energy and nice really feel, and virtually no proof of brake traces. Match and end is great entrance to again.

One of the best rides I had on the New City Urtopia was after I had time to only pedal round Portland as winter moved into wpring and the temperatures rose out of near-freezing, the place they appeared to be caught for weeks at a time. With the solar shining, it was nice enjoyable to roll across the neighborhood and close by parks and bikeways. Even at night time, the Urtopia is a stable selection because the headlight places out a broad pool of sunshine and the high-tech tail gentle is very seen.

For a motorcycle so gentle (and I’m a heavy, giant rider), I had my fears the New City Urtopia can be a fragile, too-small finicky ebike that may be arduous to journey or uncomfortable. I give credit score to New City because the bike feels roomy, stable at any pace and is a pleasure to journey. The tech options labored nice apart from the voice controls, however I discovered I might change most settings rapidly sufficient on the left bar pad as wanted. Nonetheless, when voice management was working, it’s a sport changer by way of security. Hopefully extra bikes use this know-how sooner or later. For now, I feel the New City Urtopia is the one bike on the market with this distinctive tech attribute.

This can be a nice ebike for hardcore or old-school cyclists who desire a light-weight single-speed machine with a novel design and up-to-date tech – and possibly secretly need a bit of enhance as nicely on the hills or lengthy rides.

I don’t have many complaints concerning the Urtopia. The rear indicators might have a slight redesign to be extra seen to distracted drivers, particularly within the rain, however in any other case I preferred the projection system. I by no means had an issue with the bike and regardless of my earlier misgivings about it being delicate or too small, I match on it good and after I obtained some miles on it, I used to be very assured within the energy of the design and impressed with the journey high quality. It’s a really revolutionary, trendy and excellent new entry within the ebike market – I urge the corporate to make extra than simply 2,000 of those spectacular ebikes! For every thing you get with the New City Urtopia, the $2,799 price is definitely fairly a cut price. A $49 deposit holds your house in line and bikes ought to begin delivery in June.