Urtopia e-bike Review, Specs & Price: As part of the summer sale you are currently getting a €600 discount on the Urtopia Carbon 1 E-Bike. This is how you get it with the BLUESKY voucher currently for €2999 instead of €3299. You also get a free bike rack, mudguards and the eSIM service for one year.
- Voucher: BLUESKY
The topic of electromobility has also picked up speed here at least since the official launch of e-scooters in Germany. E-bikes in particular are particularly popular, and many people certainly think of VanMoof, Cowboy or the Sushi e-bikes. Competition now comes with the Urtopia Carbon E-Bike. We were allowed to test a prototype of the 13 kg light e-bike. And let’s put it this way: The fact that the e-bike can be successful is not a u(r)topia.
Urtopia e-bike Review, Specs & Price
- Urtopia electric bike
- at Urtopia for €2699 – voucher: BLUESKY
- + free eSIM service for one year, fenders and stand
We received the Urtopia e-bike for a two-day short test, and it was brought to us already assembled. Of course, you have to set it up yourself after purchase, but the manual in .pdf format shows that it should be easy to implement. Our test device is a prototype that is not yet compatible with the app and is therefore missing some functions. We have mentioned in the article what we have been able to test so far.
The Urtopia e-bike weighs only 13 kg!
Urtopia e-bike Review / The Urtopia, a portmanteau of ” urban” and ” utopia “, e-bike is obviously based on a relatively unusual design. With this cut, you do without half of the actual seat tube and route it directly to the rear axle. As a result, the frame should have its own suspension, with which you can also ride cobblestones or other rough terrain comfortably.
However, this design is not new and can already be found on models from the manufacturer Urwahn. Nevertheless, it is intended more for city traffic, hence the urban in the name. In terms of looks, I like the Urtopia much better than many other models. You also?
Urtopia relies on a carbon frame. This results in a weight of just 13 kg (incl. battery), which makes it interesting for commuters or residents of a higher floor, for example. In comparison, the VanMoof S3 weighs 21 kg. That is at least 8 kg less, which you don’t have to carry to the third floor if in doubt. The frame is available in three colors: Sirius (anthracite with orange accents), Lyra (light gray with white stripes) and Midnight in Paris (black with red and green accents). The cables of the Urtopia are laid in the frame.
The bike is also available in two sizes: size M for riders from 1.65 m to 1.80 m tall and size L for riders from 1.75 m to 1.90 m. For me, who is 1.87 m tall, the size M bike is too small, which made riding a bit uncomfortable.
The e-bike is actually light, I might have imagined it to be even lighter based on the advertising. I was able to carry it up and down a steep flight of stairs with minimal effort and purposely avoided taking the elevator.
If you grab under the saddle, you can get hold of the Urtopia’s center of gravity relatively well, which means that I was even able to carry it with one hand. If you like, you can also carry it over your shoulder, but you need a relatively wide staircase for that. Nevertheless, you should not forget that there are still 13 kg that you have to lift first.
Processing Of The E-bike
Urtopia e-bike Review – At first glance, the Urtopia e-bike looks really high quality, despite or perhaps because of the carbon frame from the 3D printer. The center bar is solid, as is the main bar for the battery. That’s my first point of criticism – the gap dimensions for the battery are quite large, so that it is clearly recognizable.
This could certainly have been done more visually and integrated the battery better. The rubber cover for the charging port is also a bit loose. In addition, the housing in the handlebar for the smartbar display is surprisingly “hollow” and probably only made of plastic. The only really bad thing is that there is a cable in front of the screw for adjusting the saddle in the frame, so we couldn’t adjust it.
Otherwise, the tires, brakes and saddle are rock-solid and the wiring is almost completely integrated into the housing. I’d be happy with that considering the price, even if it doesn’t look quite as “all of a piece” as, for example, a VanMoof S3, at least on the product images and videos. Admittedly, I still lack some experience and comparative values here.
How does the Urtopia e-bike ride?
The manufacturer relies on a Mivice motor in the rear wheel hub, which has a total of five driving modes up its sleeve: Pedals, Eco, Comfort, Sport and Turbo. The turbo mode is hidden and can be activated by pressing and holding the top button. The manufacturer is also thinking of installing a torque sensor. This means that if you pedal harder, the driving support from the motor also increases – logically. If you exceed the limit of 25 km/h, the motor switches off so that you only have to pedal manually.
Even if the frame is supposed to provide a “natural” suspension, I can’t confirm that yet. The Urtopia is definitely a city bike, I find the riding experience very hard. Of course, this is partly due to the saddle, which can be easily replaced, but I couldn’t find any other suspension. In contrast to my 10-year-old mid-range Rabeneick mid-range bike, the Urtopia feels almost like a racing bike, fortunately with significantly thicker tires.
But that’s largely due to the acceleration. My dear Scholli, that was fun! Even in Eco mode, the translation of manual pedal power into electronic acceleration surprised me . In no time at 20 km/h, where I then switched to comfort mode. Then simply climb a hill at 25 km/h – no problem. In my opinion, if you want to ride comfortably, you get enough pedal support in Eco mode.
If you need the maximum speed and are fit yourself, you should at least use the comfort mode, in sport or even turbo mode even less effort is required. When I raced down a hill at 38 km/h and only pedaled very lightly, the torque sensor took hold and I immediately got a boost again.
But then I also noticed: “Oh, I don’t think our prototype is adapted to the StVO”. Actually, the sensor should ensure that you pedal manually again at 25 km/h. I didn’t notice that with our prototype, which is why I easily drove 35 km/h. It’s fun, but not legal.
Range
The manufacturer does not yet officially state the range, but according to the first reviews, up to 75 km are possible. The information from our contact was 100 km range, although that will certainly depend on driving style and weight. Since we only used the Urtopia for a short time, we cannot provide any information about it. However, the battery status is permanently displayed on the pictogram.
The battery can be removed, for which you have to turn the key and open a lock. This is a Phylion Li-On battery with a voltage of 36.5 V, 10 Ah and a capacity of 365 Wh. It alone weighs 2,242 g, which shows how light the bike actually is.
How do you operate the Urtopa e-bike?
The Urtopa Smartbar is installed in the handlebars, a display with pictograms consisting of 24 x 24 pixels. This will show you the relevant driving data such as speed, battery level and the current mode. There are also several animations. For example, when you start the turbo mode, a rocket appears and when you complete it, a lock – very cool!
To the right of this is a fingerprint sensor, which is supposed to be able to unlock and lock the bike, which doesn’t work yet. With a short click you also “ring” the bell. Depending on the selected volume, this is sometimes too quiet and, in my opinion, should always be the same volume regardless of the speaker volume of the bike.
To the left of the display is the diamond-shaped control panel. With a click up and down you can switch between the different driving modes. Long press up activates turbo mode, long press down turns on the Urtopia e-bike. You can blink with left and right. A small light under the rear light projects the direction indicator onto the ground about 50 cm away from the wheel. This is hardly visible in daylight, but more so in the dark. Nevertheless, one should probably trust in the good old hand signal. If you press and hold left, you put the Urtopia e-bike into sleep mode.
This bike can be safely controlled by voice!
The craziest feature is definitely the voice control. You talk to your bike! By pressing and holding the fingerprint sensor, you activate the voice assistant and can give commands such as: “Lights on!” , which means that the bike actually switches on the lights. We’ve seen a lot, but not that yet.
For example, you can also change the volume of the sounds, flash them, change the mode or lock the bike. Depending on the weather, this has never worked so well outside, the two microphones are of course very susceptible to wind and didn’t always understand me. An AI voice recognition should also come with an update. Incidentally, the light can only be switched on via app or voice, which is very borderline for me. You should rethink that!
According to the promotional videos, the speech recognition can do even more. A kind of smart assistant can probably also answer rudimentary commands such as the date or weather. The manufacturer installs an eSIM with LTE for this , but Bluetooth and WiFi are also installed, so that OTA updates can also be installed.
Smart features of the Urtopia e-bike
Urtopia e-bike Review: Appropriate lights are fitted both front and rear for safety. In addition, Urtopia relies on hydraulic brakes – so far, so well known. But the integrated mmWave radar is interesting, which is supposed to ensure that the bike should warn you when traffic is approaching by vibrating in the handlebars. We have not yet been able to test how well this works with the prototype. This should only be activated if you use the turn signal and hold down the left or right button. Every vehicle that then approaches from the left or right within 3 m and from behind at a distance of 20 m triggers a vibration in the handlebars.
The “E” in “e-bike” is no coincidence, the Urtopia carbon e-bike also has its own smartphone app. This is particularly helpful if you want to locate your bike. The Urtopia is equipped with a GPS sensor, which is probably also active when not in use. Thanks to the integrated gyro sensor, you can get a notification on your smartphone when it is moved. While VanMoof relies on the kickstand with lock for their S3, the Urtopia is probably simply locked with the fingerprint sensor like on a smartphone. We haven’t been able to test the app yet because our test bike is a prototype.
In addition to the animations, the Urtopia is also equipped with a loudspeaker. This means that blinking, for example, makes a corresponding “blinking noise” like in a car. Unfortunately, the same also applies when you turn on or lock the Urtopia. It might be pretty cool the first time, but on a day-to-day basis I find it a bit annoying and weird. Hopefully you can disable the sounds in the app then.
Accessories for the Urtopia e-bike
If you pre-order an Urtopia e-bike via the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, you can also order extras or accessories. There is an extra battery that costs around €315 and is probably worth it for frequent drivers. There is also the 1-year eSIM card, which is currently available for €26, but 1-year seems to be included in the price. You can also order a stand, a more comfortable saddle and mudguards. These accessories can certainly be obtained from another source and fitted, but I would really recommend fenders!
Assessment: Buy an Urtopia e-bike?
Urtopia e-bike Review / First of all thanks to Urtopia for letting us test a prototype before release. There were few tests that were more fun! I like the strong acceleration, the design and the carbon frame right away and simply make for a really fun and fast ride. It remains to be seen whether you really need all of the smart features, but GPS and the mmWave radar certainly make sense.
The biggest advantage is probably the weight of 13 kg, depending on your own life situation. Anyone who lives in the city will sooner or later encounter a staircase and be happy to be able to carry the bike. But since some of the functions, the final range and simply more driving time are still missing, we can only deliver this positive preliminary conclusion. We are very much looking forward to the final version!
Urtopia e-bike Review – The Urtopia e-bike immediately appealed to us because of its design, the carbon frame and the smart features. Personally, I’ve been looking at a VanMoof for a while, but I still can’t justify the purchase. This is exactly what Urtopia wants to compete with, priced at $1999 it is on par with the current S3. The EU version currently costs €2,071 in crowdfunding on Indiegogo. This includes a two-year guarantee and a one-year prepaid eSIM card.
If you have experience with e-bikes or maybe even a VanMoof, please write it in the comments! Urtopia Carbon e-bike Review ..
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