Cowboy is the next generation of electric bicycle. With live dashboard, navigation, GPS tracking, removable battery and ride stats, the accompanying app makes your ride more than just a ride. It becomes a whole new experience.
I had the opportunity to witness the whole development process of the bike as we shared office space with the Cowboys during one year. They have put so much care into the design and building of this bike, refusing to compromise on anything and with a great attention to details.
In the end, they made the best e-bike I have ever seen at a lower price point than any of the competitors.
When I finally had a test ride with the bike, I was a bit scared. I had previously brought a heavy Van Moof to the ground (with quite the injury as a result), partly because of my inexperience with e-bikes. On the Cowboy, though, the experience was delightful. It's as if you're riding a real bike, but there's some unnoticable breeze pushing you in the back just when you need it.
Loved it.
Pros:Great visual and industrial design. Very competitive price. Nice app.
Cons:Probably more scared of having it stolen ;-) Harder to store than my usual road bike.
I did a test ride at a meetup and was really impressed about the design and riding experience. I think it's a great bike to move around in the city.
Pros:Great looking bike
Value for money, great electric bike for a fair price compared to traditional electric bikes.
Cons:You still need to carry a lock if you want to be sure they can not steal it.
Test rode it in Bru and very impressed.
Pros:Simple and beautiful design, very responsive pedal sensors, great price point
Cons:Nothing really...
I was looking into buying a speedelec, but that's an expensive joke and I don't really need the 45km/h or insane batter life since my commute is only 10km. But all regular e-bikes are ugly and dull, so I was stuck in a dilemma. But then I stumbled upon this Cowboy thingy, which did not look ugly and dull. So I ordered it the next day.
I did some shorter and longer rides with it and I can only conclude this is a great product. I'm a heart patient, so I have to keep my HR down or I'm a dead man. The Cowboy makes me forget all about that since 1) the assistance is there, but it's not overwhelming 2) there's no social stigma since you can't really tell it's an e-bike and it just looks cool.
I rode a couple of frontwheel driven e-bikes and a Shimano Steps mid-engine system before and the Cowboy is nothing like that. Other e-bikes give you more of a scooter-ish feel. The Cowboy does not have a controller, it doesn't even have gears. You want to ride faster? Just pedal harder/faster. It will match your pace seamlessly. Remember when all touch screen phones were crap and then the iPhone came out? This is kind of the same thing.
The design is also quite something. It really is the Tesla of e-bikes in the sense that everyone is intrigued by it and asks you all about it. But where Tesla kind of cheaps out on some of their parts, the Cowboy does not: the tyres are Schwalbe, the grips are Brooks, the pedals are nice and large, the saddle is decent (but not great). The handle bar is a tad smaller than what you might be used to. I like it, it doesn't take too much space in the hallway, and it adds some fixie nostalgia. More attention to detail: the small rubber strip on the crossbar of the rear fork keeps you from scratching up the battery when removing it. When you accidentally turn your front wheel all the way around, the handle bar does not touch the top bar, they left 2-3mm clearance. The Cowboy wasn't built overnight.
Also, the bike is completely black (except for the disk brakes). The screws on the stems? Black. The nipples of the wheels? Black. The cups of the bottom bracket? Black. The rails of the saddle? Black. The rear wheel motor? Black. This is not the kind of bike you spend another $500 on upgrading parts here and there. You can add mudguards or a rack if you really want to, but that's about it.
The offroad mode limits assistance to 30km/h instead of 25km/h. IIlegal in Belgium, but so is tax fraud,highway speeding and spraying your lawn. It's great. You're a tad faster than every e-bike granny or grandpa, but it's not dangerously fast. The disk brakes will stop you just in time for every obstacle, every time. In offroad mode the battery will last 40km. Ok, that's not that much. But at 16kg and 1800 euros, it's understandable.
Ok, ok, fanboy alert. Surely, there must be some drawbacks? This is going to sound cliché but there is only one: it's just too nice. At work, I hide mine in the boiler room instead of putting it in the bike rack. I still take my gf's bike to the local supermarket. I don't want it to get stolen, I don't want anyone to even damn touch it. An integrated (physical) lock would have been nice since any aftermarket lock will ruin the bike's aesthetic. Also, the app has some lagg to it, and I hope they further develop the analytics/ride history part.
But other than that, this thing is a Tinder Super Like for sure.
Pros:
Design, smooth assitance, quality parts, price
Cons:Risk of theft
Try it 15 minutes in brussels. Quite convincing.
Pros:Design bike experience
Cons:No Mud gard, battery maybe?? Not powerful enough
Hi, I'm one of the happy beta-tester and I've used the cowboy for the past 2 months. The bike and the sweet app obviously changed my day-to-day work's ride.
Brussels is a hilly city. The Cowboy helps me getting used to go from one place to another without thinking about the distance.
I deeply recommend anyone to test it.
Pros:Design, useful, Light with a great mobile app
Cons:Only one size (for now)
I've been riding a beta-version of the cowboy bike during 3 months. I can testify that riding my Cowboy 🤠🚲 is definitely the best way I experienced to go to work over the last ten years. Thanks to its great e-acceleration, my Door-to-door average speed is above 22 km/h without too much effort.
What differentiates a Cowboy bike versus other e-bikes is for sure its design, light weight and overall quality. The brakes are also particularly efficient.
Going forward, I’m waiting for a software update in order to have the front and back light in alternative mode to be more visible by night.
Pros:Design, speed, brakes, software updates
Cons:Biking not always an option to move around town, not foldable bike
Coolest ebike experience I’ve ever had (tried it in Paris)! The UX is really well-done and it’s a beauty to ride. Addictive!
Pros:Slick Design, Badass look, Smart tech
Cons:Only available in Belgium for now
I had the opportunity to do a test ride with this beauty in Brussels and it was definitely the most user-friendly e-bike I tested so far. I loved the way the assistance dynamically evolves. I moved to San Francisco now, I really wonder how it would behave up and down the hills! Good luck with the launch.
btw: does the app include an easy way to share your bike with someone else? I guess both must have the app downloaded, but is it easily shared?
Pros:Sleek design, overall light bike, smart e-powered assistance that matches your commute's relief and give you an extra boost when needed.
Cons:Could use some safety features
I'd buy it for the $1000-1350 price range 100%
Pros:Design / Functionality
Cons:Price