Cowboy e-bike rides into town

Based in Brussels, Cowboy was founded in 2017, with its e-bike launched in 2018 and quickly selling out. Since then, Cowboy bikes have been ridden over 1,000,000km, which Cowboy says equates to over 100,000kg of CO₂ saved.

Now it’s expanding its reach to the rest of Europe, including selling in the UK later this year. The Cowboy e-bike will be sold directly to consumers via the company’s website and priced at €1990.

“We see fantastic potential across the European market for electric bikes with customer demand increasing as cities continue to grow, traffic grinds to a halt and we look for ways to cut our carbon footprint,” says Cowboy’s co-founder and CEO Adrien Roose.

Cowboy points out that e-bikes are proving to be the fastest form of urban transport, trumping cars and public transport. It’s a finding echoing the view of General Motors, which has itself just launched the ARiV folding e-bike, targeted at urban travellers.

>>> Bicycles are the future for transport, not electric cars, says report

The Cowboy e-bike has been designed to be sleek, light and agile, with a quoted weight of 16kg and a range of up to 70km. The 2.4kg 360Wh battery pack is removable, for easier recharging.

There’s also a lot of tech built in. That includes a lube-free belt drive and adaptive gearing that reacts automatically to your power and speed. There are integrated front and rear lights, with the rear light shining brighter to act as a brake light when you slow down.

Like many e-bikes, there’s an accompanying app, available for iOS and Android smartphones and pairing with the e-bike via Bluetooth. This is used to activate the bike and also lets you track speed, duration, distance and battery level. There’s built-in navigation and you can turn your lights on and off remotely. Other features include remote diagnostics and service reminders to users.

With built-in GPS tracking and SIM card, you can use the app’s Find My Bike function to work out where you left your Cowboy or to help track it down if it’s stolen.

Cowboy will be sending an e-bike out to Cycling Weekly, so we’ll have a chance to take a ride and give you our views.