Cowboy releases updated e-bike with new carbon belt
Electric-bike maker Cowboy has released a new iteration of its bike, the Cowboy 3. It's a relatively small update that should make the experience better for newcomers. The first orders will be delivered at the end of July and the Cowboy 3 is now slightly more expensive at 2,290 or 1,990 ($2,500).
The bike still looks a lot like the Cowboy 2 that I reviewed last year. It has a triangle-shaped aluminum frame with integrated pill-shaped lights. The handlebar is still perfectly straight like on a mountain bike.
Compared to the previous generation, the company has replaced the rubber and fiberglass belt with a carbon belt. It should be good to go for 30,000km.
Like on the previous bike, there are no gears or buttons to control motor assistance. As soon as you start pedaling, motor assistance kicks in automatically.
But the gear ratio has been tweaked on this version. It's now a bit lower, which means it'll be easier to start pedaling at a traffic light. It's going to have an impact on your top speed though as electric-bikes assist you up to a certain speed and you have to rely on your good old feet above that legal limit.
The wheels and tires have been slightly tweaked as well. Instead of off-the-shelf Panaracer tires, Cowboy is now using custom-made tires with a puncture protection layer. Rims are larger as well.
The saddle, hydraulic brakes and brake pads remain unchanged. The Cowboy 3 still features a detachable battery, something that is still missing from VanMoof's e-bikes and the newly announced Gogoro Eeyo e-bikes.
Overall, the bike weighs 16.9kg. It now comes in three colors - black and two shades of grey.
New and existing Cowboy customers will be able to download a new version of the app with a handful of new features. You'll be able to turn on auto-unlock to... automatically unlock your bike when you approach without having to open the app on your phone.
With theft detection, users will receive a notification as soon as your bike is moving. There will be a new crash detection feature that notifies an emergency contact and an air quality indicator in the app.