With its elegant and smart connected bike, Cowboy aims to improve urban mobility. Packed with technologies and positioned in the mid-range (around $2,000 and $3,500), the Cowboy electric bike arrived on the French market in the spring of 2019 and is improving every year. I suggest you analyze here the latest model of Cowboy.
The best alternatives to the Cowboy bike
Premium minimalist bike. Made in Belgium. Dynamic position. Removable battery. Integrated bike tracking.
Budget : $ | Speed : 15.5 mph | Range : 43 miles
My opinion on Cowboy electric bikes
How was Cowboy founded ?
Along with Karim Slaoui and Tanguy Goretti, Adrien Roose is one of the brand’s three founders. Does this name mean something to you? This is because he managed Take Eat Easy, a home meal delivery company that went out of business in 2016. The man is the tenacious type: he persists in the path of entrepreneurship and launched the Cowboy brand with its partners in January 2017.
The story of Cowboy
The least we can say is that they wasted no time. From July 2017, the brand began to try to find a place for itself alongside the references in terms of electric bike, like the Biwbik Gante. They won an award at the Eurobike show (the largest bike show in Europe), then a Red Dot Award rewarding the bold design of the bike. The success is there: 1000 copies sold in just over 6 months.
April 2018 marks the launch (exclusively on the Belgian market) of their first model. New turning point in October 2018 in the young history of Cowboy: a fundraising of 10 million of euros is completed. A windfall sufficient to boost the development of the company and allow the first hirings. But above all to tackle the European market from the spring of 2019: France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands will soon see the Cowboy wave break.
A unique name
By the way, why this name? The creators wanted “a fun name, a kind of new mechanical horse”, invoking an imaginary of freedom, the feeling of devouring wide open spaces… and fleeing traffic jams, they detailed in an interview given to the site guido.be
Lightness, autonomy and sleek design
At Cowboy, they are convinced that, to attract a large audience, the electric bike must be attractive and its weight as light as possible. The least we can say is that they have pulled out all the stops. One can not deny it, its sober black dress gives it a rare elegance.
Premium minimalist bike. Made in Belgium. Dynamic position. Removable battery. Integrated bike tracking.
Budget : $ | Speed : 15.5 mph | Range : 43 miles
The fluidity of its line is reinforced by the absence of buttons and lights subtly integrated into the frame. By the way, a classy detail: the rear lighting acts as a brake light if you apply the brakes. Delivered without suspension or mudguards (you can add them later), the design of the Cowboy goes to the essentials. Even the battery fits discreetly under the saddle.
Results, quite incredible lightness for an ebike: 16 kg (35 lbs) on the scale, including 1.7 for the removable battery. The autonomy announced by Cowboy is 30 miles, for 2 h 30 of charge but some testimonials speak of a real autonomy of 22 miles on average.
Cowboy bike, at the cutting edge of technology?
In line with this refined visual approach, the Cowboy bike is intuitive to handle. No derailleur, no gears, no switch, the pleasure of “driving” takes precedence as evidenced by this test (from 2:00) of the local channel Namuroise CANAL C:
The designers have also pushed the idea quite far. According to their press release, motor assistance “intuitively adapts to your style and the speed at which you pedal by amplifying your momentum at key moments.”
Innovative electric bikes
This brings us to where the Cowboy marks a real (r)evolution, that is to say in terms of innovation. It’s very simple: it is a concentrate of technology. Filled with sensors, this next-gen electric bike relies on a very specific dashboard: a mobile app developed in-house.
This centralizes the classic navigation data:
- GPS-tracking
- course history
- distance
- average speed
- bike load…
It also provides more practical information such as tire pressure, maintenance deadlines… It is even possible to chat with the Cowboy team (the bike is indeed connected to the internet), for example to carry out a remote diagnosis of the state and performance of the eBike.
The prices of Cowboy electric bikes
You are probably wondering how the Cowboy electric bike can be sold at this price when the competition (at an equivalent level) is closer to €3500 (approx $3900) ?
In order to display a list price of $2,000 to $3,500 depending on the model, the managers of Cowboy have been able, on the one hand, to take advantage of their experience in terms of software, a serious asset on such a technological bike. The development of the Cowboy mobile application is thus entirely internalized.
On the other hand, the company relies on direct sales (via its online store) to dispose of his two-wheelers. Electronic design in Belgium, that of the frame in China, assembly in Poland: the costs are controlled, to the final benefit of the buyer.
If Cowboy’s know-how is above all technological, the technical sheet nevertheless presents qualitative elements. We can find disc brakes, rubber grips wrapped in organic cotton and even a belt in carbon, connected to the motor of the rear wheel: a motor with a torque of 30 Nm and which is also designed in-house.
Conclusion
The Cowboy electric bike is aimed at customers looking for an urban electric bike tech-savvy and looking for a mobility experience based on pleasure. All covered with a high-end coating at a price that may seem quite high today.
It’s not available in the North American market, Canada or the United States. That’s the big problem.