Urtopia Carbon 1 review

I first heard concerning the Urtopia Carbon 1 approach again in August 2021, and was supplied the possibility to check a pre-production mannequin with out a number of the sensible options. I declined, opting to attend till I might pay money for a motorbike with all of the options, as a result of the primary focus right here is on all of the tech.

For varied causes together with customs strikes and transport errors, the wait turned from months into years, however in March 2023 the Carbon 1 lastly arrived at my door.

A mix of recent, city and utopia, New Urtopia is a brand new title in electrical bikes. The corporate’s intention is to supply city dwellers with a greener, extra progressive option to journey and it’s clear that the Carbon 1 is laser targeted on being a sensible metropolis bike for commuters.

Options & design

• Carbon body, forks and handlebars
• Belt drive with rear-hub motor and torque sensor
• Constructed-in display, speaker & lights

Designed by Mathis Heller, who additionally labored on BMW’s i-Collection automobiles, the Carbon 1 appears decided to make a superb first impression even when meaning compromising on a number of the practicalities.

For instance, the hanging ‘lightning bolt’ high tube and seat keep makes the body actually stand out. However this makes the seat tube very quick so there’s not plenty of room for adjustment.

This, in flip, means you must be the proper peak to journey the Carbon 1. Urtopia presents two body sizes: medium and huge however even the medium requires you to be at the least 5ft 7in (170cm) tall.

That’s nice for many males, but it surely guidelines out anybody shorter, together with plenty of ladies.

Whenever you consider carbon fibre you most likely consider unique automobiles and, most likely, the seen weave. That’s not one thing you’ll see on the Carbon 1 which has a easy matt gray end, and also you get to decide on the spotlight colors when ordering.

A part of the weird design is the one-piece ‘Sensible Bar’, a handlebar which includes a gamepad-style four-way course pad and, on the proper, a round button with an built-in fingerprint sensor.

Within the centre is a big dot-matrix LED show and, in entrance of it, a built-in LED headlight. Beneath the sunshine is a 3W speaker which emits the kinds of sounds you may anticipate to listen to from a toddler’s toy whenever you change energy modes and switch the bike on and off.

You possibly can change these sounds within the companion app, however solely from a restricted choice. Fortuitously, you possibly can flip them off totally and as an alternative really feel vibrations by the handlebars whenever you change mode or use the symptoms. By way of the app you possibly can alter the depth of the vibrations.

The speaker may also play audio out of your telephone over Bluetooth. This makes use of a separate Bluetooth connection from the app, so it seems as a separate machine in your telephone’s Bluetooth menu.

Jim Martin / Foundry

The show can present primary instructions, synced from the Urtopia app. The difficulty is, the show is low decision and might’t present a lot data. All you get is an arrow pointing within the course to take: no map or highway names. Given how high-tech the bike is, it’s actually odd that Urtopia determined to not put a telephone mount anyplace on the bike, nor a USB port to cost it up.

The show exhibits your present velocity in big numbers, a tough battery stage (not even the proportion) and a quantity for the help mode chosen. That’s it: there’s no journey distance, common velocity or something you’d anticipate even a primary cycle laptop to indicate. It’s a particular case of kind over operate.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Different built-in tech contains Wi-Fi (for firmware updates) and – most usefully – an embedded SIM and GPS. This implies you possibly can observe the Carbon 1 if it’s ever stolen. The concept is that you just go to the situation proven on the map, then hook up with the bike when it’s in Bluetooth vary, at which level you possibly can activate the lights and sound the siren to establish precisely the place it’s.

In contrast to VanMoof’s Bike Hunters, Urtopia doesn’t provide any help so you must name the police fairly than try and recuperate the bike your self.

VanMoof’s S5 and A5 additionally go one higher with their built-in kick-lock that bodily stops a thief from driving off on the bike: there aren’t any bodily anti-theft measures on the Carbon 1, so that you’ll want to supply your personal locks.

The Carbon 1 is cheaper than the S5 and A5, but it surely’s a disgrace {that a} kickstand and mudguards aren’t included: they’re optionally available extras, as is the water bottle holder and rear rack. Plus, the pedals are simply concerning the most cost-effective plastic components accessible: maybe Urtopia assumes you’ll by no means match them and use your personal clip-in system with cleats.

Jim Martin / Foundry

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Nevertheless, you do get a toolkit with the bike and a nice-looking bag to retailer them. That arrives hooked up to the body, and there’s even a flooring pump within the field which is an uncommon further that I’ve not seen earlier than with an electrical bike.

The battery clips into the body and requires the important thing to take away it. You possibly can cost it on or off the bike, and it takes round 2.5 hours if it’s utterly empty.

Jim Martin / Foundry

At a shade underneath 10Ah, its capability is about common, and Urtopia claims a variety of between 22 and 62 miles (40-100km). As ever, the precise distance you’ll get will rely upon the temperature, terrain, wind, your weight and different components.

As talked about, the seat publish is essentially quick due to the body design. It’s a custom-designed half with an virtually triangular cross part. It has a built-in rear mild and road-facing projectors which present left and proper indicators. These flash whenever you press left or proper on the course pad.

Jim Martin / Foundry

It seems like a good suggestion, and so they do look nice at night time, however they’re so dim that they’re invisible besides when it’s actually darkish. It will have been much better if Urtopia has used LEDs that face drivers, to allow them to be seen in the course of the day as effectively.

The entrance and tail lamps are good and vivid and are available on routinely when it’s darkish when you allow Auto Gentle within the app. The rear mild may also act as a brake mild, which helps different highway customers know whenever you’re slowing down.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Like numerous different electrical bikes, the Carbon 1 makes use of a Gates belt as an alternative of a sequence and gears. There are professionals and cons to every strategy, with the belt being maintenance- and mess-free for a claimed 30,000 miles – the lifetime of the bike, successfully.

The drawback is that it’s harder to get going from a standing begin and more durable to journey up hills. However after all that’s the place the 250W motor is available in: that is an electrical bike, in spite of everything.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Urtopia says it’s a custom-designed mannequin that produces as much as 35Nm of torque. That’s not lots, however sufficient for all however the steepest hills, and the heaviest riders.

It’s ruled by a torque sensor which suggests the ability offered by the motor is proportional to the trouble you place in. It makes you are feeling bionic, and when you don’t really feel like pedalling actually arduous there are three energy ranges, plus a ‘Turbo’ mode that’s enabled by urgent and holding the up button for 3 seconds.

Turbo mode ignores the torque sensor and provides you most energy no matter how arduous you’re pedalling.

In comparison with a cadence (velocity) sensor, torque sensors typically imply a a lot smoother energy supply with out the noticeable jerkiness you get on cheaper electrical bikes when the motor cuts out and in.

There’s no throttle, however you possibly can maintain the right-hand button right down to allow stroll mode which helps if you’ll want to push the bike up a hill whereas strolling.

Meeting may be very simple: you solely want to suit the entrance wheel and pedals. It takes about 10 minutes tops.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Efficiency

So long as you’re not too quick or tall, the Carbon 1 is good to journey on the highway. Regardless of the dearth of a conventional seat tube to brace the body, there wasn’t any noticeable flexing, however keep in mind I’m additionally nowhere close to the utmost weight the bike can take.

I additionally discovered that, regardless of the peak markings on the seat publish, it couldn’t be inserted very far into the body, leaving it a bit too excessive for my liking: I actually needed to regulate it down an inch greater than it was potential to. An organization rep informed me that it’s secure to trim off as much as 40mm off the seat publish, but when I used to be a paying buyer I’d be frightened about voiding the two-year guarantee by doing so.

Jim Martin / Foundry

It’s additionally essential to notice that there isn’t any adjustment of the handlebars in any respect, neither for peak nor attain. You possibly can transfer the saddle again or ahead a bit (as with all bikes) to compensate if the attain doesn’t go well with you.

With no suspension and 700C wheels, the Carbon 1 rides loads like a highway bike: it wants easy asphalt in order for you a snug expertise. The equipped saddle is fairly arduous and uncomfortable, however Urtopia presents an ‘extra-comfort’ saddle as an adjunct. It’s costly, although, and also you’re higher off going to your native bike store and discovering one you want for much less.

The Carbon 1 is a single-speed bike, so there’s a restrict to how briskly you possibly can pedal earlier than the cadence is just too excessive. It’s geared for a high velocity of about 20mph (that’s when the motor cuts out on US fashions), however nonetheless felt secure at round 30mph when freewheeling down hills.

Within the UK, the place I examined it, it was restricted to fifteen.5mph, and I actually wasn’t pedalling too quick at that velocity.

The hydraulic disc brakes really feel reassuringly highly effective as soon as they’ve bedded in, which takes a superb few miles.

Jim Martin / Foundry

The motor is pretty quiet, even underneath most load. It isn’t silent, however actually isn’t annoying or too loud. The very fact it’s solely 250W and delivers 35Nm means it isn’t massively highly effective, and also you’ll nonetheless must put in some effort when biking up steep hills.

However that’s additionally an element of the torque sensor, which suggests you solely get most energy whenever you’re pedalling arduous, and that’s the identical with all torque-sensor-equipped electrical bikes.

When biking on flat roads, help mode 1 is all you really want: it helps overcome headwinds and makes biking really feel virtually easy. However whenever you face a hill, you’ll virtually actually need to enhance that to stage 3.

Hill begins are tough with out the motor (stage 0) however a lot simpler when set to stage 2 or 3. It was arduous to note any distinction between stage 3 and the Turbo mode.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Not all the smarts are as helpful as they appear. I’ve already talked about the projector lights aren’t vivid sufficient to be seen in the course of the day, however the Bluetooth speaker isn’t actually loud sufficient to be heard clearly when driving in site visitors. It’s nice when you’re driving on quiet roads, however sound high quality is pretty poor, so it’s not very best if you wish to take heed to music with out headphones in your rides.

The fingerprint scanner labored okay more often than not, however not at all times. When it didn’t I had to make use of the app to unlock the bike. This ‘lock’ gained’t cease anybody bodily stealing the bike. It merely prevents anybody however you from utilizing the motor energy. And if somebody does steal it, they will nonetheless journey off.

Jim Martin / Foundry

After all, that is the place there is genuinely helpful tech: the GPS and eSIM imply you possibly can see the place the bike is at any time (as long as the battery nonetheless has cost). By way of the app, you possibly can arrange a geofence and get notified if the bike is moved additional away than the space you set, so that you’ll get an alert within the app whether it is stolen.

In actual fact, that is one cause why it’s helpful to have a ‘locked’ standing: as quickly as any motion is detected, you’ll get an alert in your telephone. This isn’t executed utilizing GPS: an on-board movement sensor triggers as quickly because the bike is moved.

The bike will even chirp when it’s moved as a warning that it’s alarmed. Simply observe that this occurs provided that you’ve put the bike in Lock mode. If it’s simply in Standby, the alarm gained’t be on.

Vary is okay, however not excellent. From my testing, it’s potential to run the battery flat in as little as 20 miles when you’re utilizing mode 3 or Turbo on a regular basis, and the route is hilly.

But when circumstances are extra beneficial – heat climate and flat roads – you may most likely rise up to  30 or 40 miles earlier than needing a recharge.

There’s one other factor draining the battery, although: the GPS and eSIM. Early reviewers of the bike complained that the anti-theft measures used a lot energy that the battery could be lifeless after a matter of days.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Urtopia has mounted this, and the battery dropped by solely 2% in 4 days. You simply want to want to recollect which you can’t depart the Carbon 1 for weeks with out charging it, in any other case you may discover the battery is nearly empty whenever you need to journey it. The choice is to make use of the app to disable this monitoring when you gained’t be utilizing the bike for some time and it’s saved safely.

You possibly can examine the situation of the bike – and its present battery stage – from the app at any time, anyplace, even when you’re not in Bluetooth vary as long as the eSIM and GPS are enabled. You get a free 12 months of service, after which the eSIM prices $29 / €35 per 12 months (roughly £30).

Urtopia app

Apps for e-bikes are usually primary, however Urtopia’s is healthier than that. It isn’t the slickest, but it surely does the job effectively sufficient.

I noticed a few locations the place the interface wasn’t in English however an even bigger annoyance  is that you must faucet a Bluetooth button earlier than you should utilize any of the bike options. It will be higher if that connection was made routinely whenever you launch the app.

Plus, generally, it failed to attach in any respect however normally displayed the “connecting” display for just a few seconds earlier than returning to the bike management display the place you possibly can activate the lights, sound the siren and lock and unlock the bike.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

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The app is helpful for altering settings: quantity, vibration depth and different issues, however you are able to do this along with your voice by urgent down the right-hand button on the handlebar and talking instructions resembling “Quantity 3”. You can even use your voice to set the velocity mode, flip the lights on and off and use the symptoms. Nevertheless, I discovered it faster to make use of the buttons to do these issues, not least as a result of my instructions had been solely recognised about half the time, and even much less when driving on noisy roads.

The vibration is one thing you are feeling within the handlebars whenever you change the ability stage, a bit like a telephone on silent. Just like the sounds, you possibly can flip off vibrations when you don’t need them.

A few of the Superior settings within the app want explanations, resembling Sport Mode (play Snake on the show by saying “recreation mode”, Rear Radar (mmWave tech prompts the rear mild when automobiles get shut) and Community (the choice to disable GPS and eSIM to avoid wasting battery energy). Others are self-explanatory resembling Auto Gentle and Brake mild.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

There’s a Person Information tile on the app’s house display, however this simply hyperlinks to varied movies, and doesn’t cowl these settings. The printed handbook within the field isn’t any assist both, because it doesn’t cowl the app, besides pairing it to the bike and registering your first fingerprint.

It has a group tab the place you possibly can publish journey stats, ask for assist or simply chat with different homeowners. Within the navigation tab you possibly can seek for a vacation spot or place a pin within the map, and a route shall be generated, identical to any sat nav. However the search outcomes are far more restricted than, say, Google Maps.

Value & availability

The Carbon 1 prices $2799 within the US, and €3299 in Germany. That’s round £2250 within the UK and $4000 in Australia, although the bike isn’t bought in these international locations.

You should purchase it from the New Urtopia webbsite.

Nevertheless, the corporate says it’ll formally promote bikes within the UK quickly, but it surely hasn’t introduced the precise pricing but.

It has additionally launched a brand new model referred to as the Carbon 1s. This has 7-speed Shimano gears as an alternative of a belt drive and a extra highly effective 350W motor. Plus, it is available in a Small body measurement appropriate for folks from 160cm (5ft3in) and is similar worth. On the time of evaluation, although, there was a sale with $600 off, bringing the worth right down to $2199 – a significantly better deal.

To examine different bikes we’ve reviewed and see which of them we suggest you purchase, see our roundup of one of the best electrical bikes.

Verdict

Urtopia got down to create the neatest electrical bike and in some methods it has succeeded with the Carbon 1. Though not distinctive, the built-in SIM and GPS imply you possibly can maintain observe of your bike wherever you’re: it merely wants a cellular sign.

The mmWave radar and projector indicators sound cool, however are of little or no profit in apply and subsequently add unnecessarily to the price. The identical will be mentioned for the remainder of the tech – the Bluetooth speaker, fingerprint scanner and voice management. They’re stuff you gained’t discover on different e-bikes, however they’re less than the usual you’d most likely anticipate.

Cowboy’s 4 and VanMoof’s bikes value extra, making the Urtopia look higher worth, particularly because it’s the one one created from carbon fibre, and the lightest of the three. Nevertheless, Cowboy and VanMoof provide different body types for shorter riders.

The Carbon 1 has a two-year guarantee, however as Urtopia continues to be a comparatively new and unproven firm, it’s tough to place plenty of religion in that if one thing goes improper with the bike. In case you’re snug spending this a lot cash on a motorbike with so many proprietary components, it’s an honest electrical bike.

However the carbon fibre doesn’t save as a lot weight as you may hope for and when you can dwell with out all of the devices, the Tenways CGO600 is just $1799 / £1499 and is simply as light-weight, has hydraulic disk brakes, a Gates belt drive, a rear hub motor and a torque sensor. It’s the better-value alternative for most individuals. Learn our full CG0600 evaluation for extra.

Specs

• Motor: 36V 250W (35Nm)
• Max Pace: Assisted Motor Pace: 15.5 mph (EU) / 20 mph (US)
• Location of Motor: Rear hub
• Dot matrix show exhibiting battery energy, mode, velocity, flip indicators, stroll mode
• Fingerprint scanner + voice management
• Body: Carbon fibre
• Weight: approx. 16kg
• Max rider weight (complete payload): 110kg (240lb)
• Body sizes: 46cm (M), 50cm (L)
• Wheel Dimension: 700C
• Wheels: Unbranded
• Tyres: 1.4in Kenda Kwest
• Drivetrain: Gates Carbon Drive CDN
• Brakes: Unbranded hydraulic discs
• Lights: built-in LED entrance + rear, with projected flip indicators
• Battery Kind: Detachable 360Wh / 9.8Ah
• Vary: 22-62 miles (40-100km)
• Cost Time: Approx. 2.5 hours
• Connectivity: eSIM (4G), Bluetooth & Wi-Fi
• Guarantee: 2 years (preliminary purchaser, excludes brakes, spokes, tyres)