Urtopia Carbon 1s e-bike review: paying for the tech

Urtopia Carbon 1s

The Urtopia Carbon 1s is a tech-first e-bike that weighs solely 35 kilos. Whereas among the product decisions are odd and even consumer-hostile, we have discovered Urtopia’s imaginative and prescient of the way forward for e-bikes fairly intriguing.

Earlier than we point out anything, let’s discuss in regards to the weirdest omission — the kickstand. That is proper, if you would like a kickstand to your fancy new $2,800 e-bike, you may must shell out $30 in a separate buy.

This e-bike is well-built and acts as a superb choice for paved journey. The tech-first strategy may depart some e-bike lovers trying elsewhere, however it is a good choice for somebody who desires an out-of-the-box bike with little fuss and gadget-heavy aptitude.

We reviewed the Urtopia Carbon 1s, a barely totally different mannequin from the Carbon 1 that is nonetheless on the market. Probably the most vital distinction between the 2 is the Carbon 1s has a 7-gear derailleur and a metallic chain versus a carbon belt drive mechanism.

Urtopia Carbon 1s has a curvy, opinionated design

Probably the most notable function of Urtopia’s Carbon sequence of e-bikes is their weight. It makes use of a full carbon physique body just like those utilized by skilled racing bikes — making your entire bike weigh 35 kilos.

That is an unbelievable distinction in weight in comparison with different e-bikes we have reviewed. That is half or extra the burden with nearly all the performance.

The Carbon 1s design is minimal but placing in its personal manner. There are three totally different shade choices which can be very loud or a extra minimalistic monochrome choice if that is your factor.

The wheels are tremendous skinny — the thinnest we have used on any bike. They’re made with paved roads in thoughts, and a scarcity of suspension doubles down on that.

The handlebars cannot be adjusted

The display screen is built-in with the handlebars and exhibits data in a dot-matrix show. Velocity is proven in massive numbers above a battery degree indicator and a numeric worth for the present pedal help mode.

The left handlebar has a “gamepad” button, or D-pad, for controlling pedal help ranges or activating flip indicators. The precise handlebar has a button with an built-in fingerprint reader that summons the voice assistant and a gear shift.

Below the seat are an built-in brake gentle and projector flip indicators. These are linked by way of a wire within the seat stem.

In contrast to different e-bikes, what you see is what you get. You are shopping for into the Urtopia technological ecosystem and every little thing it stands for.

Meaning you may have a handlebar that may’t be exchanged for one with peak or tilt adjustment. You are additionally caught with the seat stem, and third-party equipment doubtless will not work with the Carbon 1s body.

Urtopia is not the primary or the worst offender, however we might like to notice the enterprise mannequin does really feel extra pointed towards accent upsell versus different manufacturers. Add racks, fenders, or a water bottle cage for an anticipated premium.

Kickstand bought individually

Nevertheless, the best sin Urtopia commits is forcing prospects to order the $30 kickstand individually. We’re not completely positive why this half was omitted besides to cut back weight, however so far as we’re involved, it is an important half.

Contemplating the already excessive value of the e-bike, it looks as if a nickel-and-dime transfer to ask prospects to purchase such a mandatory half individually. Our city does not provide many bike stands or stations to park, so we might must order a kickstand or face laying this costly product within the dust.

Urtopia additionally affords an eSIM. Fortunately you will not must name Verizon or T-Cell for an costly month-to-month plan — it is only a single $30 per yr in-app buy, and the primary yr is free.

That eSIM plan supplies most of the smarts to the Urtopia Carbon 1s. Observe the bike wherever with GPS, get instructions that present arrows proper on the bike, and get notifications when the bike is moved in locked mode.

We have examined a couple of e-bikes, and so they’ve all prided themselves on app connectivity and rising e-bike tech. Nevertheless, Urtopia takes it a step additional and strives for a fully-integrated tech expertise.

The dot-matrix show is definitely learn in direct daylight

At a look, you’d by no means guess that the Urtopia Carbon 1s has movement detection, alarms, a voice assistant, fingerprint unlock, a Bluetooth speaker, computerized lights, and a horn. All of those options are because of the built-in processor, 4G modem, and different applied sciences constructed into the bike and its Smartbar.

We already talked about the d-pad management and fingerprint studying button. These interface with the e-bike merely, although there’s a studying curve because of the minimalistic strategy.

The D-pad has a press command and a maintain command for every button:

• Press as much as enhance the pedal help mode, and maintain as much as enter turbo mode.
• Press right down to lower the pedal help mode, and maintain right down to lock the bike.
• Press left to activate the left flip sign, and maintain left to toggle the headlight.
• Press proper to activate the best flip sign, or maintain proper to activate a “stroll” mode to assist push the bike up slopes.

When the bike is locked, urgent the principle button along with your thumb, which needs to be mapped to the fingerprint reader, will unlock the bike. Urgent the button when the bike is unlocked will activate your chosen bell/horn sound.

This ‘gamepad’ controls many of the bike’s features

There are a couple of choices for bell noise and quantity ranges. Nevertheless, these are some very odd choices, and we might have favored a couple of extra natural-sounding ones.

Listed here are the choices as they’re listed in Urtopia’s app: Ringing, Canine’s Bark, Horse’s Bark, Horn, and Sport. No, none of them sound like a motorcycle bell.

Ringing seems like a tram bell, Horn is akin to a flat-sounding automotive horn, and Sport is a small 16-bit chirping sound. The horse and canine barks are enjoyable joke noises however ineffective and certain harmful distractions on an precise bike lane.

Press and maintain on the button to make the Carbon 1s hear for voice instructions. It is not instantly clear what you’ll be able to command it to do, and Urtopia does not have a listing of instructions out there.

We have managed to get the voice management to toggle the headlights on and off, lock the bike, activate the flip sign, and set the quantity degree. It is good having some management with out pulling out the app, however it could be good to know precisely what to say.

The Smartbar is minimalistic and reduces distractions provided by full LCD screens. Nevertheless, regardless of being a tech-first product, we’re unsure it affords rather more than different e-bikes.

Positive, Carbon 1s can get over-the-air updates so as to add performance. However, that show will doubtless restrict what the e-bike can do long-term. And every little thing appears depending on Urtopia’s app, so there isn’t any third-party benefit.

For instance, I’ve to make use of Urtopia’s navigation system to have flip arrows displayed on the Smartbar. Instructions from Apple Maps do not present something for the bike — which may admittedly be an Apple concern, although we’re unsure.

One replace Urtopia has promised, in accordance with its web site, is the flexibility to regulate the show brightness. At present, the show is at 100% brightness on a regular basis, which is nice in daylight however a watch pressure at evening.

There’s clearly some demand for e-bike apps with group options, nevertheless it is not for me. As I’ve mentioned in different critiques, I am unsure why anybody would desire a brand-specific social community for sharing their newest bike journey, map and all.

Management primary features from Urtopia’s app

Ignoring that, the Urtopia app is well-designed and simple to navigate. Customers will doubtless discover themselves visiting this app usually because the bike itself lacks any apparent controls.

The house tab supplies some climate information and former driving stats, the group tab incorporates the inexplicable Urtopia social community, the shield-shaped tab is the place bike pairing and controls are, a navigation arrow represents the in-app map device, and the final tab is your consumer profile with settings and different information.

We spend all of our time within the bike management part. That is the place you’ll be able to set up a fast Bluetooth connection for setting the alarm, toggling the sunshine, and altering audio settings.

We nonetheless desire Apple Well being and the Health app on Apple Look ahead to monitoring metrics. Nevertheless, the built-in eSIM permits us to ditch the AirTag in favor of built-in monitoring.

The navigation tab exhibits the bike’s present location so long as Carbon 1s nonetheless has battery energy. That does imply standby instances with out linked energy will endure due to fixed location monitoring.

These notifications are all to common

Customers will likely be notified if the bike is locked and moved, even out of Bluetooth vary. This additionally means the bike will notify you even when you’re shifting it when it is nonetheless locked.

We have got a couple of “unauthorized movement detected” notifications with the Carbon 1s sitting in our front room. These options could be turned off in settings, however that is a problem, and so they’d have to be turned again on.

Urtopia Carbon 1s ships within the anticipated principally assembled flat-lay of many fashionable e-bikes. Meeting was lifeless easy because the handlebar is built-in with the body — all that wanted to be hooked up was the entrance wheel and seat.

The entrance tire’s fast launch mechanism makes eradicating the tire easy

The short-release mechanism for the entrance tire made meeting much more easy. You simply slide the wheel into place, push the quick-release stem by, tighten the bolt, and switch the lever over.

The Carbon 1s requires somewhat extra upkeep than its Carbon belted counterpart. Because it has a metallic chain and derailleur, customers might want to make sure the chain is freed from rust and oiled often.

Extra intensive upkeep checks needs to be achieved each few months of driving. We’re blissful to take the Urtopia to a neighborhood store for assist with that.

Every thing is totally different with Urtopia’s e-bike versus others, together with getting the bike able to journey. There is not any must energy the battery on because it’s at all times offering juice to the Smartbar when linked.

Since a fingerprint reader locks Carbon 1s, you need to relaxation your registered finger on the button and press it to get energy flowing and disable safety features.

A fingerprint sensor is built-in in the principle button

Neglect to do that with an alarm set, and prepare to have all eyes on you. This may occur a couple of instances once you’re not used to it, however we want Urtopia had a solution to delay the alarm or vibrate the handlebars when an unauthorized movement is detected earlier than blaring an alarm.

As soon as every little thing is unlocked, powered on, and able to go, Urtopia is like most different e-bikes. Get on and get peddling, set your most well-liked pedal help mode, and toggle on the headlight if mandatory.

There are 5 complete pedaling modes: pedal, eco, consolation sport, and turbo.

The Carbon 1s can obtain 25mph with turbo enabled, however you may kill the battery in round an hour at that setting. Eco mode affords as much as 60 miles of vary, and pedal leaves all of the work to your legs.

Urtopia’s tech-first design will not be for everybody

We traveled at varied pedal help ranges for one check and drained the battery from 70% (shock, it was drained whereas sitting there for a couple of week) to 19% in about 10 miles. The route has some slopes, and we did use turbo a few instances, however approx 50% drain nonetheless looks like quite a bit.

Like several battery estimates, they have been most likely taken with monitor information in good circumstances. Our hilly journey in 70-degree+ climate doubtless was doubtless sufficient to empty the battery quicker than lab testing discovered.

The battery could be charged 100% from zero in about 2.5 hours. From informal statement, the battery drains 2% to five% day by day when idle.

The bike’s small dimension, gentle weight, and skinny tires made this bike really feel quick. It is not uncommon to hit 20mph to 25mph on most fashionable e-bikes, however the stature and form of this bike made it really feel quicker, if no more unwieldy.

Urtopia says suspension wasn’t included because the carbon body was a pure shock absorber. Whereas that is perhaps true, some type of suspension would have been good on the native growing older bike trails — paved however not easy.

A vibrant headlight and taillight preserve you seen at evening

The headlight is vibrant at 20 Lux, and the taillight is powered on with a brake press. We respect the built-in design of the headlight, although it does imply there isn’t any solution to angle it up or down.

The included flip indicators are fascinating on the Carbon 1s, to say the least. Reasonably than use vibrant blinking lights, Urtopia makes use of projectors to color arrows on the bottom.

These lights are seen in darkish areas however aren’t very seen when avenue lamps or headlights drown them out. The projector lights are cool, and we’re unsure e-bikes at all times want flip indicators, however these do not feel very helpful — particularly since different bikers and automotive drivers will not be in search of that type of sign.

Projection flip indicators do not appear sensible

The Urtopia Carbon 1s feels designed for a way more outgoing and loud particular person than us. Press a button to ring a bell, maintain it right down to yell a command, and even play music by a built-in speaker. All issues which can be fortunately not required.

The motor is 350W, a far cry from different e-bikes we have examined with 500W or bigger. This is not horrible information for metropolis riders, however when coping with hills, it presents a problem.

The motor can propel us ahead to the max pace restrict, and the torque sensor makes driving extra pure. As we mentioned in a earlier e-bike evaluate, torque-sensing pedal help is our most well-liked solution to journey.

The difficulty with the lower-wattage motor arises once you want extra assist with hills. We managed to glide up light slopes however started to battle on a few of our neighborhood’s steeper inclines.

A 350W motor is not fairly robust sufficient for steep hills

One among our default testing areas is a hill close to our house. It has a steep incline however just for a couple of dozen ft, so good for testing how properly a motor will carry out.

We are able to make it to the highest of that hill on e-bikes with a 500W motor or higher, with some huffing and puffing. The Carbon 1s, nevertheless, left us at a standstill close to the hill’s midpoint.

This is not a criticism of the bike (perhaps of our health), only a actuality of utilizing a smaller motor and reducing again for weight. This bike performs completely on flat pavement, and we would not suggest it to anybody with different terrain or steep hills.

One last tiny word: there is not a throttle. It is small, however throttles make ranging from a stopped place a lot simpler and safer that missing one looks like an enormous miss.

Urtopia Carbon 1s is a wonderful entry from an bold firm. Their comparability to Tesla is greater than apt for his or her expertise push and too-necessary post-purchase add-ons.

Urtopia Carbon 1s is nice for paved surfaces and even terrain

Know-how lovers with deep pockets will discover quite a bit to like right here, however we won’t assist however surprise if a full LCD would have been higher.

It’s a notable bonus to have a less-distracting show exhibiting primary data, nevertheless it additionally limits the potential updates the bike may get later. That mentioned, our Apple Watch is greater than sufficient interface that maybe Urtopia may discover methods to utilize.

• Wonderful construct, minimal meeting
• Light-weight at 35 kilos
• Flip-by-turn instructions are nice on Smartbar
• Built-in 4G for monitoring, gyroscope for anti-theft notifications
• Minimalist show retains distractions down, however…

• Dot matrix show limits what the bike can do, or will ever do
• Should use built-in navigation for Smartbar flip arrows
• Low-wattage in motor makes it much less very best for hills
• No throttle makes ranging from stops tougher
• Voice management choice appears redundant with bodily controls
• Alarm system simply triggered by the proprietor
• Flip sign projectors are cool however do not appear sensible
• Charging for a kickstand is borderline felony
• Costly given the motor spec, although comprehensible on account of supplies in use

This can be a troublesome e-bike to grade. It is acquired an amazingly light-weight body and loads of tech, nevertheless it misses with its restricted matrix-dot show and weaker 350W motor. To not point out some particularly odd product choices — you, kickstand.

Positive, lots of the choices have been made within the identify of thin-and-light design, however what was sacrificed may have rounded out the Carbon 1s. In any case, a stronger motor would have gone a great distance.