New Urtopia carbon e-bike boasts a 13kg weight and a host of innovative high-tech features

The Urtopia e-bike boasts a whole range of novel features to appeal to its target audience of urban commuters and recreational cyclists, including fingerprint unlocking and theft detection.

The design starts with a futuristic full-carbon frame, which dispenses with a conventional seat tube for a clean, stylish look. The fork, seatpost and handlebar are carbon too and all cables travel within the frame to keep things tidy and protected. The design also keeps the overall claimed weight below 30lb (13kg) - significantly less than most urban e-bikes, so it’s easy to carry upstairs. But despite the low weight and its unconventional appearance, the frame has passed rigorous mountain bike testing standards. 

The Urtopia bike uses a Gates Carbon Drive belt rather than having a conventional chain. It’s a popular choice for urban bikes as it avoids the need for maintenance and lubrication and helps to keep oil off the rider’s clothing. 

Power is provided by a rear hub electric motor, with five assistance levels available and a torque sensor to ensure smooth power delivery in tune with the rider’s pedalling input. There’s zero drag when the motor is switched off so the e-bike can be ridden more easily in unassisted mode. 

Urtopia uses a 360Wh Samsung battery in its design, with a claimed range of between 30-miles/50km and 80-miles/130km and recharging in 2.5-hours. It powers a 250w motor, with a power output similar to the majority of road-going e-bikes, which is usually plenty for start/stop riding and to assist with climbing hills.  

The motor’s power output is controlled via a built-in Smartbar, which features an LED dot matrix display on the handlebar, which also gives data on the e-bike’s status and provides assistance with navigation. The rider can interact with the Urtopia e-bike using voice control with two built-in wind cancelling microphones and a speaker system, so there’s no need to take the hands off the bars, adding a measure of extra safety.

The Urtopia e-bike includes Bluetooth, WiFi and 4G mobile, with an inbuilt eSIM card, allowing it to interact with the Urtopia smartphone app, so you can keep your phone out of harm’s way in a pocket or luggage. The inbuilt connectivity also allows over the air firmware updates, with Urtopia planning to enhance the e-bike’s functionality after launch.

There’s built-in GPS and a gyroscope, allowing navigation, trip recording and anti-theft tracking. Other security features include fingerprint unlocking of the e-bike, while a removable battery adds extra security and means you can take the battery somewhere convenient to recharge it. 

Also built into the Urtopia e-bike are mm-wave radar to alert the rider to approaching vehicles. That means that there’s less need to turn around and the rider is more alert to the traffic situation behind. The Urtopia e-bike also has front and rear lighting built in, with the front light complying with German StVZO anti-dazzle legislation, while there are also built-in turn indicators, again adding safety to the ride.

 Blue chip engineering team 

The team at Urtopia is led by engineers with PhDs from American Ivy League universities and MIT and its lead designer, Mathis Heller, has previously worked on BMW cars and Siemens ICE high speed trains. 

They’re driven by their shared interest in improving the e-bike experience and offering a healthier urban lifestyle and greener future, with their brand name Urtopia signifying New Urban Utopia. Urtopia’s aim is to build a technologically advanced e-bike that’s still affordable and promotes a greener, more efficient future without sacrificing comfort.

“The Urtopia carbon e-bike allows you to have a more efficient and sustainable way of travelling,” says Owen Zhang, CEO at New Urtopia Holdings HK Limited. “Combined with its high-tech and cool design, Urtopia aims at providing us with a new urban lifestyle that is cooler, greener, and healthier.”

 Funding campaign is now live 

Urtopia’s innovative e-bike has launched on Indiegogo and it’s already smashed its original funding goal, raising over $2.4 million by mid-December. Early backers get a 50 percent discount, bringing the price of the Urtopia e-bike down to $1,999/€1,999, with estimated shipping in February 2022. There are separate US, European and global versions available, tuned to be street legal in their different markets. The Urtopia e-bike is available in two sizes, to cater for riders from 5’ 5” (165cm) to 6’ 5” (195cm) and in three colour options.

Urtopia is based in Hong Kong with local support and distribution centres worldwide, including in the US, Canada, Germany, France and the UK. You can also see and test ride the Urtopia e-bike in Potsdam, Germany, with physical presence planned at more locations worldwide soon.

For more information, take a look at Urtopia’s website or contact support@newurtopia.com.