Cowboy Cruiser Review

Is AdaptivePower the bike’s real superpower?

By Sjoerd Reitsma

August 30^th, 2024

I used to ride a VanMoof for many years, but when the company went bankrupt last year, many riders, myself included, wondered, “What now?” Although VanMoof is back, they haven’t released any new bikes yet. So, it’s the perfect time to explore other brands, starting with Cowboy.

COWBOY

Cowboy have been building their brand since 2017 and want to enable people to move through cities in a better way. Their latest ebike, the Cruiser, is an evolution of the Cowboy 4, now rebranded as the Cowboy Classic.

“The bike is still one of the greatest human inventions. And when it comes to traveling short distances, they are two times faster and thirty times cleaner than cars. If we could get cities to be car free, it would have a huge impact on the planet.”

DESIGN

Cowboy bikes are known for their minimalist design, with very few visible cables, integrated lights, and a removable battery.

I find the battery design particularly impressive. Unlike competitors, who often position the battery under the luggage rack or near the pedals, Cowboy places it at the back of the bike, integrating the rear light into it. This makes for a very convenient place to take out the battery once you’ve parked the bike.

Cowboy bikes traditionally offer a sporty (Cowboy calls this 'active') riding position. In contrast, the Cruiser model introduces a more upright, Dutch-style posture ('relaxed'), enhancing both comfort and road visibility. It's still pretty sporty, but you can definitely ride longer distances this way.

The handlebars are now raised and curved to promote a natural hand position, while the new ‘comfort’ grips feel very nice while riding and leaning on them. Additionally, the saddle has been widened and designed with a larger seating surface for improved comfort.

All Cowboy bikes come equipped with a belt drive, which significantly reduces maintenance and provides a smoother riding experience.

DASHBOARD

The cockpit area on the handle bar is noteworthy. It features a Quad Lock mount for your smartphone, along with indicator lights that show whether the Cruiser is on or off and how much battery life remains when your phone isn’t docked.

Attaching your phone to the mount requires a circular motion, which can take some practice—I still haven’t quite mastered it after a week of riding. However, once your phone is securely in place, the bike automatically charges it, a great feature for long rides where you might rely on your phone for metrics or navigation.

The Cowboy app is very nice but has a few shortcomings. The interface is sleek and oozes quality, but some essential features are a bit hidden, which might be intentional but seems unnecessary to me. For example, you can’t view your bike’s battery percentage while riding, and accessing your ride history requires some scrolling.

Additionally, you can’t pause a ride if you need to make a quick stop; locking the bike ends the ride, and unlocking it starts a new one.

On the positive side, the app integrates well with Google Maps, displaying how much battery you’ll have left when you reach your destination. Live weather alerts before you leave the house are pretty nice as well.

RIDING

Now the most important question, how is the riding experience? Well, very smooth i must say. The bike features a torque sensor that delivers a natural riding experience by adjusting the power based on your pedaling effort. Pedal harder, and it provides more power; pedal more gently, and the sensor reduces the assistance. There’s no need to worry about changing gears—the bike handles that automatically.

Furthermore, the most premium Cowboy bikes come equipped with a feature called ‘AdaptivePower.’ Recently upgraded to an enhanced 2.0 algorithm, AdaptivePower uses the sensors and motor controller to determine when you need extra power. It delivers more assistance when tackling steep hills or facing strong winds, and reduces it when the weather is favorable, and the terrain is flat. This ensures a consistently smooth ride, without the need to manually adjust support modes to conserve battery on longer trips. With AdaptivePower, the bike seamlessly adapts to your surroundings, taking care of everything for you.

The Cruiser comes in 2 base colours, Black and Sand.

The Sand colour feels more premium to me, but scratches appear to be more noticeable.

Black seems the way to go 😎

During the season there are limited edition releases like Fig and Mint. The Mint looks very nice!

VERDICT

The Cowboy Cruiser stands out as a strong contender for those seeking an alternative to the now-revived but still silent VanMoof. With its minimalist design, thoughtful ergonomics, and advanced features like the AdaptivePower system, Cowboy has designed a bike that seamlessly blends style and practicality.

The Cruiser offers a smooth and natural riding experience, thanks to its torque sensor and belt drive, while the upright posture and comfort-oriented design make it suitable for longer journeys.

One of the standout features for me, especially when compared to VanMoof, is the removable battery, which adds a lot of convenience without sacrificing the design. For someone living in a second-floor apartment like me, not having to carry a bike up the stairs every time is a game changer.

Cowboy also seems to excel in the software department, regularly pushing updates to enhance the bike’s functionality. These updates range from minor but meaningful changes, like a refreshed look for the metrics screen, to significant feature improvements like AdaptivePower 2.0. This gives users confidence that any software issues could be addressed in future updates. During my testing, I did notice frequent theft alerts, even when the bike hadn’t been moved. It would be great if Cowboy could fine-tune this feature in the future.

Overall the Cowboy Cruiser is a strong contender in the e-bike market, especially for those who, like me, are looking for a reliable and stylish alternative to VanMoof. The Cruiser seems like a worthy option for urban riders looking to move through the city with ease and elegance.