Cowboy’s first all-road electric bike is a gentle beast

Cowboy — the independent and financially healthy maker of sophisticated and highly advanced e-bikes — just took the wraps off its first all-roader that lets riders more easily escape cobblestoned city streets for greener pastures.

To do that, Cowboy’s new Cross e-bike features fatter 60mm tires and suspension systems built into the front fork and seat post to soak up bumps along the way. It’s also fitted with grippier pedals to avoid foot slips when bouncing around, a large 540Wh removable battery for a 120km (75 miles) max range, and an integrated rear rack to carry more stuff.

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Inverted front fork suspension.

Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

I spent some time test riding the Cross e-bike on a variety of surfaces, and it’s truly a beast in all the best possible ways. To start, the seat suspension is plush and something I hope Cowboy carries over to the rest of its lineup. The inverted front fork suspension and wider tires also did their job, making this (very) heavy 27.9kg / 62lbs e-bike feel absolutely solid on pavement, packed dirt, and gravel. Make no mistake, I wouldn’t want a Cross for my next multiday bikepacking trip, but it can easily transition from city bike to casual rural adventurer.

These bikes also look great, in my opinion. The three new metallic satin paint colors are earthy in hue, including a sedate dark gray, a lovely mossy green, and a “mushroom” color that seemed to change from a dirty silver to a muted purple to a rusty champagne gold as the light changed. The top tube on the step-over frame also creates an interesting floating effect as it splits around the battery.

Otherwise, this pedal-assisted e-bike — available in both a step-over or step-through frame — is powered by a belt-driven 250W rear-hub adaptive-power motor with an EU max speed of 25km/h, like Cowboy’s other e-bikes.

Cross is also Cowboy’s first e-bike to feature a new Check My Bike self-diagnostic tool that lets the company automatically monitor the health of its rolling computers with the intent of keeping riders on the road longer. The company is also adding a new Live Challenges gamification feature to the app that promises to create “the most fun and engaging ride experience.” Sure.

All of these features join a number of tech embellishments Cowboy is known for, like crash detection, theft detection, and an excellent proprietary app with integrated Google Maps navigation that also makes scheduling service a breeze.

At launch, Cowboy is pricing Cross at €3,499 (about $3,800) before it eventually rises to €3,999. Sales start today.

Update March 20th, 3:20AM ET: Added weight of this big boi.

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