The future on two wheels – Reviewing the Cyklaer E-Urban and its digital rear-view mirror

With Storck, FAZUA and Porsche Digital joining forces for the development, a lot of know-how has gone into making the Cyklaer E-Urban. The result is an ebike packed with exciting tech, such as a digital rear-view mirror. Are they onto something or is it a case of less being more? We put it to the test to find out!

It’s immediately apparent that the E-Urban is no ordinary bike. The carbon frame with its sporty look and unconventional bend in the top tube was designed by Storck bikes and contributes significantly to the low weight of just 15.3 kg for the complete bike – despite being equipped with mudguards, lights, and a luggage rack. FAZUA’s RIDE 50 TRAIL motor is lightweight, too, though it offers a decent power output of 58 Nm. A unique feature of this system – which is not available with the newest RIDE 60 version – is that the entire drive unit, including the motor and 250 Wh battery can be removed from the down tube, leaving just the bottom bracket in place. Doing so turns the ebike into a regular bike and saves an additional 3 kg in weight. That said, we recommend leaving the drive unit in the bike because that’s the only way you can benefit from all its smart features! And these are what makes the Cyklaer E-Urban so unique: a digital rear-view mirror, dashcam, on-board navigation and GPS tracking with anti-theft protection, to name just a few of the functions available in the Cyklaer smartphone app. To thank for this are none other than Porsche Digital, Porsche AG’s digital offshoot.

The Cyklaer app turns the E-Urban into a smart bike

The software has been entirely outsourced to the smartphone for good reasons. In terms of the responsiveness, computing power, connectivity and display, you’ll be hard-pushed to find another device that can keep up with modern smatphones – especially since almost everyone always has one in their pocket anyway. Your smartphone gets placed centrally on the stem, providing an optimal view of the screen. Moreover, the mount doubles as an inductive charging station. That’s a good thing because having the display constantly switched on will empty your smartphone battery faster than you would like. Cyklaer have chosen to rely on the SP Connect fastening system, which offers numerous matching smartphone cases. You will also find a suitable rain cover to protect your smartphone from wet weather.

Although there is little to complain about regarding the functionality of the smartphone mount, the integration on the bike isn’t the neatest. Ultimately, it’s an attached accessory that can’t quite match the looks of such a stylish bike. The same applies to the front and rear cameras, which also seem like a bit of an afterthought. In this case, we would have liked a much more seamless integration – especially since they put in so much effort elsewhere on the bike, as with the internally routed brake lines, entering the frame via the one-piece handlebar and stem.

Fortunately, you can’t see any of the above-mentioned criticisms when you’re on the bike, allowing you to focus entirely on the app. The user interface provides a clear overview and is easy to operate thanks to large buttons, responding as fluidly as you’ve come to expect from your smartphone. On the left, you can keep an eye on your speed, range and battery level. In the main area, there are three tabs for the navigation, music and camera functions. The cameras are the highlight of the Cyklaer, as they provide a real-time view of what is happening in front of and especially behind the bike. While the function of the front camera resembles a dashcam, allowing you to film your ride, the rear camera functions as a digital rear-view mirror. You get an ultra-wide-angle image of everything that’s going on behind you. We were also struck by the high quality of the image, not just delivering in bright sunshine, but also in poor light conditions and even at night. You’ll still have to peek over your shoulder before turning, but it makes you feel significantly safer on the bike nonetheless!

Some of the features mentioned, such as GPS tracking, are exclusive to the Pro version of the app, for which you’ll have to pay a monthly fee of € 7,99 after one year. This also lets you control music services such as Apple Music and enables the integration of Apple’s Health app. And while we’re on the topic, we must point out that the Cyklaer app is currently reserved for iPhones, so Android users will have to wait a little longer.

The hardware is high-tech too – Carbon fibre and electronic shifting

Can the bike’s hardware keep up with such advanced software? Indeed, it can! The E-Urban is specced with almost all that is good (and expensive). There is the electronic SRAM AXS eTap drivetrain, which is connected to wireless controls on the cockpit and offers precise and lightning-quick shifting. The range of the 12-speed derailleur and 10–36 t cassette is configured for high speeds on flat topography rather than easy climbing. Fortunately, the powerful FAZUA motor kicks in here, providing both quiet and natural feeling support with minimal delay. There are three support modes to choose from, which can be freely customised to suit your preferences via the FAZUA app.

The FAZUA app also allows you to control the motor itself, which you can’t do with the Cyklaer app, as it only displays the current riding data. You might find it incomprehensible why the digital Cyklaer cockpit can’t perform such basic functions, however, in practice, this lack of functionality isn’t nearly as inconvenient as it seems since the bike has an easy-to-use remote on the top tube, allowing you to select the support mode and check the battery level. The big advantage of this is that if you forget your smartphone, you can still ride the Cyklaer! If you want to go completely analogue, you can simply remove the entire drive unit, though this also means there’s no power supply for the cameras or lights.

However, this lighting system isn’t much to write home about compared to the other components. The Busch & Müller IQ-XS headlight is sufficiently bright, as is the compact Busch & Müller µ taillight, but the latter is mounted on the brake calliper and thus not clearly visible from both sides. Moreover, with so much high-tech, you would expect modern functions such as a high beam or a brake light, but neither is available, unfortunately.

The design of the rear mudguard is somewhat unusual, only beginning at the rack and thus leaving the area towards the seat tube unprotected. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) we couldn’t test whether you’ll stay dry in wet conditions.

Need for speed – The E-Urban is not for leisurely Sunday rides

Once it’s got going, the E-Urban proves to be an incredibly sporty bike. Thanks to the bike’s low weight and short wheelbase, it’s very agile and manoeuvrable. It’s so short, that you’ve got to be careful of your feet getting in the way of the front wheel when navigating tight corners, which is what’s referred to as toe overlap. Thanks to this sporty geometry, the bike’s handling is extremely direct and precise. However, the flip side of this is a certain amount of nervousness, which is rather unusual on a bike designed for urban use. The reason behind this is in Cyklaer’s platform strategy: this frame also gets used as the basis for a thoroughbred gravel bike and a randonneuring bike derived from that, both with a drop-bar handlebar. As such, the frame geometry is designed for sportiness rather than comfort. Or would this be the influence of the German sports car manufacturer?

The geometry of the Cyklaer E-Urban

Size	S	M	L	XL
Top tube	540 mm	550 mm	571 mm	593 mm
Seat tube	460 mm	490 mm	520 mm	550 mm
Head tube	160 mm	160 mm	167 mm	175 mm
Head angle	72.5°	72.5°	72.5°	72.5°
Seat angle	72.5°	72.5°	72.5°	72.5°
Chainstays	430 mm	430 mm	430 mm	430 mm
Reach	355 mm	365 mm	384 mm	404 mm
Stack	585 mm	585 mm	591 mm	599 mm

However, the extensive use of carbon fibre for the frame, fork, seat post and one-piece stem/handlebar ensures that ride comfort isn’t entirely neglected. Besides being light, the material also offers good compliance and damping properties. Additionally, the 40 mm wide Schwalbe G-One Allround tires also help dampen irregularities.

THE bike for digital natives? – Our conclusion on the Cyklaer E-Urban

The Cyklaer E-Urban shows what the future of connected biking might hold: using the smartphone as an interface opens up new possibilities for modern ebikes! The bike itself won us over with its low weight, powerful motor and cool look. And although the communication between the bike and software leaves room for improvement, Cyklaer have made a successful debut. It’s not just techies that get their money’s worth here – even though € 7,299 is quite a lot of it!

Who is and isn’t this bike for?

• app features address early adopters and digital natives
• for sporty riders
• Android users aren’t catered to
• if you prefer leaving your smartphone at home, you’ll be happier with other concepts

Words: Oliver Gibler Photos: Benjamin Topf