New to the fleet: Urtopia Carbon Fold ST e-bike

Last fall in my coffeeneuring challenge post, I wrote:

…my wife and I are talking seriously about getting a second e-bike. We bought our REI house-brand cargo e-bike on sale shortly after we moved here in summer 2022 and are just shy of 1,000 miles on it as of today. The bike is technically my wife’s, but I ride it often - it’s functionally our second car. A second one would mean we could go on rides together more easily and potentially reduce our car use even more. It’s fun to think about.

Well, late this spring, after many months of deliberating, and then starting a new job that got me commuting to an office again, I decided it was time to commit.

What I was looking for

• Power: I wanted a class 1 e-bike - pedal assist only, maxing out at 20 miles per hour. I don’t want a bike with a throttle and 20-ish miles an hour is plenty fast.
• Geometry: I was looking for a frame with an upright posture, step-through frame, and ability to have a rear rack for urban/utility riding - I needed to tote things and have better visibility in traffic, so the traditional bike frame shape wouldn’t do.
• Portability: I wanted to be able to easily put the bike in a car, just in case I needed to be dropped off or picked up at work or elsewhere.
• Weight: I wanted a bike less than 50 pounds (e-bikes are heavy - so this is actually a low threshold!) and didn’t want a bulky frame or fat tires.
• Reputation: did it have good reviews?
• Look: I didn’t want a bike that looks like a toy or a motorcycle.
• Cost: I didn’t want to spend much more than what we’d bought our REI e-bike for a few years ago.
• Rebate eligibility: Ideally, I was hoping to buy the bike at a Rhode Island bike shop so I could take advantage of Rhode Island’s Erika Niedowski E-bike Rebate program - which offers rebates up to $350 for e-bike purchases from Rhode Island bike shops.

A couple of frogs

First, I swung by my nearest e-bike dealer, Providence Bicycle, and perused the inventory. They had a lot of e-bikes, but they were all pretty bulky in size - big frames, big tires, and none near the low-ish weight threshold I was looking for. These bikes are cruisers - beefy e-bikes with throttles and a smooth ride. The equivalent of a two-wheeled SUV. I kept looking.

The first bike I took for a spin was a Tern Vektron at Mission Bicycles in the East Side of Providence. A friend had recommended the shop after I complimented their cargo e-bike. I really enjoyed chatting with the shop owner and the Tern test-rode extremely smoothly. But at over $3,000 the price point still felt too high - especially because our existing e-bike, which has exceeded all our expectations for quality, came in at about half that cost.

Finding Urtopia

I kept searching through Rhode Island bike shops’ inventory and spent some time on the website for Bristol Bikes, which carries a few different e-bike brands. The specs of the Urtopia folding bikes caught my eye, and the price was right - closer to what we paid for our other bike. I drove to Bristol and test rode a couple of models. The winner stood out: the Urtopia Carbon Fold ST (step-through). The next weekend, on our 8th wedding anniversary, my wife and I drove back to Bristol and bought it.

How it’s going

Last week was the 2-month mark of owning the bike, and I rolled over 260 miles on the bike’s odometer. I commute to work about 10 miles round trip on days that the weather allows, so the miles have added up quickly!

Many other folks have reviewed this bike, so I’ll offer my take.

Pros

• It is a zippy little thang! When I’m commuting I’m mostly in “tour” mode which is the mid-range assist. Hills aren’t an issue, and keeping pace with traffic is easy. This model has an optional throttle that you can add on, making it a Class 2 e-bike. I’ve left it off. The pedal assist does plenty.
• It’s a great size - not too bulky, not too heavy, and foldable in case I need to toss it in the back of a car.
• My wife and I have indeed gone on several bike rides - out to dinner, or just to take a spin - and it’s been delightful. Having 2 e-bikes has already saved us what would otherwise have been many small trips by car.
• I got the Rhode Island E-bike rebate! All told, it was a low lift. I applied online, answered a few questions from their friendly team via email, and got a check in the mail about 6 weeks later.
• Functionally, it’s hitting the spot. The battery is easy to detach/reattach for easy charging; the built-in fenders keep mud splatter off my shoes/clothes when I go to work; and I didn’t have to invest in spendy new accessories - it’s easy to lock up with a regular-degular U-lock, and I could attach my existing panniers to the rear rack.

Cons

• The battery life could be a little better. To be on the safe side, I charge after every commute day. I could probably get 20 miles on one charge if I used the “Eco” mode, but that just ain’t how I’m rolling.
• The handling is pretty sensitive - “touchous” as we say in the South. This is to be expected for a lightweight, carbon-frame bike, and it has taken some getting used to.
• Third thing yet to be identified?

E-bikes are great

I reckon I am going to end this post by reiterating that, as a former Hater™️, I am now fully on the e-bike train. I still love riding my analog bike, and when it comes to day-to-day utility rides or joyrides, the e-bike wins out most of the time.

I have spent a lot of my adult life trying to push against car-as-default for transportation, and seeing broad uptake of e-bikes really inspires me to think about what the future looks like. As I was wrapping up this post, I saw a thread from @JenWith1N on BlueSky:

”Dispatches from the big ebike event in Portland - the range of ages, abilities, and bike styles really emphasizes the transformative power of e-bikes. I saw someone biking in with a cane in her basket. Don’t let anybody tell you this isn’t a viable path to sustainable transportation. … Trikes, recumbents, cargo bikes with kids and dogs. Bikes and setups for nearly every possibility.”