Cowboy upgrades its e-bike with a carbon belt and puncture-resistant tires

Brussels-based startup Cowboy launched its first e-bike last year, solving the tech’s ongoing battle between form and function with its unique removable battery. Now it’s had an upgrade. The Cowboy 3 comes with a bunch of new hardware features designed to make e-bike commuting easier and more stylish, while still touting a sleek removable battery built into its frame.

First up, there’s a new carbon belt (no oily chain, as per), this time provided by transmission supplier Gates. This is a well-known brand, so bike shops should be able to maintain the belt more easily. Cowboy says it’s good for 30,000 kilometers, compared to the original bike’s 15,000. The gears have also been tweaked, with a lower gear ratio making it easier to get up hills, and puncture-resistant tires have been introduced. The trim has been given an upgrade, and the bike is now available in three colorways — absolute black and two shades of grey: anthracite and mineral.

The accompanying app also comes with some new features: auto-unlock, air quality monitoring and crash detection. If you’re in an accident, the bike’s sensor will detect the fall and the app will send an alert to check in. If you don’t respond, your emergency contact will be notified. There’s also a theft detection function, which will notify you any time your bike is moved by someone else. These features will also be available to Cowboy 2 owners, and will go live over June and July.

It’s a modest upgrade, all told – arguably the new software features are a bigger standout — but it does bring improvements to what is already a pretty great e-bike. At £1,990 (around $2,495) the Cowboy 3 comes with a small price bump, but that’s value reflected in its improved repairability, a key issue with start-up e-bike companies that don’t always usual traditional components from major brands.