Cowboy’s new all-terrain e-bike adds suspension and a much larger battery

Like many premium electric transportation, Cowboy electric bikes make short commutes easy, especially those involving hills or a lot of stop-and-go. His latest bike is an attempt to tackle another challenge: comfort. The Cowboy Cross is the company’s first “all-terrain” model with fatter, larger tires, seat suspension, inverted fork suspension, and a significantly larger battery for longer rides—or just fewer trips to the charger.

This is a significantly different offering from Cowboy, which previously targeted its products at European cities with established cycling communities and infrastructure. With the Cross, the addition of a rear rack fused to the frame and an extended range of 120km (under ideal conditions) mean it’s designed for more engaging journeys beyond a simple jaunt around your neighbourhood.

With that larger battery and suspension, the Cross ST weighs 26.5 kg – over 58 pounds – more than the company’s models and the C4, while the standard Cross is even heavier at 27.9 kg. This is a solid e-bike. Again, you can choose between stepped and stepped bezels, and the Cross will be available in three colors: dark green, dark brown, and black. They all have an almost satin finish, and the company has changed the paint it uses to make it more resistant to scratches and scuffs.

Compared to its predecessor, the Cross is much better equipped for curbs and the occasional bump in the road, resulting in a much smoother ride, which I immediately felt during a short test drive in central London. The e-bike shot curbs instead of the bouncing and shuddering I usually get on other e-bikes. This is again a single gear bike, with a carbon belt drive system and the suspension is split between an inverted fork suspension on the front wheel and seatpost suspension, both with 40mm of travel.

It’s easy to forget, thanks to the pedaling assistance you get, but electric bikes can be heavy – almost always heavier than their manual counterparts. So the suspension makes a lot of sense when you’re riding something that weighs well over 20 kilos. Otherwise the trip was very similar to . Adaptive power is also built in, ensuring the bike’s controls are simple and comparable to a standard bike. You simply apply the brakes and the bike will handle the acceleration and thrust.

Cowboy couldn’t help but tinker with its companion app, and these bikes will launch with new social aspects to your rides, adding league tables between groups of riders and incentives to push those pedals using your feet. (Sorry Cowboy, but I ride electric bikes to do this less). Fortunately, the built-in phone holder doubles as a wireless charger.

While I love Cross, I’m not sure about the mini-games in the app. Pedaling madly to meet your app goals in a place like London, where you might miss a junction, a cyclist or a runaway pram if you blink, just doesn’t seem sensible. Cowboy says it’s still working on ways to gamify your travels in a way that’s fun and not, well, that dangerous.

However, the addition of suspension and a larger battery cell also add to the price. The Cross will be available at an early bird price of £3,099 (just shy of $4,000) for a limited time and will eventually go up to £3,499 (almost $4,500). In mainland Europe, it will cost €3,500 at launch, rising to €4,000. You can order one now and the bikes will start shipping in late May or early June 2024.

No US pricing though, as the Cross won’t be heading to the US for now. The company says it continues to focus on the European market because it gets it all TechCrunch to you here – chasing yield. For some business context rival premium e-bike manufacturer VanMoof. However, the company still plans to launch its rides in the US. But only when it’s ready.