GROUP TEST E-BIKESCowboy 3 Price £1990 / stuff.tv/Cowboy3
STUFF SAYS The third-gen Cowboy is a worthy upgrade on its predecessor ★★★★★
BEST FOR
COOL
COMMUTES84
What’s the story?
We were big fans of the
original Cowboy and its
VanMoof-rivalling specs.
The new model doesn’t try
to reinvent the bike wheel,
and in fact looks virtually
identical, but it does add a
new carbon-belt transmission
with a lower gear ratio for
faster starts, and an overhauled
app with new features.
The 43-mile range, built-in
app-controlled lights, smart
tracking and anti-theft tech
make this bike from Belgium
a true commuter contender.Is it any good?
The Cowboy 3 certainly looks
the part and rides like a dream.
It’s also the lightest e-bike on
test, weighing in at under 17kg.
A removable 360Wh battery
built into the frame somehow
sticks to the bike’s clean
lines and makes charging
easier too, going from flat
to full in 3.5 hours.
Cowboy wanted to address
the issue of smoothness with
its third-gen model, and the
addition of that carbon-belt
transmission certainly makes
a difference: it will have yougliding around town like you’re
on an airport travelator.
Grippy, puncture-resistant
42mm tyres mean that,
although this is very much
a road bike, towpaths and
lighter trails aren’t out of the
question – and don’t worry
if you’re not back before dark,
because the lights can be
turned on with a tap.
Cowboy’s previous app was
a bit basic and it’s been given
a serious overhaul. Automatic
unlocking, a traffic-beating
bike nav, a live stats dashboard
and an air-quality gauge areall present, as is a triple-pillar
‘Find My Bike’, ‘Theft Alert’
and ‘Theft Insurance’ security
system – though at the time of
our testing, the final two were
still to be implemented.
The VanMoof might just
edge things on price, but for
performance there’s little to
split the pair.Key specs
● 360Wh battery
● Up to 43 miles
● 250W rear-wheel motor
● 3.5hrs to charge
● Aluminium frame, 16.7kgFortune aided
If the bike detects
an accident, it’ll
make sure you’re
alright and alert an
emergency contact
if necessary.Peace cells
The Cowboy’s
elongated battery
is heavy at 2.4kg,
but you should still
fit a spare in a
backpack.