User-friendliness seems to be the order of the day with Riese & Muller’s new Urban Line. The German brand is promising intuitive, low maintenance e-bikes designed for everyday urban living and will offer a choice of ‘touring’, ‘silent’ and single-speed versions.
Riese & Muller is perhaps best-known for its high-end e-cargo bikes, such as the Load 75, which features in our guide to the best e-cargo bikes currently on the market.
Their range is broader than that though, spanning everything from sophisticated touring e-bikes like the Homage GX to electric folding bikes.
The Urban Line sees the manufacturer switch from Bosch motors to the Fazua Ride 60 system.
"Urban mobility is undergoing a major transformation,” said the firm’s head of innovation strategy, Markus Papke. “People want to be able to travel quickly and flexibly on short urban routes and also get even more connectivity with their e-bikes.
“We began designing our new Urban Line with these needs in mind and are now showing what urban premium e-bikes of the future will be like: lightweight, agile and fully connected.
“One of the most important things for us was to have a riding style that feels very natural. That's why we opted for the new Fazua Ride 60 drive system."
The first two bikes in the range are the UBN Five and UBN Seven, the former boasting a conventional frame and the latter a step-through design.
The Fazua system is lightweight and low profile and keeps the bikes’ weight down to around 18kg. It provides 60Nm of torque and comes with a removable 430Wh battery integrated into the down tube.
Riese & Muller reckons the system provides “just the right level of assistance” for urban riding with low drag when riding with the motor off.
The bikes also feature an integrated Supernova Mini2 headlight and a port in the stem to connect a smartphone, which can be charged by USB-C.
You can also connect by Bluetooth with ride data, statistics, safety and security features available through the new RX Connect app.
Urban Line bikes are available as touring bikes (Shimano Deore Shadow+, 11-speed), as ‘silent’ versions (Shimano Alfine, 8-speed) and as single-speeds.
Prices start from £4,629.
