34 | Cycling World
E-bike Review by Simon Postgate
Urban Arrow Family
When I first clapped eyes on the Urban Arrow Family I was immediately impressed by what a handsome , sturdy-looking machine it was , particularly in its black livery . In fact , the words that came to mind were “ purposeful and well thought-out ”
£ 4,385
If you ’ re going to transport children , where do you want them ? Where you can see them and talk to them if possible ; there ’ s nothing like a description of the passing scenery from Mum or Dad , a game of I-spy or even a song to cheer things along and when a reassuring word is needed . On the Arrow you ’ re right behind them . The compartment provides a padded bench seat with harness straps for two youngsters with the possibility of adding a child seat . It ’ s surrounded with protective foam with tough-looking tubing around the top , the sort of thing you want in case of a bump . With options for metamorphosis , the Arrow is also a very useful delivery / cargo bike . The Urban Arrow is propelled by a 250w Bosch motor with a 500Wh Li-ION battery coupled to a NuVinci Stepless gear drive which means that gear changing is taken care of by twisting a band on the right handlebar . It ’ s a simple , fairly intuitive procedure well suited to this kind of machine . The motor is the new state of art Bosch CX with 75nm of torque , handy for upward inclines .
So what does it feel like to ride ? Well , as a cargo bike novice it took me a few minutes to get used to the different dynamics of a machine like this but after that , pas du problem ! You can bop along in grand style , the upright stance perfect for taking in your surroundings and , when it comes to a hill , the stepless gearing and motor are well set up to get you to the top . This also applies to load situations as I made sure I tried the bike with an appropriate cargo in the form of the lovely
Alice from the Cycling World office who found the trip enjoyable and fun ( at least , that ’ s what she told me ). The Editor ’ s wife also used it to cart around their young son who even manged to fall asleep in it ! Of course , I wouldn ’ t nurse aspirations connected with too much speed as this bike is set up for a reasonably sedate pace but that wouldn ’ t be sensible in the first place . And when you come to a stop you can pull the 43kg bike up onto its stand and back off again with perfect trouble-free ease : excellent !
So , any quibbles ? Erm ... not much ; personally I would put a suspension seat post on , to keep the bumps at bay , possibly something like Suntour ’ s excellent SP12 NCX and indicators , the reason being that , with this type of machine , in certain situations I ’ d prefer to keep both hands on the handlebar and also for night riding it makes sense . Perhaps the manufacturer could consider adding high quality super bright blinkers as an option .
There are already lots of options for the Urban Arrow including the possibility of having it as a cargo bike for transportation or business with your company logo stuck on the side ; how cool is that ? You can add a rain cover to keep your tots dry and another other goodies .
Worth serious consideration as a form of transport ? It ’ s certainly a quality piece of kit that should last very well if looked after . If you have a young family and can faction in transport like this it could be a total game-changer !