BULLS URBAN EVO 10 Review

To run the forums, host the website, and travel, I charge a universal service fee for my reviews. This in-depth review was sponsored by BULLS North America. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased with you, this video and writeup are not meant to be an endorsement of BULLS products. I welcome your corrections, additions, and feedback in the comments below and the BULLS electric bike forums.

Pros:

• A speedy and almost luxury sporty commuter ebike from BULLS, highlighted by features like a 4th Generation Bosch motor, 28mph top speed, comfort touch-points, reliable electric and mechanical drivetrain, and a premium feel
• As a speed pedelec bike, you can get to your destination faster, where as some ebikes allow for 15 or 20mph top speed, you can bolt past them at an amazing 28mph, this does so with a natural pedaling and torque feel rather than feeling like a scooter which some other 28mph bikes do, so this keeps you active and healthy as well
• Comes in four different frame styles, however, this is for the European market, we may only get two styles here, I was able to test out the high-step and their step-through (which is really more of a mid-step), these two will be available here in the US and they both felt great so it really comes down to the style that fits you best when choosing
• This bike has a 31.6mm seat post, so if you were looking to add more comfort to the ride setup, you could get an aftermarket suspension seat post like a Kinekt or SR SunTour NCX seat post to give the ride more cushion for longer more sustained rides
• As I mentioned, the bike has a quality almost luxury type feel with elements like the soft and comfortable ergonomic saddle, sand-paper style grip taped platform pedals, as well as the ergonomic stitched faux leather grips, definitely nice touch points and I love that they are color-matched to offset the great all blacked out color you see on this bike
• In the rear there is a hang style rack, this is different than a traditional platform style rack since it is really only meant for hanging, there are pannier provisions as well as the capability to add pannier blockers, the rack is sleek and minimalist, however, if it is not your style, you can swap it out quite easily for a different rack of your choice
• Check out these extra long aluminum alloy fenders, these are about 16mm wide and have just a tiny bit of extra length so it is more likely to keep you dry when going over puddles or riding in the rain, aluminum alloy is also great since they don’t scratch and rust like steel fenders do, so it will keep that all black paint looking great
• I love the battery integrated lights here, they have them both in the front and the rear, the front is a Supernova light with aluminum housing that points where you steer, while the rear is a bright triple LED setup, safety has always been a priority for myself and other cyclists, so it’s nice to see that more and more companies are including these on ebikes
• For tires, you have an efficient yet all purpose set of 28” x 2” tires, like the tread, the higher air volume is also somewhat setup for all purpose use, although most comfortable on the road, I was able to take it on some grass and leaves and it did great, a nice and capable setup
• The tires here have both puncture protection and reflective sidewalls, as a big fan of safety and convince, having both means visibility for riding at dusk or dawn as well as peace of mind against potential threats to your tires
• Here at Electric Bike Review, we are big fans of bottle cage bosses, I am happy to say that they are here on this bike and that is a great addition for a lot of reasons, you can fit a number of accessories on them, not just water bottles, there are aftermarket add-ons like a GPS tracker, a folding lock, mounting points for racks, and many others that can get your bike setup just the way you want
• The Urban EVO 10 also includes a kickstand in the rear, it is nice to have it back there since having it near the crank arm can produce ‘pedal lock’; an annoying occurrence that locks the pedals when you reverse a bike with the kickstand down, luckily, this bike eliminates that by having it positioned further back
• The bike has a nice slap guard on the chain stay, this keeps the frame as well as the paint in great shape since chains can sometimes bounce on the frame an knick the paint, it can be down hill from there since the chips look bad and can rust, but thankfully, this slap guard prevents that from happening
• I should also mention that it has a quick release setup in both the front and rear wheels, this is great for maintenance like changing a flat tire or truing a wheel, since it is easy to get the wheels on and off, it also makes for great portability if you are loading it into the trunk of a car or other storage considerations
• BULLS will often use this Monkey Link setup, a clean and impressive magnetic way to attach accessories to your ride, this bike is compatible more with the Monkey Link water bottle if you wanted to add one, but not so much with the Monkey Link lights since battery integrated lights are already present
• Mechanically, the bike uses a 10 speed Shimano Deore system with a Shadow + Clutch, a 44 tooth chain ring in the front with a narrow-wide teeth pattern, and trigger shifters, a lot of this is covered really well with both a bash guard and a chain protector, if you get those panniers on the back rack, then the entire system is pretty well covered while keeping your clothes free of snags as well
• Stopping the bike is a powerful set of Shimano hydraulic disc brakes, hydraulic disc brakes are my favorite since they need less maintenance than mechanical disc brakes and they offer more responsive breaking power with less hand strain, this bike uses a staggered setup with a 180mm rotor in the front and 160mm rotor in the rear, having that larger rotor in the front is ideal since the front wheel takes the brunt of the stopping force
• Driven by a 4th generation version of the Bosch Performance Line Speed, this motor is now 2.5lbs lighter and more compact, it offers 75nm of torque, but still maintains that smooth and quiet feel that measures pedal torque and pedal cadence over 1000x per second, as well as implementing shift detection
• Another upgrade to the Bosch Performance Line speed is the standard sprocket size, in the past, they used a proprietary smaller sprocket, but now on this bike, they have a standard 44 tooth chain ring with a 1:1 ratio with cadence support now over 120rpms, in layman’s terms, this means you can pedal and spin the cranks faster and there is now no reduction gearing to give you a dragging feeling
• Powered by the Bosch PowerTube battery, this one is 625 watt hours, I would almost call this high-capacity, I love that BULLS is leading the way and making the setup more standardized across the line like the older Bosch PowerPacks were, this one is 36v 17.4ah and has a LED charge level indicator readout
• Charging is done with Bosch’s 1.7lb 4amp portable battery charger, this is much faster at charging than some of the 2amp chargers you sometimes see out there, I love that BULLS not only included a charging port cover on the frame, but they also moved the port up high so the crank arm doesn’t get in the way and you don’t have to bend down much at all now to get to the charger
• I should also mention the battery is secured via lock and key with an ABUS key card, so you can get matching keys made for other locks on the bike and essentially just have one key to rule them all, really a convent setup since you don’t have to fish around for the right key if you are in a hurry or out in the cold
• Bosch Purion is the display utilized here, it is compact, out of the way, easy to read, and has most of the metrics as a readout anyone might want, I love how straight forward and intuitive it is, it may be their more basic display, but it is still better than many other companies and bears the reliability of the Bosch name well

Cons:

• The Purion display is nice and easy to ready, however, it is not color, nor does it have a more accurate battery percentage readout, newer bikes are ditching the battery infographic that only shows how much battery you have in chunks to go with a percentage readout so you know exactly how much you have left, the USB on here also does not charge but is only meant for diagnostics, the display is good, just getting long in the tooth at this point in time
• Although the bike is high-quality and fitted with many brand name components, the price could be a factor for some people, there are a lot of cheap options out there these days and this bike does fantastic to set itself apart from them, but for many, that $4,699 price will be a big determining factor in what bike they choose
• The flat handlebar setup may not be for everyone, these give you an agile feel, but it is also somewhat aggressive with a forward riding geometry, if you are looking for a comfortable riding position or something akin to a cruiser ebike, this may not meet your needs
• A lot of commuter ebikes are going with a front suspension setup, this bike does not have one, it is a bit of a shame too, since the price point is a little higher and the quality throughout is nice, however, they opted not to include one which is a bummer seeing how much these can help in cracks and dips in the road
• In addition to the flat handlebars and lack of suspension fork, there is no suspension seat post either, as mentioned this is a typical upgrade for most bikes, and I recommend if you are wanting a little more comfort you grab an aftermarket one for this bike, but again, there is no suspension of any kind included with the price, so keep that in mind
• So yes, the bike is stiff, some people like the agile, sporty, and lightweight feel, and don’t get me wrong, it is befitting on fast bikes like this, it gives it a responsive ‘sports-car’ like feel through and through, this is perfect for some riders, just keep in mind if this does not excite you, you will notice the stiff feeling
• Minor gripe here, but the included rear rack has no platform, it is really only good for hanging bags, which to be honest, is what most people use racks for, I just think it is nice to have a platform to load stuff up on if you don’t have a bag that will fit the cargo, luckily here, you can swap out the rack for a different one if you so desire

Useful Resources:

• Official BULLS North America website
• Bosch Purion display panel overview
• Bosch 4th Gen Motors (including the Performance Line Speed)
• Fazua motor on a different model of BULLS ebike for comparison vs. Bosch