Austrian e-bike maker Esel is bringing its beautiful ash wooden frames to the town for the primary time with the brand new eUrban. The mannequin launches with three worldwide design awards already on the shelf – together with the German Design Award 2026 – and two builds geared toward riders who need one thing totally different from the carbon-and-aluminum mainstream.
The corporate was based in 2016 in Traun, Higher Austria, by Christoph Fraundorfer, an architect standing 1.95 m (6.4 ft) tall who could not discover a bicycle that match him. That architect’s intuition formed a design constructed on the concept construction, proportion, and function belong collectively, and the body ought to reply all three directly. He turned to wooden. The eUrban is esel’s clearest assertion but that it’s completed being a boutique curiosity and able to compete.
Esel
The body makes use of what Esel calls its Hole Tec Wooden Body – a hole ash construction CNC-machined for precision, then hand-laminated and pressed layer by layer. Other than the interesting appears to be like, the bike’s most important promoting level is vibration absorption. Ash wooden damps the micro-vibrations of tough city pavement in a manner aluminum and metal cannot match with out additional engineering. Riders who’ve used Esel bikes for every day commuting constantly describe the experience as unusually easy and quiet.
The apparent concern is climate. Esel protects the body from moisture and UV rays with a marine-grade multi-layer end, the identical sort of coating used on boat hulls. Riders on earlier fashions with the identical construct report no weather-related issues, so long as the floor stays intact. And in contrast to carbon fiber, which might crack all of a sudden and with out warning, a picket body will be repaired and restored.
Esel
The repairability argument is a real lifecycle benefit, not merely a sentimental protection of craft. That stated, some skilled cyclists have famous that the body’s squared-off edges add pointless weight and that development relies upon nearly fully on industrial adhesives quite than conventional wooden joinery. Truthful factors for a product nonetheless discovering its industrial stride.
The drivetrain of the eUrban is a 42-Nm (31-lb.ft), 36-V rear-hub motor, sitting contained in the rear wheel to maintain the body clear. The usual battery is 350 Wh, with a 250-Wh possibility additionally out there. Esel estimates round 80 km (50 miles) of vary per cost of the usual battery and a full top-up in 4 hours.
The eUrban is available in two variations. The Fundamental weighs 18.5 kg (40.8 lb) and runs 28-inch aluminum wheels, a Shimano Deore 1×10 drivetrain, and an aluminum seatpost. The Efficiency trims that all the way down to 16.5 kg (36.4 lb) by way of carbon wheels, a PRO Uncover Carbon seatpost, and a Shimano Deore XT 1×11 groupset. The ash body, motor, and geometry are equivalent throughout each, and every mannequin variant shares componentry such because the carbon fork, Shimano MT410 two-piston hydraulic brakes, and Schwalbe G-ONE 45-662 tires.
Esel
With the Fundamental priced at €3,990 (about US$4,700) and the Efficiency at €4,990 (somewhat below US$6k), the eUrban competes in opposition to well-established high-end carbon and aluminum brands. The launch additionally marks a milestone for Esel, which lately rebranded from My Esel as a part of a push towards the worldwide premium market – one which now spans 5 classes: Highway, Tour, Mountain, Gravel, and City.
Three design awards will not transfer models on their very own. However they affirm that Esel’s case for wooden is being heard. A renewable, repairable, naturally dampening body that may outlast carbon on the restore bench deserves a severe place within the supplies dialog. The subsequent take a look at is whether or not sufficient patrons pays practically 5 thousand euros to sit down on it.
Product web page: eSel eUrban
