IN BRIEF
At Eurobike 2026, German brand Hepha unveiled the Urban X, an electric city bike concept. Its 560 Wh battery recovers 80% of its charge in fifteen minutes at a charging station, much like an electric car. The bike is ridden simply by pedalling: its eCVT mid-drive motor does away with gears and brakes electrically. Hepha adds an anti-theft arsenal — a lock built into the hub, an alarm, a GPS tracker and free replacement if the bike is stolen. Announced for 2028, the Urban X remains a technology showcase for now, with no price announced.
| Model | Hepha Urban X (concept bike) |
| Type | Electric city bike |
| Motor | eCVT mid-drive (co-developed with Gobao), 250 W, peaks at 1,000 W |
| Transmission | Integrated gearbox, belt drive, 400% range |
| Assistance speed | Limited to 25 km/h (European regulations) |
| Battery | 560 Wh, housed under the saddle |
| Charging | Ultra-fast, 30 A (1,500 W) — 80% in 15 minutes |
| Security | 2lock hub lock, 3-level alarm, app-based immobiliser, GPS tracker |
| Availability | Concept; market launch targeted for 2028 |
| Price | Not announced |
On the Hepha stand at Eurobike 2026 in Frankfurt, a white bike sits next to a charging station. Not a cable in sight, no derailleur, barely two levers on the handlebars. The Urban X, which the German brand is presenting as a concept, pushes a simple idea to its limit: an electric city bike you get on, pedal, and plug in like an electric car.
Pedalling, and nothing else
The handlebars carry nothing but the brake levers. No gear selector, no button to switch assistance mode, not even a visible bell — only a light halo showing the state of the battery. Everything else happens further down, in the bottom bracket.
The mid-drive motor, called eCVT, was developed with Chinese firm Gobao. It houses a belt-driven gearbox with a 400% gear range that adjusts pedalling to the gradient on its own. Hepha quotes 250 W of assistance, peaks of up to 1,000 W and the 25 km/h limit required by European regulations.
More to the point, the assistance has its own electric braking. In stop-start traffic, the bike slows down while recovering energy, in the spirit of the “one pedal” driving of electric cars. The stated goal: pedal, and worry about nothing else. Disc brakes are still there for sharp stops.
Charging like an electric car
The battery hides under the saddle — a two-seater saddle, in line with a growing trend in urban cycling. Hepha credits it with 560 Wh and, for the time being, gives no range figure. That is not really the point: the selling argument here is charging speed.
The manufacturer mentions a current of 30 A, or 1,500 W — fifteen times more, it says, than a conventional charger. Enough to recover 80% of the battery in fifteen minutes. The charging port is built into the bike, which Hepha imagines plugged into stations installed near shops or in car parks, like a fully fledged electric vehicle.
A lock in the hub, an alarm and a tracker
Once parked, the Urban X stacks up the protections. First a mechanical lock, called 2lock and housed in the front wheel hub, which the brand says cannot be picked. Then a three-level alarm, able to play an audio message. Finally an electronic immobiliser for the assistance via the app, which also lets you flag the bike as stolen.
And if the bike disappears anyway, a GPS tracker reports its position — with Hepha then committing to replace it free of charge for three years.
Still a concept, and no price
The fact remains that the Urban X exists, for now, only as a showcase. Some of its ideas — fast charging, the security system — are nevertheless due to reach other models in the range by the end of 2027, starting with the Hepha 8. The complete bike would only become reality in 2028, and Hepha judges it too early to talk price.
Until then, the Urban X is above all a rolling laboratory: a way for a brand still little known outside Germany to show where it wants to take the city bike.
