I want a Titanium Zero concept e-bike from Urtopia

In general, there are two types of e-bikes: those that have a motor in one of the wheels, and those that have the motor mounted between the pedals. Those who belong to the former group, known as Axial motorsThey are cheap and plentiful, but lack the oomph required to cover rough terrain and high slopes. Those who belong to the latter group, are known as Medium thrust enginesIt has all the power, but it’s heavy on the wallet as well as your arms while carrying it. Thus, I’m excited about what Urtopia introduced at CES 2025: the Titanium Zero, a 3D-printed titanium e-bike that weighs less than 20 pounds and is powered by a Quark DM1.2 motor, a custom-designed mid-drive motor that’s as small as It is enough. To fit the bottom bracket and weighs only 2.6 lbs on its own. By its own admission, it’s not as powerful as the lumpy medium-drive models from Bafang and Bosch, but it may be an ideal alternative for less extreme trails.

Of course, at the moment it is merely a conceptual device, so we should keep the salt of reasonable doubt in the palm of our left hand at all times. However, Urtopia’s Titanium Zero is very light enough in the hand, and feels more like a regular steel-framed three-speed bike than an e-bike. Hell, if the little console wasn’t visible on the crossbar, you could easily mistake it for an old-school race bike, right down to the dropped handlebars.

Then there’s the aforementioned Quark DM1.2, which adds another layer of theoretical desirability to the package. Urtopia says the small, mid-drive motor can produce 65Nm of peak torque, which won’t give any of the bigger names any nightmares; The Bafang M560 can output 130Nm. But a rule of thumb is that a regular rear hub motor can produce around 40Nm, so there’s a big boost in performance. It’s the kind of device I’m very much looking forward to testing out on the steep hills near my home, just to see if the claims match up with reality.

Unfortunately, Titanium Zero and Quark DM1.2 aren’t ready for primetime viewing, so we’ll have to wait for now.