At first there was nothing. Then Man invented the wheel. Then in 2022, Cowboy invented the Cowboy 4 ST electric bike. Then once more: there was nothing, since I had it stolen. On June 2, 2022, the editorial staff of JV Tech had the pleasure of receiving the Cowboy 4 ST for testing. The perfect opportunity to do our very first electric bike test, but obviously, not everything went as planned…
My love of cycling
As a kid, and as soon as I might, I rushed on my big sisters’ bikes to learn how to ride them. A love story was born then, between me and the world of cycling.
And that’s good, all my primary school friends are keen on speed, but above all, cross country. From the age of 7, I started hurtling down the slopes of the small cross-country track that was in my small hometown.
From BMX to the skate park, to cyclocross on the steep bumps of the track, nothing scared me. But obviously, I was too busy with other passions to continue doing cross country, and even just riding a bike.
When the editorial staff received this electric bike to test it, I jumped at the chance. I was going for the first time in my life to cycle in the Paris region, and believe me, it’s very different than in my native countryside…
My first impressions of the high-end Cowboy 4 ST electric bike
Obviously, I knew we weren’t going to be dealing with cyclocross or similar bikes, but for the first time, I was going to test an electric bike, and a fairly expensive bike as well.
At the beginning of June, the editorial staff finally received the Cowboy 4 ST, a very classy electric bike with a lot of options. Who says a lot of options, says rising price… And it is the case to say it since the Cowboy 4 ST is sold for the tidy sum of 2790€.
The Cowboy 4 ST is a high-end electric bike created by the brand of the same name. After making 3 generations of bikes, the Cowboy 4 is presented as the culmination of their work. Full of features, a removable battery, an ultra-complete application, everything was perfect to give me a very good experience.
After a brief explanation of the main functions of the cowboy 4 ST, I hasten to put it away in the bike room provided for this purpose. Following several internal problems, it is impossible for me to recover it the same evening. Quite disappointed, I just take the bus until the problem is solved.
It’s done ! A week later, I finally ride the cowboy 4 ST. Incredible first impressions: a pleasant grip and a boost at start-up that changes me a lot from classic bikes.
On the first trip home, the urge forces me to go around different blocks of buildings several times, just to enjoy the pleasant feeling of wandering around the Paris region without being stuck in traffic jams.
A good half hour later, I finally go back to my building where I hasten to put the bike in the room, located on my ground floor.
All evening, I had only one desire: to climb on the cowboy 4 ST to go for a ride, but the obligations of adults you know… So I had to wait until the next day to enjoy a ride during the fresh in the morning, between my home and the editorial staff of jeuxvideo.com.
After two full weeks of use, the drama was fast approaching… In the dark and… No, something downright stupid happened, which led to the theft of the cowboy 4 ST.
The Flight of the Cowboy 4 ST, a drama in one act
As I was starting to get my bearings with the cowboy 4 ST, tragedy struck my building: all the floors were flooded with water… Badly done work on the part of one of the owners damaged the entire water system… I no longer had my solution for storing the electric bike.
On top of that, there is the fact that I had to hurry for an important meeting, the pressure mounts and I then decide to hang the bike on a barrier located right in front of my living room, like that, I will always have my eye on it.
Naive as I am, like a good provincial (that’s what the Parisians call us), I stupidly thought that my bike was safe. The street is constantly crowded and anyway I might peek into it whenever I wanted. Well, that’s what I thought.
After a full night of work, I decided to get a little sleep, I had well deserved it.
Getting up only a few hours later, at 7 am, my first instinct was to go and see if the bike was still there. And obviously he was gone… What was my reaction when I saw that the bike was no longer there? Take out the cowboy app to see if I might track the GPS chip located in the frame of the bike, but nothing at all… The cowboy 4 ST bike, worth €2790 had disappeared… I then hastened to inform my editor to report the theft. Following this, I had to go to the police station to report the theft
Lots of questions started to cross my mind: what will happen to me? Can we find the bike? How will my colleagues react? Of all these questions, one answer was sure, I was not going to find the bike since the GPS was obviously not working.
A bike ready for a test, worth 2790€, completely gone… It’s the life I didn’t plan to live, but hey, anything can happen.
Conclusion of this bad experience
While I was happy and proud to take this test, the Paris region got the better of me. I imagine that I might have acted differently so as not to have this bike stolen, but you can’t change the past.
One day outside is already too much. If you ever have a fairly expensive bike, tell yourself that thieves notice it quickly. And tell yourself that even with a huge metal padlock tied around the frame, the theft might not be prevented.
If this experience taught me anything, it’s that you always have to return your bike to a place, a place, or whatever. A few hours can be enough and you will have a bad surprise in the early morning.
