Test: The Bulls Sturmvogel Evo Street, which is exceptionally well motorized with the Brose Drive T, pleases with its nostalgic look, which of course hides a lot of technology and a good portion of utility value.
Urban bikes already existed 100 years ago. At that time they had such evocative names as "Rixe", bewitched with a sweeping swan-neck frame and rolled on cream covers. They are still popular today because of their beautiful appearance and relaxed appearance, but unfortunately they have largely died out.
But you don't have to be too sad about it. The classic look is back, but now there is a technical level behind it that you could only dream of in the good old days. With the Sturmvogel Evo Street from the Cologne brand Bulls, you have to look very closely to see what's on board. And that's quite a lot: Let's start with the powerful "Brose Drive T" motor, which is integrated into the frame, if not invisibly, then at least very discreetly. The unit offers a total of 90 Nm of torque, with which the Sturmvogel proves time and again in everyday traffic that driving pleasure has less to do with absolute speed than with acceleration - even if only from 0 to 25.
Sturmvogel EVO Street: Powerful motor and large battery
Instead of the two slim tubes of the classic Urban frame, the Sturmvogel has, as is common today, a single, fairly spacious hollow body - big enough to accommodate a fairly large battery pack. 650 watt hours is ample even by today's standards, especially if it can be hidden in the frame - which, by the way, is not just a matter of looks. If you use a bike like the Bulls Sturmvogel in everyday life, you might not even want it to be immediately recognized as an e-bike, if only because of the risk of theft.
Instead of stamp brakes and back pedals, our modern urban bike is of course equipped with powerful disc brakes; instead of one to three gears, as was usual in the past, eight gears from the proven Shimano Alfine are available. Both are a good choice - functional anyway, but also because of the look: fork and rear end benefit from the lack of bulky rim brakes; the bike just looks nicer.
Voluminous Schwalbe tires ensure driving comfort
Of course, the color matching of the saddle, grips and tires is also very pleasing. The first is a fairly simple example, but it fits very well and, thanks to the imitation leather cover and the lack of decorative seams, has the advantage of not absorbing any moisture when it rains. The Schwalbe tires have more to offer than just the color "Coffee": On the one hand they roll pleasantly easily, on the other hand they are in the innovative format 26 x 2.35. What that means? Despite the voluminous 60 tires, which offer a high degree of vibration damping, the outer diameter of the wheels is not too large. This accommodates the maneuverability, which is particularly important in city traffic; the petrel is not a stoic straight-runner like its ancestors, but on the contrary pleasantly agile. By the way, even when the solid basket in front of the handlebars is loaded. It is not attached to the fork, which would have a negative effect on the steering, but to the head tube. Together with the rear carrier, it turns the beautiful bike into a pack mule: Rider and load together can weigh a good 110 kilos!
A positive feature that connects the Bulls with classic touring bikes is the pleasantly upright sitting position. You don't even have to mount a number of spacers under the stem - the designers have thought along and given the bike a long head tube. And so one thing leads to another: the powerful drive, the high-quality equipment, a robust design and all this in the bracket of the successful look - these factors result in a really successful electrified urban bike. Which of course also has a tiny beauty spot: If the bright LED spotlight under the basket were still in a classic chrome egg, the Sturmvogel Evo Street would be really perfect.
