The words “high-performance” and “carbon fiber” don’t usually come in the same sentence as “affordable” and “budget-friendly,” however, Ride1Up wants to change that. The San Diego, California-based e-bike company first opened its doors in 2018, and has always been about making e-bikes accessible to a wide range of riders.
While Ride1Up’s selection of commuter and urban e-bikes is nothing short of impressive, its new CF Racer1 could put the brand up in the big leagues when it comes to performance. Best of all, it has a price tag of just $2,295 – that’s right, $2,295 for a carbon-fiber electric gravel bike.
The new CF Racer1 makes good on its promise of being a performance-oriented e-bike. Carbon fiber frame? Check. Punchy motor? Check. Premium drivetrain? Check. Indeed, for the price Ride1Up is asking, the CF Racer1 could very well be the best deal on two wheels for a long time. So, what exactly are we looking at? Well, for starters, the bike is available in two configurations – Gravel and Road. The gravel bike comes in an aptly colored gray frame, while the road version gets a sleek and elegant black frame. Across the board, the frame and fork are made out of lightweight carbon fiber, and the bikes make use of Sram componentry for the drivetrain.
At the heart of the Ride1Up CF Racer1 is a geared hub motor from Chinese e-bike drive specialist Bafang. It’s tuned to meet European e-bike regulations with a nominal power output of 250 watts. The motor is housed discreetly within the rear hub, right behind the cassette on the right side and the rotor on the left side. As such, it doesn’t really matter what angle you’re looking at the bike from; it could very easily be mistaken for a non-electric bike.
As for the battery, the CF Racer1 is rocking a 36-volt, 7Ah internally housed battery pack made out of Samsung cells. It promises anywhere between 16 to 40 miles depending on the mode you select, your weight, the terrain, and the elevation gain of your route. Everything is managed via a 36V 15-amp DMHC Sine-wave controller, and the rider gets a bird’s eye view of pertinent ride stats via a VeloFox DM02 color display.
As was mentioned earlier, the CF Racer1 comes in two iterations – road and gravel – but both models are packing premium Sram Rival 1x11 drivetrains for optimum performance and all-terrain reliability. Furthermore, Sram hydraulic brakes provide confidence-inspiring stopping power. Overall, the Ride1Up CF Racer tips the scales at an impressive 27.4 pounds in its small size. For reference, sizing offered is S and L, with S measuring 50 cm and L measuring 56 cm.
