It’s almost a tradition: On 27 May, it’s Coboc’s birthday from Heidelberg and also on the 9th anniversary the Heidelberg e-bike experts are celebrating with an exclusive birthday edition. With chic sportiness and an extra portion of grip, the Torino 527 can also be used to explore new paths off the urban track. The Gravel racer hides its e-drive as cleverly as its everyday-friendly equipment.
Nine years ago, Coboc was still a very young company when it sent its first e-bike onto the urban race track. It was a sensation, because thanks to the fully integrated and self-developed e-drive, no one could see the power inside the slim street racer. Since then, Coboc has stood for e-bikes that don’t look like e-bikes: Minimalist in design, fast in acceleration, restrained in weight. Made for the city and the asphalt, and now also for off-road adventures.
For the nine-year-old, the Heidelberg-based company has produced a special edition of one of its youngest race horses: The Torino 527 is a chic gravel bike with extra-strong WTB Byway tires for everyday use as well as for sporty off-road adventures.
Robust gravel bike and commuter bike in one
As is typical for Coboc, the battery and most of the cables are hidden in the frame, and the electric motor is hidden between the gear rim and brake disc. The everyday components are just as discreet as in all the manufacturer’s models: The detachable bag holder, which Coboc designed especially for the Torino, nestles closely to the line of the rear wheel like the mudguards, the tiny but 235-lumen Supernova front light merges with the stem, and the patented LED tail light, a proprietary development, is integrated into the seat tube. This is because the Torino 527, as an „all-urban bike”, aims to create a balance between an everyday bike and the option of adventure off the beaten track. Starting with the looks, through comfort and on to the drive. The frame geometry allows a more upright sitting posture than on a classic road bike. If you want to ride aerodynamically and maximize speed, the comfortable racing handlebars offer the right positions for this too. Impacts and unevenness are mainly ironed out by the large-volume WTB Byway tyres. This allows you to comfortably master long tours, gain altitude or maintain high speeds – whether with or without the engine switched on, because with a total weight of 14.5 kg you can also go forward without the drive. With power peaks of up to 500 watts, the drive is as powerful as usual and is only whistled back by the Sram disc brakes.
By the way: the Torino 527 is state of the art connected, because the special Coboc app turns the smartphone into an on-board computer via Bluetooth. In this way, the response behaviour of the electrical assistance and the engine performance can be fine-tuned, and of course all the important driving data can also be viewed.
The limited model will be available from July 2020 in specialist shops or in the Coboc online shop for 4,799 euros — which puts it on a par with the regular version of the Torino TEN, which we have already tested here.
