Broadly speaking, there are two types of e-bikes: Ones with a motor in one of the wheels, and ones with the motor mounted between the pedals. Those in the former group, known as hub motors, are cheap and bountiful, but lack the oomph required to cover rough terrain and high inclines. Those in the latter group, known as mid-drive motors, have all the power, but are heavy on the wallet as well on your arms as you lug them around. Consequently, Im excited by what Urtopia turned up with to CES 2025: Titanium Zero, a 3D-printed titanium concept e-bike weighing less than 20 pounds packing Quark DM1.2, a custom-designed mid-drive motor thats small enough to fit inside the bottom bracket and weighs just 2.6 pounds on its own. By its own admission, its not as brawny as chonky mid-drive models from Bafang and Bosch, but it might be a perfect alternative for less extreme trails.Of course, right now its just a concept device so we should keep the salt of reasonable skepticism in our left palm at all times. Even so, Urtopias Titanium Zero is plenty light enough in the hand, looking a lot more like a regular steel-framed three-speed bike than an e-bike. Hell, if it didnt have the little controller visible on the crossbar, you could easily mistake this for an old-school racing bike, down to the drop handlebars.Daniel Cooper for EngadgetAnd then theres the aforementioned Quark DM1.2, which adds another layer of theoretical desirability onto the package. Urtopia says the tiny mid-drive motor can produce 65nm of max torque, which isnt going to give any of the bigger names any nightmares; a Bafang M560 can output 130Nm. But its a rough rule of thumb that a regular rear hub motor can output around 40nm, so theres a significant performance boost. Its the sort of hardware Im quite eager to test on the comically steep hills near to my home, just to see if the claims match the reality.Sadly, the Titanium Zero and Quark DM1.2 arent ready for prime time, and so well have to wait for now.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/i-want-urtopias-titanium-zero-concept-e-bike-174539195.html?src=rss