I put this futuristic carbon-fibre e-bike through its paces and now I don’t want my car back

Electric bike manufacturer Engwe just recently launched a new premium brand, Mapfour, featuring lightweight carbon fibre frames and utilising high-grade materials comparable to more established brands such as Specialized and Trek.

The top-of-the-range Mapfour N1 Pro model, which I’ll be reviewing here, boasts a 250W Ananda mid-mounted motor and features such as integrated LED matrix displays, customisable RGB front lighting, and comprehensive IoT security systems offering 24/7 connectivity and anti-theft measures.

It also has a 19kg full-carbon frame that does away with the seat tube (for better or worse), which gives the Engwe Mapfour N1 Pro a unique look. Despite its advanced feature set and quality components, Engwe offers the bike for a very reasonable price, and often discounts it further.

How does the Engwe Mapfour N1 Pro compare to the best electric bikes? Does it cut too many corners? How does it feel to ride the bike under real-world conditions? I’ve been testing it for a few weeks, and here’s what I found.

Engwe Mapfour N1 Pro review

Price and availability

The Engwe Mapfour N1 Pro was announced in January 2025 and is available to buy now at Engwe UK for a recommended price of £1,899 (approx. $2,401/ AU$3,771). I couldn’t find the bike at Engwe US. At the time of writing, the bike was sold for £1,799 (early-bird pricing). The bike is available in only one frame size and two colours: Ink Green and Charcoal Gray.

Specifications

• Weight: 19kg/ 41.8Ibs
• Range: up to 60mi (100km)
• Charging time: fully charged in 90 minutes
• Gears: 7
• Power assist modes: 5
• Max user weight: 120kg/ 264lbs.
• Power: 250W
• Water rating: IPX5

Design and build quality

The N1 Pro has a futuristic frame design, characterised by a distinctive gap in the diamond frame due to the absence of a full-length seatpost. The handlebars integrate a dual-beam headlight and ambient RGB lighting strips. These strips feel gimmicky and slightly out of place on an otherwise premium-looking bike, like slapping a gaming keyboard on a MacBook Pro. The rear features a solar-powered tail light.

An LED colour display is embedded into the handlebar and offers an overview of all key stats, including speed, battery left, assist mode, lights, and so on. It’s easy to read and bright enough, making it easy to glance at.

The N1 Pro is equipped with a Shimano Tourney 7-speed drivetrain and Shimano hydraulic disc brakes with 160 mm rotors on both front and rear wheels. The bike rolls on 700x42C tyres, striking a balance between speed and stability, ideal for city commuting. The saddle is designed for comfort during extended rides; however, the seatpost offers limited height adjustment.

I found the seatpost quite short. The N1 Pro comes in one size only, and Engwe claims it is suitable for riders between 5’4” and 6’2” (165-190cm) in height. I’m 6’1” (185cm) and found the maximum seating position way too low, so I swapped out the seatpost for a longer one. Sadly, the bottom of the seatpost poked out of the frame due to the lack of a seat tube.

Powering the N1 Pro is a 250W Ananda mid-drive motor, delivering an impressive 80 Nm of torque. The motor is paired with a responsive torque sensor, which, in my experience, provides a natural riding experience.

The removable 36V 10Ah lithium-ion battery offers a range of up to 62mi (100 km) on a single charge. Of course, this was calculated based on a 165lbs (75kg) rider using the first assist mode in a comparatively warm environment on flat terrain. Taller and heavier riders riding hills might see significantly reduced range, just like in the case of every electric bike on the planet.

Notably, the battery supports fast charging, reaching full capacity in approximately 1.5 to 2 hours, minimising downtime between rides. Better still, it’s removable so you can not only charge the battery away from the bike but ensure the N1 Pro is less usable when it’s chained up somewhere (more about anti-theft features below).

Setup

Image 1 of 3

The Engwe Mapfour N1 Pro comes mostly pre-assembled. The rear wheel is already mounted; all you have to do is put on the front wheel and mount the handlebar, the seat post and the kick-stand. If it’s not your first time putting an e-bike together, it shouldn’t take you longer than 20 minutes.

I keep mentioning this in most e-bike reviews, but I wish some manufacturers – like Engwe – paid more attention to packaging design. There is too much non-recyclable packaging in the box, including cable ties, sticky takes and foam. Using more cardboard fillers and thoughtful design would reduce landfill waste significantly.

Anti-theft features

The Mapfour N1 Pro has one of the most robust anti-theft functionality I’ve seen in affordable e-bikes. You can not only lock and unlock the bike using the Engwe app, which I would say is pretty standard practice these days, but you can also locate the bike the same way if you attach an Apple AirTag to the frame.

Apparently, the bike has an eSIM in it, allowing the app to locate it even if the battery is removed. Better still, you can set up two different types of geofence (Feasibility Fence and Restricted Area Fence) or make the N1 Pro to alert people around the bike of potential theft by sounding a car alarm-style noise.

You also get password protection (which you can unlock using the e-bike’s display) and set up intuitive unlocking, which uses a smartphone proximity sensor to remove the lock from your bike. All in all, it is a considerable effort from Engwe to ensure no one tempers with your N1 Pro!

Ride performance

Image 1 of 6

Thanks to the five assist levels, seven physical gears, and the lightweight chassis, riding the Mapfour N1 Pro is a dream. Engwe claims the bike provides eMTB-levels of support via its Ananda mid-drive motor on hills; I found this to be true, apart from very steep hills.

It almost feels unnecessary to have the bike in higher assist modes apart from moderate to challenging uphill sections – the bike rolls and handles easily without hassle. This is often the case with lightweight e-bikes; on flat surfaces, it almost feels like the electrical assist is unnecessary because the bike’s going so well.

Of course, this feeling goes away as soon as you hit a steep hill. This is also where weight savings come into play. The heavier Himiway A7 Pro climbs the hill up to my home easily in max assist mode, thanks to its larger motor, whereas the featherweight N1 Pro struggles the longer it has to climb the incline.

I mentioned the seat post above, and that’s one of the weak points of the N1 Pro. I added a longer version, but it not only protrudes out at the bottom but also changes the riding position. The handlebar height is fixed, meaning the higher the seat post goes, the more aggressively forward your position will be. Thankfully, I have freakishly long arms, so I didn’t find the situation too uncomfortable.

As for range, that 62-mile maximum range feels about right. I’m heavier than 75kg and rode the bike on hills as well as flat terrain, and after 23 miles of riding, the bike went from 80% to 35%. That’s a commendable performance for such a lightweight bike!

Verdict

The Engwe Mapfour N1 Pro is everything I wanted the Fiido Air to be. The lovely lightweight chassis is combined with a powerful mid-drive motor and an intuitive torque sensor that pushes you forward as smoothly as butter. The anti-theft features are neat, and the ride quality is also excellent.

Is it the perfect affordable carbon e-bike? No. The one-size-fits-all frame approach clearly doesn’t work with taller riders, and those RGB light strips are not elegant, either. The display could be a bit brighter, too, but that’s not a massive issue. Other than that, the Mapfour N1 Pro is an exciting carbon e-bike offering for price-conscious riders.