Bosch, one of the leading manufacturers of electric bicycle engines and batteries, has thoroughly reviewed its battery engine torque with the key to significant weight and power gains.
A 25% lighter electric motor and a battery that gains 20% capacity, these are very significant improvements in the field of electric-assisted bicycle (EAV). Good news that we owe to Bosch. With Shimano and Yamaha, the German manufacturer is one of the leading suppliers for VAE motors and batteries. And according to still unofficial but well-documented information, the future Bosch engines, and batteries for 2020 have been extensively reviewed.
The website Lemarcheduvelo has published technical details accompanied by several photos. Regarding the Performance CX engine first, we learn that it was lightened to 2.9 kg against 4 kg for the previous model. More than a kilogram of won, it’s enormous in cycling! The other significant evolution is the disappearance of the small pinion, which gives way to support to receive a classic tray.
Knowing that the Bosch sprocket has initially been designed to increase the pedaling torque, it can be deduced that the manufacturer has found a way to increase the torque of the engine itself. The ability to mount a common platform will also provide more flexibility for factory configurations and retrofit upgrades.
The engine mount has also been modified; which should facilitate its integration and leave more options for the manufacturers of frames depending on the type of pedelec they want to develop.
The other major novelty is the Bosch PowerTube battery whose capacity increases from 500 to 600 Wh. Nothing revolutionary on this side, Bosch is content to follow the trend already taken by other manufacturers of batteries for electric bikes.
The bad news for manufacturers but also consumers is that the battery would be longer than 67 millimeters. This means that existing model frames will have to be redesigned and customers with a Bosch PowerTube 500 Wh battery will not be able to replace it with a 600 Wh. Note that all this information is to be taken conditional since Bosch has not yet communicated on this subject.