Bosch has introduced the CX Efficiency Line Race Motor, a lighter, extra supportive e-bike motor that gives as much as 400% help.
It doesn’t substitute the present Efficiency Line CX Motor — it’s a limited-edition drive unit that will probably be distributed amongst 20 main eMTB producers to promote with their most race-focused e-bikes. On the Tweedlove Competition in Scotland, we obtained a fast spin on a kind of for this evaluation: a 2023 Trek Rail, but it surely was sufficient to note some tangible performance-related advantages.
MTB Legend Tracy Moseley defined, “It’s like taming a little bit of a wild horse at instances, but it surely’s simply studying its traits, studying easy methods to trip it, pre-empting a few of it, ensuring you’re in an excellent physique place, ensuring you’re using aggressively, after which it’s superior. For those who’re a bit, type of, resting in your laurels, out for a cruise, it might undoubtedly take you for a trip.”
Bosch Efficiency Line CX Race Restricted-Version E-Bike Motor
The Bosch Efficiency Line CX Race Motor provides direct help of as much as 400% of the rider’s energy in its unique Race Mode. That compares to the full 340% offered by the Efficiency Line CX motor in Turbo Mode.
They don’t look vastly totally different from each other, save for the colour of the magnesium casing and the truth that it has Efficiency Line CX Race written throughout the non-drive aspect. Certainly, the 2 motors share the identical bolt sample, making it straightforward for producers so as to add a top-level, race-focused e-bike mannequin to their present lineups.
That doesn’t imply you possibly can improve your present Bosch-equipped eBike, nevertheless. When you might theoretically change out a Efficiency Line CX Motor for the brand new CX Race Motor (the batteries and {hardware} are all cross-compatible), the motor received’t be accessible as an aftermarket improve. It’s OEM solely.
Hopes dashed, let’s take a better take a look at the Bosch CX Race Motor that may very well be in your subsequent eMTB.
The Race Motor isn’t any extra highly effective; it nonetheless provides a most torque of 85 Nm and cuts off on the regulation-stipulated 25 km/h. In Race Mode, the 400% help will get you on top of things sooner — in different phrases, it accelerates more durable.
Joris Ryf, Swiss eMTB Professional, mentioned, “An important factor for me was a drive unit that might get me as much as prime velocity sooner and preserve me at prime velocity for longer — and we succeeded.”
An early model was examined on the Enduro World Sequence-E (EWS-E) in 2021 underneath MTB Legend Tracy Moseley. It was a Efficiency Line CX motor that had obtained some tweaks, with a particular Race Mode that Bosch tailor-made to her particular wants.
Nonetheless, it’s not just a few new firmware on the Bosch CX Race Motor; it’s a bit lighter, too. Bosch isn’t too particular right here, however the supplies used for a few of the inside components are lighter, permitting them to shave 150 g off the motor’s weight.
This weight discount introduced it right down to a claimed 6.1 kilos, making it the lightest drive unit in your complete Bosch portfolio (nonetheless a bit heavier than the 5.7-pound Shimano EP8 e-bike motor).
What Modes Are Out there in Addition to Race Mode?
That will probably be as much as the e-bike producer to resolve. On the 2023 Trek Rail we rode, the modes supplied had been as follows:
- Race
- Turbo
- eMTB
- Tour+
- OFF
What’s Tour+? A Bosch spokesperson tells us that the Tour+ Mode on the CX Race Motor provides a variety equal to Eco by way of to the 400% help Race Mode, a extra in depth vary than that offered by the common Tour Mode on the Efficiency Line CX Motor that operates over a shorter vary equal to Tour to Turbo.
The terminology is a bit complicated, to be truthful, and precise numbers could be simpler to know, however within the absence of that data, right here’s a fast overview of how every mode behaves from Bosch.
How Does the CX E-Bike Race Motor Trip?
Having wrecked myself on the paths that morning, I used to be as much as little greater than a spin across the park. Actually, I didn’t suppose I’d be capable of discover any tangible variations in how the e-bike motor carried out. How incorrect I used to be.
In fact, the step change from Turbo Mode to Race Mode was considerable; the acceleration supplied by Race Mode was satisfyingly sooner than that offered by Turbo. Whereas that was cool, it was one thing else about how the motor behaved that, at first, shocked and appalled me. It put an enormous smile on my face as I spotted the implications for technical climbing.
After I stopped pedaling, the motor delivered energy to the rear wheel. That’s the case on the Efficiency Line CX Motor, too, however that “Prolonged Increase” function within the unique Race Mode was enhanced. It felt just like the motor was nonetheless shelling out watts as much as a full second after I had stopped pedaling.
After I requested Bosch about this, they clarified that the space traveled was the limiting issue right here.
The Prolonged Increase will provide you with a further 6.5+ toes of distance traveled after you’ve stopped pedaling. So, the time that the Prolonged Increase operates over relies upon very a lot on how briskly you’re going.
I used to be tinkering about at speeds near zero alongside the flat and on very steep banking, so the Prolonged Increase felt virtually throttle-like. Tracy Moseley used the phrases “lunge” and “surge.” I might tease the pedals by way of 1 / 4 of a pedal stroke, and the bike lurched ahead.
The advantages this may provide to particular technical climbing eventualities had been apparent. Take into account your self confronted with a steep, rocky, technical climb. It’s the sort of climb whereby finishing a full revolution of the pedals runs the chance of smacking a kind of pedals right into a rock, leading to, at greatest, a stall and a fast dab, and at worst, an entire departure out of your bike.
With the Prolonged Increase supplied in Race Mode, riders might conceivably be teasing the bike up gnarly technical climbs with out ever having to threat an entire pedal stroke. In fact, that may very well be an obstacle when confronted with a sniper root-ridden slippery slope. At that time, I think about one would drop down into one of many decrease help modes to stop the rear wheel from spinning out.
The opposite tangible distinction in trip really feel supplied by the Bosch CX Race Motor was the abrupt cutoff in energy that happens on the 25kph help restrict. Whereas the Bosch CX Efficiency Line motor curtails its help because it approaches the 25kph restrict, the CX Race Motor delivered full help as much as the restrict.
It was extra of a shock to the system, feeling such as you’ve began dragging the brakes, but it surely does imply the motor will assist riders go sooner for longer.
Will the Bosch CX Race Motor Be on the EWS-E Finale Ligure?
It positive will! We will verify that MTB legend Tracy Moseley will probably be on the most recent Trek Rail e-bike sporting the manufacturing CX Race Motor for the primary time.
Provided that the EWS and DH World Cup Seasons are actually over, Tracy’s Trek Manufacturing unit Racing Group members Jamie Edmondson and Hattie Harnden are on the beginning listing, too. They is also on a Trek Rail powered by the Bosch CX Race Motor.
Now for some hypothesis. Given as we speak’s announcement of the Bosch CX Race Motor, we wouldn’t be shocked to see this ultimate race of the EWS-E Season provide a glimpse of some new e-bikes.
Lapierre, Orbea, and Scott all have enduro e-bikes on the EWS-E, so keep watch over what bikes are beneath Adrien Dailly, Antoine Rogge, and Kevin Marry (Lapierre); Edgar Carballo Gonzalez and Florencia Espineira Herreros (Orbea); and Remi Absalon (Scott).
