Bosch Performance Line CX e-bike drive: New mid-motor for mountain bikes
Bosch is making the Performance Line CX lighter and quieter. New batteries, an automatic gearshift, a display and a charging adapter are also included.
Bosch Performance Line CX
(Image: heise online/sht)
One year before its tenth birthday, the Performance Line CX from Bosch undergoes a general overhaul. The e-bike mid-motor is housed in a magnesium casing. The most important key figures have remained the same compared to its predecessor: 85 Nm torque, up to 600 watts of peak power – in compliance with the legally prescribed 250 watts of rated continuous power – and up to 340 percent boost to your own muscle power. Nevertheless, Bosch has made some changes: the motor has become 100 grams lighter, for example thanks to a new housing with a new suspension and the switch from metal to plastic for some components.
The clattering when idling has been made significantly quieter by decoupling the gearbox. According to Bosch, the decoupling and new bearings also reduce the resistance when riding without the motor, for example when the battery is empty, to just 0.5 watts, which should hardly be noticeable. The motor housing contains a large number of sensors which, among other things, measure pedal input more than 1000 times per second. New inertial sensors record acceleration, incline and decline angles as well as vibrations. This helps the system to determine the position of the bike on the track and adjust the motor control accordingly.
The engine is completed with two further new components. The ABS Pro anti-lock braking system has its place on the fork in the form of a small box a good ten centimetres long and is primarily intended to ensure greater safety on downhill sections. The system regulates in the millisecond range and intervenes primarily in the first phase of the braking process to prevent over-braking. The electric derailleur system from TRP, which Bosch presented at the launch of the Performance Line CX, changes gears automatically on request. You set the cadence at which you want to pedal and the automatic system takes care of the shifting. Bosch also uses the combination of motor, gears and sensors to introduce a hill start aid. This initially holds the bike in place if you have to stop on a steep section and then helps you get going again with full traction. This helps when starting off, but can put a lot of strain on the chain and sprocket – During the test ride, a colleague's chain broke when he tried out this starting aid.
(Image:Â heise online/sht)
App functions partly for a fee
The drive system transmits data to the smartphone app via Bosch Connect. This not only provides a lot of information, but also offers the option of adapting the individual support levels to the desired riding profile. Bosch has outsourced some additional functions to a paid subscription, but they are not absolutely necessary to operate the system. The new Purion 400 display is located on the handlebars and provides information on the most important parameters on a 1.6 inch screen. The system is controlled via buttons on the grips as an alternative to the app.
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With the Powertube 800, Bosch provides the drive with its most powerful battery to date, while the slightly weaker Powertube 600 variant is also new. Both batteries are DualBattery-capable, meaning they can be used in a double pack. This would allow up to 1600 Wh capacity and a correspondingly long range, but at the price of a significantly higher weight. If you only need a little more, you can use the PowerMore 250 instead of a second Powertube. This 250 Wh battery is about the size of a water bottle.
(Image:Â heise online/sht)
The first bikes with the new drive system are expected in the course of next year. It will take a little longer with a charging adapter, which Bosch has also announced. This is intended to represent the transition to a standardized charging solution, which Bosch, among others, is advocating. Claus Fleischer, CEO of Bosch eBike Systems, makes it clear in an interview with c't that a standard is needed: "There were competing concepts that torpedoed each other. We simply lost years as an industry. And things are really slow in Berlin and Brussels." Now it should work, even if it will take a little more time to reach the goal.
Fleischer sees three important directions for the further development of drive systems in e-bikes in the coming years: "Energy, intelligence and interfaces. There are products and solutions that will drive the industry forward, especially in these three areas." The mechanization of bikes is therefore likely to continue unabated.
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