E-Performance / Test: As part of the Bike Festival in Riva, Bosch presented a new mode for the Performance CX drive that is specially tailored to the needs of E-MTBs. The support mode, pragmatically named 'eMTB', controls the power dynamically, depending on what the driver needs in the respective situation.
Bosch is certainly one of the pioneers in the e-bike sector and is therefore not surprisingly the world market leader - at least in the premium segment. In 2009, the traditional company from southern Germany ventured into the world of e-bikes and has since promoted many innovations and set countless trends. Most recently, for example, the Dual Battery System, which allows the bikes equipped with it to use two batteries and thus almost double the range. In the e-MTB sector, the Bosch Performance CX drive was the measure of all things for a long time - recently, however, the competition in the form of Shimano, Yamaha and Brose has caught up and the e-MTB throne began to wobble a little.
When it comes to power, nobody can beat the Performance CX drive anyway - especially in the upper support levels. However, critics of the Bosch drive always found the driving experience of the CX a little niggling - especially when you are on the road in technically difficult terrain, even uphill. In the past it was sometimes quite difficult to find the right dosage for the overwhelming power at the bottom bracket. Of course, this problem was not unfamiliar to the Bosch developers either, which is why a solution was worked on behind the scenes for many months, which will now be officially available in the form of the new eMTB mode on July 1, 2017 for all Performance CX drives via dealer update.
The new mode replaces the familiar Sport support level – Eco, Tour and Turbo are retained. But how is a new support level supposed to solve the problem mentioned? The answer lies in the nature of the new mode, which is fundamentally different from the rest. While the individual levels previously added a fixed wattage to the rider's pedaling power, the eMTB mode acts dynamically: The support here ranges from tour to turbo and depends on a whole range of factors that the system collects while riding. Of course, this includes the force that the driver puts on the pedal; however, cadence and speed also affect the algorithms in the background. It took a long time to work on this in order to achieve the softest, most natural driving experience possible. If this principle sounds familiar to you: yes, the Japanese competition from Shimano is taking a similar approach with the trail mode of their new E-8000 drive.
We were able to test the new mode on a short test ride at the bike festival in Riva. Also present was ex-trial world champion Stefan Schlie, who helped with the development and familiarized us with the new mode. On a steep concrete slope on the western shore of Lake Garda, the comparison between the previous turbo mode and the new eMTB mode was made; it was noticeable that the new mode can achieve the same level of support, but only if you pedal accordingly; this applies to both high and low gears. However, if you switch off your own bike journalist test brain and just ride a bike, the new mode plays out its advantages best in my opinion. The support performance is controlled completely intuitively and you get the promised natural driving experience. With a leisurely step there is no unpleasant "pushing", but if you need the right power, you pedal accordingly and off you go.
Of course, the question of the influence on the battery life is interesting. No meaningful investigations have been carried out on this, which could also be quite complicated. Due to the dynamic and individual character, general statements cannot be made anyway, but the average driver should probably end up with the range of the previous sport support level.
After a few minutes, everyone involved was already having a lot of fun on the test bikes and the new mode naturally also invites you to play. Finally, a steady track position and smooth start-up is now possible with the Performance CX; so far you always had to react to the very immediate push when driving off. Now such maneuvers, which are particularly common in difficult terrain, just feel natural - like on a normal mountain bike.
As a big fan of the Trail mode of the Shimano drive, I was personally very excited about the new Bosch mode - and I wasn't disappointed. You really get a much more natural feeling on the bike, you can react intuitively and in fractions of a second to different terrain and overall you simply have a lot more fun on the bike – especially when the terrain gets more difficult. In this respect, Bosch has also chosen the right motto: Expand your flow! By the way: In June, the first real E-MTB route will be inaugurated at the Bikezone bike park on the Geißkopf in the Bavarian Forest, which - how could it be otherwise - will be fully dedicated to #uphillflow.
From July 1st, the new software update will be available to all Bosch dealers free of charge. Owners of bikes with Performance CX drives can then have this done on site at the service partner. We can really only recommend everyone to accept the few euros and the way to the dealer - it's worth it.
Website
www.bosch-ebike.com
Werner Herald says
Today at my dealer I got my almost new Haibike AllMtn. (400km)I wonder how the exuberant hymns of praise for Bosch's eMTB mode came about!?
, let the new update play.
The first test was a bitter disappointment. In eMTB mode, the bike switches to a higher support level far too slowly, so that you first have to slow down a bit and have to power up a lot. I always manually switched to the next higher support level before the higher requirement and was therefore always at the required performance level in advance! I'm lagging behind with eMTB.
But the worst thing is that it now lacks a lot of performance!
My steep test route, which I used to be able to manage in turbo mode, is no longer manageable, regardless of whether in eMTB or turbo mode. I have to dismount after the first third!!!!!!
From my point of view, eMTB is a total shot in the oven.
My recommendation: HANDS OFF eMTB!!!!!
Michael Faiss says
Hello Werner,
We really do not know such behavior from the eMTB mode and some members of our editorial team are now also using it privately. We suspect there is a hardware or software issue here. You are also welcome to email us or me directly and we will put you in touch with the Bosch technical service.
Ruslan says
Thank you very much for the comment. I noticed the same behavior with my Flyer Uproc. It lacks power, switches to a higher level too slowly, so has to switch manually or dismount. But that's only in eMTB mode, nothing has changed with the Turbo. Perhaps Bosch not only has to test and develop with world champions, but also with normal users. I have already done 2 software updates.
Mischa says
The EMTB mode brings one thing above all:
Less performance. Compared to traditional Sport mode, EMTB mode feels sluggish and sluggish. The lightness of the second-highest gear, which otherwise delivers plenty of power in all situations, is gone. It also happens to me all the time on the trail that the support drops off rapidly at 22 km/h. If you drive up steep climbs, the software is annoying by only releasing enough power if you pedal hard. So you're constantly clubbing like crazy and exhausted in places where you usually pass by relaxed. For e-bike beginners, the simplified operation may make sense. For riders who know their bike and like to be brisk off-road, the EMTB mode is unfortunately a bitter disappointment.