Product News / E-Bike: As part of the Eurobike 2023, Brose presented the successor to the successful S Mag motor with the Drive³ Peak. The new motor generation brings many technical changes, including new batteries and controls. However, the first e-bikes with the new Brose drive should not be available in stores before the summer of 2024.
Brose's e-bike drives were quiet for a few years. Nevertheless, the current top model Drive S Mag in particular still has a lot of fans, mainly thanks to its low volume and its natural handling. However, especially in its early days, the engine had to deal with an above-average number of defects, which meanwhile seem to have been eliminated. In terms of support, the motor, which weighs around 2,9 kg, can still keep up with most, often much younger, units today. In the coming year, however, it will be replaced and Brose will herald the next generation of e-bike drives.
The new system bears the name Drive³ and is intended to retain the proven qualities - i.e. pleasant background noise, pleasant driving behavior and high performance even at low cadence. Technically, Brose changes from the 36V infrastructure of the predecessor to 48V. That alone makes a hard cut under the previous system, similar to what Bosch did with the Smart System some time ago. That means in plain language: The components of the new Drive³ system will not be compatible with the "old" system or vice versa.
Brose Drive³ Peak: New technology, proven characteristics
The motors in the new system start with the top version, the Drive³ Peak. The dimensions of the new drive unit are significantly more compact, which should make it easier for bicycle manufacturers to integrate them elegantly. However, the weight remains the same at 2,9 kg. According to Brose, this is where the sweet spot has been found and weight savings would come at the disproportionate expense of other factors. But you could turn the performance screw a bit: The power pack should now deliver up to 95 Nm with a maximum of 410% support of the driver's performance. As soon as the drive is available, we will try to put these numbers to the test in a field and dyno test.
A unique selling point of the current Brose motors fell victim to the compact design: the drive belt inside is passé. This was partly responsible for the low background noise compared to the competition, so it should be exciting to see whether the successor can reach the self-set benchmark of the previous generation. On the other hand, the belt had hardly any influence on the response behavior - here it should mainly depend on the sensors and the software coordination whether you can continue to keep the "naturalness crown" in Berlin.
New batteries and displays
With regard to possible system integration or the marketing of your own drive system, Brose is also taking a two-pronged approach with the new generation. It will continue to be possible for bicycle manufacturers to "marry" the respective motors with batteries from third-party manufacturers, the same applies to operation and displays. However, Brose now attaches greater importance to the in-house Brose Drive System, which comes to the manufacturer as a complete package with its own components. Right at the beginning, part of this package will be a new battery, which is based on the latest 21700 cell generation and is said to have a capacity of around 800 Wh. The cuboid energy store is dual-voltage capable, so it also outputs 48V for accessories such as a lighting system in addition to the 12V for the motor.
In addition to the motor and battery, the complete drive system also includes a control panel and possibly a display. Here, too, there are now new options in the Drive³ system. At the start there is a minimalistic solution from the new Integrate 2.0 and the Remote 2.0. There is a large color display in the top tube that clearly shows all information about the drive and the ride. Control is via the compact control panel, which has four buttons. In addition, the Compact 2.0 is still a combined unit consisting of a control panel and a color display.
Brose is currently still working on the software tuning of the drive and expects to be able to deliver the first final test bikes by the end of this year or early next year. We will try to provide you with a corresponding test as soon as possible. Production bikes with the Drive³ Peak can hardly be expected before the summer of 2024.