Ebikes with Brose motors

This isn’t the first time we have talked about ebikes (or mtbs) with a Brose motor on this website. In May 2014 they presented some  e-mountainbikes  which for that time (and even for today) were very advanced:  the central motor was small and the battery was completely integrated in the frame, making the bike look aesthetically clean. It was hard for a non-expert to notice that they were electric mtbs.

The main issue with these bikes? It’s not very easy to find them if you’re not in Germany, where about 480,000 ebikes were sold in 2014. Ebikes producers prefer to focus on bigger markets so in countries where the ebike market is still relatively small it’s not easy to find them.

Bose and BH Bikes made a commercial partnership a few days ago, so we hope this will mean an expanded reach. The motors that you can find pretty much everywhere in Europe are Bosch, Yamaha and Bafang so the coming into play of a fourth player will give more choices to consumers. BH Bikes is a well distributed brand so hopefully that will make the Brose-BH Bikes products available everywhere.

Let’s see Brose ebikes in detail:

Brose ebike system

First thing first, what is Brose? Brose is a company from the automotive sector. It supplies a range of small electric motors that every car needs (windshield wipers, electric windows, rear-view window controls…) Brose eventually realized that investing in the ebike market would be a profitable move.

Brose made its first steps in 2010, when a team of engineers started to work on an electric motor for ebikes, starting from a motor designed for power-steering systems. 
In 2011 it presented the first ebike prototype.
Since the beginning, Brose’s main goal has been to create a cutting edge motor, especially regarding the integration of both motor and battery within the frame. This is a very interesting choice: Brose could have designed a simple “standard” motor to start with, one that was similar to other solutions already on the market, and experiment with new ideas over time.
The choice was to focus on quality from the very first product instead. Brose’s motors are entirely designed and produced in Berlin, Germany. The motors mass-production started in 2014. The first commercial partnership was formed with Rotwild, a German company.

Some info about ebike Brose motors: external measurements are 205 x 115 x 130 mm, the weight is 3400 grams. The motor is available in two different versions, 250 and 500W, both at 36V. It has a torque of 90Nm, which is very high. The motor is central: it’s the only choice for an electric mtb, but it’s also advantageous for city ebikes. The motor works with a double front chainring, like Yamaha’s but unlike Bosch’s. Brose’s motor can be installed in three different ways at least, which means it can be integrated with different frame types.

The control unit allows you to select three different levels of assistance from a central display and side buttons. (we think that 4 or 5 levels of assistance would be better for an e-mountainbike, for a better control over the motor’s power). There is still no official info about batteries.

Brose motors on BH Bikes

Like we mentioned before, a few days ago Brose formed a commercial partnership with the Basque producer BH Bikes. As far as we know, BH Bikes will sell 10 different models with this motor. This commitment shows that this company believes in Brose’s products a lot, or maybe the real purpose is to differentiate themselves from the competition.

Read the news from Brose’s website for more info (German).