OH! Magazine - Australian Version June 2017 | Page 20

( An OH! Review )
BOSCH eBIKE SYSTEMS
When we discovered how great eBikes sounded, we couldn’t resist the
opportunity to try one out for ourselves. So here’s what happened when
Analee Matthews took a spin on a top-of-the-range eBike ePowered by Bosch.
ove at first sight.’ This is the only
way to describe my first introduction
to a Bosch-powered eBike.
‘L
It was an otherwise ordinary Friday
afternoon when our new family member
arrived. From the moment his shiny red
physique was revealed, my mind and heart
were immediately filled with promises of
new adventures and an excitement of the
unknown. I was instantly captivated by his
beauty and tantalised by his technology.
Before now, I’d never had any interest in
battery operated bicycles. I suppose I
always just assumed they were to be
reserved for people who were incapable of
riding under their own steam and,
thankfully, I didn’t fall into that category.
But as soon as I hopped aboard the
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OH! MAGAZINE ( JUNE 2017 )
dropper seatpost, started pedalling and
felt the power kick in, all my preconceived
notions pedalled right out the door!
In the range of Bosch-powered eBikes, the
drive units are split into Active,
Performance and CX categories, with each
type offering a different torque curve and
power output. The drive unit is the heart of
the system and it’s here where the motor,
electronic controller and sensors are
housed. The drive unit enables maximum
momentum to remain strong and steady,
even at high rotational speeds.
Our new ‘baby’ is a Scott eGenius 710
Plus, a top of the range dual suspension
mountain bike with a drive unit from the
Performance Line CX, which pushes out
75nm of continuous torque and delivers
up to 300 per cent extra power on top of
what we put in.
The PowerPacks in the Bosch range are
available in three sizes and they’re
measured in Watt Hours (WH), which is
the most accurate measurement – kind of
like litres in a fuel tank. Impressively, our
500WH battery will typically enable 70km
to 100km of total travel before the battery
requires recharging; that’s assuming mixed
useage (i.e. riding on different types of
terrain (e.g. flat, hilly, moderate inclines),
while switching between different power
modes.
Bosch powered eBikes are pedelec bikes,
which stands for ‘pedal electric cycle’, and
it’s a really cool system that triggers the
battery to supply a distinct boost of power