Of all the drive units I’ve tried, Bosch have had the most outright power without a doubt and they’re about to get more. It was recently announced that all Performance Line Speed and Performance Line CX drive units will be able to get a software update to bump your maximum torque up to 85Nm, from the current 75Nm. It’ll make the most noticeable difference at lower cadences when you’re grinding up the hills, and is available on all drive units from model year 2020 forwards.
Bosch claim very little impact on battery life, being that most of the time, riders aren’t pedalling at a low enough cadence to utilise the maximum torque, and if they are it’s not for very long.
The software update also includes a few other changes for the Performance Line CX drive unit. The eMTB mode has been re-tuned to be even more sensitive to riding input, adjusting how much support the motor offers based off how much pressure the rider is putting on the pedals.
There’s also a new Extended Boost feature that delivers a sudden thrust of power to help you make it up and over trail obstacles. As your back wheel climbs a root, rock or trail obstacle, a stab at the pedals as you would usually, delivers an boost of power in a fraction of a second to help drive your wheel up and over the obstacle. I’ve always found eBikes a little tricky to negotiate over little steps or roots in a trail, given you it’s harder to hop your back wheel around and that the bike doesn’t always respond the way you’d like it to, to a sudden stab at the power, so I’m interested to get my hands on an updated drive unit and put this feature to the test.
Bosch also have an all-new Nyon Computer. Featuring a 3.2 inch high-resolution display, it’ll definitely be a bit of a change to what we’re used to. Featuring a touch screen, the Nyon will be easy to navigate and is of course will work with touchscreen compatible gloves, or the separate control unit for use while riding. The Nyon is essentially designed to be your ride computer and drive system controller all in one, reporting back live metrics like speed and cadence, as well have having the ability to pair with heart rate sensors. The Nyon also features navigation. We’re hoping we’ll be able to get our hands on a Nyon equipped bike soon to put the unit to test.