Brose just unveiled its newest electric bicycle drive system. While the company is best known for its ultra quiet mid-drive motor systems, Brose has now added batteries to its lineup to create an all-in-one e-bike drive system.
Germany-based Brose might have a smaller portion of the market, but the company’s mid-drive e-bike motors have long held high acclaim.
The belt reduction design offers the quietest and stealthiest solution on the market.
However, Brose has only provided a drivetrain solution for electric bicycles, at least until now. The new model line now includes a complete electric bicycle powertrain package consisting of the drive motor, controller and removable battery.
According to Thomas Leicht, Brose Antriebstechnik’s Senior Vice President:
“The Brose Drive System provides the optimum combination of drive, control unit and battery. By coordinating these components, the overall Brose riding experience is optimised. At the same time, the customer can now also benefit from a range of services from a single source.”
Brose offers new drives, displays, and batteries
While Brose now offers an entire solution for electric bicycles, manufacturers will still be able to pick and choose components à la carte, if they desire.
The new line includes three different display options.
The larger and more detailed “Central” display option features a 3.5-inch screen. The smaller “Allround” display is only 1.5-inches (3.8 cm) to offer a minimalistic view of important e-bike parameters including speed, battery, and power. It weighs just 50 grams. Both displays are backlit for easy viewing at night.
The “Remote” option is ultra-minimalist and offers a simple LED interface. While spartan, it takes up the least amount of room and is the most stealthy option.
The displays are also backwards compatible with most previous Brose drive systems, meaning Brose e-bike owners can upgrade their own bikes to the new displays.
The new Brose Battery 630 packs in 630 Wh of capacity, as the name implies. The 36V and 17Ah battery is enclosed in a black anodized aluminum case – a major difference from many of the plastic case batteries offered by Brose’s competitors. The battery weighs 3.8 kg (8.4 lb)
Brose’s new magnesium drive unit comes in at 500 g lighter than the previous model and fits into a 15% smaller package. The drive units include the Drive C for city use, the Drive T for touring use (which has been optimized for better range), the Drive TF which reaches speeds up to 45 km/h (28 mph) and the Drive S which is designed for elite sport use, such as high dollar electric mountain bikes.
Electrek’s Take
While Brose holds only a small portion of the e-bike drive system market, I believe they make some of the best drives out there. I’ve only ridden a few Brose bikes, partly because there just aren’t as many options available compared to industry heavyweight Bosch. But everytime I get on a Brose-powered bike, I’m always impressed.
The new displays and battery are a welcome addition to the Brose lineup, and the new motors only make a good product even better. Even after Bosch unveiled its most recent 2020 lineup, I still felt Brose had it beat with its year-old model line. And now that Brose has updated its model line, I think it is years ahead of much of the competition.
Speaking of competition, I think this motor and battery arms race between the different drive makers is great for consumers. I’ve ridden awesome Yamaha and Shimano mid-drives as well and I think as the companies continue to try and out do each other, it will only help rocket the e-bike industry forward!
What do you think of the new Brose mid-drive e-bike system? Let us know in the comments below!
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