Bosch in Town w/ Felt & Haibike E-Bikes, eShift, CX System, & More News [VIDEO]

Bosch has been in Sedona, AZ (Electric Bike Report headquarters) this week presenting their system on bikes from Felt Electric, Haibike, and Cube in addition to announcing some new features and exciting news for 2016!

They have been at the Magura USA press camp that invites journalists from different cycling publications around the U.S. to come to Sedona to learn about new products and test them out.

Bosch recently announced their eShift system in the U.S. that integrates with drivetrain systems from NuVinci, Shimano, and SRAM. Both the NuVinci and SRAM systems have some auto shifting capabilities and there were bikes available for test rides.

They also just announced their new CX system that is focused on electric mountain bikes with more torque and a different drive unit casing that provides for better ground clearance.

In addition to the brands that are currently available in the North America (Felt, Haibike, Lapierre, BH Easy Motion, Xtracycle, Cube) Bosch has announced that in 2016 their system will be available on bikes from Trek, Cannondale, Scott, and KTM!

The Bosch USA heads of state: Jonathan Weinert (sales & marketing), Claudia Wasko (director of North America), and David Cabanban (service & support) showing off the Bosch e-bike system on bikes from Felt Bicycles and Haibike.

Here is a video with Claudia, Jonathan, and David sharing the Bosch eBike System story, with bikes from Felt, Haibike, and Cube, and details of their new eShift system.

The Felt Electric & Haibike E-Bikes

Bosch had a nice selection of bikes from Felt Electric, Haibike, and Cube on display.

This is the new Felt Outfitter adventure fat e-bike. I had a chance to ride this one for a bit and it feels like you can ride over almost anything! The Outfitter comes with a nice selection of components and accessories.

This is the Felt Duale with RockShox full suspension (130 mm of travel) and 27.5″ wheels and nice selection of Shimano SLX and XT components.

And here is a closer look at the Bosch 350 watt Performance line mid drive motor and 400 watt hour lithium PowerPack battery.

Felt is all about fat e-bikes (as well as mountain and commuter style e-bikes). In addition to the Outfitter they also have the Lebowske that comes with a nice selection of high quality components from SRAM.

This is the new Haibike XDURO All Mtn RX with 150mm of Fox full suspension, 27.5″ wheels, and good selection of Shimano SLX and XT components.

Here is the full suspension Haibike XDURO FS RX that I reviewed last year. This bike won the e-bike of the year last year at Interbike; the largest bicycle trade show in the U.S.

The Haibike Trekking RX is a commuter/touring style e-bike that is currently being ridden in Europe by Gary and Rachel Corbett in their attempt to set the e-bike long distance world record; nearly 10,000 miles!

The Haibike Superrace is fast road style e-bike that can assist up to 28 mph (all Bosch systems are pedal assist only, no throttle).

Bosch Drive Unit

This is the Bosch Drive Unit ( mid drive motor) that they had on display. It uses 3 sensors (torque, cadence, wheel speed) to measure your pedal power and riding style to provide the promotional assist based on which pedal assist level you have selected (Eco, Tour, Sport, Turbo).

The Drive Unit has a series of internal gears to match the motor’s (far right) rpm range with your pedaling cadence range and to keep it operating efficiently.

eShift System

The eShift system integrates shifting systems from NuVinci, Shimano, and SRAM with the Bosch system. Here is a video to give with more info:

At the Sedona press camp Bosch had bikes with the NuVinci and SRAM system available for test ride.

This is the NuVinci continuously variable “transmission” rear hub with their H|Sync electronic shifting system that is integrated with the Bosch system to provide automatic shifting. There are no specific gears with this hub, it is a wide range of gearing options between the low range for climbing hills and the high range for cruising along the flats or downhills.

Jonathan from Bosch asks people “What is missing in the handlebars of this bike?……the shifters!”. It is nice to have a clean handlebar set up.

To set up the NuVinci auto shift system the control pad and Intuvia display are used to select your preferred pedaling cadence. Once you have set that, the bike will automatically shift the NuVinci continuously variable rear hub to keep you in the rpm range you selected.

At first it was strange to have no shifting control. After a few minutes of riding I really enjoyed how the bike would accelerate up to 20 mph with ease and take care of shifting to the lower gear range when climbing steep hills. It was also nice to have the bike in the perfect gear when accelerating from the stop. The bike was always in the right gear. I did notice that during quick pedaling accelerations the system takes a little time to catch up. For regular riding it performs very well. This is a nice “set it and forget it” system that makes riding a bike that much easier.

This is the SRAM DD3 Pulse auto shift system that will shift the 3 gears of the internally geared rear hub based on the speed of the bike. You can also see that there is a cogset and rear derailleur that are manually shifted with a conventional shifter on the handlebars.

Here’s another view of the DD3 Pulse electronic shifting mechanism for the 3 gears of the internally geared rear hub and the SRAM rear derailleur for the cogset.

The SRAM DD3 Pulse 3 speed internally geared rear hub on the DD3 system.

This system takes care of automatically shifting through the 3 big gear ranges and allows you to fine tune your pedaling cadence manually with the conventional cogset and rear derailleur. It performed well out on the open road and provides a wide range of gear options. It also shifts to the lowest gear (on the hub) when accelerating from a stop. This system isn’t the full auto shift like the NuVinci but it will be available on bikes at a lower price point.

CX System

Bosch will soon be introducing their new CX system that is focused on electric mountain bikes. The system provides more torque and it has improved ground clearance.

Here’s a look at the other side of the CX Drive Unit. Stay tuned for more information on the CX system.

Let’s Ride!

As part of the event we had to get out and ride some of the bikes from Felt and Haibike!

Close to the press camp was a golf course that allows riders to enjoy parts of their course and trail system.

There was jumping involved!

A video posted by Electric Bike Report (@electricbikereport) on May 28, 2015 at 6:01pm PDT

At the end of the day Bosch presented their system to the cycling journalists. Not a bad backdrop!

Claudia Wasko (director of the U.S. e-bike division) presented an overview of the Bosch e-bike system and company background.

Jonathan Weinert presented some of the Bosch history and e-bike system technical features.

David Cabanban presented their focus on service and technical support for their bike brands and local dealers.

And here is yours truly with Claudia and David.

It was great to spend some time with Claudia, Jonathan, and David to learn more about the Bosch e-bike system. The Felt and Haibike e-bikes were a lot of fun to ride and the new eShift system will be a nice way to make riding a bike that much easier.

I will keep you updated on more information on the new CX system and when the e-bikes from Trek, Cannondale, Scott, and KTM will be available.

Stay tuned for more e-bike news and reviews!

-Pete

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