BOSCH EBIKE ABS
Bosch has created an ABS technology for e-bikes that effectively stops the front wheel from skidding out of control. The system is available across loads of different cycling disciplines, from cargo to commuter, but obviously we’re interested in the Trail version for mountain bikes.
There are several components to the system, with a Magura disc brake handling the physical stopping part, and a Bosch black box on the left fork leg housing the computer. The regular brake rotor is supplemented front and rear by an extra rotor bolted to it, and there are sensors reading the wheel speeds from those additional rotors. It’s all tied together with chunky-looking cabling. The brake lever looks pretty familiar to us, but the top of the reservoir has an extra cover screwed to it.
Bosch ebike ABS works by sensing the speed of both wheels. When the wheel stops turning, the braking force is automatically reduced by the system’s algorithm, then increased again for maximum stopping power, then reapplied, and so on. Bosch says you’ll get more grip on slippery sections and will be less likely to go over the bars too.
If you’re feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, don’t panic, you’re not stuck in the Matrix.
The German motor experts actually launched a similar system just five years ago, albeit with no discernable take up from the mtb industry. Bosch says the new tech is 77% smaller and 55% lighter than the old version, coming in at a claimed 277g for the ABS box and 402g for the entire system including cables, rotors, mounts, etc.
A nice little bonus is you can get all kinds of data analytics on the Bosch Kiox 300 e-bike display to better understand your braking, such as information on distance or time. Most of us here are guilty of comfort braking or dragging the rear, so we’d be very interested to see how to improve.
It’s not the only new thinking from Bosch in this cornucopia of tech – the brand has fixed many of the bugbears we’ve had with the CX
Performance Line systems. At last, the display has left its obtrusive position on the handlebar and now integrates into the bike’s top tube. There are colour codes for each of the power modes, and five LEDS to indicate how much battery level you have remaining: if they all light up ice blue, the battery is 100% charged. If an LED turns white, this means the charge level has decreased by 10%. There are two soft-touch buttons, and the screen now has an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust its brightness.
The bar-mounted remote hasn’t disappeared entirely though, it’s replaced by a much smaller Mini Remote. It’s nowhere near as diddy as some of the competition, but you can remove it entirely now and just flick through the modes on the top-tube controller. There are three buttons on the Mini Remote: mode, a light, and Walk Assist. Bosch has tweaked the latter too, the motor now has something called Hill Hold – release the Walk Assist or stop pushing up and the bike will hold itself stationary for 10 seconds.