Bosch Drive System

The biggest reason to chose a Bosch equipped eBike is the brand name.  Bosch means quality and ultra-reliance.

Bosch were the first major player to make reliable eBike drive systems and has become the name most associated with ebikes. The motor in the Bosch eBike drive system is adapted from a power steering motor.  The same motor that is fitted to millions of VAG group cars made every year, so its fair to say they're well tried and tested.

The Bosch crank driven system also has practical advantages.  It places the extra weight low down and centralised to the bike, so handling is not negatively affected.  Its also has a "walk" mode, whereby the bike will power itself up to 4mph whilst holding down a button on the handle bar.

Bosch offer three different DriveSystems, details of which are explained below

Panasonic Hub Drive System

The Panasonic hub driven eBikes were developed in conjunction with KTM Bikes.  You won't find these fitted to other brands.

A hub driven system has the advantage of placing the drive power directly from the wheel to the ground - not through the bikes chain transmission. This means that wear to the bike's transmission is reduced.  It also means that gear shifts are much smoother. Panasonic hub drives also have a regeneration feature, whereby the motor can be engaged as a power-generating dynamo during descending.

An additional feature of the Panasonic hub drive is that power is applied for 2 seconds after pedalling has stopped.  It sounds small, buts a noticeable and useful feature.

Shimano Steps Drive System

Shimano Steps drive system is a crank driven motor system.  It is similar to the Bosch drive in essence, but is slightly cheaper.

It uses a larger chaining than the Bosch

It also comes down to availability and which brand name you have a personal preference for.

The warranty and service back up is the same for all 3 drives that we offer - that is 5 year warranty on all KTM branded products and 2 year warranty on all motor and batteries.