BOSCH eBike Systems is the world's leading manufacturer of e-bike drive systems, which started in 2009 as an internal start-up within German industrial giant Bosch. The idea came from two Bosch engineers — Peter Kimmich and Philipp Kohlrausch — who realised that four major megatrends (traffic in growing cities, an ageing society, climate change and carbon emissions) all converged on a single solution: an electrically assisted bicycle. The first prototype in 2009 was actually based on a power steering motor mounted onto a regular bicycle, held together with tape and cable ties — and from that humble beginning has grown today's de-facto industry standard. The first series-production motor reached the market in 2011 with 50 Nm of torque; today the flagship Performance Line CX delivers 85 Nm and is regarded as the gold standard in the e-MTB sector. The strength of Bosch eBike Systems lies in Bosch's own 140 years of engineering experience — the division draws on the group's expertise in batteries (cordless tools), electric motors, sensors and automotive electronics (Bosch is the world's largest automotive parts supplier). System integration is a hallmark of the brand: motor, battery (PowerTube and PowerPack), display (Kiox, Nyon) and the mobile app (eBike Flow) are all fully integrated and communicate via the Smart System — the platform on which Bosch also brought to market the first series-production e-bike ABS. As an independent division since 2020, Bosch eBike Systems today supplies its systems to more than 100 of the world's leading bike brands, including Cube, Trek, Cannondale, Riese & Müller, Haibike and Lapierre. The German way: if the Bosch name is on a product, it has to work flawlessly and last — just like their automotive, power tool and home appliance products.
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