TQ motor

[Captain Slow]

When I saw the new Trek Domane+ I assumed that they developed it in conjunction with TQ and that they would have an exclusive on the motor for a year, maybe a couple of years. But in time that some other manufacturer would also spec the motor on their bike.

Well it happened much faster than I thought. I read that BMC has come out with a Road Machine with the same motor and I assume same battery as it’s 360 wh just like the Domane.

After the Creo, I’m not interested in an ebike with a 1X drivetrain that I want to ride on the road. But I do find it interesting that another manufacturer has an ebike with the TQ motor so soon after the Domane+ was released. I’m guessing we’ll see more of these bikes. So my hope of getting an ebike with this motor at a more affordable price point could happen much sooner than I thought.

IMHO the main reason the Domane+ is so expensive is that Trek only offers it with their 800 Series Carbon. All Domane models with 800 Series carbon are SLR models and they’re quite a bit more than the SL models which use 700 Series carbon or their aluminum version. Hopefully, some manufacturer will release this bike in a form that is thousands cheaper than the Domane+

 

[mschwett]

i’m eager to ride a bike with the TQ motor. is it really quieter? does the overall system induce any drag when it’s off? does it have that effortless “you only faster” feel that specialized’s SL system does?

my personal interest would be to see how light one could make a bike with this thing. 8.6lb for battery and motor, someone should make a 24lb eBike with this thing! alternately, a bulletproof belt-drive rohfloff carbon gravel bike in the 28lb range. nothing like it on the market.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I've only ridden two light e-road bikes and both were Croes. This was before the pandemic hit.
One bike was the base aluminum version and the other was a much higher end carbon version, with Di2 and Roval carbon wheels. The aluminum bike was $6000 (Can) and the carbon bike was $11,000 (Can).
I'm guessing the carbon version was around 28 pounds and the aluminum version was around 32 pounds. I might not be spot-on with the weights, but I think I'm close.

I took both on a short, 20 minute ride (brand new bikes, so the shop asked me not to go too far). I did the same ride, back-to-back on both bikes, which included a very steep, short hill. What surprised me was there was a noticeable difference in how much effort I had to put out to get to the top of the steep hill (max power level).
I rode the aluminum version first and then the carbon bike. After reaching the top on the carbon version my first thought was, "That was easier." I honestly didn't think I'd be able to feel the difference between the two bikes, but I did.
Having said that, I couldn't really feel any difference between the two bikes on the flats in a lower power level.

 

[mschwett]

I've only ridden two light e-road bikes and both were Croes. This was before the pandemic hit.
One bike was the base aluminum version and the other was a much higher end carbon version, with Di2 and Roval carbon wheels. The aluminum bike was $6000 (Can) and the carbon bike was $11,000 (Can).
I'm guessing the carbon version was around 28 pounds and the aluminum version was around 32 pounds. I might not be spot-on with the weights, but I think I'm close.

I took both on a short, 20 minute ride (brand new bikes, so the shop asked me not to go too far). I did the same ride, back-to-back on both bikes, which included a very steep, short hill. What surprised me was there was a noticeable difference in how much effort I had to put out to get to the top of the steep hill (max power level).
I rode the aluminum version first and then the carbon bike. After reaching the top on the carbon version my first thought was, "That was easier." I honestly didn't think I'd be able to feel the difference between the two bikes, but I did.
Having said that, I couldn't really feel any difference between the two bikes on the flats in a lower power level.

every little bit helps with hills. walk up a hill carrying a 5lb weight and you’ll definitely notice the weight! and on a bike you’re going faster than you’d walk. but also, there are significant differences in rotational inertia of the aluminum wheels and heavier tires, heavier cranks, cassette, etc. each of these things is tiny by itself but added together with the bike weight it’s not insignificant. the carbon frame also makes it feel easier, flexing and absorbing more strategically. worth thousand of dollars? very subjective. but slightly faster up a hill? definitely.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Here's a link to the Bike Radar article:

New BMC Roadmachine 01 AMP X ebike embraces wide tyres and 1x drivetrain

BMC says new 'electric all-road bike' weighs 12.9kg and has relaxed endurance geometry

www.bikeradar.com

 

[Deacon Blues]

Road.cc article:

BMC launches new Roadmachine 01 AMP X all-road e-bike with "revolutionary" TQ drive unit

Full mudguard mounts, 38mm of tyre clearance, a 2in display and the all new TQ drive unit... would this bike tempt you to switch to electric?

road.cc

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My bitter comment will be: "It is yet another time Trek (with its six different motor systems) was unable to secure the exclusivity on the TQ motor".

 

[BlackHand]

Simplon offers a trekking version with optional Gates belt and Rohloff. They don't list the weight, but a tester on YT said preproduction ones weighed in 14-17kg depending on the configuration.

Silkcarbon TQ | SIMPLON | simplon.com

The Silkcarbon TQ impresses riders with its low weight and natural riding feel thanks to the whisper-quiet drive unit. Find out about the trekking bike!

www.simplon.com

 

[Calcoaster]

My bitter comment will be: "It is yet another time Trek (with its six different motor systems) was unable to secure the exclusivity on the TQ motor".

Why is that a bad thing? It seems easier to have more faith in a motor system being used by multiple brands than a proprietary system used or licensed by a single brand.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Why is that a bad thing? It seems easier to have more faith in a motor system being used by multiple brands than a proprietary system used or licensed by a single brand.

plus it will help on the price.

 

[Captain Slow]

Wow that Silk Carbon bike sure looks nice. Too bad it appears they’re only in Europe.

 

[mschwett]

Simplon offers a trekking version with optional Gates belt and Rohloff. They don't list the weight, but a tester on YT said preproduction ones weighed in 14-17kg depending on the configuration.
View attachment 140477

Silkcarbon TQ | SIMPLON | simplon.com

The Silkcarbon TQ impresses riders with its low weight and natural riding feel thanks to the whisper-quiet drive unit. Find out about the trekking bike!

www.simplon.com

Wow. That bike is almost exactly what I’ve wanted for a couple purposes. EUR 7400 isn’t too bad.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Why is that a bad thing? It seems easier to have more faith in a motor system being used by multiple brands than a proprietary system used or licensed by a single brand.

It is a bad thing because again Trek will be kept hostage by yet another motor/system manufacturer.

Specialized has got the exclusivity on the SL 1.1 system. In case a user has got a problem, Specialized cannot shift the responsibility on Mahle.
Regarding Specialized/Brose motors, the motor is made by Brose but the system and batteries are the Specialized thing. Spec is in the position to demand design changes from Brose (and it happens; the new series of 2.0E, 2.0, and 2.2 motors is the fact). Again, in case you have an issue, you only talk with Specialized, and Brose is never directly involved. There are several e-bike brands based on Brose motors: none of them has the Specialized system.

Trek has naver been unable to acquire an exclusive motor and e-bike system. You buy a Trek e-bike and it is equipped with the laughable Purion display. Bosch E-Bike will say: "It was the OEM (Trek) to choose the Purion from our offer". Or, Bosch is going with the new Smart System: Have you already seen any Smart System Allant+? Will the Allant+ be dumped?

Yes, TQ is a rather small company and Trek is in a better position than it is with Bosch here. Still, the system or motor does not belong to Trek.

 

[FrankPoz]

Hello everyone from Italy. I saw and didn't get to test the new BMC RoadMachine X with the new TQ mtore. At the moment I own a BMC Alpenchallenge AMP with Shimano Steps E6100. I have a battery of 630 watt/h the most powerful capacity that Shimano offers. The bicycle weighs just over 15 kg. I have carbon wheels and a 1 - 11 x 34 GRX drivetrain. I have done about 20,000 km and a lot of elevation gain. The vehicle has given me and still gives me a lot of satisfaction. In my summer tours I managed to cover even 190 km and 3500 m in altitude with a single battery charge. Many Dolomite passes. Sorry if I wrote too much but I wanted to introduce myself to ask a question. I'm considering buying the new BMC eroad. Apart from the battery capacity, what makes me think is the fact that I have read on other forums that the TQ engine has some problems, perhaps due to its young age. In particular below a threshold level of pedal strokes per minute and cadence it is very noisy. It would not seem that the operation was affected but the noise would be very strong. With the Shimano Steps I have never had an error code and the motor runs splendid. Anyone with feedback on this? Thank you

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Welcome Frank to the Forums! Good to read about your nice performance.
As per the TQ motor, it is a relatively new think. Hopefully someone would respond!

 

[Deacon Blues]

As I'm considering buying a new e-road bike with the TQ motor (Trek Domane or BMC Roadmachine) I'm also wondering how reliable the motor will be.
TQ did put out a larger, more powerful motor a couple of years ago, but it had some major reliability issues and I think it was pulled from the market.
I'm hoping they've learned from the failure of their first motor, but it's always a 'roll-of-the-dice' when you purchase something new.

There has been some postings on the internet about this motor in the Trek Fuel X mountain bike. Seems some riders are experiencing noisy motors with grinding sounds.

I live in Canada and can now order the new BMC Roadmachine, but there is still no word when/if the new TQ powered Trek road bike will be available.
I wish I had the opportunity to ride both bikes, back-to-back.

 

[MinnBobber]

@FrankPoz , regarding noise at low cadence levels:
I rode the TQ Trek mtn bike version and it was very quiet at all cadence levels.
It was limited to 20 mph so I could not get a preview of how the Domane + version might be with less weight and road tires.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

As I'm considering buying a new e-road bike with the TQ motor (Trek Domane or BMC Roadmachine) I'm also wondering how reliable the motor will be.
TQ did put out a larger, more powerful motor a couple of years ago, but it had some major reliability issues and I think it was pulled from the market.
I'm hoping they've learned from the failure of their first motor, but it's always a 'roll-of-the-dice' when you purchase something new.

There has been some postings on the internet about this motor in the Trek Fuel X mountain bike. Seems some riders are experiencing noisy motors with grinding sounds.

I live in Canada and can now order the new BMC Roadmachine, but there is still no word when/if the new TQ powered Trek road bike will be available.
I wish I had the opportunity to ride both bikes, back-to-back.

Both the TQ & Fazua 60 are new so I’d say wait a bit so teething problems can be sorted out. It’s good both are on emtbs as those riders will really put them through their paces and are not shy about reporting problems! Both motors look great: very quiet, higher torque and lightweight. This direction of lightweight motor design is great. Keeps getting better & better. Also hoping these motors will appear in some lower priced bikes over the next several months as well. By which point any problems should be fixed. You’d hope anyway.

Also interested in the Forestal Eon motor, an SL motor designed with Bafang and looks like exclusive to Forestal so far. Gets good reviews for being both lightweight and powerful and is easily serviced. Here’s a good round up of the various (current) lightweight motors for emtbs. Like the Specialized Mahle SL motors they seem to appear first with the emtbs and then in time filter over to road bikes etc.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Like the Specialized Mahle SL motors they seem to appear first with the emtbs

Not really The Specialized SL motor was used first on a Creo SL, a road e-bike. Specialized SL e-MTBs came far later!
Just to rectify.

 

[Captain Slow]

Well Deacon, you're right again. I got an email from Trek this morning and the Domane+ SLR is now officially available in Canada.

Though I love the idea of this bike, the price is quite high and like yourself I'm wondering about long-term reliability of the motor.

Now that I'm working from home 50% of the time my need for a motorized bike has pretty much evaporated. But I still think the Domane+ would be a lot of fun, so I'm still somewhat interested. I'll wait to find out more about long-term reliability before making a decision.

Update: I just went to the Canadian website and the difference between the Domane SLR7 and Domane+ SLR7 is $1,850 Cdn. Aside from the motor the bikes are spec'ed identically, same frame, wheels, components, etc ......

I think $1,850 is good value for the motor and battery IF they prove to be reliable in the long run.

The Domane SL6 which is a lower level carbon fiber, less expensive wheels, etc .... is $6k Cdn. If Trek made a Domane+ SL6 for $7,850 Cdn, I would have a hard time resisting that!