Brose Electric Bike Motor Comparison & Details

[Admin]

Hi guys, I had been struggling to find detailed information about the different ebike motors that Brose offers through their official website but was able to get an interview with some of their team recently, along with a little chart showing the differences.

I translated some of the language on the motor chart to help you out. It summarizes when each drive unit was launched, what levels of efficiency and speed it offers, and the target market or use case. I'm focused on the Brose mid-drive motors including the original, Drive T (Trekking/Touring), Drive TF (Trekking/Touring Fast), and the latest Drive S (Sport). The Sport model is lighter, more efficient, and more powerful, but does create a bit more noise.

In Summary:

• The Original Brose C16162 was launched in July 2014, uses Classic software, offers 75% performance (up to 90 Nm of torque, but hovers closer to 70 Nm), is intended for Trekking and regular urban use and was replaced by the Brose Drive T C91143 in January 2017. You can see this motor in action on the BULLS Sturmvogel E EVO here.
• The Brose Drive T C91143 was launched in January 2017, uses the Efficiency software, offers 85% performance (up to 90 Nm of torque, but hovers closer to 80 Nm), and is intended for Trekking and light eMTB (electric mountain biking). You can see this motor on the Specialized Turbo Como 2.0 here.
• The Brose Drive TF C97292 was launched in March 2017, uses the S-Pedelec software, offers 85% performance (up to 90 Nm of torque, but hovers closer to 80 Nm), and is intended for S-Pedelec (Class 3, speed pedelecs). You can see this motor on the Specialized Turbo Vado 6.0 here.
• The Brose Drive S C97272 was launched in September 2017, uses the eperformance software, offers 100% performance (up to 90 Nm of torque, hovering closer to 90 Nm consistently), and is intended for eMTB (electric mountain biking). You can see this motor on the BULLS E-Stream EVO AM 4 here. It offers 15% greater performance (maintaining 90 Nm of performance over a greater range of pedal cadence), 1.25% more efficient (new electronics and software for greater heat dissipation). I have also heard that it is 6% more efficient, but am not sure how that is measured.

Other Details:

• The motor can support pedal cadence up to 120 RPM
• The motor dimensions are 213 mm Long by 150 mm Tall, by 128 mm Wide
• The T motor weight is roughly 3.9 kg (8.59 lbs) and the S motor is 3.4 kg (7.49 lbs)
• The motor nominal voltage is 36 volts and it offers 250 watts continous power with walk assist rated up to 6 km/h (4 mph)
• The motor is rated with ingress protection of IP56
• The Q-Factor for the Brose Drive T, TF, and S is 179 mm (Q-Factor is the distance between the pedal attachment points on the crank arms where they thread in, when measured parallel to the bottom bracket axle. It may also be referred to as the "tread" of the crankset). By comparison, the Shimano STePs E8000 offers a more traditional 175 mm Q-Factor, but many current generation Q-Factors are longer than 179 mm so Brose is still great here.
• The motor can be mounted horizontally, vertically, or at an angle to blend into the downtube. Brose has positioned the spindle towards the back of the motor to reduce the effective chain stay length as much as possible.

I personally really like the Brose Drive S because it is quiet (using a Gates carbon belt drive inside, like all Brose motors), consistently powerful, and very smooth from start. While visiting the BULLS North American headquarters in Southern California, I compared the Drive S back-to-back against the Bosch Performance Line CX and Shimano STePs E8000 which you can see in the video velow:

Embedded below are some of the official Brose technical information videos with 3D animation and engineering cutaways to demonstrate the Gates carbon belt drive and planetary gearing inside. I got permission to repost these on the ElectricBikeReview.com YouTube Channel from Dan Jeffris - US Representative OE Sales. He Established the service center and works with their official service partner, does US marketing, promotions, and events.

Embedded below is an interview I conducted with Dan Jeffris about the different Brose motors (dating up to 2018). We talked about company history, how it dates back to 1908 and is still family managed. They are based in Berlin Germany and produce motor units for many automobile parts such as air systems, seats, doors, windows, and power steering (which is what they adapted for ebikes).

 

[E-Wheels]

New Brose C drive
http://ebiketips.road.cc/content/news/new-brose-drive-c-announced-at-taichung-bike-week-1705

 

[2wheels]

Court,

Thank you for all the work that you do at EBR. When I knew nothing, EBR provided me a window to the world of Electric Bikes. I recently wrote a piece about the first 9 months / 5000 miles on my Specialized Vado 5.0 which houses a Brose 1.2s Motor (TF C97292 according to your write up above). You can see it here on EBR. An excerpt from that entry is below:

The Brose motor has now been replaced 3 times. Should you buy this bike, buy it from a shop with excellent service. I bought mine from Cynergy. Cynergy has given me bike loaners while my bike is being repaired which has been awesome. I unfortunately anticipate replacing this motor every 3 months. The 2 year warranty has covered the repair each time. The best (and lackluster) advice I got from Specialized is to not mash my gears and to downshift when approaching a stop. I rarely mash my gears and always downshift. I have recently begun downshift 7-9 gears to determine if this make a difference. Any insight to this would be appreciated. Brose are you listening? I would love to hear from you....​

​

Specialized via Cynergy has replaced the brose motor each time it has failed. I've been told by Cynergy, that these failures are of great concern to Specialized. The motor has failed at about 2000 miles each time. Though I have not heard anything specific from Brose or Specialized about the motor failures, I will continue to inquire about the nature of the motor failure as I estimate I will be receiving 4 more motors before the warranty is up and would like to avoid this, especially when the warranty is up. This is one reason I'm reaching out to the EBR network and others in the industry. ​

Current theories on my thread mention my size and riding style. I spoke to the manager at Cynergy about this a while ago and he assured me that my size and style of riding are accommodated by Specialized Designers. Another EBR member mentioned I'm likely overheating the motor and that I should test it with laser temp. Thoughts on laser temp? I used my hand this morning and did not feel any warmth near the motor this morning. Should you or anyone else have insight into why the Brose motor has failed 3 times on my Specialized Vado 5.0, I would appreciate it.

Another area of repair is the chain and cassette. I've replaced both 4 times. I use and wear out the the 11t and 13t cog the most. I'm going to try and use these cogs to do partial replacement rather than purchasing a whole new cassette. Anyone had luck with this approach?

In the video, someone mentioned being able to swap out the chain ring easily and not disrupt the motor. A bike mechanic recently told me I needed to replace the chain ring. In a previous conversation with that same mechanic I asked whether I could increase the chain ring size to decrease the wear on the cassette or at least the wear on the 11t and 13t cog. The mechanic thought I would disrupt the motor, but now I'm wondering if I should revisit that discussion. What do you (or others) think.

Any questions, let me know

Thanks.

 

[E-Wheels]

Some LBS are only excellent when there trying to sell you the ebike but once you the bike is sold and you need warranty assistance your pretty much on your own, Just venting on my Bulls eBike frustrations when they sold me the bike there were THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE (anything you need just come by WE WILL MAKE SURE you 100% taken care of) Now that your warranty is over and 2.5 years later, Now pretend that they don't know you and try to ignore you. My Brose T motor has failed the said I need to contact BULLS customer service, I called BULLS they said I need to call BROSE then I called BROSE said I need to be a Bike dealer/shop in order for me to purchase a motor, I called the LBS were I bought to bike from the said they'll call me back 1 week later they said there still trying to contact BROSE/BULLS, 2 weeks later I follow still no answer and 1 month later there answer was all BROSE motors are back ordered till next year. then I emailed Brose Customer service they said they have them in stock and just have LBS call us. I called LBS and I told them the BROSE motor are in stock, the said they'll get back to me and that @ WEEKS AGO.. sorry Ya'll just venting -->when you buy your high end bikes make sure you buy from a really good bike shop.

Try these guys in Germany https://www.pro-cycling-golla.de/E-Bike_Ersatzteile/Antriebe/Brose/Motor_und_Zubehör.html