Frankly I really don't think the CEO of Bosch NA going to have much say on what goes on with the ebike market, but there are many execs that do and they are trying to do what they can to work with the US market, I've had several conversations with them. You must understand there are many constraints they need to work within though, some of which I listed below. I don't want to be a buzz kill, but I left some comments below.
1.
Torque: Regarding the 85Nm of torque, most derailleur systems and IGH (internally Geared Hubs) aren't rated for more than 60Nm and most systems are already pushing the limits. They want to build systems that are compatible with a variety of components so bike brands have less limitations when selecting components. Maybe as the market grows overall they will make ebike specific components, but I still feel this could be a limiting strategy.
2.
Throttle: I don't feel that Bosch will ever bring a throttle to the US, it goes against their philosophy. They even left the walk button disabled in the US and you can't enable it, even with the programming software which we have. There are several reasons why they did this, but I feel part of the concern is that someone will hack it into a throttle.
3.
Speed Cut-off: With the speed cut-off disabled these bikes are capable of speeds well over 30mph with the proper gearing, there is just simply too much potential risk with this, not to mention the impact on the perception of ebikes if riders were going even faster. If I was the head of a 50 Billion dollar company I would practice prudence here as well.
4.
Mountain Bike Applications: They do actually program there motors specific to the application, it's mostly in the form of the chainring size, I do wish they had climb assist like the Impule II MTB motor (it will continue to assist you even if your cadence slows at the top of an elevation).
Haibike FS RS & Haibike in the US: During our convo with the folks at Haibike at Eurobike we we're really pushing to bring in the FS RS, but this was more Bosch's decision then theirs. Bosch doesn't want mountain bikes with the speed system on it, as the legislation is still unclear and they are concerned about liability issues. I know many people that use FS bikes strictly on the street, but the concern is for those that will use them on the trails. I don't want to get hijack this thread with the trail controversy, but many brands are holding back due to this, including some large brands like Trek and Cannondale. Trek had plans of releasing their Powerfly+ this year, but around the same time of their release there was a lot of negative publicity around EMTB's so they decided to hold off this year in the US.
Focus Thron & Focus in the US: The Focus Thron is an amazing bike and in my opinion the only quality electric mountain bike with a speed motor to be available in the US next year. I rode it last month and I was thoroughly impressed, it's super smooth, it shifts well, plenty of suspension travel and it has all the power you need. We'll be getting our first shipment early next year and there has been a lot of excitement over this bike along with the rest of the Focus and Kalkhoff lineup which we'll be releasing on our website in late October. Regarding the limited supply, that will change next year, we have a lot of bikes on order and the US strategy for Focus and Kalkhoff will be changing significantly for 2015, they have added several new staff dedicated to the ebike market and we have planned a great lineup of bikes for next year. I wouldn't get too concerned that they weren't at Interbike, Trek and
Specialized didn't have a booth there either, there has been a trend to do more independent shows rather than deal with all the difficulties of dealing with the convention center. Focus and Kalkhoff had there show in Germany and flew me along with two other US dealers to the show and we worked with them to come up with a strategy for the US. Frankly as a retailer I think this strategy works quite well, it's much more intimate and allows more time for helpful conversations.
I hope this info is helpful.
