Mahle X20: ultra-light motor for e-bikes presented

Unfortunately, if you don’t have enough money or a suitable parking space, you can’t participate in the electric car boom. Nevertheless, you can become part of electromobility, and on two wheels. E-bikes are becoming more and more popular, as they take their riders to school, university or work without much effort, but with plenty of fresh air. But modern bikes almost all have one Achilles’ heel in common. They usually weigh a lot. That’s about to come to an end, if the drive experts at Mahle have their way. That’s because the company has launched a brand-new drive system that, thanks to its lighter weight, should also be able to make e-bikes lighter.

A total weight of 3.2 kg

Even high-priced electric bikes sometimes bring so much weight on the scale that you can not just carry them up or down the basement stairs. That’s where the newcomer from Mahle comes in just right. The so-called X20 is said to weigh just 3.2 kg in total. This weight is made up of the motor, control unit and battery.

The company could thus succeed in eradicating the main cause of heavyweight e-bikes. But the automotive supplier from Stuttgart does not only seem to attach great importance to low weight. The X20 also sounds promising in terms of user comfort. After all, the rear wheel can be detached from the frame with little effort. For this, probably only a simple click is needed.

A lot of power

Despite its low weight of just 1.4 kg, the Mahle X20 hub motor should be able to offer a lot of power. According to the manufacturer, for example, 23 Newton meters of torque are inside. Of course, other manufacturers such as Bosch offer more here. However, it is not only worth taking a look at the pure torque when it comes to e-bikes. The type of motor is also important. Since the X20 is a hub motor, you should be able to compare its performance with that of a classic mid-mounted motor, which offers 55 Newton meters. But Mahle does not only come up with a low weight and high performance.

The features should also be able to convince. First of all, it’s worth taking a look at the battery. Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly how big it is yet. However, the manufacturer will certainly comment on this soon. What is already known is that the battery of the e-bike can also be used as a power bank. All you need is a suitable docking station. The desired electronic device can then be conveniently charged. The charging time also sounds promising. Within just 60 minutes, you should be able to charge the battery to 80 percent.

Price is still unknown

The comprehensive package of the Mahle X20 is rounded off by special sensors. These measure not only speed and cadence, but also parameters such as acceleration and torque. At what price you can get this promising hub motor is still unknown. However, it will initially be a B2B business of the manufacturer anyway. After all, Mahle will only offer the X20 to manufacturers of e-bikes for the time being.