Market: With the Shimano STEPS E8000, Shimano presented the first electric drive specially developed for the needs of mountain bikers at the weekend in Riva. The highest premise in the construction was a riding experience that was as natural as possible, which should only differ slightly from that of conventional mountain bikes.
E-MTB sales are exploding, many models are already completely sold out, and the market is booming. It is therefore not too surprising that another big player, Shimano, wants a piece of the cake and is presenting a new system for electronically assisted mountain bikes, the STEPS E8000 drive, which is based on the in-house STEPS drive. The motivation to produce your own E-MTB drive is clear: Mountain bikes in particular benefit from the additional support in the form of a motor, because one or the other trail can be reached comfortably without a lift and/or agonizingly long carrying and pushing passages .
The main goal of the developers was to develop a drive that gives the rider a natural feeling: despite the drive, the bike should feel like a 'normal' bike without a motor. To achieve this lofty goal, some adjustments were made and previously untrodden paths trodden. The Japanese bicycle giant also benefited from the know-how of its own component development and direct access to these technologies.
Shimano STEPS E8000: small dimensions
The drive unit, which is located in the middle of the frame, has very compact dimensions compared to the competition. On the one hand, this design enables frame and bicycle manufacturers to use short chainstays despite the built-in electric drive and thus not to falsify the agile handling. Since the motor is also very small in width, cranks with a standard Q factor can be installed. The Q-factor describes the distance between the crank arms: voluminous drives often require crank arms that are far apart, which has a negative effect on the riding experience.
But despite the compact form factor, the engineers were able to install the latest technology in the drive of the E8000: The motor delivers up to 70Nm of torque and is therefore one of the strongest representatives of its class. Also interesting are the built-in cooling fins, which cool the entire drive area while riding, so that the performance remains the same even on longer climbs. Cranks are available with either 34 or 38 teeth and also as a Hollowtech version (hollow crank arms, lighter and stiffer).
Shimano STEPS E8000: Natural motor control
Shimano is particularly proud of the motor control of the STEPS E8000. Although inconspicuous from the outside, it makes a decisive contribution to whether the driver feels like they are on an e-moped or a bicycle. With the new Shimano drive, when the motor supports and how much is significantly influenced by how hard you pedal and not by the cadence as with some drives from the competition. On the one hand, this has the great advantage that the power is available almost without delay, and on the other hand, the drive can be dosed very gently. The latter plays a decisive role, especially during technical passages, in which a drive that pushes too hard can quickly lead to a fall.
The pushing aid has also been adapted to the special area of application. Who is now wondering: pushing aid? On an E-MTB? We can only reply: there is hardly any other type of bike where a pushing aid makes more sense. If the terrain becomes too rough to stay in the saddle, a pushing aid is essential. With the Shimano TEPS E8000, this is limited to 6 km/h as required by law, but pushes much more powerfully and thus pushes the steed up even the steepest ramps.
Shimano STEPS E8000: Cockpit – Intuitive control thanks to Firebolt
The natural riding feeling extends to the cockpit - the operation should also differ as little as possible from a normal MTB without a drive. This is where Shimano's own know-how from component development comes in handy. The three support levels are controlled via the Firebolt trigger, which is already known from the electronic Di2 circuits from the XTR and XT series.
So little has changed in the cockpit: on the right is the conventional trigger for the derailleur gears on the rear wheel, on the left there is also a trigger, but this does not operate the front derailleur as before, but usually the motor support. So the processes don't change much: When the leg muscles contract, it doesn't go to the smaller chainring, but the motor is shifted up one level.
The compact color LCD is optically based on the variants known from Di2 and, in addition to the current motor support and battery charge status or the gear being driven (when combined with Di2), also provides numerous information that are otherwise more familiar from modern, expensive power meters: cadence , performance, kilometers and the remaining range can be read immediately. If you don't like the default settings, such as key assignments, you can do it yourself via smartphone and Bluetooth.
Shimano STEPS E8000: Great range thanks to the 500Wh battery
Of course, a powerful drive like the E8000 also needs the necessary energy supply so that it doesn't run out of breath after far too short a time. That's why the E8000 down tube battery delivers a whopping 500 watt hours and you're sufficiently prepared for longer tours. In addition to the inner values, the outside of the small powerhouse has also been adapted to the new area of application: more robust against external influences, whether it's falls or heavy rain showers and with a new holding mechanism that holds the battery firmly to the frame without rattling and even on the roughest ground .
The new STEPS E8000 system will be available from October 2016 – so you can expect complete bikes around that time, but by the start of the 2017 season at the latest.