E-Performance: The Canadian drive manufacturer BionX is one of the pioneers of the e-bike market. In 2018 the company celebrates its 20th birthday and can look back on an eventful history. With its current drives, BionX impressively shows that hub motors definitely have their right to exist.
The story of BionX began towards the end of the 90s. E-bikes were still a tiny niche on the bicycle market and hardly anyone could have guessed the boom that was to follow almost two decades later. The roots of the drive pioneer lie in the French-speaking part of Canada, more precisely in the small town of Asbestos. Incidentally, the name is no coincidence, because Asbestos was once the largest asbestos mine in the world - before the harmful effects of the former "white gold" were recognized. Vehicles were used to transport the asbestos out of the mine, in many cases equipped with an electric hub motor.
Jean-Yves Dubé, among others, took care of the repair and maintenance of these special truck drives. The Canadian used this know-how to adapt the functionality of these huge truck drives to bicycles. What was initially just a pipe dream quickly became a prototype and ultimately the cornerstone for the "AmiGo" drive from Dubé's company Energy and Propulsion Systems (EPS).
The drive, which was designed exclusively as a retrofit solution at the time, entered a largely unoccupied niche and quickly found its fans in North America. As the years went by, the topic of e-bikes slowly became more and more important and the level of awareness of AmiGo also increased. Deals in Europe were not long in coming and at the beginning of 2000 company founder Jean-Yves Dubé sold his shares to Pascal Larose. Now the brand name BionX has also been introduced.
Slowly but surely, the major bicycle manufacturers in Europe saw the great potential of e-bikes and found an attractive partner in BionX. For BionX things went up steeply. In 2008, the auto supplier giant Magna Marque finally took over the majority of BionX. The beginning e-bike boom, the good reputation of BionX and the attractiveness for manufacturers and end customers alike caused the demand for hub drives from Canada to explode.
In 2010 and 2011, BionX had to learn the hard way: In 2010, BionX launched its S-Series engines and switched from 36 V to 48 V technology. The Canadians were way ahead of their time and there were no relevant competing products at the time. At the same time, the e-bike and especially e-mountain bike market developed so rapidly that the demand for the F-Series motors produced from 2011 onwards in the OEM sector rose sharply. Due to a lack of alternatives, the OEM partners installed BionX motors, although they were not originally designed for off-road use and on inclines. Technical problems and overheating were partly the result. It was a phase of weakness at the wrong time, with which BionX fell behind compared to the newly introduced mid-engine drives. Nevertheless, one did not stick one's head in the sand, but dealt openly with the problems and was able to eliminate them bit by bit.
The technical teething problems are now a thing of the past. In addition, one of the most modern service concepts has been developed for the dealers. The data is transmitted directly to BionX via its own product diagnostic system, where the appropriate measures are taken, not least through remote maintenance. The drives themselves are among the most modern hub motors on the market. The drive is still equally interesting for OEMs and retrofitters: Most of the technology is in the rear wheel hub, the battery can be mounted on the down tube or under the luggage rack, and there is also a semi-integrated battery for B2B customers. The system is controlled by a controller on the handlebars. Optionally, the driver can receive further information via the DS3 display or via smartphone app.
The BionX drives 2018
BionX D Series
The youngest offspring in the BionX family is quite an eye-catcher when it comes to looks alone. The drive is – how else should it be with BionX – in the rear wheel hub. However, while other manufacturers try to accommodate as much technology as possible in the smallest possible space and to keep the optics inconspicuous, BionX goes the opposite way with the D-Series. The mighty disc in the rear wheel should attract a lot of curious looks and doesn't want to hide at all.
However, the unusual size of the drive is not a hollow statement or just a design element, but offers tangible, technical advantages: Due to the larger diameter, the magnetic components are further away from the axis and move with a higher tangential speed. In addition, less electrical power is required to generate the desired torque. The result: The drive ensures optimal heat regulation on the mountain, is lighter (total weight approx. 4kg) and at the same time more powerful (50Nm max.) than its predecessor.
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In addition, of course, it has the usual advantages: It is noiseless and low-maintenance and the built-in recuperation mode recharges the battery when braking if desired. Speaking of the battery: the D-Series motor is available with either a 423Wh or 555Wh battery.
BionX P Series
The P series is a bit more compact and is the usual and proven hub motor from BionX. With 40Nm of maximum torque, it still has more than enough power for most applications and is just as silent and low-maintenance as the D-Series. Another advantage over the mid-motor competition that should not be underestimated is that the torque always arrives directly on the road and is not passed on via the “detour” chain ring, chain and cassette, where one or the other watt is lost, as is the case with the mid-motor. The integrated energy recovery is also on board - at 4,7 kg, it weighs a few grams more despite its more compact dimensions.
The 555Wh battery sits on the down tube, the 423Wh version is also available as a luggage rack battery. Clever: A rear light is directly integrated into the latter, which can be switched on and off using the control element in the cockpit.