Very promising first contact with ABS for mountain bikes from Bosch

Bosch presented several novelties for the electric bike at the Eurobike show. Among all the features introduced, the latest ABS system for VAE particularly intrigued us. The German equipment manufacturer had been working on a solution for several years to avoid blockages of the front wheel. The first version of ABS for electric bikes nevertheless required the integration of a huge, heavy and bulky box.

This time, the case which contains all the electronics linked to the ABS is much more compact and is fixed on the fork of the bicycle. This space saving is logically accompanied by a reduction in weight, the device weighing only about 200 g. On a mountain bike fork, the device remains quite discreet, even if it would jump out at the eyes of the most experienced mountain bikers. The fixing is currently done with rilsan collars, but, in the long term, the forks will integrate a location to screw the ABS box.

For now, ABS is only compatible with certain Bosch equipment, including the Performance Line CX motor that fitted the Mondraker electric mountain bike in our test, an e-MTB equipped with the intelligent system and a Kiox 300 screen. time: the use of Magura hydraulic disc brakes. Bosch has confirmed to us that other partners will be able to take advantage of this ABS technology.

The ABS can be configured from the mountain bike screen, the user is free to opt for Allroad mode, suitable for the road and quiet paths, or Trail mode, for steep and steep paths. singletracks which require more commitments. ABS can also be simply disabled. Our handling having been done on the slopes of Bike Park in Val d’Isère, the Trail mode was more suitable.

According to its designer, Bosch ABS is aimed at all types of mountain bikers, from novice to expert. That’s good, we had on hand a tester at the modest level in mountain biking and a second much more comfortable for mountain biking. Quickly, we found ourselves on a red track that had steep sections, tight turns, bumps, and even a few jumps. Suffice to say that the less experienced testers quickly understood that nothing was going to be easy.

In these conditions, with the fatigue of a first outing in the legs and a slight loss of confidence due to a fall during another descent, the piloting becomes complicated. The beginner cyclist will tend to be less precise in his braking and to lose his ability to anticipate: the perfect cocktail that leads to faults, especially when braking, biting the front disc a little too much and creating opportunities to go over it. handlebars. Mountain bike brakes like the ones we had are particularly powerful. Despite these elements, we managed to descend without experiencing a single brake application that would have put us in difficulty. However, the screen and its statistics showed us that the ABS had not been idle.

The most comfortable of our two friends was able to experience the Bosch system in a different context. Mastering his subject better, he ventured on even more demanding black slopes. The ABS indeed makes it possible to avoid locking of the wheel, but it ultimately does not exploit all the power offered by the brakes. On a very steep slope, you cannot stop the bike without using the rear brake, although this is still possible by deactivating the ABS. In practice, the bike maintains a low speed on the descents without any wheel lockup, which allows the bike to register perfectly in the turns.

During heavy braking, you can feel the small jerks of the ABS which regulates the pressure of the brake fluid. However, it remains quite discreet, and the system is forgotten very quickly. The interest for novices is undeniable and avoids many scares.

The first e-MTBs equipped with this system should arrive on the market between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. We also look forward to being able to try Bosch’s ABS on urban and cargo bikes.