Is Sram Working on an Own Ebike Motor?

With the registration of its own racing team in the Enduro World Series for ebikes (E-EWS), Sram has fuelled rumours about a possibly imminent presentation of its own ebike drive. The usually very well-informed bike magazines Bikeradar (Great Britain), Pinkbike (USA) and Bike Europe (Netherlands) openly speculate on whether the industry giant from the USA will return to the field of ebikes as a motor supplier. We summarise the current state of affairs for you.

1. What are the assumptions based on?
2. What exactly is Sram up to?
3. What kind of drive could it be?
4. Build it or have it built?
5. What does Sram say about the rumours?
6. Previous ebike motors from Sram

1. What are the assumptions based on?

On 16 February, the organisers of the Enduro World Series officially unveiled the teams for the 2022 season. Apparently quite unexpectedly, the name “BlackBox Test Pilot Program” appears among them. In the past, Sram has used the name BlackBox to identify its own prototypes as such. Labelled in this way and hiding the crucial details, components were tested under racing conditions in full view of the public. Now a team is competing in a racing series for e-mountain bikes that bears this designation in its name and whose rider wears a Sram baseball cap and a Sram shirt. That already seems very obvious.

The team’s only named rider so far is 37-year-old Frenchman Yannick Pontal. Last season he rode for the French team Cycles Peugeot in the EWS. Pinkbike expects him to be joined by other riders before the actual start of the race series. A team with only one rider would look very confusing to the outside world.

The sponsors of the BlackBox Test Pilot Program team on the EWS website are Sram, RockShox, Time and Zipp, three other brands that belong to the Sram Group. The only “outsider” at the moment is the clothing manufacturer Troy Lee Designs. What is striking about this list is that neither a bicycle manufacturer nor a manufacturer of bicycle frames appears among the names mentioned.

There are currently no details of the BlackBox Test Pilot Program team on the Enduro World Series website.

2. What exactly is Sram up to?

Sram is involved in other EWS teams as a supplier. Consequently, being involved in another team – to whatever extent – cannot come as a complete surprise. Bikeradar openly admits that so far it is completely uncertain what exactly is behind Sram’s action.

Theoretically, it is possible that it is just about testing new components. The British magazine, however, largely rules out such thoughts. It considers an electronic version of Sram’s EX1 shifting group, which is designed for ebikes, just as unlikely as new suspension forks and brakes. From its point of view, the signs speak most likely for a complete e-drive system.

Logo of Sram’s BlackBox Test Pilot Program team

3. What kind of drive could it be?

Participation in the E-EWS suggests in which direction this could go. Systems with rear hub motors á la Mahle or an almost completely removable drive like Fazua’s would be clearly inferior to other drives given the racing format. Instead, an upcoming system could be more similar to units like the Bosch Performance CX, the Panasonic GX Ultimate Pro Fit or the Giant SyncDrive Pro2. That would mean a mid-mounted motor, a continuous rated power of 250 watts and a torque of between 70 and 100 Newton metres.

Bikeradar also reminds us of the many electronic features that Sram products have nowadays. It is possible that a new Sram drivetrain will integrate components such as control units and displays wirelessly into the system right from the start. It is even conceivable for the magazine that Sram will go for the big shot and work on a motor with an integrated gearbox. In any case, the manufacturer does not lack the necessary creativity and innovative power. The past has shown that many times.

An Enduro-compatible battery would have to have a capacity of between 600 watt-hours and 750 watt-hours to match the motor. This depends, among other things, on how power-saving the motor is and how efficient.

4. Build or have built?

Despite everything, it is not easy to build a reliable ebike drive. The people involved at Sram are definitely aware of this. Therefore, one of the most crucial questions in this context is whether Sram would take this into its own hands or join forces with partners who have already successfully mastered this. After all, the cooperations of Giant with Yamaha and Flyer with Panasonic follow exactly this pattern. Bikeradar is also considering the option of Sram collaborating with a company that has not yet produced an ebike motor but has the necessary experience and know-how.

How this can be achieved on its own was shown by Shimano with the EP8 at the latest. Including the proof of how much you might have to pay to get there.

5. What does Sram say about the rumours?

According to its own account, Bikeradar has tried to get an official statement from Sram on these speculations. In vain. The US-Americans have not yet shown their cards. The EWS website or Yannick Pontal’s social media accounts currently provide just as little insight.

In the comments on a report by Pinkbike, however, a user called “needmoregears” ventured quite far out on 17 February 2022. The 49-year-old man from Chattanooga in the US state of Tennessee writes that Sram has recently been testing a motor for ebikes. To him, it looks like the manufacturer is only willing to show the system to the public. We cannot judge how credible this comment is.

According to the calendar, the first race of this year’s E-EWS will take place on 2 June in Innerleithen, Scotland. More reliable information should be available by then at the latest.

6. Previous ebike motors from Sram

Should Sram actually test its own motor with the BlackBox Test Pilot Program team, this would already be the third foray in this direction. Some 20 years ago, the manufacturer presented the rear wheel hub motor “Sparc”. It weighed 2.5 kilograms and had a maximum output of 400 watts. It could easily be retrofitted to a conventional bicycle.

The next attempt followed a good ten years later with “E-Matic”. Again, it was a motor installed in the rear wheel hub. Its maximum torque was already 60 Newton metres. Sram provided it with various sizes of rear rack batteries, which provided a range of between 30 kilometres and 95 kilometres.

Remarkable with the current rumours in mind: both Sparc and E-Matic had integrated hub gears – with five and two gears respectively. Maybe Bikeradar is right with its assumptions after all.

Images: Sram LLC; Enduro Sports Organisation Ltd.; Instagram / Yannick Pontal; Electra Bicycle Company