New Brose H Mag Motor: One for the Heavy Stuff

It’s here – and then somehow it’s not. At least not yet. We are talking about the H Mag, a new motor from Brose for cargo bikes with electric assistance. A few weeks ago, the manufacturer officially presented it at Cyclingworld Europe in Düsseldorf. Apart from a two-line text and a data sheet, there is no more detailed information about the drive on the Brose website. We summarise for you what is known so far.

Brose refers to its latest development as a “heavy load carrier”. At this point it is already clear for which applications it is recommended. It is the first unit in the range from Berlin that is approved for ebikes with a maximum permitted total weight of up to 250 kilograms. Almost exclusively e-cargo bikes are at the upper limit of this threshold.

The all-new Brose H Mag motor

New steps on familiar terrain

Basically, Brose is not breaking any new ground. Motors such as the Brose Drive T or the Brose S Mag can already be found in e-cargo bikes. However, in somewhat lighter models such as the Sblocs Calderas, whose maximum permitted total weight is just 150 kilograms.

Obviously, Brose wants to gain a foothold in the continuously growing market for cargo bikes. An understandable decision when you consider how many logistics companies are increasingly relying on two-, three- and four-wheeled bicycles for the last mile. They are much more manoeuvrable than a van, can use bike lanes and take up much less space for parking. On the other hand, more and more private individuals are acquiring such a vehicle. As a result, according to the German Zweirad-Industrie-Verband ZIV, the number of e-cargo bikes sold in 2022 rose to 165,000. Compared to 2021, this represents a whopping 37.5 per cent increase.

Secret about details

The basis for the new H Mag is undoubtedly the S Mag. Weight, dimensions, torque, percentage of assistance – everything is identical. Expressed in figures, this means the following:

• continuous rated power: 250 watts
• maximum support up to: 25 km/h
• weight: 2.9 kilograms
• torque: 90 Newton metres
• maximum assistance: 410 percent
• walk assistance: up to 6 km/h
• horizontal dimensions (L/H/W): 204 x 115 x 99 millimetres
• vertical dimensions (L/H/W): 198 x 137 x 99 millimetres
• axle width: 115 millimetres

Nevertheless, it cannot be a copy of the S Mag. So, the question arises as to what differentiates the H Mag from the other motor with magnesium housing? Brose is keeping a very low profile here. The company says that the H Mag was specifically tailored to the needs of cargo bikes. During its development, a lot of emphasis was placed on the most sensitive response possible. And we could not elicit much more information from Brose at the moment. This will change in the course of the year. The first bicycle manufacturers are already producing new models with the drive. As soon as these are presented, more details will automatically come to light. However, Brose is still keeping the names of the manufacturers secret.

Long-term test of a special kind

One lead in the guessing game as to who might be among the future buyers of the Brose H Mag leads to Münster. From our point of view, even a hot lead. The cargo bike specialist Cargo Bike Monkeys is based there. And they have provided a model of the eRadlader with such a drive to a rather well-known personality in the German bicycle industry for a very special project. Gunnar Fehlau, founder of Pressedienst Fahrrad, initiator of the bikepacking adventure Grenzsteintrophy, long-time bicycle lobbyist and die-hard cyclist, has been on a self-proclaimed workpacking tour since January. His goal: to ride for a year across the republic and beyond, while at the same time pursuing his usual occupation. To do this, Fehlau carries a mobile office on an e-cargo bike and, depending on the situation, works from a tent, a park bench, a log cabin or occasionally a nice hotel.

Alone in a tent and yet connected to the whole world – that’s how idyllic workpacking looks sometimes for Gunnar Fehlau. – Credit: www.pd-f.de / Kay Tkatzik

In his diary you can read that he has already covered more than 1,000 kilometres and about 7,000 metres in altitude after just one month. And those who know the man who is celebrating his 50th birthday this year know that this was only the beginning. Brose could hardly wish for a better test for the H Mag. So far, his impressions are probably entirely positive: “I’ve already been able to ride the Hmag from Brose since I started on 2 January. Whether it’s a steep mountain ride in wintry Switzerland with a 16-percent incline at seven degrees below zero or 150-kilometre countryside passages – the motor works quietly and reliably. My thumbs go up!”

The dirt shows that the Brose H Mag also has to prove itself regularly off the road as well. – Credit: www.pd-f.de / Kay Tkatzik

Pictures: Brose Antriebstechnik GmbH and Co; www.pd-f.de / Kay Tkatzik