The Sram Eagle Powertrain motor and new battery tech!

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Sram Eagle Powertrain
Battery
630 Wh and 720 Wh
There have been rumors about a new Sram motor all year. And now, all of a sudden, the Sram Eagle Powertrain is here. Check out Robs video for all the info about motor, autoshift and so on. But if you care about battery tech, remember to read the rest of this article.


The Sram Eagle Powertrain motor​

This new motor is labeled “Powered by BROSE”, and it might very well be the Brose Magnesium S motor that has been adapted for Sram. It’s a 90 Nm motor rated at 680 W max. It weighs in at 2.9 kg.

Sram Eagle Powertrain motor


Autoshift​

Whether it’s all new or not, the motor would have to be adapted to run the Autoshift algorithms and it would need additional hardware for connection and processing.

The Sram autoshift only works with the Sram Transmission drivetrain, and it only works with this new motor. Not having tested this myself, it appears similar to the Shimano Autoshift. The system changes gears based on cadence, and it can be over-ridden or completely turned off. These systems must be able to shift under load, and the Sram Transmission drivetrain is designed to do so.

It shifts under load!


There’s also the “Coast Shift” function that allows the drivetrain to shift gears when not pedalling. It’s a nice function that allows the Autoshift to shift to the correct gear as speed goes up or down while coasting. And as you would expect, the Sram Transmission electronic derailleur now draws power directly from the main battery.

The Sram Eagle Powertrain components​

It seems the left shifter has returned, but it hasn’t! The shifter on the right side of the handlebars is indeed a shifter, it operates the Sram AXS T-type drivetrain. Sram calls this the AXS Pod controller. The very similar looking Pod on the left side controls the motor and Autoshift settings. But there is no reason to be alarmed, it controls the AXS dropper post too, which is what we all expect from a lever/button on the left side.

Two Sram AXS Pods handles all tasks


“The Eagle Powertrain AXS Bridge Display” is the name of the display that mounts on the frame. It’s a waterproof, illuminated, gorillaglass protected color display. There's also the "Eagle Powertrain AXS app" that lets you tweak and personalize settings.

Eagle Powertrain AXS Bridge Display
AXS Pod controller
Sram AXS Transmission, aka T-Type

The batteries!​

It might just be me, but this is what had me the most excited. No, not the 720 Wh battery running 21700/5Ah cells. And no, not the 250 Wh range extender that can be mounted where the bottle cage sits. See my battery video or keep on reading.



It’s the 630 Wh battery! The battery that was supposed to sit in Robs demo bike. I guess it’s not ready yet. It’s a 3 kg battery with higher energy density cells. I’m pretty sure it’s the new LG M58T cells. A high-nickel litium-ion cell with an energy density of 285 Wh/kg. These have been rumored since early 2022, and it seems they’ve finally reached the ebike market.

There's room for a range extender...
...or a bottle.

A Sram battery


Now why is this such a big deal to me? The last leap in battery technology was back in about 2015. A regular ebike battery went from 400 Wh to 500 Wh with practically no weight increase. This time we’re seeing a 16% increase in capacity, which means a 5Ah cell of the 21700 format is now 5.8Ah. Your 540 Wh battery from Orbea or YT can suddenly be built with a capacity of 630 Wh. The 360 Wh battery in many lightweight emtbs can now be built as a 420 Wh battery. Future versions of your 720 Wh battery will be 840 Wh. All this while fitting in the same battery enclosure. And weight remains the same.

The Sram display
The Sram display again
A peak at the app

Wait…​

Why does the new Sram motor come with a 720 Wh battery and not an 840 Wh? Who knows, I guess the new battery cells aren’t ready yet. And perhaps Sram can’t get as many of them as they want? The 630 Wh battery isn’t out yet, so I guess Sram went with the 720 Wh battery to have a product ready for the launch.

It seems Transition and Propain will be putting out Sram powered bikes


Which bikes get the Sram motor?​

I’m looking forward to testing a bike with this motor system. But what bikes will we get? Judging by the press images, we get a Propain and a Transition. Also, the press kit mentions Nukeproof and GasGas. Some bikes should be out this fall.

Sram Eagle Powertrain


My take​

The future of battery tech is here. And so is a very interesting motorsystem. The Sram Eagle Powertrain will work with any drivetrain. But the integration of the Sram AXS Transmission drivetrain is very interesting. Now both Sram and Shimano have motors that can be combined with wireless shifting to acheive automatic shifting. These are systems designed to shift under load. In addition, the design with no dropout makes the Sram Transmission more solid in the sense that it can handle impacts better.

A clean and balanced looking cockpit
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About author
knut7
Knut Nes
Started mountainbiking in the 90s. Moved to emtbs in 2014 and have been reviewing them since 2016. Contact me here https://emtb.no/contact/

Comments

Zimmerframe
Bike Gorilla said:
I’m wondering if it fits a Levo!?
Click to expand...
The TCU bit is the same size, but not software compatible with the Spesh system (Tested). Motor is the same mount holes but the casing is slightly different, so it depends mainly if the battery would fit in the levo tube or if it's larger.
 
Emailsucks98
I'm stoked to see a carbon Propain eBike, at least. Had a Tyee and it was a great ride.

Not stoked on some other aspects. MFG's need to figure out how to not have the motor hanging low & in front of the chainring. That is such a liability in technical terrain.
And just my personal opinion but there is very little value added by electronic/wireless/autoshift. Added weight, more batteries to charge, less drop & fewer dropper options. A cleaner cockpit is not really worth the all downsides and the extra cost. All this just makes used bikes seem like an even better value, which the bike industry needs to reckon with.....
 
Mikerb
I wonder if SRAM have been too long in the development of this? It is understandable that a company that sells cassettes, chain, derailleurs etc should extend that range with their own motor ( or at least their own software version of the Brose motor) and integration but meanwhile the sort of automation being pursued with the SRAM system would be far more practically achieved with a motor/gearbox combination. If a major bike brand launches a motor/gearbox in 2024 or 2025 it could undermine SRAMs development path.
 
S
While this product has been predicted for some time now, it makes perfect sense as far as SRAM is concerned and will be a boon to Brose. Shimano for years now has been both in the the e-bike motor game in addition to an endless legacy in the drivetrain space. Shimano has leveraged this combination for a couple of years now with the DI2 auto-shift/frees-hift tech. SRAM saw the writing on the wall and had to move into the motor space. Brose is the perfect partner, since it's been around for long time but is OK with keeping is branding subordinated (e.g. to Specialized) and integration flexible (unlike Bosch).

Specialized has the most to immediately gain from this tech as it's already committed to Brose and should see new models popping up any day now. Other bike manufacturers may be hard pressed to jump ship off of their Shimano EP8 platforms (e.g. Orbea) just to get this integrated tech when they already have it with Shimano. That said, bike manufacturers committed to Bosch don't have any easy answer unless Bosch jumps into the drivetrain space, but SRAM and Shimano have locked that space up for over 2 decades now.

Enter the motor-gearbox-unit (MGU), which I feel is Bosch's best play at the moment, for 3 reasons: 1 is that the gearboxes is still a niche space, ripe for occupation by a big player and 2, MGU would provide marked benefits for over a typical e-bike derailleur/motor, which this new SRAM product ostensible still is. And 3, which is becoming increasing clear, and is evidenced by the product announcement, both SRAM and Shimano need to protect their derailleur legacy, whereas Bosch has none to safeguard.

These are interesting times for EMTB.
 
Streddaz
slickrock said:
While this product has been predicted for some time now, it makes perfect sense as far as SRAM is concerned and will be a boon to Brose. Shimano for years now has been both in the the e-bike motor game in addition to an endless legacy in the drivetrain space. Shimano has leveraged this combination for a couple of years now with the DI2 auto-shift/frees-hift tech. SRAM saw the writing on the wall and had to move into the motor space. Brose is the perfect partner, since it's been around for long time but is OK with keeping is branding subordinated (e.g. to Specialized) and integration flexible (unlike Bosch).

Specialized has the most to immediately gain from this tech as it's already committed to Brose and should see new models popping up any day now. Other bike manufacturers may be hard pressed to jump ship off of their Shimano EP8 platforms (e.g. Orbea) just to get this integrated tech when they already have it with Shimano. That said, bike manufacturers committed to Bosch don't have any easy answer unless Bosch jumps into the drivetrain space, but SRAM and Shimano have locked that space up for over 2 decades now.

Enter the motor-gearbox-unit (MGU), which I feel is Bosch's best play at the moment, for 3 reasons: 1 is that the gearboxes is still a niche space, ripe for occupation by a big player and 2, MGU would provide marked benefits for over a typical e-bike derailleur/motor, which this new SRAM product ostensible still is. And 3, which is becoming increasing clear, and is evidenced by the product announcement, both SRAM and Shimano need to protect their derailleur legacy, whereas Bosch has none to safeguard.

These are interesting times for EMTB.
Click to expand...
I agree. SRAM and Shimano will be reluctant having their own MGU as how are they going to sell their very expensive, consumable drivetrain products.
Specialized bore the brunt of all the teething problems of the Brose belt drive motor and when they finally get it sorted SRAM shoulders in on it. :LOL:
 
R
So if the 630Wh battery weighs 3.1kg (I have seen 3.0kg and 3.1kg in different articles). My best estimate given the energy density of 285, would be an 840Wh battery between 3.8kg and 4kg, probably 3.9kg (not sure how to scale casing weight). Not bad at all, given that my Giant 800Wh weighs 4.4kg and a Canyon 900Wh is reported to be 4.75kg.
 
RickBullotta
Streddaz said:
I agree. SRAM and Shimano will be reluctant having their own MGU as how are they going to sell their very expensive, consumable drivetrain products.
Specialized bore the brunt of all the teething problems of the Brose belt drive motor and when they finally get it sorted SRAM shoulders in on it. :LOL:
Click to expand...

Who knows - Brose might decide to roll up Specialized, SRAM, and maybe someone else. There could be a substantial pricing advantage to a full integrated offering (30%), and consumers might benefit from that. Brose is roughly 10X larger than either Specialized or SRAM.
 
S
RickBullotta said:
Who knows - Brose might decide to roll up Specialized, SRAM, and maybe someone else. There could be a substantial pricing advantage to a full integrated offering (30%), and consumers might benefit from that. Brose is roughly 10X larger than either Specialized or SRAM.
Click to expand...
No question. This is easily the best thing that has happened to Brose since Specialized got in bed with them years ago. In a way, Specialized shackled Brose to the bike brand all these years, keeping them from branching out while Shimano and Bosch took over. SRAM has basically unshackled Brose from monopsonist Specialized , albeit still brand-subordinated; but this time to SRAM.
 
Mikerb
Despite the size of Brose compared to bike or bike component brands it lacks any brand image, routes to market or expertise in the bike market so not a wise or likely move to stretch their brand in the bike market.
Spesh have achieved their market leading position in the EMTB market through innovation.....but both geo and integration have become very nearly standardised across its main competitors and Bosch motors have probably achieved a higher reputation for reliability and matched the Brose ride performance.
So the big question for me is how will Spesh respond in order to keep its market position. None of the new Sram system testers have questioned what that system means in terms of price.....I suspect too much for the majority of the market. So the opportunity for Spesh is to adopt an existing mgu but probably with their own software and integration. Their warranty reputation makes buyers feel less risk in buying new technology and there are several maintenance cost benefits they could push in addition to functionality like auto shift. .
 
RickBullotta
Mikerb said:
Despite the size of Brose compared to bike or bike component brands it lacks any brand image, routes to market or expertise in the bike market so not a wise or likely move to stretch their brand in the bike market.
Spesh have achieved their market leading position in the EMTB market through innovation.....but both geo and integration have become very nearly standardised across its main competitors and Bosch motors have probably achieved a higher reputation for reliability and matched the Brose ride performance.
So the big question for me is how will Spesh respond in order to keep its market position. None of the new Sram system testers have questioned what that system means in terms of price.....I suspect too much for the majority of the market. So the opportunity for Spesh is to adopt an existing mgu but probably with their own software and integration. Their warranty reputation makes buyers feel less risk in buying new technology and there are several maintenance cost benefits they could push in addition to functionality like auto shift. .
Click to expand...

They wouldn't abandon the acquired brands. Again, with eMTB prices heading into the stratosphere, being able to deliver a quality eMTB for 25-30% less would be a massive competitive advantage. Just a thought experiment, really.
 
S
Mikerb said:
Despite the size of Brose compared to bike or bike component brands it lacks any brand image, routes to market or expertise in the bike market so not a wise or likely move to stretch their brand in the bike market.
Spesh have achieved their market leading position in the EMTB market through innovation.....but both geo and integration have become very nearly standardised across its main competitors and Bosch motors have probably achieved a higher reputation for reliability and matched the Brose ride performance.
So the big question for me is how will Spesh respond in order to keep its market position. None of the new Sram system testers have questioned what that system means in terms of price.....I suspect too much for the majority of the market. So the opportunity for Spesh is to adopt an existing mgu but probably with their own software and integration. Their warranty reputation makes buyers feel less risk in buying new technology and there are several maintenance cost benefits they could push in addition to functionality like auto shift. .
Click to expand...
There is something to said about this POV, as in maybe it's not so clear how Specialized would respond. Specialized has brought a fair amount of integrated IP to the table in terms of controls and battery integration. This SRAM product would in fact cede this aspect to SRAM and would would Specialized be getting back in the trade? Maybe some sweeteners with reduced component costs (drivetrain, dropper, motor, shifters). After all, these these companies are already in bed together... might as well make the best of it.

Specialized has really "shaped" the EMTB space for the last 7 or so years and probably wants go keep doing so, though IMHO, Specialized hasn't brought out anything compelling for the last 3 years that justify their price, whereas other bike manufacturers have and at better value. Perhaps, Specialized have plans to disrupt the market with an MGU acquisition or OEM play. If so, why not buy into the Eagle Powertrain Motor /battery to keep the contact high going until they are able to put out something that is actual "specialized"?
 
RiderOnTheStorm
What is Sram's value proposition here? Improving motor/drivetrain integration? Adding more complex, prone to failure electronics to our already sophisticated eMTBs? Where is this going?

i just can't wait to see generative AI software making gear shifting decisions on my behalf!
 
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Zimmerframe
This really does give a lot of companies more options, especially ones who were more tied into the Shimano eco system and their corporate suicide motor division :

 
2WheelsNot4
Isn't 'autoshift' just srams version of bosch's Emtb ?

I think with Sram now putting out you've got to cut through the marketing bull and accept that its probably just the same as whats currently available, only being given the 'sram spin' on it
 
Streddaz
2WheelsNot4 said:
Isn't 'autoshift' just srams version of bosch's Emtb ?

I think with Sram now putting out you've got to cut through the marketing bull and accept that its probably just the same as whats currently available, only being given the 'sram spin' on it
Click to expand...
Na, the Bosch EMTB mode adjusts the amount of assistance relative to the pedal input you put in, but you still change gears manually.
SRAMs auto shift and coast shift, actually change gears automatically in conjunction with the wireless derailleur. It's a whole package with the drivetrain, shifters and motor. It's the only way this can easily be done but does lock you into the whole package as well.
Very cunning plan implementation from SRAM. Obviously the system has been in development for years and waiting in the wings and was kicked off by the introduction of the UDI hanger quite a few years ago.
 
B
What I like most is now you can use a range extender with a Full Fat motor/battery combination giving you virtually unlimited range. I hope all manufacturers emulate this.
 
Redders473
On the new gasgas ebike the two lower models run gasgas droppers so I'm interested in how you switch modes on the bike because it seems you need sram axs pods to change them hence why they have axs droppers on most of the bikes ?
 
Streddaz
BruceJR said:
What I like most is now you can use a range extender with a Full Fat motor/battery combination giving you virtually unlimited range. I hope all manufacturers emulate this.
Click to expand...
Well, it's still limited, just more range than without a range extender.
 
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