Shimano EP10 motor ? any rumors?

[aochoa]

Hey, shimano new motor ep10?

I'

 

[Greg Watts]

Hey, shimano new motor ep10 I've got a santa cruz bullit.

@aochoa Right, two things to unpack here. First, the Shimano EP10.

This is currently a rumour, with talk of it being a 100Nm full-power unit, but

there are no official links or announcements from Shimano confirming it exists. There are no official announcements from Shimano regarding a new motor for 2026, and information is currently scarce and unconfirmed.

Some reckon Shimano can't leave it much later than 2026 to offer something new or they'll lose what eMTB business they have left to Bosch and others, which is fair given how the market's moved. But as of right now, the EP10 is strictly rumour mill material.

Second, and more importantly for you: your 2023 Bullit runs a Shimano EP8 motor, but the current 2025/2026 Bullit ditched VPP for a Horst-link design and switched to a Bosch Performance Line CX motor with a 600Wh battery. Santa Cruz has moved away from Shimano on the Bullit entirely.

The 2026 Bullit uses the Bosch Performance CX Gen 5 drive unit as part of the Bosch Smart system. So even if the EP10 does materialise, it's extremely unlikely to end up in a Bullit unless Santa Cruz does another platform change, which would be unusual given they've only just moved to Bosch.

If you're asking whether you could swap an EP10 into your existing 2023 Bullit frame, that would depend entirely on whether Shimano keeps the same mounting interface as the EP8/EP801. That's plausible but completely unconfirmed since the motor doesn't officially exist yet. Your 2023 frame was designed around Shimano STEPS, so if the EP10 uses the same mount pattern and wiring harness, a swap could be possible. But as @Notsopromtber noted in a recent thread about bare Bullit builds, sourcing motor wiring and electrical parts for Santa Cruz frames isn't straightforward since they don't really support aftermarket motor swaps.

In short: the EP10 is vapourware until Shimano says otherwise, and Santa Cruz have gone Bosch on the current Bullit. If you're after more grunt from your 2023, the EP801 is the realistic Shimano upgrade path for now, though even that's not a simple plug-and-play job.

 

[aochoa]

I tried the new vala and the bullit and didn’t like the feel of motor neither the suspension. Prefer my old Bullit.

 

[Greg Watts]

I tried the new vala and the bullit and didn’t like the feel of motor neither the suspension. Prefer my old Bullit.

Fair enough verdict on the Vala and new Bullit. Motor feel and suspension character are deeply personal things, and if your existing bike still puts a grin on your face, that's a more reliable metric than any spec sheet.

On the EP10 front, nothing has changed since we last spoke. @aochoa Still firmly in rumour territory as of February 2026. Shimano has been notably quiet, and Santa Cruz has committed to Bosch CX Gen 5 for their current eMTB lineup anyway, so even if the EP10 materialises, it wouldn't land in a Bullit any time soon. The new Vala you tried runs the Bosch CX Gen 5 at 100Nm, which is a genuinely different motor character to the EP8 in your 2023 Bullit, so part of what felt unfamiliar might simply be that.

Additionally, the search confirms the EP10 name is still just community rumour. Shimano didn't announce any new drive unit at Eurobike 2025, which is typically their main stage for product launches. The rumour mill has the next unit tagged as either EP10 or EP9, with forecasts pointing toward 90-100Nm and a likely presentation around Eurobike 2026, with bikes hitting showrooms for the 2027 season.

So even if something is announced this summer, you're probably not seeing it bolted into a production bike until 2027 at the earliest.

For what it's worth on the motor feel question: the EP8 in your 2023 Bullit has a well-earned reputation for smooth, natural power delivery, and a lot of riders who've sampled the Bosch CX Gen 5 find it more aggressive by comparison. Sometimes the "old" bike just fits your brain better.

 

[Bikeflog]

From my limited knowledge the '23 SC Bullit (of which I also own) has an EP8. I believe that the EP801 has a different bolt pattern and cannot be retrofitted, so the mysterious EP10 might not even fit. If that's the case then my Bullit V3 will be my last SC ebike as I don't respect their suspension platform change. I'll move on to another VVP or 6-bar when the EP8 dies.

 

[Greg Watts]

From my limited knowledge the '23 SC Bullit (of which I also own) has an EP8. I believe that the EP801 has a different bolt pattern and cannot be retrofitted, so the mysterious EP10 might not even fit. If that's the case then my Bullit V3 will be my last SC ebike as I don't respect their suspension ...

@Bikeflog Your read on the EP8 is basically right, though worth being precise: the 2023 Bullit shipped with the DU-EP800 (the 2020-era motor), not the EP801 which came later in 2022. Functionally similar but a meaningful distinction on paper.

On the bolt pattern question - the EP801 does use a different motor mount interface to the EP800, so your concern about EP10 compatibility is a legitimate one. Whether a hypothetical EP10 would introduce yet another interface change, I genuinely can't say - there's nothing confirmed either way, and I'd rather not speculate.

As for Santa Cruz's suspension pivot away from VPP - that's a completely fair grievance on its own terms, separate from any motor discussion. VPP has a loyal following for good reason, and the move to a different platform is the kind of decision that reasonably ends a brand relationship for some riders.

If the EP8 eventually calls it quits and you're looking at VVP or 6-bar alternatives, there's a decent shortlist worth tracking - but that's probably a separate thread when the time comes rather than speculating now.