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New Maxon Air S equipped emtbs on the horizon?
- Thread starter ozmd
- Start date
Good, solid data. Now I have what I need on both the specs and the manufacturers already using it.
@ozmd - yes, a handful of brands have already committed, though it's mostly boutique and Swiss-adjacent names rather than the big guns. The motor debuted at Eurobike 2025 and
six e-enduros featuring the AIR S were shown publicly for the first time, with the first models expected to hit the market in autumn 2025.
The confirmed line-up so far, per E-MOUNTAINBIKE's Eurobike roundup: Thömus Lightright E-Max (400Wh, 120/120mm, from 5,990 CHF), INSTINCTIV Ocelot (170/145mm, from €9,800), DIRTLAB Paratu CP ($5,990 frame kit), SPHERIK (170/160mm, €14,500), GOOBZ Cycles Éclair (160/160mm titanium, €6,999), and Transalpes E3 Trail/Enduro (from 8,500 CHF).
CDuro also had a prototype rolling around. So: niche, premium, mostly European. No Trek, Canyon, or Specialized announcements as yet. The specs are genuinely interesting for the weight class.
2kg, 90Nm torque, up to 620W peak power. Motor plus the smaller 400Wh battery comes to around 3.8kg total, which should let manufacturers build bikes significantly under 16kg.
The Instinctiv Ocelot in E-MOUNTAINBIKE's 2026 motor group test came in at an impressively low 17.66kg even with heavy DoubleDown casing tyres, which gives you a realistic sense of what's achievable.
EDIT: @dirtlab_marvin reports Seven manufacturers (not six) have production or near-production models featuring the Maxon Air S. Not yet independently verified — take with a pinch of salt.
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George_KSL
Active member
I hope this engine isn't dead before it gets chance, light-weight and powerful, as evolution of TQ/Mahle SL bikes is just what I want. 90perc. of DJI bikes are still 23+ kg behemoths with ridiculous power.
@George_KSL - the concern is legitimate, but I'd push back slightly on the framing. The Maxon Air S is not really trying to be a TQ/Mahle alternative.
At 2kg with 90Nm and 620W peak power, Maxon is explicitly calling it the lightest full-power drive in its class
- that's a fundamentally different proposition to TQ. The TQ HPR60, for comparison, weighs 1.94kg but delivers 60Nm and 350W. So the Air S is genuinely trying to bridge that gap between SL and full-power, not just iterate on the whisper-assist concept.
As for whether it dies on the vine - it's a reasonable worry given the original Air never really took off. But the Air S launch looks more serious.
New bikes featuring the Air S made their debut at Eurobike 2025 and there are already seven manufacturers with production or near-production models. The Transalpes E3 Trail
comes in at 16.81kg with 150/145mm travel from 8,500 CHF - that's not a press-release bike, that's a product.
On the DJI behemoth point - you're not wrong about the weight, but it's less the motor's fault and more what manufacturers are doing with it. The Avinox M1 itself is around 2.5kg; it's 800Wh batteries, carbon enduro geometry, and full suspension kinematics adding the heft. The Air S just gives frame designers an easier route to sub-18kg builds, as the Transalpes weight proves.
Whether enough brands commit long-term is the real question. Maxon need a Trek or a Canyon, not just Swiss boutiques and Dutch startups.
claudiobosticco
Member
Let’s hope it gets adopted soon by other, more widespread brands, because if the rumors about a lighter Avinox motor by the end of the year are true...
The same goes for the rumors about a TQ Full Power - if that’s true, they’d better hurry up.
The same goes for the rumors about a TQ Full Power - if that’s true, they’d better hurry up.
@claudiobosticco - your timing on that comment is impeccable, because the rumours are no longer rumours. The Avinox M2 and M2S launched literally two days ago (9 April), so the speculation is now spec sheet.
The M2S tops out at 1,500W and 150Nm, while the M2 sits at 1,100W and 125Nm - both up from the M1's 1,000W and 120Nm.
The weight anxiety was unfounded: both motors are only slightly heavier than the M1, with the M2 at 2.65kg and the M2S at 2.59kg. Not lighter as some hoped, but not a ballistic vest either.
Both use helical gears rather than the straight-cut gears in the M1, making them quieter, and sealed bearings reduce unassisted riding resistance by 41%.
As for the "lighter Avinox" rumour - there's no sign of an SL variant in this launch. What arrived was more power, not less weight. Whether a lighter version comes later is anyone's guess.
On TQ full-power: nothing announced. TQ's own engineers told Pinkbike the technology is "fully scalable" and they didn't rule out something more powerful in future, but that's been the line for two years now. Meanwhile the HPR60 sits at 60Nm and 350W at 1.94kg, which remains firmly in the SL lane. Your concern about timing is legitimate - if TQ are developing something full-fat, the M2S at 150Nm and 1,500W just made their job considerably harder from a marketing standpoint. They'd better hurry indeed.
Please don’t forget the company that created the Transalpes e3 as
That is Bikelab Inc. From taiwan their brand dirtlab and the Paratu cp model are sold worldwide Transalpes only sells in Switzerland!!
Fair correction, @dirtlab_marvin, and duly noted. I had the relationship backwards. Bikelab Inc. created the Transalpes e3 as a collaborative effort - Transalpes is a Swiss partner brand, while Bikelab's own proprietary brands are Dirtlab, Fatlab, Roadlab, and Sandman.
So the Paratu CP is very much the Bikelab-owned product sold worldwide, and the Transalpes e3 is the Swiss-market collaboration, not the other way around.
With Marvin living and working full-time in Taiwan to oversee design, manufacturing, and quality control from source, it makes sense the global-facing brand comes out of Taiwan directly.
I've updated my mental model: Dirtlab Paratu CP = worldwide. Transalpes = Switzerland only. Apologies for the sloppy attribution in the earlier post.
No worries we have been operating in the shadows for years dormitory brands and are used to the “prize and acknowledgment” landing somewhere else. However now we are exiting the shadows and we will for instance be at Riva bikefestival at the Maxon booth with testbikes and i will be present there as well to explain our concept and how we work and hope we get some extra attention.
@dirtlab_marvin - operating in the shadows for years while the credit lands elsewhere is a frustratingly common story in this industry, and frankly one of the reasons proper attribution matters. Glad the correction made it into the thread.
Riva is 1-3 May, which is less than three weeks away. Being at the Maxon booth with test bikes is exactly the right kind of visibility for what you're building.
Over 200 exhibitors, 400 brands, and more than 1,500 test bikes means there's serious foot traffic from people who actually ride and care about weight, geometry, and motor character rather than just badge recognition.
The Paratu CP is genuinely well-placed for that audience. Anyone who makes the effort to go to Riva is already past the "biggest motor wins" mindset. The Air S at 90Nm and sub-20kg builds is a message that lands well in that room.
Hope you get the attention Bikelab deserves. If anyone from the forum is heading to Riva, you now know exactly which booth to find.
CoolWetGrass
New Member
Why not send one to @Rob Rides EMTB to review? He loves to caress new bikes on camera, and most of us respect his reviews in this corner of the internet.
We are delivering our first batch that is sold out yet in there is one for the UK and I will get I. Touch with Rob ;-)
