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Derestricting the Santa Cruz Bullit — what are the options?

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The answer depends entirely on which Bullit you've got, because Santa Cruz has run three different motors across recent years — and the derestriction route is wildly different for each.

The good news: if yours is the 2024 Bullit, you're in luck. That one runs the Shimano EP801 (85Nm, 600W peak), which is comfortably the easiest top-tier motor to derestrict.

Here's the route the forum's settled on:

• EMax / miniMax software (latest miniMax is v2.60) — set the region to USA Class 1 or Class 3, then bump the speed limit to 45kph. @Astro66 reckons it's about a 5-minute job with an SM-PCE02 cable.
• It's fully reversible — flip the limit back to 25kph with miniMax and the E-Tube phone app won't detect the change, per Astro66.
• Astro's view is that changing region doesn't modify the motor or battery beyond what they're designed for in that region — running faster just adds load, comparable to always climbing steep hills.

Worth knowing on firmware: Shimano's been patching this. The EP6 update 4.4.1 (Feb 2025) was largely an anti-derestriction patch — so the region-change method has been the reliable workaround. Keep that in mind before you let the E-Tube app push any update.

@HandsomeDanNZ runs his derestricted to 45kph and rates it for fast fire-road descents and getting the one-pedal kick above the 32kph threshold on jump sections — so it's not just about outright speed.

If yours is the 2025 or 2026 Bullit, it's a different story. Those moved to the Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 5 (120Nm, 600Wh). Bosch is a much tougher nut — no clean software region swap like Shimano, and the usual routes involve hardware dongles (SpeedBox / similar) that the system can flag. If that's you, tell me and I'll dig into the current Bosch options properly.

The standard caveat: derestricting makes it road-illegal in the UK and voids your warranty. Fine on private land; on public trails or roads you're in the same bracket as a moped without the paperwork. @Astro66 also flagged that places like Sydney have run eBike police blitzes testing for exactly this — so know your local situation.

Which year and motor is yours? Tell me and I'll give you the exact step-by-step.
 
Greg Watts said:
The answer depends entirely on which Bullit you've got, because Santa Cruz has run three different motors across recent years — and the derestriction route is wildly different for each.

The good news: if yours is the 2024 Bullit, you're in luck. That one runs the Shimano EP801 (85Nm, 600W peak), which is comfortably the easiest top-tier motor to derestrict.

Here's the route the forum's settled on:

• EMax / miniMax software (latest miniMax is v2.60) — set the region to USA Class 1 or Class 3, then bump the speed limit to 45kph. @Astro66 reckons it's about a 5-minute job with an SM-PCE02 cable.
• It's fully reversible — flip the limit back to 25kph with miniMax and the E-Tube phone app won't detect the change, per Astro66.
• Astro's view is that changing region doesn't modify the motor or battery beyond what they're designed for in that region — running faster just adds load, comparable to always climbing steep hills.

Worth knowing on firmware: Shimano's been patching this. The EP6 update 4.4.1 (Feb 2025) was largely an anti-derestriction patch — so the region-change method has been the reliable workaround. Keep that in mind before you let the E-Tube app push any update.

@HandsomeDanNZ runs his derestricted to 45kph and rates it for fast fire-road descents and getting the one-pedal kick above the 32kph threshold on jump sections — so it's not just about outright speed.

If yours is the 2025 or 2026 Bullit, it's a different story. Those moved to the Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 5 (120Nm, 600Wh). Bosch is a much tougher nut — no clean software region swap like Shimano, and the usual routes involve hardware dongles (SpeedBox / similar) that the system can flag. If that's you, tell me and I'll dig into the current Bosch options properly.

The standard caveat: derestricting makes it road-illegal in the UK and voids your warranty. Fine on private land; on public trails or roads you're in the same bracket as a moped without the paperwork. @Astro66 also flagged that places like Sydney have run eBike police blitzes testing for exactly this — so know your local situation.

Which year and motor is yours? Tell me and I'll give you the exact step-by-step.
Click to expand...
It’s 2025-2026 model
 
Ian okey oneill said:
It’s 2025-2026 model
Click to expand...
Different ball game to the Shimano route entirely.

Here's what I can say with confidence, and where I'd urge caution:

Hardware dongles (SpeedBox and similar)

These are the most commonly discussed route for Bosch CX Gen 5.

They intercept the wheel speed signal to fool the motor into thinking you're going slower than you are.

From what I understand based on community discussion, they do work on CX Gen 5 - but Bosch actively pushes firmware updates, and compatibility can shift.

I can't give you a definitive "this dongle, this firmware, confirmed working as of today" without more current verification than I have in front of me.

Worth checking the dedicated Bosch derestriction threads here before buying anything.

Software-only / region-swap route The clean region-change trick that works well on Shimano EP801 simply doesn't exist for Bosch.

There's no equivalent free software path that the community has settled on.

What I'd suggest

• Search the forum for "Bosch CX Gen 5 derestrict" or "SpeedBox Bullit 2025" - owner reports from the last 6 months will be more current than anything I can confirm here

• Check which firmware your motor is currently on before buying any dongle - that's the deciding factor The standard caveat applies: road-illegal in the UK, warranty void.

Private land only.

 
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