German E-bike Design and Ingenuity From BMW. Yes or No?

If you never knew that BMW is into manufacturing e-bikes, you wouldn’t be the first. Frankly, when I heard of the Active Hybrid e-bike from BMW I was a bit surprised. Not necessarily, because BMW would be making an e-bike, but because anytime you hear the name BMW attached to a product, most people eyes dilate with excitement. I know mine did.

It may not be the newest or maybe even the strongest of this giant’s capabilities, but she is the most clean-cut and appealing of all, in my opinion anyway.

To start, she features a mid-drive Brose Drive S aluminum motor. Aluminum? Yeah, why the heck not. If the design works, then the use of such a material should yield a much lower weight for the component. We don’t know much about its weight, but she does push out 90Nm torque. This is more than enough for what she’s made for.

She isn’t a mountain goat like the Reign E+, and that’s why we don’t see a full suspension system on her. At best you can just throw on a seat with some springs. Or if you really know what you’re doing, throw on a fork you’ve been eyeing for a while, as the one she comes with standard might feel a little soft. We don’t know why but BMW makes no mentions as to the Suntour NCX’s strength or distance of travel.

Her battery is like most other e-bikes these days, lithium-ion. But she can hold 600 Wh from the start. Hidden in the downtube, we have no mention as to whether or not it is detachable. But upon closer inspection, we are able to see that the design should offer such a capability. Once again, we had a hard time finding out exactly how far and how fast this puppy will take you, but unlike the 2017 Active, this one seems a bit more tune with the overall design of the bike.

Braking components are covered by Shimano. At the front we find 180mm hydraulic disk brakes, while the rear is covered by 160mm. Other Shimano components include the Deore XT gearset and derailleur.

One thing I would have loved to see on the BMW, would have been a Gates drive chain system. Durability aside, they seem to offer a whole new design and function aspect that I feel BMW may have overlooked.

Keeping this whole thing upright and moving forward will be you of course, but the wheels are 28-inch Rody Web aluminum, set on top with Continental Contact Cruiser tires. Aside from this I find that the bike feels a little standard.

There’s no use in mentioning the saddle or handlebars on this bike a they can be replaced with whatever it is you prefer. But for the type of ride she’s designed for, you don’t really need more than this.

If you are just a little bit like me, you could make a Saturday project out of this bike. I would strip everything except the frame, battery and motor, and just go nuts on the rest. But I could be fatally wrong, after all the frame looks excellent and BMW isn’t asking nearly $4,000 (3,411 euro) for nothing.