Mahle's lightest ebike drive ever drops even more weight

We've been focusing in on some of the powertrain innovations Mahle has been developing and fine-tuning for the electric car and truck market, and the company hasn't been letting its ebike offerings slide, either. This week, it launched its lightest electric bike drive series yet. The new XS system shaves over a full pound off the brand's previous lightweight champion while also freeing up more latitude in ebike design.

In 2022, Mahle billed its new X20 as not only its own lightest ebike drive but the lightest on the entire market. Since launch, the X20 has featured in some of the lightest electric bicycles to roll out, including the 23.6-lb (10.7-kg) Scott Addict eRide Ultimate road bike, 26.5-lb (12-kg) 3T Ultra Boost gravel bike, and 26-lb (11.8-kg) Möve Avia Pure-Line bonded-titanium city bike.

It's time for those weights to drop even lower. With the new XS, Mahle swaps out the frame-concealed battery pack on the standard X20 and X30 e-drive kits for a lighter, more versatile external battery it calls the eX1.

In a way, it's a step backwards because Mahle and other e-drive makers have been moving away from the older water bottle-style batteries for years, marketing the cleaner look of down tube-integrated power. However, combining the eX1 with the new XS smart controller, head unit, pedal sensor and the 250-W X20 hub motor shaves a clean pound and a half off the original X20 system's 7-lb (3.2-kg) weight for an exceptionally light total system mark of 5.5 lb (2.5 kg).

As you might suspect, it's not entirely an apples to apples comparison, though, as the new water bottle pack has a lower capacity of 171 Wh, compared to the 236 Wh of the X20's original integrated iX 250 pack.

"In our research, we found that even less than 100 Wh [is] sufficient for most daily activities —urban commuting, short rides—so we focused on optimizing for what riders need," explained Marco de la Serna, Mahle SmartBike Systems head of product, strategy and business development.

What that ultimately means in terms of range will depend on the specific bike model. The iX 250 battery offers an estimated assisted range of 31 miles (50 km) in the new Desiknio Endorphin we looked at earlier this week, so the lower-capacity XS battery might drop that estimate to around 22 miles (34 km) looking solely at battery capacity. But the lower weight of the XS might also come into play in lifting the estimate back up.

Ultimately the range will vary bike to bike, just as it has with the X20 itself. Mahle says the X20 motor still puts out up to 55 Nm of torque when used within the XS system.

In addition to lowering system weight, the external battery-only strategy also aims to give bicycle manufacturers more flexibility in design. It'll work with smaller and folding frames that don't have internal tube space for the iX pack.

The eX1 will also work as a 171-Wh secondary range extender battery, adding up to an extra 37 miles (60 km) of pedal-assist range on new and existing X20 and X30-equipped ebikes.

While it's versatile, the XS is not an aftermarket add-on system and will be sold directly to bicycle manufacturers. So there's no retail price, but Mahle points to the US$1,878 2025 E-Woki from Spain's MMR Bikes as one of the first models to feature the new hardware.

The quick intro video below provides a look at the XS system's versatility.

Source: Mahle