The Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4 is the latest incarnation of the tremendous Bosch Performance Line CX motor, which, historically, is one of the company’s best performing.
We’ve spent hours out on the trails, riding bikes with this Bosch Gen 4 rigged up, to find out whether it still hits the mark. So, join us as we get stuck into this review of the Bosch Performance Line CX motor!
Our Verdict
The Performance Line CX is undoubtedly one of the best e-MTB motors out on the market right now.
It’s lightweight, powerful, versatile and offers a great natural ride experience, with a good display and strong battery pairing options.
In all honesty, it’s close to being perfect.
Peaks:
- Lightweight and compact
- Natural ride feel
- Powerful
- Price
- Display options
- Battery pairing
Troughs:
- Noisy
- Can be a little too powerful for lightweight riders
Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4
Price: $850
Power and Battery Pairings
The latest incarnation of this Bosch CX motor is a burley beast. But just how many watts is the Bosch CX Gen 4? A hefty 250Wh, which is capable of kicking out 85Nm of torque.
That will help drag you up the toughest of climbs without any bother. It makes light work of terrain you would ordinarily expect to struggle on. It isn’t limited in terms of how much assistance you can use, either. The motor can be paired with a combined battery and powerpack setup of up to 1,125Wh.
So, how many miles will a Bosch e-bike motor last? It all depends on what size battery you link the motor up with. However, you can be sure it will get you out on some nice long rides. The Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4 comes with various modes, including the tour setting, which gives you 140% of assist and a whopping 340% on the turbo mode.
Handling and Power Delivery
Despite the powerful amount of torque the motor has, the Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4 doesn’t have an unnatural jerking feeling when it comes to its power delivery.
The assist both kicks in and drops off smoothly, giving the rider a natural pedalling experience. It means that bikes hooked up with the Bosch generation 4 motor often handle well and have a playfulness out on the trail.
ℹ️ It’s important to note that lighter riders may find the kick a little too powerful at times.
Weight and Appearance
The Bosch Performance Line CX’s overall weight is something to take note of, too. The company has managed to keep the motor’s weight down to 2.79kg and it has a compact placement on the bike.
It has a refined finish, which isn’t cumbersome to cart around on the trails. It’s a major selling factor for bike manufacturers, who can play with their frame design knowing that the motor won’t get in the way too much.
Its comparatively light weight is another factor which means that it pairs up well with more playful e-MTBs.
Display
The Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4 can be paired with three different Bosch displays: the Kiox, Purion and Nyon. They all offer something slightly different, with each suited to different types of riding.
The Kiox is the smallest of the three, offering a compact look, and is meant to be a no-fuss display. However, we found that it's pretty hard to focus on when you’re flying through challenging terrain. It’s definitely better-suited to simpler styles of riding, so bear that in mind.
The Purion has lots of different display options and has a great simplicity to use – a very good partner to have on the trails, with lots of customisable options.
The Nyon is a bigger beast, which has lots of features which suit it to long-distance riding, such as the ability to navigate when you are out of data range etc.
Price
The Bosch Performance Line CX comes in around the $850 mark, depending on the vendor you choose. We think that’s a very fair price for a top piece of kit and we don’t feel ripped off by that price point, whatsoever.
How Does it Compare?
Shimano and Yamaha are Bosch’s main competitors when it comes to the Performance Line CX Gen 4.
We’ve decided to compare it to the Shimano EP8, which kicks out 85Nm of torque, just like the Bosch CX motor. It’s lightweight, too, with many different battery pairing options and it rides fairly naturally.
It is noisy, though, and our big bugbear is the range estimation – the display is very primitive and offers only five LED lights showing your amount of charge left. That means you could have 1% or 20% left and wouldn’t know, which can catch you out badly on the trails.
It comes in closer to around $1,000, too, so it’s more expensive than our Bosch Gen 4. We’d stick with the Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4. We think it’s a much more rounded package.
Final Thoughts
The Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4 is a fantastic e-MTB motor. Not only is it powerful, but it also operates in an intelligent way, providing a natural riding experience out on the trails, which makes it a versatile motor for bike manufacturers.
It’s reliable, has solid display options and it’s pitched at a fair price. There are a few minor issues we’d like to see resolved, such as the noise it emits, but overall it’s very close to perfect from the crew at Bosch. We think it’s one of the best out there right now.
Now, go and give it a whirl for yourselves.
