Mahle’s first mid-drive motor, the Mahle M40, has been on the market for almost nine months now. The manufacturer is now rolling out the first major update for the motor. With Smart Assist and Traction Control, it gains two further digital functions. This brings it even closer than before to highly advanced mid-drive motors such as the Avinox M1.
The Mahle M40, designed primarily for use on e-mountain bikes, will in future feature two new intelligent riding functions – Smart Assist and Traction Control. Both are designed to help you focus more on the experience of riding on technically demanding terrain and interact less with the electric drive. In addition, Mahle aims to ensure greater safety on the trails, particularly with traction control. Both features complement the existing Dynamic Overrun and Auto Hold functions. The latter was previously known as Hill Brake.
Smart Assist: Automatically at the optimal assistance level with the Mahle M40
With Smart Assist, the manufacturer is introducing a dynamic automatic mode. This increases the number of assistance levels from three to four. All the necessary sensors that Smart Assist uses for its calculations have been part of the Mahle M40 from the outset. Now, the information from these sensors is combined to automatically select the appropriate assistance level.
Smart Assist analyses parameters such as your own pedalling power, cadence, riding speed and the gradient of the terrain in real time. Depending on the results, the e-drive independently selects assistance level 1, 2 or 3 for you. According to Mahle, the tuning has been consistently focused on mountain biking. You can therefore customise the mode in the mySmartbike app to suit your preferences. For example, you can set how much force you want to apply to the pedals before the motor actually draws on its peak power of 850 watts. Mahle has pre-configured three profiles for Smart Assist – depending on whether you want to exert yourself heavily, moderately or only slightly.
In the app, you can also use the automatic mode to determine the maximum system power at which the Mahle M40 provides assistance, how intensely and how quickly the motor responds, and how progressively its power should increase.
Mahle even expects that the riding experience with the M40 will not only improve but could also be extended. Accordingly, the motor operates more efficiently with Smart Assist, which is intended to increase the battery’s range.
Thanks to Traction Control, it’s all about getting going rather than spinning your wheels
You’ve likely encountered the second new feature in other e-bike systems as well. We’re familiar with traction control, for example, on the Avinox M1 or as ‘Dynamic Control’ in eMTB+ mode on Bosch’s Smart System. Similar to those solutions, the M40’s Traction Control also prevents the rear wheel from spinning on loose, wet or uneven surfaces. To do this, the system continuously checks whether your ebike’s rear wheel is still in contact with the ground and adjusts the motor torque in real time to ensure this remains the case as much as possible.
Mahle’s Traction Control uses a speed sensor installed as a small disc on the rear wheel, which measures the wheel’s position 84 times per revolution. Compared to last year, the manufacturer has effectively doubled the sampling rate. This is crucial, as it directly influences the quality of the response. As soon as the sensor detects that the rear wheel’s speed does not match the ebike’s current riding speed, the system cross-checks this against other sensors for torque and cadence, as well as the motor data and the currently selected gear ratio. In this way, the system can detect a loss of traction extremely quickly.
If a loss of traction is detected, the system reduces the torque of the M40 within milliseconds and adjusts the power output to the gear currently engaged. The motor generates its power noticeably more smoothly, allowing you to convert it more effectively into actual propulsion.
Traction Control remains in the background at all times and only intervenes when you really need it to help you move forward. To ensure the most natural riding experience possible, the feature switches on and off automatically. It is part of Smart Assist, but can also be activated separately, for example directly on the display.
Available immediately for (almost) everyone
New ebikes, which are now being delivered with a Mahle M40, come with both Smart Assist and Traction Control as standard. For existing models, the manufacturer has announced a firmware update for the end of May.
Pictures: Mahle Smartbike Systems