Bosch Active Line Plus vs Performance Line Cruise

[M. Tartiflette]

My wife is looking at getting a bike and is considering the latest version of the bike I have - a Cube Touring Hybrid Pro. I see that this year's model has the latest Bosch Performance Line Cruise motor in place of the Active Line Plus, which is on mine (and also on the cheaper 2020 Touring Hybrid One version).

I understood in the past that Performance Line motors were more powerful (and noisier) and as a result had a smaller range - which seems to be confirmed by the Bosch range calculator here: https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/range-assistant/ (assuming that this is up to date and the Performance Line motor here is the same as the Gen 3 Cruise that is on the latest Cube).

This seems odd to me - I would have thought that a quieter motor with greater range would be more appropriate for a Hybrid as opposed to a mountain bike. Certainly these factors are higher on my list of preferences.

Is there something I've missed about the latest generation of Performance Line Cruise motors?

 

[GLJoe]

I understood in the past that Performance Line motors were more powerful (and noisier) and as a result had a smaller range

They have a smaller range if you use the higher power settings. Just select a lower assist if you want more range.
On the other hand, if you want more power for hill climbing, you can't select a higher power than the highest power your motor is designed to give!
So the performance line motors are more flexible in that regard.

The Active line ones of course have had the benefit in the past of not having the reduction gear, so are better for non assisted riding (and maybe quieter), but aren't all the new performance lines like this as well now? If so, I'd always go for the performance line, unless price was a limiting factor.

 

[Darren Hayward]

The range calculator can be misleading because it's how you ride that is the biggest factor if the power settings are equal. If your wife decides the new bike is easier to ride and makes less effort she will get less range. If she makes the same effort the range will be very close. Certainly within a mile or two.
Do you actually think about all this as you ride or just go out and enjoy yourselves? And do you actually ride until the battery is flat? How many miles have you done on your bike? Don't forget her battery will be new and yours will have lost a bit of capacity as it works through its life span. The range difference is unlikely to be an issue. If it is then simply swap batteries half way.


Darren

 

[Harv99]

I have an Active line plus with my Cannondale synapse neo. Unless you are needing a mountain bike for technically steep and difficult sections, the ALP is more than adequate. I cycle up some seriously steep hills ( Devon) and this motor copes with ease. Eco and Tour most of the time, then Turbo plus low gear to blast up the real steep sections. Overall, I stay in Eco for 80% of the time and the battery range is impressive, 50/60 miles + no trouble....
You do not need a stronger and more thirsty motor !