Gas Gas' Prototype Race eMTB - Sea Otter 2023
Gas Gas have a new eMTB on the way, a full-powered machine with 170mm of travel and 29” or mixed wheels. According to Gas Gas, the goal was to create a bike that can compete at the highest level, and to that end it'll be making its debut between the tape at the first EDR-E race in Finale Ligure in June.
The full details aren't being released at this time, but it's not hard to make some educated guesses about some of the unmarked parts on the bike. The red accents on the suspension suggests it could be from WP – the Austrian company's products are a common sight on Gas Gas' enduro and motocross offerings. If that's the case, it'll be interesting to see what features and technology the company brings to the mountain bike world, and how it compares to the established players.
A secret screen, and a few external mounting holes that don't have an immediately clear purpose.
The other unbranded portion of the bike is the motor. Considering that it's the Gas Gas / SRAM race team, I'd be willing to bet that SRAM is the motor manufacturer – we saw a prototype of the motor emerge last year.
A strip of electrical tape is covering what's undoubtedly a display of some sort on the top tube, but there was no secondary remote to be seen. It's possible that the un-used button on the dropper post lever can be assigned to switch modes on the motor – that solution would make a lot of sense, and it wouldn't clog up the cockpit.
SRAM's Transmission derailleur is wired to the bike's battery.
The SRAM Transmission derailleur runs off the bike's battery, reducing the number of things to remember to charge during a race weekend (there's still the battery in the AXS dropper post, at least on this bike).
An official launch date hasn't been set for the bike, but when it does become available it will be sold through both moto dealers and independent bike dealers, with no plans for online sales at the moment.
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That thing looked nice, but was marketed at e-bikes and had very basic onternals.
Come on WP / MAGURA please keep working on the Boltron!
The relation between Magura and WP is a funny one actually. WP came with the Rond suspension forks. Most notable may have been the one used for winning a gold medal at the '96 Olympics. Magura had already been cooperating a lot with WP/Rond (like with their FIRM-tech hydraulic rim brake interface) but in 2003 they acquired the brand. Most of the 2004 set of suspension products were an evolution of Rond suspension. So with the Boltron I thought it had come full circle but I later learned that WP now is not the WP of yore.
@jamesbrant: makes sense, ice always been curious about that when the E-bike is marketed as a "race" bike.