SRAM Reportedly Buys Amprio, A German E-Bike Motor Manufacturer

Jan 13, 2023 at 10:02
by Mike Kazimer  
photo

According to multiple reports, SRAM has purchased Amprio, a German manufacturer of electric motors, displays, and batteries. Rumors about SRAM entering the eMTB world have been circulating since 2019, and last June we spotted what was more than likely a test mule for a new motor at the Tweed Valley EWS.

A large portion of SRAM's drivetrain development and engineering takes place in Schweinfurt, Germany, so the addition of Amprio's resources makes sense from a logistical standpoint. As for what SRAM's motor will look like when it's released, there still aren't any concrete details.

Amprio's current motor, the RMAG, delivers 75 – 90 Nm of torque, and provides up to 420% of support at a weight of 2.85 kg. They also have multiple battery options, ranging from 500 to 710 Wh.

Shimano, Bosch, and Brose are currently the most common options for full power eMTBs, with TQ and Fazua gaining ground in the lighter weight segment. It'll be interesting to see what SRAM's offering brings to the table to set them apart from the crowd when that time comes. SRAM declined to comment.



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123 Comments
  • 177 0
 HammerSchmidt 2: Electric boogaloo
  • 15 3
 www.dewalt.co.uk/product/dcf903p1-gb/12v-38-impact-wrench-1-x-5ah-battery?tid=572971

339Nm of torques and 542Nm peak

Sorry but.......
  • 2 2
 Have all of my upvotes for that reference
  • 1 0
 @Compositepro: thats gonna make a racket on steep climbs!
  • 13 0
 @Compositepro: added bonus, impact drivers are actually legal on most trails.
  • 4 0
 @Easymzm: i think if you have sram cranks though this is going to work out just fine
  • 3 0
 @Kebabroll: the torque would be sick tho. Climb anything. Like salmon jumping up waterfalls.
  • 1 0
 @shredddr: its a funny thing about those tools that gets me pondering….

The high torque comes from the hammering motion rather than the motor like in thre difference between trying to loosen a bolt by arm or arm with a hammar, maybe ots something for motor manufacturers to pick up on but they need to think about quieting them which is the challenge
  • 2 0
 @Kebabroll: I’m pressed to see how it works on bikes but it’s interesting to consider. Somewhere on YouTube they’re a cutaway of an impact drill in use. And in mega slo-mo. Super cool.
  • 2 0
 @shredddr: Torque Test Channel - really interest content (if you are in to this sort of thing!). youtu.be/xQzqNnWG21s
  • 1 0
 @GoWithTheFlo: I watched a 40 minute video of that crazy materials tester guy dismantling a Dyson hair dryer so I think I’m up for this.
  • 1 0
 @Compositepro: ha ha ha ha !
  • 118 2
 SRAM: Relentless innovation through acquisition.
  • 39 1
 I give your comment 9.99 out of 9.99.
  • 18 22
flag CSharp (Jan 13, 2023 at 13:00) (Below Threshold)
 SRAM Innovation - Shimano wannabe but taking the easy route
  • 13 2
 Should've Resisted Acquiring Mediocrity
  • 5 1
 Happens all the time, snaller guys get bought by big guys. I work in tech and all the smaller companies with good products get bought by HP, Dell, Cisco etc.
  • 3 3
 @melonhead1145: Amprio was part of Rheinmetall, listed as an "arms manufacturer" with a turnover around the same as SRAM's (maybe a bit more), I don't think you need to worry about "the little guy" in this instance.
  • 2 0
 @G-Sport: those Leopard cannons are still a bit more expensive than bikes, but bikes are slowly getting there
  • 1 0
 True. They are so far off the back on this one.
  • 28 2
 420% of support. At 2.85kg for the motor, add in the cables and control for another .28kg. And you have a 6.9lb motor.
  • 89 0
 Weird, adding cables and the controller changes the units of measure from metric to imperial?
  • 13 0
 @slumgullion: weighs about 1.5 stones
  • 5 2
 @kingbike2: I've got 1.5 grains of sand here - is that the same?
  • 7 0
 Nice
  • 1 0
 nice
  • 2 0
 nice
  • 5 0
 @Tambo: stones are ancient units of weight measurement similar to using ducks .
  • 3 2
 @slumgullion: nobody ever said electronics on bikes made sense
  • 8 0
 420% of support will get you up the hill no matter how many joints you smoked before breakfast
  • 2 0
 @kingbike2: Ducks are an inconsistent metric for weight. I've often found that flying ducks are lighter than a sitting duck. But the flying duck is the same duck as the sitting duck.
  • 2 0
 @vinay: are these ducks.......made of wood?
  • 17 0
 420%, I'm in...
  • 3 2
 Wait - isn't that the same gear ratio spread on their Eagle drivetrain?
  • 13 0
 This would work well with my Leaked eagle xx1 axs derailleur
  • 11 0
 I’m surprised that the ebike market can support so many different motor manufacturers.
  • 3 1
 It can't, in a sense. There have been a spate of ebike motors from very large companies that have come and gone over the years (Continental, for example). So I expect a few of these will only see moderate adoption or get shut down in a few years.
  • 16 2
 @tegnamo: If we could standardize motor mounts then a variety of motor choices would be great but as we are still in the infancy of this tech, we will have to wait and see. In the mean time, I struggle with the claim of ebikes being greener transportation just because they dont have a tail pipe. Nothing green about a short life span(relative) landfill product
  • 8 1
 @FarmerJohn: Interestingly, current Amprio motor uses same mounting point as Shimano, so if that carried forward we MIGHT end up with some interchangability!
  • 10 1
 @FarmerJohn: Imagine how much pleasanter urban areas and everywhere else for that matter would be if those fatf*ck lardarses that insist in travelling everywhere in oversized motorcars would just swap em for an ebike. The disposibilty of ebikes sucks but hopefully one day you’ll be able to repair or upgrade motors as easily as servicing your cable routed headset.
  • 2 0
 @G-Sport: unfortunately sram and Shimano will never make the electronics and wiring cross-compatible even if the motor mounts are.
  • 3 0
 Good to know @G-Sport !
@bogey: SRAM knows very well
that bike brands can't whip up new molds
to accommodate a new motor, so using Shimano motor mount dimensions would make sense.
Way more likely to take market share from Shimano.
  • 7 0
 @G-Sport: they probably offset 1 of the motor mounts by .99 mm
  • 2 0
 @bogey: No, but bike co's could make the frame with that motor mount and then pick their brand and potentially change it in a later model year without having to make all new tooling, in the same way that they can make bikes take SRAM or Shimano drivetrain.
Plus, the DIY community would probably have no problem 3D printing little adaptors etc to hold different displays etc and possibly even making batteries from one brand work with the other's motor and controller.
  • 2 0
 @G-Sport: shimano will kick up a stink about it, just like they did when sram acquired a bike computer manufacturer. Suddenly they couldn't display d12 info anymore.
  • 1 0
 @danscykeloskid: I don't think Shimano could block anyone from making an entire drive system to fit the same mountings as Shimano, they could obviously refuse to sell to a manufacturer who did some of their bikes with Shimano and some with another brand but that would just drive the customer away more.
If DIYers were just "Hacking" systems to use Shimano batteries then I think that that would be hard to block retrospectively but obviously they could add something to new batteries to block it. But I don't think that this will be common. The real benefit would be for frame makers to be able to do more than one option of system on frames from the same tooling.
  • 3 0
 @FarmerJohn: it will never happen. there is zero incentive to standardize such a huge component of the device. basically it's heart.

I mean, Ford and Chevy have been making basically the exact same thing as one another for 100+ years. you still cannot simply drop a Chevy engine in a Ford without a whole lot of modification.
  • 2 0
 @Kebabroll: ever tried bringing home $250 of groceries in -20ºf weather on a bike?
  • 2 1
 @blcpdx: and Shimano would sue them to oblivion. if you don't think they have the bolt pattern patented, you are nuts. lmao
  • 1 0
 @Mtbdialed: nope, we never get -20 around here but i’ve had much fun in the past shifting large items of furniture and 100+kg loads of scrap metal via pushbike so i reckon i could handle it. $250 of potatoes… maybe not, but if i ate nothing but caviar & gold leaf it’d be easy.

My moan wasn’t really about folks getting stuff moved in seriously cold temps or shifting big loads. Just those autopilot dummies who automatically jump into a car for the shortest & simplest journeys. Cripples exempted of course!
  • 1 0
 @Mtbdialed: remember that orange ebike featured on here a few months back? It was fitted with an internally geared motor from a scottish start up company. They fully intended to use the shimano bolt pattern for their motor. At that point they’d not been threatened by shimano. I shall try and remember the name and see if theyre still developing it
  • 1 0
 @Mtbdialed: Intradrive. Uses EP8 mounts.
  • 1 0
 @Mtbdialed: Why would Shimano not want this? Their choice of bolt pattern becoming standard wouldn't just mean that people could replace Shimano with another motor, but also that people could always replace one of these other motors with Shimano.
If Bosch mounting (for example) became the standard then Shimano would risk being out in the cold. If a standard does emerge then you can bet frame designers would want to jump on it (speaking as a frame designer) so better to be their standard than someone else's and they get bragging rights.
  • 1 0
 @Mtbdialed: As it was explained to me from an industry insider, Shimano is the only eMTB system that allows 3rd party compatibility. Essentially and "open" system that allows an OEM to spec a 3rd party battery, display, lights and switches. Whereas Bosch, Fazua and others use a "closed" system that requires an OEM to utilize their complete system, limiting the OEM and end user to only the MFG's components.
  • 1 0
 @FarmerJohn: That is correct.
The only catch is that if third party components are spec'ed,
Shimano will not handle warranties directly for that brand, nor guarantee their coverage.
This can be very problematic, especially for brands without much infrastructure
established in international markets.
Shimano has a global presence, that makes service anywhere (relatively) easy,
whereas most bike brands have just one office, in one country, and shipping ebike components
is about the most expensive, slow, logistically complicated thing possible.
  • 1 0
 @G-Sport: Just like my derailleur, if I was running the Shimano motor I would want to swap it to Sram so this works out well.
  • 1 0
 @Mtbdialed:
I don't really know, @G-Sport said current Amprio uses Shimano mounts, I was reacting to that.
not sure how he knows?
But did they sue SRAM, and everyone else, for making cassettes that fit HyperGlide freehub bodies?
  • 11 0
 Nice Gearbox... oh wait...
  • 4 3
 Yeah I had some hopes seeing the miniature of the article and then eBike stuff ... lame.
  • 5 0
 Is German reliability better than Japanese reliability? From what I recall from my tuning days- German quality just meant paying more for reliability- this post is not about people, it is about "In General" from an engineering and quality perspective
  • 6 1
 i just bought an EWM welder , german quality its magnificent, they are my heroes
  • 3 1
 Yamaha to ktm back to a kawi..so i guess I agree with you
  • 4 0
 Cars? No. Tools? Depends on the brand and type of tool. Sometimes Japanese is the best, sometimes German (or American).
  • 5 1
 @pargolf8: KTM ust not german.
  • 1 0
 @toflowbi: Quite correct the 125s and 390s are Indian, When i looked at buying one even the dealer said go across the road and buy something else ,come back when you have progressed to a bigger bike and then you will be fine.
  • 3 1
 @thewanderingtramp: none of them are German, because the brand is Austrian.
  • 3 9
flag pargolf8 (Jan 14, 2023 at 6:11) (Below Threshold)
 @toflowbi: austrian-german what a difference!
  • 7 2
 @pargolf8: like USA and Mexico.
  • 5 0
 @kevinturner12: Maybe closer to USA and Canada.
  • 1 6
flag pargolf8 (Jan 14, 2023 at 14:49) (Below Threshold)
 @kevinturner12: yeah minus the language barrier and complete difference in lifestyle, totally
  • 2 6
flag pargolf8 (Jan 14, 2023 at 14:51) (Below Threshold)
 @jaycubzz: comparing US to MEX and Germ and Aus is comical asshoe
  • 3 0
 @pargolf8: I didn't.
  • 6 0
 ideally, you want an italian designed car(pure beauty), engineered by Germans, built by the Japanese.


something about this trifecta of countries seems like a bad idea. no clue what it could be......
  • 1 1
 @Mtbdialed: nailed it
  • 7 0
 When we complain about others, it’s cause we are not happy with ourselves.
  • 1 0
 I like that,I'm Gunna use it
  • 1 0
 If I complain about Sram, it's because I'm tired of tearing down my saggy reverb for the millionth time Big Grin
  • 1 0
 @kanioni: Fool you once shame on SRAM, fool you twice? fool on you? Fool you a million times... ?!?!? Just sell it and get a One-Up, more travel, more light, more reliable...
  • 2 0
 @G-Sport: oh yeah I did that already fortunately! Will never ever go back
  • 4 0
 I wonder if SRAM will get feisty getting brands
to dump STEPS in favor of Amprio,
and withhold SRAM and Rockshox product (there are precedents...)
and inadvertently force more full Shimano/Fox builds.
  • 5 0
 Sorry to be geeky sci fi girl but are SRAM the Borg of the cycling world.....
  • 3 0
 You will be assimilated
  • 3 1
 Personally the TQ-HPR50 or BiMotal motors are the only I'd consider investing in. On looks alone, other motors are just hideous. No matter how good they are I can't get past that.
  • 3 1
 Unless sram start producing frames, I wouldn't be surprised if a motor mounting standard to appear in the next few years where customers can buy aftermarket motors. God that sounds awful
  • 3 1
 It’d be really shit if folk could get hold of aftermarket motors that could slot in where their f*cked old motors used to sit.
Imagine how awful it’d be if someone made a 4hp motor that could fit where the defunct motors once resided
  • 4 0
 They should've save their money for the lawyers and court cost battles with Fox !
  • 1 0
 I rode a lot of (not all of, I didn't have a month) the motor systems at eurobike this year. The Amprio system stood out as the best of them in my opinion although all the motors in the 250w legal in europe category are very similar.

The key for me is serviceability. If they build the system so it can be serviced properly, new bearings when needed for a start but other parts replaceable then it will stand out significantly, particularly compared to Shimano steps.
  • 2 0
 Does this mean they can now sell a Super Deluxe Ultimate Superior Max Turbo motor that actually has one part of the name (Turbo) make sense?
  • 2 0
 Rumors said that the axs deraileur, shifter, reverb post and this e-bike motor share the same interchangeable battery
  • 3 0
 Gonna be laughing when they got the power cables coming right out the internal routing ports where the cables used to be
  • 1 0
 Totally unrelated to the article but does anyone know what the deal is with the bolt pattern and plastic cover plate thing on the rear in the photo? Never seen that before.
  • 2 0
 SRAM GX AXS Reverb Super Deluxe Ultimate Flight Assistance Motor.
  • 2 0
 I dunno. I like that Dewalt contraption better.
  • 1 0
 Ok so Germany is the home of every ebike motors... tq..fazua...mahle...bosch.. brose... Nice to know for EU
  • 2 0
 Schweinfurt, Germany**
  • 6 1
 Gesundheit!
  • 1 0
 @FarmerJohn: Danke!
  • 3 2
 Ah, yes, because the SRAM empire wasn't big enough
  • 2 0
 SRAmprio?
  • 7 7
 Lol. A Sram motor. No freaking way would I want that. It would probably blow up after 200 miles .
  • 2 4
 Huge victory for e bikers that SRAM buried their test mule and is instead relying on a German company. Probably would have had a worse reliability legacy than the Reverb.
  • 1 4
 @DoubleCrownAddict: unfortunately Sram wil get their hands on it and screw it up. .. as usual
  • 1 0
 Flippen heck it looks soooooo big!
  • 1 0
 Does this cuts down all speculations about Bosch buying out SRAM ?
  • 5 5
 Sram - the Pfizer of the bike world.
  • 2 0
 @ForAllTheCows well, using that analogy, you better include shimano as well, their acquisitions;
-PRO
-Pearl Izumi
-Lazer
-Pioneer Electronics
-Innovative textiles
-Rapala
-Jackal
-G Loomis

These are all in the last 20-30 years, I am sure there are more in their back story...and then there are some things they SHOULD have acquired, like optics, cameras, etc as they tried on their own, and....
  • 1 1
 So they are fed up with brose? Big Grin
  • 5 8
 Curious what the ratio is of companies Sram bought and killed versus bought and kept around. Only Trek has a worse record of destroying bike brands they've acquired.
  • 3 0
 True, the lifetime guarantee on my Klein probably won’t be honoured by Trek.
  • 2 0
 @kingbike2:
Trek does honour warrantees for all the swallowed brands. I have done several Fishers that they helped out on.
  • 1 0
 @Slizger: good to know!
  • 56 57
 Who cares .. ebikes suck.
  • 6 0
 ooh 17 vs 16 votes at 8.45 pm it could go either way
  • 1 2
 @Compositepro: strong showing from the good guys at 9.00pm
  • 3 5
 *whispers* he's right you know
  • 1 0
 @Compositepro: lol
  • 7 11
flag G-Sport (Jan 14, 2023 at 4:42) (Below Threshold)
 Really? So ALL ebikes suck? Better to have our cities clogged with SUV's? Cargo delivery bikes are worse than Deliveroo drivers parking all over the pavement? People with injuries and degenerative conditions shouldn't be allowed out? Families of varying fitness levels shouldn't be able to ride together?
I assume you also want uplift and gondolas banned?
  • 3 0
 @G-Sport: .
  • 1 1
 SRAM IS CRAZY LOL
  • 12 14
 just here for the "below threshold" comments
  • 2 0
 Mission accomplished it seems
  • 1 0
 @Mac1987: it has turned into PeeeeeBike
  • 1 4
 SRAM already had their own version and quit supporting it with parts. This seems kinda annoying to me.







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