E-bike drive system and anti-lock braking system (ABS) manufacturer Bosch has announced that e-bikes equipped with Bosch drive units will be compatible with ABS components from their rival, Blubrake.
The news comes just months after we reported that Bosch were being accused of abusing their “dominant position in the market” by not allowing third-party manufacturers to be able to connect ABS systems to Bosch e-bikes.
What happened?
The Competition and Market Authority in Italy subsequently opened an investigation into this matter, but that has now been closed, after they determined that electric bike manufacturers using Bosch drive systems should be able to integrate Blubrake ABS.
According to Bike Europe, Bosch has made commitments to ensure that the brand’s e-kits will be compatible with Blubrake’s ABS. Speaking to Bike Europe, Bosch stated: “We can confirm that the Italian antitrust authority has closed its competition law investigations against the Bosch eBike Systems division. They have not established any wrongdoing.
“In the course of the proceedings, Bosch eBike Systems took a more detailed look at the allegations made by competitors and examined their technical feasibility. Without any legal obligation, Bosch acted on the findings of this examination to create an additional interface for connecting ABS systems to the Bosch eBike system.”
> Swiss mobility association recommends ABS for all e-bikes
What does this mean for e-bike brands?
The commitment from Bosch to allow other brands to be able to connect their ABS components to Bosch drive systems is interesting. Currently there are only two brands that offer e-bike ABS: Bosch and Blubrake. ZF Micromobility GmbH also have an ABS unit but it is not currently available on any e-bikes.
The ruling however suggests that this could change, and manufacturers of e-bikes could choose other systems if they so wished.
