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+ON TEST
Grace
MX
German brand Grace has come to the UK with two
high-end bikes: the on-road, BionX-powered ‘Easy’
and this off-road beast, the Bosch-powered ‘MX’.
We take it cross country…
10 Electric Bike Issue 6

ON TEST: Ezee Grace Torq MX
Grace is a German bike
maker, and UK availability
was announced only last
year, with Wisper Bikes
handling the import, distribution and
servicing. The bikes are now available
through a range of specialist dealers:
see the website or contact them for
details.
There are two frame sizes for the MX,
Medium and Large, but that’s about it
as far as factory options go. Of course
at this sort of price level, dealers will
be happy to add accessories or change
particular components as you wish,
within reason!
As tested, the Grace MX has a
recommended retail price of £2995.
But the 2013 production model, which
should be available in late April, will
cost £3295, using the larger capacity
11 Ah Bosch battery and complete
with integrated B&M LED lighting
system and side stand.
» ON THE BIKE
The MX is an imposing bit of kit,
there’s no doubt about that! In
stealth black throughout, the angular
contours of its frame and the bulk of
the downtube all give it an almost
military look.
There’s a certain logic to the layout.
The Bosch motor is tilted upwards so
most of its bulk lies along the line
of the downtube, ensuring there’s
plenty of ground clearance. Then the
battery extends along this same line,
protected by the ‘shell’ of the split
tube. This keeps the wheelbase short
compared to bikes with the battery
behind the seat tube: this is generally
a good thing for manoeuvrability
and grip when climbing off-road, as
more weight is on the back wheel. The
downside is a weight bias somewhat
towards the front of the bike. This is
noticeable mainly when carrying or
lifting it, and it also makes lifting the
front wheel deliberately a little harder.
Anyway, the battery is certainly
well secured within the downtube: it
slots in from below and locks in place.
There’s a substantial hinged alloy plate
which backs up the battery lock, and
this latches using spring-loaded alloy
blocks which engage bolt heads on
the downtube sides. I found it a tad
awkward to close, but very secure once
in place.
At 36 V, 8 Ah (288 Wh) the standard
Bosch battery isn’t huge even for a
crank drive bike, but it does charge
Specification
Weight overall (inc batteries):
25.0 kg
Battery weight: 2.51 kg
Bike only weight: 22.49 kg
Charger weight: 1.05 kg
(inc. mains cable).
Battery type: Li-Ion.
Battery capacity: 288 Watt
hours (8 Ah 36 V).
Gearing: Belt drive: 50T ring,
26T sprocket. NuVinci N360
CVT hub. Ratios 25-91".
Brakes: Avid Elixir 5
hydraulic disks, front 180 mm,
rear 200 mm.
Lighting: Dynamo (updated
version for 2013).
Other accessories fitted: bell.
Price as tested: £2995
quickly (they say it’ll charge to 100%
in 2.5 hours, or to 80% in an hour and
a half) so half-way charging may well
be possible on long trips. The charger,
incidentally, is nicely styled with
the typical macho Bosch look and
essentially silent in operation.
Because off-road riding is so varied,
Grace quote a range figure of 15-40
miles per charge: I’d guess it’ll be
towards the lower end of that for
ABOVE: The Bosch charger
continues the tough
styling theme.
RIGHT: The battery pack
is well protected within
the split downtube. It’s
held in both by a key lock
and by the spring loaded
alloy catches visible here
towards the top of the
pack.
more technical, hilly riding. Bosch
have announced an 11 Ah version of
their battery for 2013, in the same
casing, so users who do need extra
range could upgrade to this or buy
one as a spare: in the UK the 11 Ah
packs are £545 each. Spares for the 8
Ah version cost around £415.
The Bosch drive itself is pretty
much concealed within the frame.
More visible is the control unit, which
Issue 6 Electric Bike 11

+ON TEST
clicks neatly into its socket on the
handlebars, and offers four power
modes with three levels of assist in
each – overly complex perhaps, but if
you’re like me you’ll leave it on full
blast mostly, anyway. The display is
good and clear, with the usual speed,
battery status and distance displays.
The Bosch drive is fitted with a
pulley for the Gates belt drive system,
which runs without oil or grease
lubrication back to the rear hub. It’s
almost unaffected by mud, and won’t
go rusty like a chain which gets wet,
so it’s a promising choice for an MTB.
The belt is also lighter than a chain,
and Gates claim excellent durability.
It’s especially good for a crank drive
e-bike, as these can be hard on chains.
The hub which it drives is the
NuVinci N360. NuVinci are the
only manufacturer of continuously
variable drives for bikes – unlike
conventional gear systems, there are
no steps between ratios. Instead, you
can vary the ratio continuously, by
twisting the handlebar grip, over a
range of 3.6:1. This is about the same
range as a single-chainring derailleur
system. The clever display on the
handlebar control shows instantly
which gear you’re in via a line that
goes flat (for high gears) or hillshaped
(for low ones).
The technology is now well proven,
and after several years of production
these hubs have a reputation for
toughness, even on cargo bikes and
other heavy duty applications. Good
for off-road use, then. The only
question mark about the NuVinci is
efficiency: reliable numbers are hard
to come by but it’s generally thought
to concede only a little to a clean
derailleur drive.
The hub is mounted in heavy duty
adjustable dropouts (for setting belt
tension) which, like the rest of the
frame, look solidly made to withstand
some off-road abuse. One rather minor
criticism is that there are no bottle
cage mounts provided.
The rest of the equipment on the
MX is high quality stuff. There are
SRAM Elixir hydraulic disk brakes, a
good set of suspension forks (Rock
LEFT: The Bosch drive
system is neatly built into
the frame, and is fitted
here with a pulley for the
belt drive rather than a
conventional chainring.
BELOW LEFT: The
belt drive needs no
lubrication and is almost
maintenance free. Note
the sliding dropout
system, clamped with two
bolts, which allows you to
adjust belt tension.
BELOW: The control unit
clicks into place with a
quick twist, and provides
a clear readout.
Shox Sektor RL), and wheels shod
with grippy 2.4"-wide Continental
MountainKing tyres.
One jarring detail was the dynamo
lighting system, a quirk of the
German road traffic regulations,
which make such things compulsory
for bikes over a certain weight. This
is clearly something of a token
gesture here, with a basic bottle
dynamo. 2013 bikes will have a neater
system fitted, anyway.
The dynamo system may also
account for some of the difference
between the weight quoted (23 kg)
and what we measured: 25.0 kg, both
including the battery. It’s rated for
an impressive 140 kg maximum rider
weight.
» OFF THE ROAD
If, like me, you’ve not ridden off
road for a while, the first ride on
the MX will be quite an eye-opener.
Setting off up a rough, muddy track
it was quite remarkable how those
fat, knobbly tyres both grip through
the muck and cushion the ride. The
wide handlebars provide the leverage
to hold the bike on course even as
the front wheel is slipping around
over ridges and tree roots, with the
suspension forks smoothing the worst
of its impacts.
With all this going on, I’d almost
forgotten the Bosch power assist: it
was adding to my leg power smoothly
and unobtrusively. As a ‘torque sensor’
type drive it measures your effort and
adds to it, so it feels like your legs
are supercharged, without any sense
that it’s taking over. So you retain
the ‘feel’ and ability to finesse the
power delivery to manoeuvre the bike
around obstacles.
What it does remove is the pain and
effort, leaving you to concentrate
rather more on your technique (in
my case, staying upright!). Obviously
this is the case on hills, but also for
those short bursts of power which you
need to restore your momentum or
regain balance.
The drive does have a slight buzz
to it, especially if you spin the pedals,
but it’s not enough to disrupt the
off-road experience. Nor did I find the
bike’s extra weight much of an issue
when descending – as a fairly cautious
off-road novice I wasn’t exactly
pushing the boundaries, of course, but
it seemed to hold its line well down
singletrack trails, with the suspension
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ON TEST: Ezee Grace Torq MX
fork and wide bars doing most of the
work. Trying to hop the bike sideways
was more of a task – doable, but lighter
riders might find it harder.
The belt drive just worked: I
couldn’t detect any lack of directness
(through stretch) and it didn’t seem
to mind at all getting muddy. The
LEFT: A basic bottle
dynamo powers the LED
front light and a rear LED
cluster tucked below the
saddle.
HIGH POINTS:
Bosch assist, belt drive
and NuVinci hub are
a uniquely effective
combination for off-road
Top quality parts
Great styling and build
quality
LOW POINTS:
High price (but you
get lots of technology
for it)
Heavy for a mountain
bike (but not for an
electric one)
GOOD FOR:
Well-heeled MTBers
Quality minded buyers
Off-roaders looking
for a low maintenance
assisted bike
Available from:
Grace UK & Ireland
and their dealers: Tel
01590 681553 or see
www.gracebikes.co.uk
for details.
‘gearless’ hub felt a little strange at
first without distinct steps, but it’s
easy to get used to and being able to
shift without moving the pedals is a
bonus if you get caught in the wrong
ratio. The range was well chosen: low
enough to get you up almost anything,
high enough to pedal faster than the
electric assist cut-off speed of 15 mph.
Riding to and from trails on tarmac,
the bike buzzed along (on those
knobbly tyres) well enough. There’s
a lockout for the front suspension if
you have a long way to go on the flat,
but for short trips it was more fun to
aim for the potholes instead!
» SUMMARY
The Grace MX is a serious bit of kit,
and felt like a serious contender
off-road, too. It’ll power you through
and up routes which otherwise
require out-of-the saddle heaving
and a helping of good technique. The
NuVinci drive and crank drive assist
were a really effective combination,
making it easy to shift down when
you’re almost stopped and then, with
the electric assist running through
that nice low ratio, to use the
resulting low-speed torque to pull you
out if trouble.
There’s much to like aside from
the electric assist, too. The brakes
are superb and the suspension is top
notch. And the whole bike has a huge
visual appeal.
Downsides Well, the price must
be a consideration, but you do get
a lot for your money in terms of
technology, and Bosch bikes don’t
tend to be cheap to start with. The
weight, which although reasonable
for an electric bike with long-travel
suspension forks, may shock those
used to non-assisted MTBs weighing
around half the MX’s figure. This does
affect the ‘chuckability’ of the bike,
but the MX has other virtues which,
for most riders contemplating such a
machine, will more than compensate.
It’s a mountain bike which
combines new technology (electric,
belt drive, NuVinci hub) with highend
components to produce a very
effective, and to date unique, package.
Peter Eland
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