Torque
Unleashed.
I installed Bosch's latest Smart System software on Torque. The bike hasn't gained a new motor — but the motor I already own has just become a very different animal.
Software has just rewritten what my Scott eRIDE can do.
Torque is my 2026 Scott Aspect eRIDE 910, powered by Bosch's Performance Line CX Gen 5 Smart System. Bosch's Performance Upgrade 2.0 and the October 2026 eBike Flow 1.38 release open up substantially more performance and much finer control over how that performance reaches the rear tyre.
Three numbers explain why this update matters.
Factory values for the Performance Line CX Gen 5 are 85 Nm, 600 W maximum motor power and 340% maximum support. Performance Upgrade 2.0 raises the available ceiling to 120 Nm, 750 W and up to 600% support, subject to the bike manufacturer's configured limit.
Low cadence. Steep gradient. That is where 120 Nm earns its keep.
maximum torque ceiling
Moving from 85 Nm to 120 Nm is roughly a 41% increase in available peak torque. On a technical climb that means stronger crank-turning force when speed and cadence have already fallen away.
Where I expect to feel it
Roots, rock steps, loose ramps and those ugly little climbs where momentum disappears before you can build cadence.
It isn't about turning Torque into a motorcycle. It is about having a much bigger reserve of shove exactly where an eMTB struggles most.
More peak power. Much more low-speed support.
Rated continuous power remains 250 W, as required for the legal eBike class. Peak motor power is a different measurement: the CX can now deliver up to 750 W for short periods when acceleration or climbing demand it.
Bosch's 600% support ceiling applies at speeds up to 15 km/h in compatible riding modes. That restriction is telling: Bosch has put the extra assistance right in the zone where steep eMTB climbing happens.
Four levels of grip management.
Flow 1.38 lets compatible custom riding modes regulate traction in four stages. The system manages motor torque to help prevent the rear wheel from turning expensive battery energy into pointless wheelspin.
Dry trail
Lower intervention makes sense when the tyre has plenty of bite and I want the motor to respond aggressively.
Wet Staffordshire clay
Higher intervention should make all that torque easier to deploy without instantly converting the rear tyre into a mud mixer.
Less dead movement before the bike drives.
Bosch's Drivetrain Tensioner pre-loads the drivetrain and reduces free play at the pedal. Flow 1.38 now lets that function be switched on or off individually for each custom riding mode.
On an easy road ride, this is subtle. On a walking-pace rock step, it could be the difference between clearing the obstacle and putting a foot down.
One bike. Four very different jobs.
This is the clever bit. I do not need Torque permanently set to maximum aggression. The point is to have several personalities available and choose the one appropriate to the terrain.
Flow 1.38 is more than a horsepower update.
Maximum is not automatically best.
Performance demand
More torque, stronger acceleration and 600% support ask more of the battery and drivetrain.
Range & wear
Bosch explicitly warns that higher performance values can mean lower range and higher wear. Torque's 600 Wh battery is healthy, but physics has not received a software update.
So my likely approach is not “everything to maximum”. It is “maximum where it earns its keep”. That should preserve range on easy miles while keeping the lunatic setting available when a genuinely horrible hill appears.
We used to upgrade bicycles with parts. Now we upgrade them with code.
That is what fascinates me most. Torque has not physically changed, yet the bike can genuinely feel and behave differently because Bosch has expanded what the Smart System allows the hardware to do.
Gentle when I want to explore. Efficient when I want distance. Controlled when the trail turns slippery. And mildly bonkers when a ridiculous climb appears ahead.
Torque is ready. Now I need the hill.
The 120 Nm headline is spectacular, but I suspect the real-world stars will be traction control, drivetrain pre-load and the ability to tune the motor's personality mode by mode. That is what turns extra output into a better eMTB rather than merely a bigger number.
Find a properly horrible hill.
Figures and feature descriptions are based on Bosch eBike Systems' official Performance Upgrade 2.0 information and the eBike Flow 1.38 release notes dated 12 October 2026. Bosch notes that the bicycle manufacturer may limit maximum torque, that up to 600% support is available only up to 15 km/h in compatible modes, and that higher performance settings can reduce range and increase wear.