Broses Drive S Mag is one of the absolute top e-MTB motors. Quiet, sensitive and powerful. However, displeasure spread on social media and in internet forums. Various reader emails also criticised frequent defects in the drive. The main cause: a broken belt. The result: nothing works any more. In most cases, only a new engine can help. When we enquired, the Berlin engine manufacturer signalled that they were taking the problem very seriously and were working on a solution. According to them, the defects are caused by selective torque load peaks, which only occur in certain cases and damage the belt in the long term. A software update, which should be available from Brose dealers from 31 July 2020, should now provide a remedy.
The Brose statement in full:
"As with all its products, Brose places the highest demands on the quality and durability of the Brose Drive SMag, which has been available since the 2019 model year. Nevertheless, the belt and therefore the drive can occasionally fail. With this in mind, we have worked intensively on a solution and developed a software update for the Brose Drive SMag that minimises stress on the belt and improves the reliability of the drive. This software update will be available from 31 July 2020 via certified Brose dealers. We recommend it for all Drive SMag drives. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."
Specialised also reacts
(Update of the article on 31 July 2020)
Specialized is known to use its own software for its Levo and Kenevo models with Drive SMag motor. And here, too, there is now a firmware update that can be installed at your Specialized dealer. The manufacturer is also extending the motor warranty from two to four years from the invoice date for all Levo (MY 2019/2020) and Kenevo (MY 2020) owners. Hardware optimisations have also been made for all future Levos and Kenevos (from MY 2021).
The details can be found in the detailed statement from Specialized:
"Specialized's goal is to build bikes that offer the rider the optimum in performance and reliability. Specialized Turbo Levos and Kenevos have kept this promise for hundreds of thousands of riders over millions of kilometres worldwide. If we fail to deliver on this promise, we need to rectify this as quickly as possible. Some time ago, we became aware of a small but unacceptable number of claims on our model year 2019 / 2020 Turbo Levos and 2020 Turbo Kenevos. Since then, we have been working tirelessly on improvements to eliminate these issues. This includes measures to reduce noise, the installation of a reinforced drive belt, an optimised overrunning clutch assembly and further improvements to robustness and reliability. These hardware-based improvements are fitted to all 2021 Turbo Levo & Turbo Kenevo bikes. In order to offer all our riders an all-round carefree package, we have extended the engine warranty for all owners of model year 2019 / 2020 Turbo Levo FSR & Turbo Kenevo from two to four years from the invoice date. This extended warranty is transferable (with proof of invoice) should a customer decide to resell their bike. We have also discovered a software bug in the 2.1 engine firmware that can lead to drive belt defects under certain circumstances. As part of an update to our Turbo Studio, which we implemented on 23 July 2020, we have released a new version of the engine firmware that significantly improves the durability of the drive belts without having a negative impact on engine performance."
Florentin Vesenbeckh
Editor CvD
