The International Cycling Union (UCI) has made a clear decision for the future of e-mountain bike racing. From 2026, only motors with a maximum output of 750 watts may be used in all official UCI competitions. This upper limit is to be applied as early as the 2025 World Championships in Valais, Switzerland, before becoming mandatory for all UCI competitions the following year. The decision follows lengthy discussions about uniform power limits in e-MTB sport and aims to minimise technological differences between the teams.
At the same time, the aim is to ensure that motorised support does not dominate the sport, but that riders continue to play the main role. Important to know: The regulation only affects competitive sport and has no impact on private use or the sale of e-bikes with more powerful motors.
Consequences for manufacturers and teams
The new power limit should particularly affect those brands that have recently come onto the market with particularly powerful drive systems. A prominent example is the DJI Avinox motor, which produced a peak output of just under 1000 watts in our lab test and is therefore well above the future UCI limit. The new Mahle M40 would, according to the manufacturer's specifications of 850 W peak power exceed this limit. Such drives could no longer be used in official races from 2026 - at least not with the standard commercial software. Explosive: market leader Bosch recently upgraded the popular Performance CX to exactly 750 watts peak power via a software update. The Swabians therefore remain unaffected by the new regulation.
For manufacturers, this means that they will either have to develop special versions of their motors with reduced power for racing or switch to other drive systems altogether. The challenge for racing teams and athletes is that they have to send their e-systems to the UCI for inspection before competitions.
Classification in the wider context
The UCI's decision is not isolated, but is part of a broader discussion about power limits for electrically assisted bicycles. Possible changes to the regulations for EPACs (Electrically Power Assisted Cycles) are also being debated at a regulatory level in Europe. The Zweirad-Industrie-Verband (ZIV) had presented proposals for new industry regulations for e-bikes, which were strongly criticised by the manufacturer DJI. The UCI regulation could therefore be seen as part of a larger trend in which the rapid technical development in the e-bike sector is to be channelled through more uniform standards.
For racing, this means standardisation, which could theoretically create fairer competitive conditions by reducing the influence of pure engine power. At the same time, it remains to be seen how manufacturers will react to this restriction and whether they might find other ways to achieve performance advantages within the 750 watt limit, for example through more efficient energy use or optimised control software.
Florentin Vesenbeckh
Editor CvD
