Brief Review: Bosch Performance Line CX Gen5 with TRP E.A.S.I Automatic Shifting and Magura MT7 ABS Brakes

I roll the first few meters on the asphalt, my gaze falls on the Magura MT7 brake lever, followed by a quick glance at the ABS unit. Then I start thinking about Quentin Tarantino.
I know the MT7. I like its brutal side and I know what will happen if I suddenly and maximally pull the front brake here and now on the grippy asphalt. Every nerve fiber in my body, from my fingertips to the depths of my movement center in my brain, resists pulling the Carbotecture lever to the stop as quickly as possible. This must be how base jumpers feel, it shoots through my head as I prepare for the dive that should save me from a massive asphalt slam.
With full force, I pull the brake lever to the handlebar ... and what happened next, you can read in the resolution of the ABS story in the brake part of our short review.

At the latest, when you use the TRP automatic, the Purion display becomes mandatory. Only then can you see at a glance which mode (Manual/Automatic) is active, and only then can you adjust the desired cadence without a phone, which dictates the gear changes.

Many of you will probably ask the same question that crossed my mind when I first read about the TRP E.A.S.I.: What is the point of having an automatic on an eMTB with a chain gear, and what advantages does it bring?

To find an answer, I press the small button on the shift lever to switch from manual to automatic mode. My desired cadence is 80 revolutions per minute, and so I set off with the intention of not pressing the shift lever a single time on my home round.
The first few kilometers on asphalt in the city pleasantly surprise me. The initial feeling of sitting on a bike with a hopelessly bent derailleur hanger, where not a single gear stays in place, quickly gives way to the realization that it involves constant, precise gear changes - just not induced by me.
With moderate pressure on the pedal, the TRP shifts exactly as I would have done manually. The motor takes a little pressure off the pedal, and the gears click louder or quieter, but always somewhat smoothly up and down. As soon as I approach a traffic light and slow down, the automatic immediately shifts down ("Auto-Downshift" function), so I'm always in the right gear when starting off. By the way, which gear is individually correct can also be set in the eBike Flow App. Additionally, the feature can be activated or deactivated there at will.

The fact that downshifting works so smoothly is due to "RollShift": While you leisurely coast in freewheel, the motor turns the drive just enough for the chain to shift onto the next larger chainring. This works in automatic mode as if by magic but also works when manually shifting up, as long as the rear wheel is still moving and not already stationary.
Thus, I manage to get through the city and across the countryside to the trail entrance without pressing the shift lever a single time. Only when sprinting away from the traffic light with corresponding pressure on the pedal do the shifting processes become audibly louder and noticeably harsher.

On the trail, the situation is a bit different. While the TRP E.A.S.I. mostly makes the right choice off-road, it doesn't always do so quickly enough, as it doesn't have a built-in onboard camera and thus cannot act proactively, but only react - quickly, but sometimes simply too late. This is particularly limiting in rapidly changing terrain or certain inclines.
When the terrain rises too quickly, the load on the chain is already quite high until the cadence is ten revolutions below the target and the automatic system initiates the gear change. The same goes in the other direction. In off-road conditions, as soon as it becomes flatter, there is still quite a bit of torque on the pedal, so the system shifts under correspondingly high load.
In automatic mode, the system can be "overridden" by manual shifting for ten seconds before it automatically selects the gear it deems appropriate based on its settings. This makes it generally possible to cruise well in auto mode off-road. However, a longer out-of-saddle passage is not feasible, as it is usually completed with a lower cadence than preset. On certain inclines, I would prefer a slightly higher cadence permanently, but unfortunately, it doesn't help to shift up if the automatic takes over again after ten seconds. The only solution here is to switch to manual mode with a simple button press on the shift lever.

This works flawlessly. The motor support is briefly reduced for fractions of a second. This makes the gear change smooth and relatively noiseless. Unlike Sram's AXS, the TRP A12 doesn't shift quite as smoothly under load, but it does so without delay and feels very direct. The shift lever is ergonomically positioned at the thumb.
Incidentally, the RollShift function is also available in manual mode. Used in a somewhat unintended way, I can imagine that this has its advantages in more technical terrain, as you can change gears without a crank rotation.
For those concerned about battery life: The power supply for the derailleur is provided by the Bosch main battery.

To answer the previously posed question: I see advantages especially when cruising leisurely through the city and forest. You can ride along without having to think about shifting gears and use the hand freed from some obligations for other things - for example, to give clear hand signals, or to calmly reach for the water bottle.
In real terrain, eShift occasionally reacts simply too late or produces very hard gear changes under heavy chain load. Here, as also communicated by Bosch on the website, the manual mode is the much better choice, especially since with RollShift an interesting feature - shifting without turning the crank - is still available.

For me, as a knowledgeable CX Gen4 connoisseur, it was the first ride with the new motor generation from Bosch, and I believe: Bosch is moving in the right direction with its entire system even for sporty bikers. The visually appealing Mini Remote and the Purion 400 complement the new, significantly quieter motor and the lighter battery to create a noticeably improved overall package.

Although the smart functions and app integration are very nice and useful features, my personal highlights are firstly the reduced noise level and the changed, higher frequency, both uphill and downhill. The motor in my current test bike (Moustache Game Alubike with special motor mount) is so quiet that even the rolling and wind noises or the chain are louder.
Secondly, Bosch has hit a nerve with the hill start assist. After pressing the push button (long press on minus), you can optionally activate either the push assist or the hill start assist, intuitively by pushing or pedaling or applying slight pressure on the pedal. The latter mode gives the motor just enough boost to roll forward smoothly even on very steep and slippery sections, without backward flipping (rookie backflip) and without rear-wheel braking.

On my home circuit, there are two extremely steep sections that demand a lot of torque and good motor control on the e-bike - and both worked superbly with the new CX motor.
One reason for this is probably the new sensor technology, which controls the motor much more precisely. Acceleration and position sensors detect not only crank speed and torque but also the incline, motor position, ground surface, and several other parameters. In practice, this means more grip through less slip, especially on loose ground in steep terrain.

Even downhill, in my eyes, the greatest achievement is improved acoustics. The rattling is now finally a thing of the past. The pedals or the crankshaft are completely decoupled from the gearbox when idling. This ensures that the gears no longer turn and rattle with small crank movements.
Downhill as well as on level ground, my impression is confirmed that the Generation 5 Bosch motors offer a riding experience refined in many details. The responsiveness, the fading out and reactivation of the motor at 25 km/h, the motor noises - there's nothing to complain about.

Before we conclude our report, I still owe you the resolution of my Tarantino dream mentioned in the introduction. What happened next was not nothing, but also not much more. After massively anchoring on the front brake, the bike decelerated just as massively, but the rear wheel was maybe briefly and a few centimeters in the air.
The braking on asphalt in Trail Pro mode really impressed me; the ABS intervenes almost imperceptibly and yet just enough to keep the rear wheel nicely on the ground. More and more detailed tests in the significantly more restrictive Touring mode have been conducted by my colleague NoPain in protective gear.

What interested me more in our review was the ABS braking behavior on the trail. So, into Race mode and off to the wild hairpin turns, where I barely notice the ABS, prompting me next to venture into a high-speed descent to see if it works at all.
And lo and behold, on very loose gravel, the ABS is indeed noticeably felt. Here and there, I would have braked much harder, maybe even risked locking the front wheel, simply because otherwise, I feel like I'm continually gaining speed.
Thus, the ABS does reduce skidding, but in this combination of high speeds and very loose surfaces, it can potentially lead to an extension of the braking distance.

On the second attempt, I ride as briskly as possible, but still somewhat slower than before, down a steep forest passage. The soft forest floor offers relatively good grip, with just a few smaller stones here and there in the way.
At the end of the trail, I could have sworn I hadn't felt the ABS at all, yet the display showed six ABS interventions. I found that quite impressive, as it shows that the system works unnoticed and thus without disturbing the flow. Ideally, the system goes unnoticed; optimally, it prevents unwanted skidding.
A longer test would be exciting for me - our test subject unfortunately had to return after only a few days - in somewhat more alpine terrain. My guess would be that once rocks provide some grip, you don't notice the ABS, while in slippery grooves, in the right mode, you produce fewer skids, but possibly at the cost of the braking distance.
In any case, on my usual route, the ABS in Race mode would be a good setting for a bit more safety in the city and for carefree "forgetting it and relying on it in an emergency" on the trail.

If I had a few more wishes, it would be for a bit more openness or interfaces from Bosch for third parties like Garmin, Wahoo, and others.
The Purion 400 is a great display, easy to read, and the Bosch Flow App is a useful tool for planning routes. And yet, I have the feeling that there should be more to it. It would be nice to be able to manage training or routing via Wahoo or Garmin while simultaneously recording cadence and power from the Bosch system.

I do like the Purion 400 display because it is really sharp and bright. Nevertheless, visually, it's where Shimano was a few years ago. As for the control unit in the top tube, I now consider TQ or DJI Avinox as state-of-the-art.

Regarding the TRP group, there is nothing to complain about in manual mode. The group will surely be a tad quieter and smoother with the matching TRP Evo cassette than with the one installed on the test bike. There is no shift behavior tuned to climbing aids like with Sram, but the shifting is much more direct and immediate.
The RollShift function, available in both modes, offers potential for biking in challenging terrain, as it allows gear changes without pedal rotations.
The automatic mode works very well on flat terrain, but in steep and often changing terrain, you can override the shifting with the manual override for ten seconds, but in some situations, you need more. Fine-tuning the shift window might provide a remedy, at least for power users, but many would probably be overwhelmed with even more options. However, I can well imagine that deeper integration and coordination with Bosch's sensors (incline, acceleration, etc.) would reveal a lot of possibilities.

These possibilities can now be seen quite well in the ABS system, which works unexpectedly solidly even on steep and slippery trails, including rear wheel shifting (only in race mode). And without having to fear going over the front wheel on asphalt in an emergency braking situation.

Bosch is on a solid path and with the new Generation 5, it aims a bit more at the needs of the sportier target group. This concerns the refined sensors and technology, the weight and acoustics, as well as the operability and appearance of the entire system.
In certain areas, other manufacturers may be more progressive, but hardly any manufacturer can match the complete package from Bosch. The high quality, solid workmanship, and not least the Bosch service and availability contribute to this.

The integrated ABS of the Magura MT7 and the automatic TRP E.A.S.I. A12 shifting were two interesting additions to the Bosch ecosystem for our short test, which can certainly make sense depending on the user group, but above all show that we have arrived in the future of e-bikes.
In city traffic or on touring bikes, I could easily do without the gear lever. And the sportily tuned ABS Pro is a safety feature that also works in its new form on the trail bike.
I'm not a big fan of countless rechargeable batteries on the bike. However, when all small consumers, including lights, are connected to the e-bike battery, which can supply these parts with power for hours or days even with minimal remaining capacity, the situation suddenly looks quite different.