Shimano has quietly rolled out the new Shimano BT-E8035 integrated battery and it is set to disrupt e-Bike design for the better.
While Shimano’s STEPS motor system is loved for its compact motor footprint, designers of e-Bikes and e-MTB’s have had trouble with the range of official Shimano batteries available. Originally, Shimano only offered 2 official battery solutions for STEPS one being the external BT-8010, a common sight on e-Bikes. The other, the BT-E8020, an internal battery solution.
The issue with the BT-E8020 is the sheer size of the battery. While it is designed to hide inside the frame of an e-Bike, it meant designers struggled to disguise it and bikes that used the BT-E8020 generally look a little awkward.
The more common BT-E8010 is generally found sitting externally on the downtube of an e-Bike frame, although Intense did manage to convince Shimano to allow them to hide the battery internally.
Neither solution is compact enough though and some brands not content with either battery ended up working with technology companies to produce their own internal batteries. While this might be an option for a larger company with plenty of cash flow, it isn’t ideal for a smaller manufacturer wanting to produce a sleek looking e-Bike.
Shimano’s solution is the all new BT-E8035 battery, a product so new that the official listing on the Shimano website doesn’t even show us a photo of it. Shimano’s listing of the battery does mention that it has been designed as a new compact alternative and that its design means improved usability. The following image from a Taiwanese frame manufacturer confirms that the new battery will be significantly smaller than previous Shimano units.
Technically the new Shimano battery offers the same 504Wh capacity as the largest Shimano external battery, it takes around 5 hours to fully charge and will feature a battery level indicator for convenience.
While Shimano has been quiet about the launch of the new battery, we expect bike manufacturers have been working with the Japanese giant for months now on updated e-Bikes using it, and now that the battery is listed we can’t imagine it will be too long before new e-Bikes and e-MTB’s will be launching fairly soon.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated with news of future e-Bike launches with the Shimano BT-E8035, but while we’re waiting to see what bike companies come up are there any bikes you would like to see redesigned with this battery? What about a new Intense Tazer with smaller battery bulge? a Vitus E-Sommet with a cleaner finish or an all-new Canyon Spectral:ON? Let us know your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.
