Liam is back to give us a run down on the TQ Motor…
TQ’s design Focuses on making their products, lightweight, silent, compact & seamlessly integrated. Ultimately putting the needs of cyclists at the heart of what they do.
TQ stands for “Technologie und Qualitat” in German, but as you may guess, translates to Technology & Quality. Sound values for any engineering aficionados out there.
TQ was founded in 1994, in Bavaria, Germany. For nearly 30 years they have excelled in fields such as Automation, robotics, space travel and medial applications. They entered the e-bike market in 2008 and have invested heavily into their technology. They operate with the ethics of a family business and the resources of a global leader.
How it works / Performance
- The TQ motor used in trek’s line up is the HBR-50
- The technology in this motor is referred to as Harmonic Pin Ring Transmission. (This technology is also utilized in advanced robotics and the mars rover.
- The drive unit uses a powerful electric motor paired with a low gear ratio mechanism. This operates at a lower RPM than other systems, you can barely hear the motor during regular operating.
- Because of this design it allows a smooth, quiet delivery of power without any lag (instant response from the system).
- Outputs 300w of peak power @ 50nm torque
- Other advantages to the design are that the motor uses fewer moving parts (less to go wrong) and that the drive unit can be packaged in a much smaller unit, its almost hard to tell it’s an e-bike visually.
- The drive unit weighs in at 1850g for context a drive unit from Bosch (Performance CX motor) weights in around 2950g. quite a substantial saving.
How it appears in Trek’s line up
The TQ motor can currently be found in some of Trek’s MTB & Road Offerings
Fuel Exe
- Impressively light, at around 17.8kg-20kg (depending on the model)
- Houses a 360wh battery which is good for 20-30 miles of use or a 160wh ranger extender can be fitted in place of a water bottle to boost that capacity up to 520wh which can take your range up to 40-50 miles.
- A Swiss army knife of a mountain bike that can tackle any trail with 150mm (front) & 140mm (rear) travel suspension, OCLV Carbon fibre frame, 4 piston brakes and dropper post.
- Retains the purity of a traditional mountain bike in terms of handling, the compact & lightweight motor means there’s less bike the chuck around but provides great electric assistance when you want it.
- The motor has a specific tuning for mountain bike use.
- Available in a multitude of spec options starting from 9.5 Deore model all the way through to the range topper 9.9 XX1 AXS model.
Domane SLR +
- The HBR-50 motor pairs brilliant with this bike, the smooth, responsive power feels natural and still feels agile and spritely even when you’ve exceeded the assistance, or have it turned off.
- Models can weigh between 11.8kg-12.4kg (depending on the model) for context that’s a similar weight to a traditional analog aluminium gravel bike.
- Houses Trek’s proven isospeed tech, smooths out the roads or gravel road.
- Has the clearances to accept wider tyres, has the scope to be used as a gravel bike, making this an extremely versatile machine.
- Houses a 360wh battery which is good for 40-50 miles of use or a 160wh ranger extender can be fitted in place of a water bottle to boost that capacity up to 520wh which can take your range up to 60-70 miles.
- The motor has a specific tuning for road bike use.
- Available in a multitude of spec options starting from SLR 6 model.
