The Norco Fluid VLT C1 features Bosch’s much-coveted Performance Line SX motor, which produces 250W nominally, 600W at max, and offers up to 55Nm of torque. This is arguably one of the most sophisticated motors being spec’d on eMTBs.
Powering the Performance Line SX is Bosch’s CompactTube 400, a 400Wh internal battery. Riders looking for more range than that battery can provide (we’ll get to its range soon enough) can add Bosch’s PowerMore 250, which is a range-extending battery with a capacity of 250Wh.
While the Bosch Performance Line SX motor is competitive against anything on the market (in fact, it’s superior to most of what’s on the market), it is compared most often to Bosch’s Performance Line CX motor, which is the motor used in a number of high-end eMTBs.
The difference between the two motors comes down to two figures: torque and weight. Where the Bosch Performance Line SX produces 55Nm of torque and weighs 2kg (4.4 lbs.), the Performance Line CX produces 85Nm of torque and weighs 2.9kg (6.4 lbs.).
When we talk about a motor’s power, we often only talk about three data points: nominal wattage, max wattage, and max torque. Every bit as important, though, is a motor’s power-to-weight ratio, usually expressed as watts per kilogram. With the Bosch Performance Line SX motor, its power-to-weight ratio is 300W/kg (136W/lb.). That’s a stellar number.
Let’s compare that to the Performance Line CX motor, which produces 206W/kg. So, while the Performance Line CX produces more torque, the Performance Line SX has a higher power-to-weight ratio, making it absolutely competitive against the Performance Line CX.
For those of us who came up riding mountain bikes that weighed less than 30 lbs. (every now and then less than 20 lbs.), the Performance Line SX motor is a key feature in being able to dial eMTB weight down from between 50-ish lbs. to less than 40 lbs. This results in an eMTB that feels more like a non-motorized mountain bike.
On many e-bikes, a 400Wh battery, such as the Bosch CompactTube 400, would cause some head-scratching because it simply wouldn’t offer much range. On a lightweight eMTB with a mid-drive motor, though, 400Wh compares favorably to what we would expect to see with an e-bike with a hub motor and a much larger battery.
