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Peugeot eM01 on first sight – The French brand’s most capable eMTB

18.10.2020
by Manne Schmitt

The brand new Peugeot eM01 from the French car manufacturer is set to crown its ebike portfolio. We already had a chance to take a closer look at the prototype of the eMTB with its Bosch Performance Line CX motor, offering 170 mm travel up front and 160 mm at the rear.

Peugeot eM01 | Bosch Performance Line CX 2020/625 Wh | 170/160 mm (f/r) | 29″ | Manufacturer’s website

French car manufacturer Peugeot have been making bicycles since 1886 and won their tenth Tour de France in 1977. Things have gone very quiet around Peugeot’s bicycle range since, but in times of the corona pandemic and the surge in demand for bicycles, this could all change. Until now, Peugeot’s product portfolio has been geared more towards the urban segment. However, with their flagship full-suspension eMTB, the eM01, featuring a capable, performance oriented chassis, Peugeot are looking to expand their range.

Peugeot have been making bicycles for over 200 years

The EWS E-Race, which debuted as part of the Enduro World Series in Zermatt, gave us the opportunity to take a closer look at the bike of former enduro pro Nicolas Lau. Since Nico was involved in the development of the new Peugeot eM01, he was able to give us some interesting details.

Hailing from Alsace, Nicolas Lau successfully competed in enduro races as part of the CUBE Action Team for several years until he turned his back on professional enduro racing in 2018. In 2019, he returned to the racetracks on an eMTB, representing Peugeot. Incidentally, the width of
the SPANK Vibrocore SPIKE handlebar is 800 mm. The components of the bike shown here are part of Nicolas’ race spec, featuring some higher quality and more expensive bits than you’ll get on the production bike, which, according to Nico, they’re aiming to price at around € 6,000 to € 8,000 at most.

The production bike is designed around a 170 mm travel fork. For the race in Zermatt, Nico was running a 180 mm travel RockShox Lyrik, as the race track featured over 3,500 metres of descending. Weighing 73 kg, Nico had the pressure set up at 80 psi in Zermatt.
At the rear he’s got a RockShox Super Deluxe coil shock offering 160 mm travel. It’s not yet clear whether the production bike will also come with a coil shock.
On the production model, the rear shock will be protected by a splash guard
The Bosch Performance Line CX motor is nicely integrated into the aluminium frame with a plastic cover protecting it at the bottom. The SRAM cranks are quite short at 160 mm, giving the bike as much ground clearance as possible. If you want to know more about the effects of the crank’s length have a look at the article, “What’s the best crank length on an eMTB.“
Unterhalb des Bosch Purion-Displays sitzt die Remote für die kabellose Teleskopsattelstütze RockShox Reverb AXS
The remote for the wireless RockShox Reverb AXS dropper post is located below the Bosch Purion display
The charging socket for the 625 Wh battery is located on the side of the top tube. The battery can be removed from above. While the battery cover protrudes a bit at the top…
…it’s seamlessly integrated at the bottom. There’s enough room in the front triangle for a water bottle.

According to Nico, they paid special attention to the frame’s stiffness during the development, which is why they resorted to put the battery opening at the top of the down tube instead of the bottom.

In addition to the bottle cage, there’s also a bracket for CO2 cartridges bolted to the battery cover
The 625 Wh battery is connected to the battery cover by means of a rail…
…and can be easily detached from the cover to swap out the battery
The weld seams on the seat tube have been nicely cleaned up…
… and the internally routed cables are securely clamped in place
Nicos Peugeot eM01 is equipped with SRAM CODE brakes with a 220 mm rotor at the front …
.. and a 200 mm rotor taking care of the rear
You’ll get a different chainstay protector on the production model
We like: the spoke magnet is securely integrated into the brake rotor
We don’t like: the maximum permissible weight, including the rider and their gear, is limited to 120 kg according to the label on the frame. However, this isn’t a problem for Nico who weighs just 73 kg. If you want to find out more about the maximum permissible weight of eMTBs, we recommend reading our article, “Excess baggage: I weigh 90 kg – am I too heavy for my bike?”.

Both in terms of price and performance, the capable Peugeot eM01 eMTB promises to set a new benchmark in Peugeot’s portfolio. It’s currently not clear when it’ll become available, what the spec will be like and at what price. As soon as we get our hands on a production model, we’ll put it to the test.

For more information about the Peugeot Cycles product range, check out their official website.

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Words & Photos: Manne Schmitt

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About the author

Manne Schmitt

As the proud father of Robin and Max-Philip, Manne has been there from the start and is the wise elder of the editorial team. He won his first cycling race in elementary school at a school sports day. After less successful attempts at football, he found his passion for cycling via endurance racing in 1989! The world of racing still consumes him and no one in the team knows the EWS pros better than Manne. As a former head analyst of a state agency, he knows how to do proper research and finds exclusive news that no one else has. He supports his sons in day-to-day business dealings as the authorised signatory for 41 Publishing – viva la familia!