New Utility hub, for higher torque and wider range

Enviolo today introduces the Utility hub, a continuously variable transmission platform engineered for motor torque of up to 120 Nm and offering a 400% gear range. The Utility hub replaces the Heavy Duty and Extreme hubs and streamlines Enviolo’s product portfolio, which now consists of the Urban, City, Trekking, and Utility hubs. It is designed for trekking and SUV bikes, longtail and cargo bikes, as well as S-pedelecs with high-torque motor systems.

On a mid-drive e-bike, every bit of torque travels through the transmission on its way to the rear wheel. The Utility hub is built to carry that load without holding the motor back. At the low end, the 400% gear range provides a low enough gear ratio that longtails and cargo bikes can keep pedaling under load on steep climbs, keeping the motor in its efficient rev range. At the high end, the hub keeps a suitable gear ready at high speed, so riders of an S-pedelec can keep pedaling up to the 45 km/h assistance limit rather than reaching too high a cadence beforehand.

Development began several years ago, when Enviolo’s product teams observed that e-bikes were getting heavier and motors more powerful than existing gear systems were designed for. Enviolo reworked the hub: a new cover and housing design, revised internals for higher motor torque, and a wider gear range. The new test protocol validates torque inputs and gear ranges that exceed those required by the Utility hub itself. Motor manufacturers today offer torque ratings that were unusual just a few years ago, and a growing number of these systems are built specifically for hub gears.