BionX was a Canadian maker of
electric motor
An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate forc ...
s for
bicycles as well as bicycle retrofit kits, operating from 1998-2018, originally named EPS (Electric Propulsion Systems
BionX was headquartered in Aurora, Ontario, Aurora, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
where motors were produced and assemble
before being marketed in over 15 countries. Research and development was based in Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional cou ...
, Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
. The European sales and service center was located near Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
.
History
In 1998, entrepreneur Jean-Yves Dubé Jean-Yves is a French masculine given name. Notable persons with that name include:
* Jean-Yves André (born 1977), Mauritian footballer
* Jean-Yves Anis (born 1980), French footballer
* Yves Jean-Bart (born 1947), Haitian football executive
* Jean ...
formed Energy and Propulsion Systems (EPS), a company in Quebec, Canada. In 2000, the name was changed to "BionX".
In 2008, the company was acquired by Magna and by then its motors had become standard in many ebikes in Europe and North America, including bikes by Trek and Matra
Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a French industrial conglomerate. During its years of operation, it was engaged in a wide range of business activities, primarily focused around automobiles, bicycles, aeronautics and wea ...
, Kalkhoff.
In 2011, Bionix introduced SeaScape, an electrically-assisted paddle-boat product line.
On February 27, 2018 BionX Canada went into receivership, its 80 employees were dismissed, and the company was shut down temporarily to find a buyer. Grant Thornton Limited was appointed as Receiver. In June 2018, parts of the business were sold off to three other businesses, and the rest of the company assets were liquidated via online auction that ended August 15, 2018. By October 2018, BionX's receiver sold the company’s intellectual property, patents, trademarks, software web domains as well as remaining inventory with court approval t
Amego Electric Vehicles
and its nomine
Leisger Cycle Inc.
Motors
BionX motors were typically mounted into an oversized rear wheel hub and were noted for their low noise; regenerative braking
Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. In this mechanism, the electric traction m ...
capability and hub-embedded motor controller.
The D series of motors was the most recent and strongest BionX technology with a torque
In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of t ...
of 25/50 Nm. The motor cylinder was larger but thinner than previous versions and weighed 4.0 kg (8.8 lb). Before that was the S series which with 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) was lighter than the P series at the same strength. The P series motors were the first produced by Bionx. They had a torque of 9/40 Nm at a weight of 4.7 kg (10.4 lb).
*Since the maximum legal power specifications in Watts are different for the same motor in North America and Europe, the name varies. For example, the P-350 is usually sold as the P-250 in Europe.
While Bionx had competition from several wheel hub-based motor companies, including Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...
(e.g. KTM's eRace), Alber's Xion (lately in Kalkhoff bikes), Heinzmann, and GoSwiss, their primary competitor was the Bosch eBike.
See also
* Pedelec
* Electric bicycle
An electric bicycle (e-bike, eBike, etc.) is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assis ...
* Electric motor
An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate forc ...
References
External links
{{Commons category
ridebionx.com
– BionX company homepage
Companies based in Ontario
Electric bicycles
Electric motors