BionX was a Canadian maker of

electric motor An electric motor is a 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 electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...

s for

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

s as well as bicycle retrofit kits, operating from 1998 to 2018, originally named EPS (Electric Propulsion Systems

BionX was headquartered in Aurora, Ontario, Aurora,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

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 River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The European sales and service center was located near

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

History

In 1998, entrepreneur Jean-Yves Dubé 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 major French industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, defence industry, def ...

Kalkhoff Kalkhoff is a German bicycle manufacturer based in Cloppenburg; it was founded in 1919 by Heinrich Kalkhoff (* 30. November 1903; † 25. September 1972) as a family business. Founded as a first small workshop in Kalkhoff's parents' house, the c ...

. In 2011, Bionix introduced

SeaScape A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from landscape, which was first used for images of land in art. By a similar de ...

, 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 or potential energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. Typically, regenerativ ...

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 analogue of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). The symbol for torque is typically \boldsymbol\tau, the lowercase Greek letter ''tau''. Wh ...

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 is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...

(e.g. KTM's eRace), Alber's Xion (lately in Kalkhoff bikes), Heinzmann, and GoSwiss, their primary competitor was the Bosch eBike.

References

External links

{{Commons category
ridebionx.com
– BionX company homepage
Ebike
Companies based in Ontario Electric cycle manufacturers Electric motors

History

Motors

See also

References

External links