We already knew Eurobike 2025 was going to be packed with the smallest, lightest electric bike motors the world has ever seen. What we didn't expect, though, was for manufacturers to start outdoing brand-new products they previewed just weeks ago. TQ, for example, debuted what it calls the smallest, lightest, quietest ebike drive in its class in early June. Now, the German e-drive innovator undercuts itself with an even smaller, lighter motor weighing less than 2.6 lb. It's the all-new HPR40, and it's specially designed to match the light, lithe lines of road and gravel bikes.
The big news behind the HPR60 mid-drive TQ previewed a few weeks ago was that it managed an extra 10 Nm of torque with very little extra mass. With the HPR40, then, TQ takes its newfound packaging efficiency enhancements and applies them to a slightly less powerful drive in order to cut weight and size to what it calls the "smallest, most efficient mid-motor system ever to be found in a bicycle."
Grinding closer and closer to an even kilogram, TQ brings total mid-motor weight down to 1,170 g (2.6 lb) while detuning output to 200 watts and 40 Nm (29.5 lb-ft). For comparison, the HPR60 weighs in at 1,924 g (4.2 lb) and puts out 350 watts along with 60 Nm (44 lb-ft) of torque.
The HPR40 is essentially a further refinement of the HPR50, tuned to better match the electric-assist needs of road and gravel bikes. The HPR50 was initially developed in cooperation with Trek for mountain bikes and later adapted to road and gravel bicycles, whereas the HPR40 represents TQ's first motor drive developed from the ground up for the lighter, sleeker, more delicate frames of the road and gravel markets.
The advantage of shaving down motor size is noticeable immediately, as the HPR40 disappears even more dramatically than previous TQ motors. From some angles, the bottom bracket barely even appears to hide a motor at all.
TQ complements the tiny mid-motor with a slim battery pack concealed inside the down tube, a remote control that hides under the handlebar tape and a simple power display integrated neatly in the end of the handlebar – it's almost as if the company is daring riders to start a fresh round of mechanical doping scandals.
As for pedal assistance, the HPR40 relies on an intelligent sensor set and adaptive software package to manage assistance levels up to 100 percent of the rider's input, promising a more natural cycling experience that "rides and feels like a classic road bike - only further, longer, higher."
One of the first bikes to feature the new drive system also makes its world premiere this week at Eurobike. Among the lightest electric road bikes to ever hit pavement, the Canyon Endurance:ONfly series limbos just under the 10-kg (22-lb) mark to scale weights as low as 9.9 kg (21.8 lb).
Canyon explains that it worked closely with TQ to develop a drive with the most seamless electric assistance available on a road bike, a big departure from electric drives simply brought over from the mountain bike market. It then designed the Endurance:ONfly to look and feel like a standard road bicycle, albeit one that delivers extra pedaling power when riders need it most. It promises near-silent motor performance and a smooth, non-jarring power cutoff when the e-drive hits its governed top speed of 25 km/h (15.5 mph), ensuring the bike doesn't become dramatically slow and sluggish.
The Endurance:ONfly comes with a 290-Wh battery pack integrated into the down tube, which can be augmented with TQ's 160-Wh water bottle-style range extender pack. Canyon says that battery duo will power rides up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) or more, complete with over 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) of climbing.
The flagship 9.9-kg "Sub 10" model of the Endurance:ONfly series prices in at €9,999 (approx. US$11,700), while lower-tier models price between €4,499 and 6,999 ($5,275 and 8,200) and still come in quite lightweight with a range between 11.8 and 12 kg (26 and 26.5 lb).
Sadly for US road cyclists looking for a purposefully honed electric boost, Canyon says: "For the time being, Endurace:ONfly will not be available within the United States."
Meanwhile, Ridley is showing the first TQHPR40-powered gravel bike with its €8,899 E-ASTR. That one does show as being available to order in the US as of July, 22.
