Moustache E-MTB with Pinion MGU: New E-Enduro with Pinion's motor-gearbox unit

Oh là là, the French are going off the beaten track! Until now, e-bikes from the Alsatian forge Moustache were exclusively equipped with Bosch motors. Now the team at the e-MTB specialist has a new project up its sleeve. On the Eurobike 2024 in Frankfurt Moustache presents the prototype of a downhill-orientated E-Enduro with the Pinion drive MGU.

And it's not just because of the new drive that Moustache is set to usher in a new era. While the French company's previous e-MTBs tended to roll over the trails in a comfortable and emphatically uncomplicated manner (The Moustache Samedi 29 Trail in the EMTB test), the new and as yet nameless E-Enduro is designed to rocket agilely and radically through the terrain. Downhill, fun, playful and action-packed: this is how Moustache imagines its new speedster.

The bike is currently still trading under the name "Project Box 46", but is due to go into series production in spring 2025. The frame material remains the same. The aluminium chassis is designed for 170 millimetres of suspension travel at the front and 160 millimetres at the rear, but not much more could be found out at the trade fair stand. Except: 29er wheels roll at the front, 27.5 wheels at the rear - swallowing capacity and rollover behaviour at the front, agility and playfulness at the rear.

The developers have come up with some special solutions for integrating the Pinion drive. The MGU is installed rotated in the aluminium chassis. This leaves space to place the battery low down in the down tube for a particularly low centre of gravity. The battery can be pulled downwards out of the closed down tube.

Moustache did not yet want to reveal the exact size of the battery. The only thing that is certain is that the French are not using a standard solution from FIT, but a battery from a third-party supplier. This should make the down tube slimmer.

The facts about the Moustache Project Box 46 (prototype)

• Motor: Pinion MGU E1.12
• "Own" battery, no FIT solution. Capacity not yet determined
• New Master Node display in the top tube
• Frame material: Aluminium
• Suspension travel: 170 / 160 mm
• Wheel size: 29 / 27.5 inch

The basic characteristics of the Pinion MGU E1.12 should also help the new Moustache Enduro to be fun to ride and powerful downhill. Low unsprung mass on the rear wheel, absolutely quiet riding even on rough terrain, no influence of gear selection and sprocket size on the behaviour of the rear suspension. Also helpful for a downhill-strong bike: the central and low weight in the bottom bracket area of the 4.1-kilo MGU.

This is the Pinion MGU E1.12

The German company Pinion has combined a 12-speed gearbox with a powerful electric motor in a surprisingly compact housing. This eliminates the need for wear-prone external shifting components such as a rear derailleur and cassette. Instead of a chain, a lightweight, quiet and low-maintenance belt can be installed. Just in time for Eurobike, Pinion has also implemented a fully automatic gearshift system in the system via a software update and has also optimised the motor tuning a few times.

The BIKE live blog from Eurobike 2024

As in the previous year the BIKE team will be presenting product news from Eurobike, the events at the trade fair and everything that happens around it in a continuous live blog. Together with our sister magazine TOUR, we will be reporting directly from the bike show in Frankfurt over three days. Have fun reading!