After flirting with the technology in the past, US bike component manufacturer SRAM is again rumoured to be working on an e-bike motor.

In 2002, SRAM released a hub-based e-bike system called SPARC. E-bikes were pretty niche back then though and it kind of fell by the wayside.

In 2012, the firm displayed another system that went by the name of E-Matic. This could be fit to any normal bike frame with rack mounts and powered a single-speed drivetrain. The battery went where a rack would normally go and a single wire connected it to the hub motor.

Speaking to Bike Europe in 2019, CEO Stan Day said that E-Matic was “modestly successful,” but claimed it was ahead of its time.

“The market was not ready for such a product,” he said. “And when Bosch entered the market we knew we were on the wrong side of the technology curve. This was not the kind of competitor we would have chosen.”

So since then, SRAM has focused more on other e-bike componentry, bringing out the e-MTB specific EX1 groupset in 2016, for example.

“Looking back I am convinced we did the right thing,” said Day. “Today we focus on design and producing components; that is our innovative edge. We did not want to take the same path others did before us.”

E-bikes are booming though and there’s now a rumour a motor system may be lined up for testing.

BikeRadar has spotted that a BlackBox Test Pilot Program team – currently boasting just one rider – has been listed for EWS-E, an international e-bike enduro series.

The firm has often used the BlackBox label for products still in development and this team is sponsored by SRAM, RockShox, Zipp, Time – all of which are part of the SRAM group – along with Troy Lee Designs.

It’s a bit of a leap to get from there to ‘SRAM e-bike motor’. However, BikeRadar argues it must surely be significant that the firm, as a main team sponsor, is entering a race category built around e-bike motors, which it currently does not offer.

For what it’s worth, SRAM has so far declined to comment.