As cities move toward greener, more efficient mobility, e-bikes are quickly emerging as a sustainable transportation solution. To meet growing consumer expectations for longer ranges and lightweight designs, e-bike manufacturers are replacing metal components with advanced plastics. Envalior’s Stanyl® PA46 provides exceptional mechanical performance and wear resistance at elevated temperatures, as well as design flexibility—making it the ideal gear material for compact, high-torque e-bike drive units.
Today’s e-bike riders demand more range, speed, and comfort—pushing the E-bike motor suppliers to reinvent their drivetrain designs. While metal gears provide exceptional durability and strength, they add weight and often also noise and costs. That’s why manufacturers are turning to high-performance plastic alternatives for low weight, low noise and cost-effective drivetrain designs.
However, commonly used plastics like polyamide 66 (PA66) and polyoxymethylene (POM) often fall short under the high torque and high temperature requirements typical of demanding geartrain systems. These materials tend to wear quickly, causing performance issues and premature gear failure. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) offers better durability but comes with a steep price tag.
To truly optimize e-bike drivetrain performance, suppliers need plastic materials that combine temperature performance, mechanical strength, fatigue resistance, and ease of processing, without compromising the cost-effectiveness.
Envalior’s Stanyl® PA46 is a leading high-performance polyamide used in over 100 million gears annually. Its outstanding temperature, fatigue, wear and high-flow performance make it ideal for molding thin, strong gears that withstand continuous torque and stress in compact gears that e-bike drive units often need.
Stanyl® PA46 offers:
With these benefits, manufacturers can strive to meet both performance and cost targets while shortening their development cycles and time-to-market through fewer design iterations.
In response to the shift toward more sustainable transportation, Envalior also offers EcoPaXX® PA410, a high-performance, bio-based, low moisture absorption polyamide that delivers excellent durability, strength and high dimensional stability. Made from 70% castor bean oil, EcoPaXX helps gear suppliers lower their environmental footprint without compromising quality.
Envalior is committed to launching fully bio-based or recycled alternatives for its gear material portfolio by 2030—supporting our customers' sustainability goals and enabling cleaner mobility solutions across the e-bike sector.
Application Expert, Gears & Bearings, Envalior
Adnan Hasanovic is application expert for actuators and bearings at Envalior. In his global role he focuses on tribological applications, such as gears, bearings, and wear and friction bushings, as well as structural applications including actuator housings and covers. Adnan also supports global Envalior activities in existing and new application fields. He joined Envalior after he completed studies of mechanical engineering. Before joining Envalior, Adnan worked as CAE engineer and application development engineer.
03 July 2025
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