Shimano STEPS EC-E8004

The Shimano STEPS EC-E8004 is the second best-selling genuine e-bike charger in the Netherlands, right behind the Bosch 4A. It ships in the box with models like the Koga E-Inspire, Trek Verve+, Giant Explore E+ and Merida eSPRESSO — basically any mid-drive bike with 'STEPS E8000' or 'E7000' in the motor code. Shimano deliberately chose a slightly more compact plastic housing at around 650 grams, noticeably lighter than the 800-gram Bosch rival when you occasionally take it along. The standout feature is passive cooling. Where Bosch uses an active fan, the EC-E8004 relies entirely on an aluminium heatsink inside the plastic shell, making it completely silent. In practice that means you can charge in a bedroom, nursery or open-plan office without anyone noticing — you literally cannot hear it. The trade-off is that the housing runs warmer (up to 50°C under full load) and you should not stack books or clothes on top. Charging-wise the 4A output is identical to Bosch: a 504 Wh BT-E8035 goes from 0 to 100% in about 5 hours, a smaller 418 Wh BT-E8014 in about 4 hours. The final 20% is intentionally slower to preserve cell life, as with any decent li-ion charger.

Within the Shimano ecosystem there is essentially no real competition: aftermarket Chinese chargers with a STEPS connector do exist on Marktplaats and AliExpress, but they risk your warranty and can damage the BMS inside the pack. On a bike that cost 3,000+ euros that is a risky 30-euro saving. Against the Bosch 4A, Shimano wins on weight and noise, but Bosch wins on fast-charge availability — Shimano still does not offer a 6A equivalent. Yamaha PW-X chargers are rare in the Netherlands because that platform sells poorly here, and Impulse Evo chargers are rarer still.

Honest caveats: the EC-E8004 is exclusively for STEPS batteries with the round 4-pin connector. The newest Shimano EP8 generation (from 2021) uses the same connector and is compatible, but if you have an older STEPS E6000 bike from 2015 with a previous connector design, double-check first. The charger also lacks a status LED on the unit itself; you have to read the Shimano display or the battery-mounted LED. For anyone used to a simple red/green LED on the brick, that takes some adjustment.