Crestline x DJI - RS 181 SPECTRE Edition

Posvar1 said:
A YouTube comment said that the Sam’s bike one was also a one off color. But I’m digging it and too hope it is the same.
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Dang, I thought it might be another one off color! But it wasn’t for Sam. Wish I was important enough to get a one off color…..oh well maybe in my next life.
 
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sheamus710 said:
Right now I'm riding a gen 5 Trek Rail+, Trek Slash+, Salsa Notch carbon (also w/ gen 5 Bosch motor...increased travel to 190/180), and the new Spesh Turbo Levo 4. The 1000W peak power of the DJI intrigued me, but now I'm having second thoughts if it's just going to be restricted to 750W. I prefer my gen 5 bosch powered bikes.
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Man you are a bike slut!

Sometimes i wish i lived in a place where I earnt Euro or USD because bikes would be so much cheaper by comparision to NZ.

In NZ my crestline cost me $23k nzd. (ok I bought and sold parts ect, but that was the raw price) That is paaainfulll and at the price of a brand new small car...... You just listed of $70k nzd of of bike value excluding the crestline....

But then I go riding in my excellent location with no gun violence or animals trying to kill me or crazy politics or wars going on nearby and I think. I'll take the extra bike expense and bath in the riding glory and safety that is NZ.

I'm not convinced with DJI yet either. I want to see more long term reviews. Plus i want to see full local support and part availability before i consider a change. There's not enough support from DJI in my neck of the woods currently. I suspect there will be in 1 to 2 years.

For now im consoling myself with the fact that i still have the best handling lightest spec crestline when i have the 400hw battery in the frame. That beats out the dji by 600 grams and less forward weight bias.
 
mrtrinh said:
Was there motor rattle like Rob mentioned?
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I didn’t ride it long enough to hear a rattle and the parking lot test won’t probably do it. What I heard though is the noticeable motor “roar” compared to my CX5.

I could have ridden it longer, but I wasn’t too excited about it.
 
It’s July folks

When are the frames supposed to ship? Was it supposed to start shipping before the end of July or deliveries will all be shipped out within this month?

And still no word if any regulatory issues with selling a DJI motor in the states or how service and support would work.
 
MTB_MIKE said:
It’s July folks

When are the frames supposed to ship? Was it supposed to start shipping before the end of July or deliveries will all be shipped out within this month?

And still no word if any regulatory issues with selling a DJI motor in the states or how service and support would work.
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"Start to ship by the end of July"
 
I hope we hear from Troydon soon, I’d prefer to not sell my current Crestline (currently up for sale) until I know for sure I’ll be receiving my RS181 frame…..with a motor, warranty, and some sort of DJI support.
 
freeriding said:
You mean that the engine rattles?
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Every recent review of a DJI bike seems to mention that the motor is quite loud, but I think it's more of a whine than a rattle.

I LOVE the integration of the DJI motor/ battery and it's clearly superior to the Bosch.

BUT, I keep reading about lower efficiency, really hard to pedal when the battery isn't on, no bash ring & now quite a bit of noise from the DJI's. Maybe now that the initial excitement has died down, reviewers are being more critical.

Like I care about the way my bike looks when it's in my garage but I'm past the stage where I'm trying to 'disguise' that I'm on an e-bike. So, what's more important is the riding experience.

YTBD.
 
Alright troydon got back to me. Cliff notes for you folks.
  • There should be no issues with the RS181 spectre frames getting out to customers. He currently has the motors and batteries. Not sure about the frame as I didn't ask.
  • DJI are separating AVINOX off as its own entity. AVINOX will not be pulling out of the US market.
 
MTB_MIKE said:
It’s July folks

When are the frames supposed to ship? Was it supposed to start shipping before the end of July or deliveries will all be shipped out within this month?

And still no word if any regulatory issues with selling a DJI motor in the states or how service and support would work.
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I would guess the frames are made in Taiwan. The went on presale when they hit the water. It's about 30-45 days to land on the Westcoast/customs/final destination delivery. Another week or so to install the harware (which sounds like they already have) for frames in order of purchase and BOOM, end of July-ish ship dates.
 
freeriding said:
Does crestline have the dji battery removable? Any other company with dji that has the battery removable?
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Yes, slides out the bottom.
The new DJI Rotwild has a custom made removable battery out the frame side. (Ugly but very fast removal)
 
AlumiPro said:
I hope we hear from Troydon soon, I’d prefer to not sell my current Crestline (currently up for sale) until I know for sure I’ll be receiving my RS181 frame…..with a motor, warranty, and some sort of DJI support.
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And battery... dont forget the battery. That's the hard part. Don't sell ya Crestline before you know a logistics solution for thd battery is sorted.
 
mrtrinh said:
Alright troydon got back to me. Cliff notes for you folks.
  • There should be no issues with the RS181 spectre frames getting out to customers. He currently has the motors and batteries. Not sure about the frame as I didn't ask.
  • DJI are separating AVINOX off as its own entity. AVINOX will not be pulling out of the US market.
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This is great news. We should be able to confidently order all the parts needed for the build without further concern in my opinion. I bet the frames are on a Boat as we speak and Crestline just needs to assemble and begin shipping
 
MTB_MIKE said:
This is great news. We should be able to confidently order all the parts needed for the build without further concern in my opinion. I bet the frames are on a Boat as we speak and Crestline just needs to assemble and begin shipping
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Agreed! The only major concern is US local support. I know DJI is trying to ramp up this year, let's hope they can get established in the US network asap. I know my current local bike shop (orange county, socal) was approached by dji/amflow a few months ago and they're entertaining the idea of possibly carrying DJI/Amflow
 
mrtrinh said:
Agreed! The only major concern is US local support. I know DJI is trying to ramp up this year, let's hope they can get established in the US network asap. I know my current local bike shop (orange county, socal) was approached by dji/amflow a few months ago and they're entertaining the idea of possibly carrying DJI/Amflow
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In the UK, some stores are reporting 60% of their EMTB sales are Amflow. Your local store should entertain this idea soon
 
It'll be so cool to hear the real comparison of the DJI vs. Bosch in the Crestlines that Rob has ridden. Hopefully he doesn't only prioritize max power, Mr. climbs up steep hills with his saddle slammed. JK

It would be amazing to have 2 identical Crestlines, one with the Bosch and the other with the DJI and get the full comparisons, speed, range, noise, weight, balance, handling, etc. from someone with both.
 
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Simply one of the best bikes I’ve ever ridden.

Full coil setup (RXF 38 Coil Forks)
Mullet
460 Chainstay

IMG_6618.jpeg
 
Wow, that looks super cool Rob! What size dropper did you use? What size bike are you on and what size can slam all the way to the bottom as yours is not full inserted? and finally, when is the review to drop? This is the future and Bosch must be scratching their heads!!
 
westcoastmtbr said:
Wow, that looks super cool Rob! What size dropper did you use? What size bike are you on and what size can slam all the way to the bottom as yours is not full inserted? and finally, when is the review to drop? This is the future and Bosch must be scratching their heads!!
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This is a size Large. Its a 210mm OneUp dropper, thats about as far as it'll go.

I have only had 3 rides so far, but the thing feels quite different IMO to the Bosch bike. It feels a lot lighter and sharper, but its probably not much lighter at all, I think its around the same weight.

Big differences:

Positives
- Mullet, with long rear centre, put tons of grip on the front wheel. Customise your rear end with dropouts is a massive plus.
- Feels far more lively all over compared to the Bosch version. This one is 15mm shorter in reach (485mm) than the Bosch one I've been riding, which will definitely contribute to that feeling.
- Measures pretty slack on my measuring device, like 62.9 degrees
- 1309mm wheelbase, 180mm travel front and rear
- Rear suspension tune feels a bit firmer in the first bit of travel, maybe its less progressive
- Exists corners with lightning pace, step on the pedals and its fricking fast!
- DJI makes the Bosch feel like an SL. I know its been said a lot, but I left my Bosch mate standing.
- Looks stunning. Literally not far off a normal pedal bike in looks.
- Steeper seat tube angle over the Bosch

Negatives (so far)
- Motor rattle. Personally I'm super sensitive to bike noises. The rattle annoys me (I hear rattle on all the Avinox bikes I try)
- Seat tube insertion. Never gonna be able to run 240mm droppers on this bike, sadly.
- SRAM cable transmission feels a bit cheap on the lever end. I’m moving back to wireless, especially now DJI has coast shift!

So happy with it so far!

IMG_6624.jpeg
 
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Rob, bet this bike would be 48 ish Pounds range with Fox 38 and stock air shock in back; but a coil certainly will help with off the top sensitivity... As for the dropper at 210, you don't have it slammed down, so would the 210 allow it to be fully inserted in your opinion? Bet this would ride very nicely in Santa Cruz!
Also, it will be light compared to a levo in the 53-54 pound range. At that, say 4 pounds lighter is a big deal if you run air on both ends.
 
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Rob, nice work on the build and recap of the differences. Do you think the stiffer suspension is due to the way your shock is set up or something else?
Also, would you mind measuring the bb height from the ground on your mullet? I’ve found that geo chart measures are sometimes different from reality.
 
Saddlerags said:
Rob, nice work on the build and recap of the differences. Do you think the stiffer suspension is due to the way your shock is set up or something else?
Also, would you mind measuring the bb height from the ground on your mullet? I’ve found that geo chart measures are sometimes different from reality.
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Yes potentially, the Ohlins is brand new, and likely contributes. Also, I prefer how the new one feels over the old one :) I ran a Fox X2 and DHX2 on the Bosch version.

I just spoke with Troydon now, he said the progression is very similar, but there's less rearward axle path on the new bike, due to the battery being higher placed and more weight on the front wheel, so he didnt want extra weight on the front with the rear centre growing under compression.

So perhaps thats contributing to a lesser of a lever arm on the back end, as there isn't as much growth.

I measured the BB height of approx 346mm, with Schwalbe Albert 2.5 rear and Magic Mary 2.5 front.
 
westcoastmtbr said:
As for the dropper at 210, you don't have it slammed down, so would the 210 allow it to be fully inserted in your opinion?
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No, it wont slam down any lower than what I have it. I tried (size Large frame). The cable actuator at the bottom of the post doesnt allow free movement of the dropper cable to be pulled.
 
Rob Rides EMTB said:
About the same / very slightly less.
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Well that sucks to hear.
Anyone interested in a RH4 RS181 frame?….Rob didn’t you say you were going to get a XL frame because that Large frame is a bit cramped?
That or I guess I can crank up my Beats to wash out the rattle, as I’ve been doing with the Bosch Race😵‍💫
 
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