Crestline x DJI - RS 181 SPECTRE Edition

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Does anyone have any tricks for helping the DJI display screen to re install into the frame easily ? The cables make for an extremely tight fit. I got the display to drop back in but I’m worried the cable might be pinching .
 
EmtbFanatic said:
Does anyone have any tricks for helping the DJI display screen to re install into the frame easily ? The cables make for an extremely tight fit. I got the display to drop back in but I’m worried the cable might be pinching .
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It’s a tight fit, 2 options, drop the fork and reach through the head tube and push the cable to the side of the display, or second use something skinny through the cutout to push the cable to the side as you insert the display. Once you get it the majority of the way in with the cable pushed to the side it fits in nicely.
 
Scford said:
Got a couple rides in so far, today was just over 5000ft of vert ~18mi, all in auto mode, slightly detuned. Finished with 18% left. Feels very much like trail mode, coming off of a 1st gen bullit, I’d get that but in eco. Honestly the bike feels about the same kinematics wise, which I’m very happy with! Loved the bullit, I just wanted more range and adaptive support with the motor. Aesthetically I think the Crestline looks better, slimmer downtube, there’s very little room around the battery. Definitely stoked on the bike! The dji is insane power wise, night and day compared to ep8, absolute powerhouse. I think if you’re running high settings it’ll be a battery hog for sure. Still dialing in the bike but it’s awesome so far
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We really need a range comparison between an updated Gen5 & the DJI. Done properly though.
 
Scford said:
Got a couple rides in so far, today was just over 5000ft of vert ~18mi, all in auto mode, slightly detuned. Finished with 18% left. Feels very much like trail mode, coming off of a 1st gen bullit, I’d get that but in eco. Honestly the bike feels about the same kinematics wise, which I’m very happy with! Loved the bullit, I just wanted more range and adaptive support with the motor. Aesthetically I think the Crestline looks better, slimmer downtube, there’s very little room around the battery. Definitely stoked on the bike! The dji is insane power wise, night and day compared to ep8, absolute powerhouse. I think if you’re running high settings it’ll be a battery hog for sure. Still dialing in the bike but it’s awesome so far
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800wh battery?

That's good vert!
 
BikingBad said:
Checked with Troydon last week on 600Wh battery, unfortunately no eta.
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An there in lies the difference to main stream brands and the new kid on the block. Lack of support, lack of availability of components....

I take my hat of to you first adopters prepared to throw down big cash and weather the inconvenience storm of a new entry into the market..... Good on ya. I'm waiting for DJI to be more established before dipping my toes in those waters.
 
Plummet said:
I'm waiting for DJI to be more established before dipping my toes in those waters.
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How long you waiting? DJI is pretty established and certainly in the UK the spares / warranty has been fine as far as I’m aware. I have also heard that they will be selling battery’s soon to end users via their retail network.
 
MTB_MIKE said:
Finally got shipping confirmation this AM.
RH2, ordered 5/31, 7:00am.

Receiving this Friday, I need to intercept it before the wife sees the box and asks what’s in there 😂
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Nice! You must live closer to WA, mine shipped two days ago, delivering next Tuesday.
 
Rob Rides EMTB said:
How long you waiting? DJI is pretty established and certainly in the UK the spares / warranty has been fine as far as I’m aware. I have also heard that they will be selling battery’s soon to end users via their retail network.
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When I can go into my local bike shop, get diagnostics, done and order spare batteries and replacement parts from a warehouse in NZ.

Also after several seasons of use to see what the niggles are need to be weeded out in the first generation and how warrantee plays out for faulty motors. Find out how they handle constant wet conditions.

Unlike you who's constantly bouncing through new bikes year after year I ride my bikes to death and back for years and years. Warrantee and longevity are key decision makers for me. DJI hasn't been out long enough to have thousands of users smash thousands of miles year on year. Hell up until Unno and Crestline DJI's there has only been a trail bike DJI out there. That's hardly an extreme use case. Dudes cruising around on trail bikes. So as at right now there are zero examples of long term use of a DJI motor in play for long travel big hitting users.

I guess part of my reluctance is the cost of E bikes in NZ. They are literally double in NZD. Yet we earn similar $ for $ to other countries. So a E bike purchase is a big, big deal. Particularly a top end one. My RS180 imported into nz was $20k. I need to be sure that what I purchase will stand the test of time and be quickly repairable with local support. I wont have several other e-bikes to fall back on if its out action for a while. Its simply no e-biking for me until its fixed.

The real answer is when my current bike needs replacing which is probably 4 to 5 years.
 
Plummet said:
When I can go into my local bike shop, get diagnostics, done and order spare batteries and replacement parts from a warehouse in NZ.

Also after several seasons of use to see what the niggles are need to be weeded out in the first generation and how warrantee plays out for faulty motors. Find out how they handle constant wet conditions.

Unlike you who's constantly bouncing through new bikes year after year I ride my bikes to death and back for years and years. Warrantee and longevity are key decision makers for me. DJI hasn't been out long enough to have thousands of users smash thousands of miles year on year. Hell up until Unno and Crestline DJI's there has only been a trail bike DJI out there. That's hardly an extreme use case. Dudes cruising around on trail bikes. So as at right now there are zero examples of long term use of a DJI motor in play for long travel big hitting users.

I guess part of my reluctance is the cost of E bikes in NZ. They are literally double in NZD. Yet we earn similar $ for $ to other countries. So a E bike purchase is a big, big deal. Particularly a top end one. My RS180 imported into nz was $20k. I need to be sure that what I purchase will stand the test of time and be quickly repairable with local support. I wont have several other e-bikes to fall back on if its out action for a while. Its simply no e-biking for me until its fixed.

The real answer is when my current bike needs replacing which is probably 4 to 5 years.
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Here are some local shops. More on their way….. wait, just realizing you’re in NZ

IMG_8720.jpeg
 
MTB_MIKE said:
Here are some local shops. More on their way….. wait, just realizing you’re in NZ

View attachment 165288
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Amflow have just been released here in NZ. There's add going out now. There'd be Velduro in a few months and Teewing as well. So by the end of the year there will be 3 DJI models in NZ. I'm at lease 2 years out from considering DJI. But the reality as I said above i'll be milking my current bike out until its spent.

Luckily for me its a fantastic piece of kit and fits my needs better than the DJI alternative.
 
Plummet said:
800wh battery?

That's good vert!
Click to expand...

Is it though?

18% left at 5K' used 82% of the 800w battery.
That's 656w used for 5K' or 1524 meters. Or .43w/ meter. Important to note he also said the following: "all in auto mode, slightly detuned. Finished with 18% left. Feels very much like trail mode..."

Cause this dude (hint, it was Plum) stated the following: 'did a loop ... That had about 950 mtr of vert. On the crestline with Gen 5 I used 83% of the 400wh. So if we do a basic math calc. Gen 5 used 332wh.'

That's .35w/ meter.

So, I'm seeing the DJI motor using about 22% more battery per meter than the Gen5. Alone this number would be meaningless, but I continue to come to the same conclusion every time I try and piece this together.

I REALLY dig the Spectre for many reasons, looks and CS length adjustment being big ones. But if a 600w Bosch can climb nearly as far as a DJI with 800W, technically the Bosch IS lighter AND has a lower center of gravity.

Spectre's are coming in around 52-53#s or so with shorter droppers. Regulators are 49-50#s with long droppers. Can they climb nearly as high though?
 
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Suns_PSD said:
Is it though?

18% left at 5K' used 82% of the 800w battery.
That's 656w used for 5K' or 1524 meters. Or .43w/ meter. Important to note he also said the following: "all in auto mode, slightly detuned. Finished with 18% left. Feels very much like trail mode..."

Cause this dude (hint, it was Plum) stated the following:

1) 'did a loop that commonly uses 50% of the 750wh battery on the Voima with Gen 4. That had about 950 mtr of vert. On the crestline with Gen 5 I used 83% of the 400wh. So if we do a basic math calc. Gen 5 used 332wh.'

That's .35w/ meter.

So, I'm seeing the DJI motor using about 22% more battery per meter than the Gen5. Alone this number would be meaningless, but I continue to come to the same conclusion every time I try and piece this together.

I REALLY dig the Spectre for many reasons, looks and CS length adjustment being big ones. But if a 600w Bosch can climb as far as a DJI with 800W, technically the Bosch IS lighter.
Click to expand...
Moving time in Strava is really important and should be mentioned before assuming one system is more or less efficient. 5k‘ in 3 hours in Eco on an EP8 is not the same as 5k’ in 2 hours in Auto mode in a DJI.
 
Suns_PSD said:
Is it though?

18% left at 5K' used 82% of the 800w battery.
That's 656w used for 5K' or 1524 meters. Or .43w/ meter. Important to note he also said the following: "all in auto mode, slightly detuned. Finished with 18% left. Feels very much like trail mode..."

Cause this dude (hint, it was Plum) stated the following:

1) 'did a loop that commonly uses 50% of the 750wh battery on the Voima with Gen 4. That had about 950 mtr of vert. On the crestline with Gen 5 I used 83% of the 400wh. So if we do a basic math calc. Gen 5 used 332wh.'

That's .35w/ meter.

So, I'm seeing the DJI motor using about 22% more battery per meter than the Gen5. Alone this number would be meaningless, but I continue to come to the same conclusion every time I try and piece this together.

I REALLY dig the Spectre for many reasons, looks and CS length adjustment being big ones. But if a 600w Bosch can climb as far as a DJI with 800W, technically the Bosch IS lighter AND has a lower center of gravity.

Spectre's are coming in around 52#s or so with shorter droppers. Regulators are sub 50#s with long droppers. Can they they climb just as far though?
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I've also burnt my 600wh out in 1000mtr vert...
So its very use case and terrain dependent.

My verts you listed above are steep to hike a bike straight up/down. So the vert per wh is optimised as there's little battery burn not being converted to vert meters.

1500mtr with 18% left is as good as my gen 4 bosch.

I suspect he will be able to milk the dji crestline to 2000mtr vert with lean use of the motor and any 2000mtr day is a freaken good day.
 
Plummet said:
I've also burnt my 600wh out in 1000mtr vert...
So its very use case and terrain dependent.

My verts you listed above are steep to hike a bike straight up/down. So the vert per wh is optimised as there's little battery burn not being converted to vert meters.

1500mtr with 18% left is as good as my gen 4 bosch.

I suspect he will be able to milk the dji crestline to 2000mtr vert with lean use of the motor and any 2000mtr day is a freaken good day.
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Well said.
 
MTB_MIKE said:
Moving time in Strava is really important and should be mentioned before assuming one system is more or less efficient. 5k‘ in 3 hours in Eco on an EP8 is not the same as 5k’ in 2 hours in Auto mode in a DJI.
Click to expand...
Plummet said:
I've also burnt my 600wh out in 1000mtr vert...
So its very use case and terrain dependent.

My verts you listed above are steep to hike a bike straight up/down. So the vert per wh is optimised as there's little battery burn not being converted to vert meters.

1500mtr with 18% left is as good as my gen 4 bosch.

I suspect he will be able to milk the dji crestline to 2000mtr vert with lean use of the motor and any 2000mtr day is a freaken good day.
Click to expand...

Review this test: 30 eMTBs in Our Huge 2025 E-MOUNTAINBIKE Comparison Test: What’s the Best eMTB of the Year?

The section titled "1. Vertical Range Test".

They utilized power pedals to normalize power input (150w) and cadence (75rpm). I think the DJI has two issues: 1) it produces way more power at low cadence & low input, which isn't relevant at the numbers used above, and 2) it overheats and can end up with lower average power production on a long warm climb as shown by the Velomotion dyno results. Screenshot below. (I also acknowledge that there is a problem with this chart as it shows the 85NM Bosch at nearly the same 100NM peak as the new 100NM version!)

But the gist of it is that the Bosch bike tested (which was an anchor of a Haibike btw and about 2-3 kgs heavier than the 2 DJI bikes, the Mith & the Amflow)) climbed both faster (22 kph) AND more efficiently (44w/ 100m) under these particular circumstances than the DJI bike (Mith 50w/ 100m & Amflow 47w/ 100m, both at 21 kph). So, the Bosch bike had a higher average speed and a longer run time too (because it's 800w battery lasted longer).

It's just something to consider. The DJI powered HP bikes in particular seem awfully power hungry to me and it's left me feeling like a Bosch with Sidekick hubs instead of a DJI HP (I know the Crestline is not an HP bike) is going to get a lot more range and be a lighter package to boot. So much so that a 600watt Bosch in a 48# Regulator, might be faster and climb just as far as a 52# DJI with an 800w.

I'm just trying to figure out if I spring for the DJI, did I just add 3-4# (because it needs the larger battery) just for more streamlined looks, while also gaining significant rattle?

These thought experiments are for my own purposes as my divorce just got signed this very morning :) and I'm either buying a Spectre Crestline, or a CX-R Regulator as soon as they are available, as my Relay replacement. Yes, I obsess over this stuff!

Screenshot 2025-07-28 164545.png
 
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Plummet said:
An there in lies the difference to main stream brands and the new kid on the block. Lack of support, lack of availability of components....

I take my hat of to you first adopters prepared to throw down big cash and weather the inconvenience storm of a new entry into the market..... Good on ya. I'm waiting for DJI to be more established before dipping my toes in those waters.
Click to expand...
There isn’t a bike company more qualified, nor more responsive to its customers than Troydon the Crestline team, promise!! Parts are always available and dude will either answer the phone, or return the call or email promptly. Have been treated like gold since the day I became a customer in the first launch.
 
Suns_PSD said:
Review this test: 30 eMTBs in Our Huge 2025 E-MOUNTAINBIKE Comparison Test: What’s the Best eMTB of the Year?

The section titled "1. Vertical Range Test".

They utilized power pedals to normalize power input (150w) and cadence (75rpm). I think the DJI has two issues: 1) it produces way more power at low cadence & low input, which isn't relevant at the numbers used above, and 2) it overheats and can end up with lower average power production on a long warm climb as shown by the Velomotion dyno results. Screenshot below. (I also acknowledge that there is a problem with this chart as it shows the 85NM Bosch at nearly the same 100NM peak as the new 100NM version!)

But the gist of it is that the Bosch bike tested (which was an anchor of a Haibike btw and about 2-3 kgs heavier than the 2 DJI bikes, the Mith & the Amflow)) climbed both faster (22 kph) AND more efficiently (44w/ 100m) under these particular circumstances than the DJI bike (Mith 50w/ 100m & Amflow 47w/ 100m, both at 21 kph). So, the Bosch bike had a higher average speed and a longer run time too (because it's 800w battery lasted longer).

It's just something to consider. The DJI powered HP bikes in particular seem awfully power hungry to me and it's left me feeling like a Bosch with Sidekick hubs instead of a DJI HP (I know the Crestline is not an HP bike) is going to get a lot more range and be a lighter package to boot. So much so that a 600watt Bosch in a 48# Regulator, might be faster and climb just as far as a 52# DJI with an 800w.

I'm just trying to figure out if I spring for the DJI, did I just add 3-4# (because it needs the larger battery) just for more streamlined looks, while also gaining significant rattle?

These thought experiments are for my own purposes as my divorce just got signed this very morning :) and I'm either buying a Spectre Crestline, or a CX-R Regulator as soon as they are available, as my Relay replacement. Yes, I obsess over this stuff!

View attachment 165308
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Man that's a detailed analysis with the emphasis on ANAL.

Ultimately you have a glorious first world problem. One fantastic bike or another. Both motors are awesome by all counts. One slightly less power but more back up support and battery options. The other more grunt/ less support and history.
 
Jedman5c said:
There isn’t a bike company more qualified, nor more responsive to its customers than Troydon the Crestline team, promise!! Parts are always available and dude will either answer the phone, or return the call or email promptly. Have been treated like gold since the day I became a customer in the first launch.
Click to expand...
I was talking motors. I'm happy with Troydon's support.

Though i did have a thought about warrantee frames. Lets say I bust my RS180 RH-2. Will he be able to replace it? does he carry extra frames as spares to support his existing customer base? Now he has changed to DJI, what back up do the bosch guys have should then need a frame? As any new model frame wont fit bosch. Would i have to quit out of bosch and get the next dji frame if there's a problem with the bosch frame?

Anyway thats all theoretical for now.

A good thing about a carbon frame is that i have a good chance of being able to repair it if the bike manufacturer can't help.
 
Suns_PSD said:
Review this test: 30 eMTBs in Our Huge 2025 E-MOUNTAINBIKE Comparison Test: What’s the Best eMTB of the Year?

The section titled "1. Vertical Range Test".

They utilized power pedals to normalize power input (150w) and cadence (75rpm). I think the DJI has two issues: 1) it produces way more power at low cadence & low input, which isn't relevant at the numbers used above, and 2) it overheats and can end up with lower average power production on a long warm climb as shown by the Velomotion dyno results. Screenshot below. (I also acknowledge that there is a problem with this chart as it shows the 85NM Bosch at nearly the same 100NM peak as the new 100NM version!)

But the gist of it is that the Bosch bike tested (which was an anchor of a Haibike btw and about 2-3 kgs heavier than the 2 DJI bikes, the Mith & the Amflow)) climbed both faster (22 kph) AND more efficiently (44w/ 100m) under these particular circumstances than the DJI bike (Mith 50w/ 100m & Amflow 47w/ 100m, both at 21 kph). So, the Bosch bike had a higher average speed and a longer run time too (because it's 800w battery lasted longer).

It's just something to consider. The DJI powered HP bikes in particular seem awfully power hungry to me and it's left me feeling like a Bosch with Sidekick hubs instead of a DJI HP (I know the Crestline is not an HP bike) is going to get a lot more range and be a lighter package to boot. So much so that a 600watt Bosch in a 48# Regulator, might be faster and climb just as far as a 52# DJI with an 800w.

I'm just trying to figure out if I spring for the DJI, did I just add 3-4# (because it needs the larger battery) just for more streamlined looks, while also gaining significant rattle?

These thought experiments are for my own purposes as my divorce just got signed this very morning :) and I'm either buying a Spectre Crestline, or a CX-R Regulator as soon as they are available, as my Relay replacement. Yes, I obsess over this stuff!

View attachment 165308
Click to expand...
In a Lab, I agree this graph is accurate. In reality, trails are undulating and your pedal input changes all the time.
Real world riding, nobody complains of a loss or drastic dip in power or motor derate with the DJI
 
MTB_MIKE said:
In a Lab, I agree this graph is accurate. In reality, trails are undulating and your pedal input changes all the time.
Real world riding, nobody complains of a loss or drastic dip in power or motor derate with the DJI
Click to expand...

Yeah I suspect that's what is happening also.
 
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