Robstyle
Member
Thought I'd give a first ride review of my Crestline 7550, seeing as there's so few in the wild and if you're like me you froth on reviews.
It's my 3rd ebike and first bosch powered one. My riding is heavily dh focused, I have a dh bike too. I actually loath pedaling lol.
My favorite trails are very technical, steep and fast track. Queenstown NZ is where I ride most.
I'm only an above average rider, I have enough skills to ride any track, but we're not seeing world cup pace at any time!
Enough chit chat about me, what about the bike?
I've got a size rh3, 475mm reach. (I'm 178cm, I like 450-470 reach).
The 7750 is the 180mm/175mm travel with Ohlins rxf 38 and ttx air out back (230x65) There's a flip chip which does flip chip things.
You can even be a total mad dog and throw a dual crown on. The press in headset cups give plenty of scope to change things. For example I have a - 5mm reach adjust (and a -10mm for a dual crown
) Anyway all this is in the specs on Crestline's site. And every other review.
Setup:
I ran it more or less stock, except for the -5mm reach adjust headset, 760mm PNW bars and Hayes Dominion A4's.
*These brakes are absolutely phenomenal, massive power, perfect modulation, easy to bleed, consistent bite point 10/10 recommend. I have some trickstuff in the mail, I'll be susprised if they're twice as good. The magura mt7 this came with weren't bad, I got the throw nice and short and they have good power. The dominions just gelled with me better.
The one up bar this had was great too, they rule. I have them on my other bike. I thought I'd try a bar with a bit more back sweep (10deg vs 8) to help with a wrist injury.
I think suspension was 120psi, 240psi and 230 in the shock (I'm 100kg) all pretty normal. I can't remember clicks haha.
Going Up:
Climbing is fine, the bosch motor is fantastic here as I'm sure you've heard everywhere before. Race motor is punchy. The little bit of overun is great for pedal strike situations. Which I'll add the 160mm cranks on this are a fantastic spec. Minimal pedal strikes if any today, so good!
Going Down:
Now the good bit. It goes downhill really really well. This is a downhill bike with a motor. I instantly got on with the bike.
Today's first downhill was super rocky, rough fast and with huge ruts from snow melt.
I knew it would be fine in the rough, there's a lot of travel there after all. What I didn't expect was how fast and snappy the handling would be. Pick a line, any line, change your mind, no sweat.
I've ridden a vpp bike before and I have no idea what wizardry is going on under me, but holy shit this thing turns. It snaps through corners. You can pump out of everywhere and it's super predicatable when it's on the limit.
Back to the suspension, i did a bare minimal setup. But was feeling pretty good and was easy to do.
This is setup dependant of course, but the bike just feels so racy. You can hit the rough at warp speed and it stays so composed and doesn't get flustered if you balls up a line.
The rear suspension has a real nice progression to it and doesn't feel harsh when you're going through the travel. I really like this.
Jumping wise, it took me a bit of adjustment vs my other bike, but had it sorted quickly. Very good in the air and plenty playful for an ebike. Also all that suspension sure is welcome when you give it too many beans and jump to flat Hahaha.
Loves the steep too, there's a few good bits where I rode with a steep shute into a catch berm at the bottom. Again the great handling really shines here, piece of cake.
Big fan of mullet setups (not the hair sorry dude bros). The butt clearance down the steep is welcome and I'm sure that and the not to stiff not to noodley chainstay contributes to the snappy handling.
And shout out to the wtb tyres on these too. I'm such a slut for the assagai dhr2 combo. But in today's conditions which ranged from snow, loose gravel, mud, clay and hard park they performed admirably. Super predicable slip!
Why did I buy it?
I'd followed Crestlines DH bike a little bit, seemed like a cool project. Then when this was announced I was immediately drawn to it.
Bosch race motor.
Cascade.
Travel.
Carbon/weight.
Ohlins.
I checked out the spec and didn't see anything I'd really change. The further I dug in the more rad this wee company seemed. I knew they were getting stuff made at a reputable company and had stress testing done etc etc. This isn't just someone slapping resin into some carbon cloth in their garage!
I fired them an email and received fantastic communication and customer service. Everything worked out awesome.
Which I'm bloody glad, cos it's a hell of gamble when you can't demo a bike like this.
So to summarize my quick review that turned into a long review. I'm a very very happy boy, totally stoaked with the bike. Only scratchimg the surface of what it's capable and plenty of things to tinker with. I know the price is getting up there, but I look at it this way: I spent more on my last bike including purchase price and all the upgrades and it still isn't as good as this bike out of the box. I expect to get years and years out of this bike and thanks to a bosch dealer network there's not alot of risk buying a bike like this either.
If anyones on the fence on these bikes it's definitely one to consider. The only thing I want to do to it right now is get another battery so I can ride more!
If you've got any questions I'm more than happy to give a long winded answer haha.
I've probably forgotten heaps and I'm sure grammar/spelling leave a bit to be desired.
I'll blame it on the fizz I have for this bike
Found some mud.jpg haha
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