DJI has quietly dropped a bombshell on the e-bike market. Last week the drone, camera, and now e-bike motor manufacturer, announced a free firmware update that would give owners full and unfettered access to the maximum 1,000w of peak power. Previously this was only available in Boost mode in limited bursts. The move comes as momentum gathers in Germany to legislate against extremely powerful motors, such as the DJI Avinox, with a proposed cap on peak power to 750W. Whether this is purely a coincidence, or DJI effectively sticking two fingers up to the EU motor industry is unclear, but it’s certainly going to be a controversial move. DJI Owners will be made up, but the likes of Bosch and the German motor brands may well try to accelerate the campaign to introduce this new legislation.

DJI’s Avinox motor offers an unmatched blend of power, torque, size, and weight.

Free firmware update with unrestricted Turbo mode

DJI’s power update is available in the test flight beta mode 1.0.45  version 1.1.0. In the accompanying description, DJI states “the max power of Turbo mode can be adjusted to 1,000w, with an improvement of 17.6%.” Previously, Turbo mode was restricted to a (still class-leading) 850W, with 1,000w available in Boost mode for around 30 seconds.

Additionally, the update offers more control over charging, letting you alter the charging rate – fast for rapid top-ups, or slower to prolong battery life and condition. Another new option is that riders can now adjust the duration of the Boost mode. Finally, there are further options to add data to the display, including a stopwatch, and the possibility to visualise data as bar charts or line charts.

Bosch’s Performance Line CX gen 5 currently falls a long way short of the DJI Avinox’s peak power and torque.

German e-bike industry seeks new regulation

Last week we reported on the recommendations made by German bike industry body Zweirad Industrie Verband (ZIV) to restrict EPAC (electric power assisted cycles) motor peak power to 750W. A move that would choke power on the DJI Avinox, and take away some of the Chinese brand’s competitive advantage. These proposals come with two motivations: one to pre-empt any potential legislation that could harm sales of e-bikes, such as registration. And secondly to counter the influx of Chinese motors such as Bafang and DJI, while protecting big EU brands such as Bosch, Brose, TQ, ZF, Mahle, and Fazua. With DJI seemingly doubling-down on its high power offering, it feels like the opening salvo of a trade war between the EU and China for domination of the EU’s massive e-bike market.

Could Bosch be about to offer an over-the-air update to increase power on all Performance CX Gen 5 motors?

Bosch power update?

Rumours suggest that Bosch has a power update to the Performance CX gen 5 motor just around the corner, with figures flying around of 750W peak power (up from 600W) and torque of 100Nm (up from 85Nm). Significantly, this would not be enough to trump the DJI Avinox’s standard 850W and 105Nm, let alone the new 1,000w of the Turbo update, so ZIV’s proposed legislation would be a massive advantage to Bosch, and level the playing field against the Chinese. For now though, ZIV’s recommendations remain just that – recommendations – and the rules around motor power remain vague enough for all brands to keep upping the stakes and the performance of their motors.

Unno has snatched the limelight with its latest Mith e-bike, powered by the DJI Avinox motor.

With a host of new bike brands recently signed up with DJI, and the likes of Unno, Forbidden, Teewing, and Megamo launching Avinox-powered bikes to sit alongside the Amflow PL Carbon, the momentum only seems to be building for the drone brand. We’ve reached out to DJI and Amflow for comment on this new firmware, and we’ll update this story when we get a response.