Well, we said it was going to happen, and now here it is: the (joint) first bike besides the Amflow to pack DJI’s super powerful DJI Avinox motor. Yep, you’re looking at the new Druid CorE, one of two new e-bikes from Forbidden with the motor everyone’s talking about… and bloody hell does it look good.

Back in December we mused how Forbidden might be the first brand to get DJI’s motor, after a leaked report showed what looked like an e-Dreadnought. Seems we were half right, because it’s not the Dreadnought that’s had the electric treatment, it’s Forbidden’s other high pivot bike, the Druid.

And if you’re wondering why it’s the joint first bike with the DJI motor (besides Amflow), check out the also-new Unno Mith e-bike, which also looks like an absolute rocket.

Left is the Druid CoreE with a burly enduro build, while the LitE is more of an SL with lighter components and a smaller battery

Forbidden Druid CorE and Druid LitE need to know

• Forbidden is first to the DJI motor with two new e-bikes
• Both bikes use a high pivot four-bar suspension design and idler
• 150mm travel CorE with 160mm fork is the pick of the bikes; the LitE gets 10mm less
• CoreE weighs 22.6kg, uses an 800wh battery, Zeb fork, Vivid shock for more enduro build
• LitE weighs 20.8kg has a 600wh battery, Lyrik shock and Super Deluxe shock for all-mountain
• Prices start at £7,599 for the Lite 3 and go up to £10,199 for the Core 1

The two new Forbidden machines are called the Druid LitE and Druid CorE: The former gets 140mm travel, a 150mm fork and a 600wh battery; while the CoreE gets 10mm more travel at both ends, and the bigger 800wh Avinox battery.

Dorbidden’s performed a coup getting the best e-bike motor on board with its bikes, when every other brand out there was screaming for the DJI Avinox

You can probably already figure out where this is going then, Forbidden has built the LitE as an SL bike and gets a pretty respectable 20.8kg weight, while the CorE is more of an enduro bike with a slacker head angle, burlier build and a porkier 22.6kg weight.

To put those weights into perspective the Amflow PL Carbon Pro we tested this year weighs just 20.6kg in size large, which makes it 200g lighter than the LiteE, despite having 200Wh more battery capacity. However, that’s not the full picture because Forbidden bikes’ USP is the high pivot suspension design with idler, which it calls Trifecta and adds weight to the design.

The Druid CoreE is probably the more useful bike, with 150mm travel and a 160mm fork it’ll compete with the new Turbo Levo Gen 4

Why not the e-Dreadnought?

Forbidden says the new e-bikes are more downhill orientated than the existing pedal bikes it makes, while “retaining all the ride characteristics you’ve come to know and love”. And with mixed wheels as standard, surely that makes them the Dreadnought LitE and Dreadnought CorE then?

I’ll let this one go though, who cares what’s in a name when a bike looks this good? If names mattered Continental wouldn’t have just released the Dubnital, Trinotal and Magnotal.

Both new bikes get the same DJI motor, with its intuitive touch screen display and brilliant app

Why the DJI Avinox motor?

Daft question, you’re thinking, considering most brands will have been queuing up to build this little beauty into their bikes. It’s the most powerful mainstream e-bike motor around. We’ve probably all seen the stats on this thing by now, 105Nm torque and 850W power which can be boosted to 120Nm and 1,000W for 30 seconds… even the new Specialized Turbo Levo Gen 4 Danny reviewed can’t match that.

Forbidden says it picked the DJI motor for the raw power yes, but it did it for the control and delivery too. Its hardware and software “allows you to finesse each pedal stroke to ensure you’re always getting traction” and combined with the low pedal kickback of an idler makes for a “mountain goat of a bike that’ll have you climbing up the side of a house.” Handy, if you’re escaping a sky cell in Game of Thrones.

The reach is short by modern standards on the CorE, but Forbidden says it’s packed room into the cockpit via a tall stack height

Geometry

Forbidden reckons the Druid LitE and CorE are the world’s first proportionally sized e-bikes, and they’re probably right as I can’t think of another eeb where each size has a different length chainstay.

This is a great hangover from the Druid V2 Guy reviewed, where each of the four frame sizes get unique proportional geometry figures and a different composite layup. Why bother? Forbidden says this gives you the same experience whichever size you’re, and ensures bigger riders won’t find the bike overly flexy, or smaller riders feel it’s too stiff.

The Druid Core gets a taller front end than the Druid V2, and in the S3 (large, in old money) size the reach is 467mm. If you’re thinking that sounds pretty small and old school then don’t, because Forbidden says it’s added a ton of stack height to keep the sizing good, but make your stance more upright and DH appropriate. In short, it’ll fit you but without forcing you to lean too far over the front tyre.

The other highlights on the S3 are a 64° head angle, big 456mm chainstays, and a 336mm bottom bracket height. There’s also a slackish 76.5° seat tube angle – steeper than the Druid V2, but not by much.

The high pivot point is there to better swallow big hits, and the idler stops pedal kickback resulting from that design from smacking you off the bike

Suspension design

The shock position has flipped 90° on the new bikes, it now sits bolt upright with Forbidden ditching the through-frame design of the Dreadnought and Druid. Understandably so though, given a premium on space when you have to cram a motor in somewhere. It’s also given Forbidden a chance to run longer dropper posts, with a 180mm drop on the smallest S1 size.

The suspension design itself is unchanged though, it’s still a four-bar design with a high pivot point and an idler to control pedal kickback.

Forbidden says “we’ve fine-tuned the rearward axle path, idler position, and kinematics,” which doesn’t really help understand the suspension differences between the two new bikes (if there are any), or how they’ve changed from the old bike.

Space for a water bottle and gear mount, even on the S1 frame

Frame details

There’s an accessory mount under the down tube, and space for full size bottle in all sizes. There’s no headset routing, which is so nice to hear on an e-bike in 2025, and all the hardware bolts can be tightened with just one size allen key.

There are oversized bearings and better sealing, Forbidden says, plus 8x30mm bearing hardware. Then there’s a carbon rocker, a steel idler with two bearings, and rubbery frame protection on the chainstays. Oh, and you get a lifetime warranty too.

Forbidden’s new Druid CorE

Forbidden LitE and CoreE range overview

There’s no information yet on spec and pricing, but I do know there are three builds in the CorE and three in the LitE.

It looks to me like the CoreE 1 is the flagship bike, and gets a RockShox Zeb Ultimate fork and Vivid Air shock. There’s also a SRAM X0 AXS Transmission drivetrain shown in the images.

The rest is less clear, with what looks like SRAM Maven Ultimate brakes, Crankbrothers Synthesis wheels possibly in the carbon version, Maxxis High Roller (3?) tyres with MaxxGrip up front and a Minion DHRII on the back with DoubleDown casing.

Meanwhile the LitE 1 looks to have a slighter build, with a Lyrik Ultimate up front and a Super Deluxe shock. The drivetrain is also SRAM X0 drivetrain, same Crankbrothers wheels, but it looks like Assegai rubber up front and a DHRII on the back again.

Forbidden’s new Druid LitE