Rumours of Forbidden's new DJI-equipped e-Dreadnought have taken a step further with this photoshopped mock-up showing what the bike could look like. And which are the other brands with a DJI-equipped e-bike on the horizon? Caution – includes wild speculation!
Forbidden’s new e-bike will get a DJI Avinox motor, if social media posts by the brand’s founder, Owen Pemberton, are any indication. That much we already know, but what will the new bike look like? Will it have a high-pivot design? Will it follow the form of the conventional Dreadnought, or will it take a different approach? While we’re still officially in the dark, that hasn’t stopped one Photoshop whizz getting creative, the results of which has been posted on Reddit and unearthed by mountainbikescanada.com.
Although an obvious fake, the Forbea Dreadneaught could point towards what the actual bike might look like.
In this rendering, the front half of an Orbea Wild has been grafted onto the back end of the current Forbidden Dreadnought, and the result is not as Frankenbike as you’d expect. In fact it almost looks like the two bikes were meant to be together, and the resulting Forbea special blend could be enough to lure plenty of riders away from established e-bike brands like Specialized, Trek, Orbea, and Canyon. Certainly, the combination of the DJI Avinox motor’s ludicrous power and cutting-edge tech, with Forbidden’s ice-cool image, is already stirring up plenty of hype. But don’t get too excited, as this image is just a mock-up. A rendering to show what might hit the market. It’s very much not the real thing. Even the alt tag says ‘fake’!
Remember this is Forbidden’s first e-bike, so it doesn’t have any inventory in the market to protect. There’s genuinely nothing to stop the Canadian brand coming out swinging. That’s not the case with many established brands, which means that, as much as many of them might want to partner up with DJI, they won’t be able to without killing their existing models.
The DJI Avinox drive system is in hot demand right now.
DJI Avinox motor vital stats
- Motor produces 108Nm torque and 850W, with Boost mode taking that to 120Nm and 1,000w
- Motor weighs 2.5kg
- 600Wh and 800Wh battery options with the latest cell tech
- Colour OLED touchscreen display with dual wireless controllers
- Currently only available on the Amflow PL Carbon and Amflow PL Carbon Pro
So who is in the running to release a DJI-equipped e-bike? From what we’ve heard, there are three brands who have partnered with DJI. Assuming one of those is Forbidden, who are the other two? As I mentioned, there are loads of brands that just won’t be able to switch to DJI even if they wanted to. The likes of Trek, Orbea, Norco, Whyte, and Mondraker, among others, have all launched new bikes recently with the latest Bosch CX motor. Bringing out a DJI version would destroy the market for those models, leaving them saddled with loads of stock that would be really tough to shift.
Plenty of rumours point to a new Specialized Turbo Levo this year. Will it get a DJI motor?
Specialized likes to offer something unique that other brands don’t have and that it can develop in-house, so I don’t think it’s a good fit. Santa Cruz seems like a perfect match, being high-end and boutique with an aspirational image, but it has just put its weight behind Bosch with the new Vala, so that’s a no-go. Giant is never that quick to react, and tied-in with Yamaha anyway. Commencal and Focus have just launched new Bosch bikes, and I don’t think Focus is the right fit for DJI either.
Unno likes to stay ahead of the pack, is sold in super-limited numbers, and could well be a great partner for the DJI system.
Marin and Kona feel too small and not premium enough for DJI, Rocky Mountain is not in a good place financially, and also tied to its in-house Dyname motor. There are loads of potential German brands, like Cube etc, but I think DJI wants a small volume, exclusive brand to work with, rather than pump out massive volumes of product and risk an expensive bill if anything goes wrong with the drive system down the road.
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One of those brands is Unno, which is the brainchild of designer and engineer Cesar Rojo, as well as being a showcase for his design agency CERO. And as if by magic, Unno released a reel on Instagram yesterday that shows a prototype bike being ridden with a clearly visible DJI display. So it looks like Unno is going to be the second confirmed brand releasing a DJI bike.
Yeti’s 160E is getting a little grey around the temples now, but a new version with a DJI motor would be mountain bike catnip.
Which, by my reckoning, leaves a few US brands that also fit the bill. Intense has not released an e-bike since 2018, so is well overdue a new model. It will have nothing to lose and everything to gain by going to a DJI motor. Likewise Yeti Cycles – the Yeti 160E is now coming up for four years old, and while the brand has a strong relationship with Shimano, the end of the E-EDR series might signal a cooling of that relationship. Yeti could really step up its game with a move to the DJI Avinox, and DJI would also benefit from being associated with one of the most desirable brands on the planet. The compact size of the DJI unit could also free up space for Yeti to run the same Sixfinity system as it uses on its conventional bikes, such as the lauded SB165.
A Transition Relay or Repeater with a DJI motor would also be an irresistible combo.
Transition is another brand that core riders flock to, but the Pacific North-West based brand did release the SRAM-equipped Repeater just over a year ago – a motor that seems to have been completely lost in the fog – so that might be a sticking point. YT is another possibility, and a Decoy with a DJI motor is an exciting prospect. Pivot could make a good partner, but again, the Arizona brand has only just launched a Shuttle with a Bosch Race motor, so I think this could put the stop on any DJI collaboration.
What about the Intense Tazer? Now a staggering seven years old!
I’m sure I’ve missed a few options, but to sum up, I think Yeti and Intense are the strongest contenders. And I think we’ll all learn more around Sea Otter time, at the start of April, as this is the unofficial kick-off of the race season, and when loads of new product tends to be released. What about Amflow? Well, I don’t think it’s going anywhere just yet given the success it has had with a totally new brand, and the work it has done building a dealer network. Maybe we’ll even see more models from Amflow. From talking to riders, many people have told us they would like to see a burlier enduro model to complement the PL Carbon. Place your bets!