DJI motors and ebikes

[Stefan Mikes]

Here's a review from Poland of the LD 920e. Bike looks very well designed. Why don't you pop over to your nearest Decathlon and take one for a test ride?

1. I boycott Decathlon for supporting the war in Ukraine
2. Decathlon has never stood by their products. The LD 920E might appear in 2024 and be replaced by something else in 2025.
3. It is not possible to make a demo ride at Decathlon, at least not in Poland. You either order it online and buy it or just watch a single display model in a Decathlon store.

 

[jabberwocky]

More competition is good. Hard to get too excited until they get some bike partners to actually integrate the system into something people can buy. The ebike market is the hot new thing so its hard to say how committed they really are to it long term (like, are they trying to diversify into a new market and are committing serious resources or is this just feeling things out and give the stock price a boost?).

DJI definitely has the resources and engineering talent to make a serious contender if they commit to it. Committing to it will need to mean aggressively courting bike mfgs and setting up manufacturing and support in every country they want to sell to. No small thing.

their 600wh e-bike battery at 2870g seems very, very competitive. a quick look shows the levo batteries at 500wh and 700wh weighing 3135 and 3825g, respectively. their 800 is lighter than specialized’s 700. consider also that a 100wh drone battery weighs only 470g, which would make something like specialized’s range extender (160wg) weigh only 750g, a full 25% less than they actually do. and consider that these drone batteries are made for things that fly, get abused on hard landings, experience high accelerations and maneuvering, and discharge their entire capacity in regualr use in less than a half hour!

Probably just using better cells. The teardowns I've seen on Spec batteries don't show them using anything modern or impressive. Battery tech has moved fast over the past few years.

Drone batteries are (I think) generally lipos, not the cylindrical lithium ion batteries ebikes use. Much higher discharge rate with less voltage sag under load. I would bet that (like everyone else) their ebike battery is made of cylindrical lithium ion cells since ebike power demands are much more reasonable and li-ion cells generally have a higher capacity/weight and are safer.

 

[Chargeride]

8 years and very little success. They say their e-bike motors are present in 64 countries. Would like to know what brands


The main issue of Decathlon is a huge sports store network but not really a leading bicycle/e-bike manufacturer. They have no vision and they lack integrity, consistency and dedication. New Decathlon e-bikes appear from time to time, always with yet another motor/system, and it is hard to think they would keep a single e-bike line for at least several years. A hub drive several years ago, Brose for a while, now OWURU. What next year? Whan in next two-three years? Does Decathlon have e-bike models for road, gravel, hardtail MTB, full suspension MTB, trekking and city? (All based on the same motor brand?) Not. They have a single model that might get discontinued soon.

Now, look at Nicolai, which actually is a rather small boutique brand. They present a Pinion.MGU e-bike but there is a Bosch model standing next to it. Just to be on the safe side.

View attachment 178752
@Chargeride, do you by chance know what happened to that revolutionary e-bike brand that sold so well in Battersea London not so long ago?

I saw a lot of youtube shorts on that bike, no idea if it took off.

 

[mschwett]

More competition is good. Hard to get too excited until they get some bike partners to actually integrate the system into something people can buy. The ebike market is the hot new thing so its hard to say how committed they really are to it long term (like, are they trying to diversify into a new market and are committing serious resources or is this just feeling things out and give the stock price a boost?).

DJI definitely has the resources and engineering talent to make a serious contender if they commit to it. Committing to it will need to mean aggressively courting bike mfgs and setting up manufacturing and support in every country they want to sell to. No small thing.



Probably just using better cells. The teardowns I've seen on Spec batteries don't show them using anything modern or impressive. Battery tech has moved fast over the past few years.

Drone batteries are (I think) generally lipos, not the cylindrical lithium ion batteries ebikes use. Much higher discharge rate with less voltage sag under load. I would bet that (like everyone else) their ebike battery is made of cylindrical lithium ion cells since ebike power demands are much more reasonable and li-ion cells generally have a higher capacity/weight and are safer.

Yeah, drone battery are stacks of lipo plates. not wrapped into a cylinder like the 18650s in a bike battery. even if you dont need the higher discharge rate of a battery like that, I wonder what the downsides would be of using one in an eBike - other than cost.

 

[jabberwocky]

Yeah, drone battery are stacks of lipo plates. not wrapped into a cylinder like the 18650s in a bike battery. even if you dont need the higher discharge rate of a battery like that, I wonder what the downsides would be of using one in an eBike - other than cost.

Not a battery expert, but I think the main issue is they have a shorter overall life, lower capacity to weight and are generally less stable and more prone to thermal runaway. They are great when you need a small battery with the ability to rapidly output lots of power with low sag, and when you have specific packaging needs (like laptops, phones, etc) since they can be made flat or into weird shapes.

With ebikes though, you just don't need a battery that can dump its entire capacity in 20 minutes without exploding (especially large ebike batteries that are spreading their power draw among several p-groups of cells). Li-ion cells are much more stable and safe as long as your pack is well designed and has a good bms. And since thats what electric cars use, manufacturing capacity is massive so they are readily available and (relatively) cheap.

 

[Explorer-1]

The Eahora Juliet and Romeo bikes use Li-Po batteries. They are great, maybe the best batteries out there on an e-bike, if size is not an issue. Looks like a few other companies use the same battery. I forget the OEM for the batteries.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Here's Sam from Sam's Bikes the Steve Irwin of the emtb world with 10 new tech developments/bikes from Eurobike 24

 

[Aushiker]

Here's Sam from Sam's Bikes the Steve Irwin of the emtb world with 10 new tech developments/bikes from Eurobike 24

Love the look for the Giant Fatbike!

 

[Aushiker]

Sam has a video on the DJI ...

 

[Prairie Dog]

Here’s why I think the AMflow Pro emtb deserves special merit.

If you’ve ever ridden a full power emtb, the first thing that you might notice about it is its weight. The task of lifting such a machine in general is not to be taken lightly even more when doing so repeatedly over downed trees or brush. It requires expending energy which might be better conserved with a lighter bike.

On the flip side, I’m able to ride consecutive laps or a variety of singletracks on my Levo CC which I likely couldn’t with a bike like the Epic Evo. This is why many world cup enduro/DH racers train with ebikes to get repetition on the descents but still get a workout. Naturally, the Levo is a much heavier bike (51lbs vs. 28lbs) than the Evo as the motor, 700wh battery and beefier tires contribute significantly to its weight. It’s a joy to have such a powerful bike on steep difficult climbs as you are likely to feel more refreshed when you reach the top. However, when you’ve done a ton of DH riding on an ebike and switch back to a conventional mtb it’s at that moment you realize how much more nimble and agile descending can be with 20lbs + less weight. I noticed this immediately on recent rides with the Evo and found it to more manageable and less tiring on DH runs, in fact, I discovered that it was more fun and enjoyable to ride whereas a heavy emtb can feel at times like running away from you on the steeps. Which brings me back to my initial remark about the AMflow Pro. This is where a lighter ebike like it would answer the call and could be the ideal blend of power to weight. I also like the fact that you can tailor the amount of overrun to match the technicality of steep climbs. At 19.2 kg with the brawn to match anything in its class it’s hard to deny that it’s bound to turn a lot of heads or not as it looks pretty much like any other mtb on the trail at first glance.

 

[Aushiker]

 

[jabberwocky]

Of course it took Ray to actually provide useful info beyond "it has lots of power and is totes sick man!". Screen is cool. I'd like to know if it outputs ant+ info for recording on a conventional cycling computer as well. I like that it has minimal, wireless controllers for both the screen and assist mode. System looks slick. 10k is an expensive bike. Hopefully they are successful attracting some other oems so they don't have to build their own bikes.