AMFLOW PL CARBON PRO & DJI AVINOX EMTB

DISSECTING THE DISRUPTOR

Words by Drew Rohde | Photos & Video by Brian Niles/Treeline Cinematics

SPONSORED CONTENT

Ever since Amflow and the DJI Avinox drive unit were announced, the electric mountain bike industry has been in its wake. eMTB riders have vocally embraced the promise of incredible power, low weight and a slim profile. Obviously, durability and longevity are yet to be seen. However, with a reputation and history solidly rooted in robotics and top-tier drones, it seems that customers have already let the industry know they’re all in!

In fact, we’ve recently seen the release of an updated Bosch drive unit, and several impressive new bikes hit the market, yet the comments are filled with people proclaiming, “If it doesn’t have the DJI Avinox, we’re not interested.” Pretty big claims from users who’ve likely never even seen the bike or drive unit in person, let alone ride it!

Today, we are here to share some more details on the Amflow PL Carbon Pro eBike powered by the DJI Avinox drive unit, as well as our first ride review on this impressive new machine.

As with all of our Dissected Features, this is not intended to be a long term review or endorsement of a product but is instead a chance for our viewers and readers to get a deep dive look into some of the newest tech and products in the mountain bike space. We thank Amflow for the opportunity to create this feature and getting you some valuable beta on this new eMTB.

STANDOUT FEATURES AND TECH

DJI AVINOX DRIVE UNIT | First and foremost, it seems the “Horsepower Race” is officially on when it comes to eMTB consumers, and DJI took note when developing their Avinox drive unit. Featuring 120Nm of torque with a peak power output of 1,000 Watts, we’ve not yet ridden a Class 1 eMTB that pedals this fast. Even more impressive is that the form factor looks more like the one you’d find on a lightweight SL eMTB, where a drive unit would typically pack half the power and be powered by a battery with half of the capacity.

The drive unit has the typical Auto, Eco, Trail and Turbo modes riders are used to. These modes are easily tuned in an impressive smartphone app, which lets you fine tune the drive unit’s profile and delivery.

What is not typical however is their Rocket Boost mode. By pressing the Rocket button, riders can engage a 30 second boost of power that delivers the maximum 1,000 Watts and 120Nm of torque. Grin inducing, slightly terrifying, insanely fun, straight up cheating…however you want to classify it, this mode has never left our riders silent or without an ear-to-ear grin. The pre-programmed modes offer a maximum of 105Nm torque and 850 Watts of peak power, still one of the most impressive units in the game.

The DJI Avinox motor weighs 5.5lbs (2.52kg) and is roughly the size of a palm. Inside the drive unit is a compound planetary gearset, which gives some very impressive features that we’ll talk about later. The gearbox delivers a high gear ratio in a smaller space compared to other types of drive units, and also provides what should be a durable power plant to generate these massive torque and peak power numbers. We’re yet to log enough miles to vouch for durability, but we’ll be sure to thrash on this thing for a long term review! So stay tuned for that.

Within the drive unit, DJI have used a wear-resistant, high strength polymer material, which helps reduce weight and also aids in keeping this thing stealthily quiet.

DJI AVINOX 800WH OR 600WH BATTERY | Powering the drive unit is one of the most energy dense battery units on the market. With a background in robotics as well as making drones for industrial and agricultural use, battery management and power are things DJI knows well.

Our build comes with an 800Wh battery, which surprised everyone we told based on not only the weight, but also the slimness of the frame’s downtube. Riders looking to save even more weight – or those who don’t pack as much mileage in regularly – could opt for the 600Wh battery. But we’re honestly not sure why you’d do that, as the Amflow PL Carbon Pro comes in at 46.5lbs and is plenty playful.

The 800Wh battery weighs 8.24lbs (3.74kg) whereas the 600Wh battery weighs 6.33lbs (2.87kg), and they offer a claimed 157km and 117km maximum range respectively – though these figures are not indicative of a typical eMTB ride and will vary significantly depending on the terrain and external factors.

CHARGING SYSTEM | When it comes to charging the battery in the Avinox system, DJI has gone a step above other brands by offering a 12 amp, 508W charger. This is significantly more powerful than most brands offer, and will charge an empty 800Wh battery and to 75% in about 95 minutes!

However it’s not just fast charging that DJI is worried about. The batteries feature an IP56 protection rating and a health management system which allow them to safely discharge if temperatures should recommend such action. The charger will also modify the amount of power delivered if it senses the battery is very cold or warm, preventing damage to the cells.

DJI claims that after 500 cycles of the Avinox battery, life will remain at 80% or above. Essentially, you would have to drain this battery every single day for nearly two years before it dropped 20% in capacity. That would be a fun goal, wouldn’t it?

TECH AND INTEGRATIONS

As we would expect from a company like DJI, the Avinox equipped Amflow is state-of-the-art when it comes to tech and integration. A 2-inch OLED full color display hub is touch friendly – yes even with gloves and gunk – and sits neatly in the top tube. It’s the same screen they use on their DJI Action camera. You can navigate through nearly 50 data points, capturing everything from speed, distance, cadence, cyclist power, motor power, elevation, gradient, estimated range and more. You also can connect to a Garmin unit. Capturing G-force data is a favorite of ours, as well as trail gradient.

Our crew all agree that the Avinox app is the best eMTB app we’ve used. Despite what you may think since I love ebikes, I’m a luddite, so for me to appreciate an app is truly a compliment.

Owners can not only customize power delivery and track rides, but you also have real time bike status checking, anti-theft bike protection features and more. For example, you can set up a Phone Key to unlock the bike when you are within range. However, if you are out of range and the bike moves, you will receive push notifications and be able to view exactly where the bike is on a map.

THE BIKE

Unlike DJI, Amflow is a brand we had not heard of until this Avinox drive unit was released. Amflow is a stand-alone brand and was incubated by DJI as a platform to test and develop their system. In fact, the drive unit has been through 10 iterations before landing at what we see here, and the frame has also been through a thorough developmental phase. In fact, we learned during an extensive meeting that Amflow had experimented with everything from high pivot suspension to six-bar linkages, before settling on the Horst Link four-bar for its neutral riding characteristics and all-around performance.

The carbon fiber Amflow PL Carbon frame packs 150mm of four-bar suspension out back, and comes with a 160mm Fox 36 up front. It is currently running dual 29-inch wheels but can be run as a mullet as well.

Geometry is pretty neutral for the most part. But then again, I’m an old school rider who prefers a bit shorter reach than modern trends dictate. Here’s a chart showcasing some key numbers, with the size Large being our test bike.

THE WOLF’S FIRST IMPRESSION

Like the rest of you, when we first heard of the new Amflow eBike packing a DJI Avinox drive unit, we couldn’t wait to get it on the trail. Our bike showed up in great shape, nicely packaged and ready for a quick assembly. For such a simple color and graphic scheme, we want to reiterate that for some reason, this bike just pops out for attention. The gold Amflow logo looks sharp against the black downtube, and the overall stance, slenderness of the bike and appeal certainly make it a talking point.

Overall, we’ve been happy with the bike so far, although it does have some traits we’ll be working on with Amflow and our staff to suss out. The most notable issue at the moment is the lack of stiffness in certain aspects of the bike. We will be replacing select parts one at a time to isolate it, and hope to have a resolution for the long-term review, coming soon.

Is the lack of stiffness a deal breaker? As of right now, for our primary tester Drew, no it is not. The bike seems to do well about 90% of the time, only indicating it’s unhappy in the most demanding of compressions or on-trail scenarios. It is a 150mm/160mm do-it-all eMTB, but it doesn’t seem to be the 150/160mm bike that’ll readily handle enduro-level duties. This is fine for many, but it’s important to know that ahead of time.

For riders who aren’t very heavy; ride in areas with low traction; or aren’t regularly loading up their bike in blue-groove berms or other high G-force situations, you’re not likely to have an issue with this. But we feel it is worth mentioning for the others. One of the most notable places we experience this frame flex is in catch berms at the bottom of steep chutes where you have to be on the brakes hard, and the chassis can feel to twist up.

We also plan on installing a larger volume reducer in the shock and seeing how that feels. While we don’t often feel a harsh bottom out, our travel indicator ring is regularly at the end of the stroke for our preferred sag range and small bump feel. It’s not really bothering us yet, but we’d like to see if we couldn’t make an already good bike better by having it ride a little higher in the travel and offering a bit more progression.

Where does the bike stand out so far? Well, obviously climbing, drag races and anywhere that you’re pedaling! Not a surprise there. Also not a surprise is that it consumes notable battery if you’re regularly juicing that Rocket Boost mode. The energy to produce that level of power has to come from somewhere! The 800Wh battery is plenty enough for us, but we’ll work on harder range numbers soon.

What is likely my favorite part of the bike however is how well it corners. As a rider who likes a bit of compliance and playfulness, I find the Amflow PL Carbon Pro to be one of the more fun bikes on mellower flow trails. It has great traction, corners effortlessly in my opinion and inspires speed.

For a first attempt at not only a mountain bike, but also at a drive unit and entire eMTB ecosystem, Amflow and the DJI Avinox are certainly onto something. And if the mountain bike industry isn’t shaking in their boots already, then they certainly should be.