DJI’s First E-Bike Is a Shot at Being the King of Electric Mobility

DJI might be the king of drones, but its next conquest is more... grounded. You can now add e-bikes to the growing list of product categories the Chinese drone titan plans to push into.

The Avinox Drive System and the Amflow — a bike drive and electric mountain bike, respectively — are DJIs first-ever foray into electric mobility. The interesting part here, outside of the fact that DJI is getting into e-bikes at all, is that it clearly plans to own the whole process of making bikes — drives, frame, tech, you name it.

The Age of Avinox

So, what does a DJI e-bike system look like? Pretty formidable, especially for a first entry into the space. The Amflow, while only weighing about 42 lbs, still packs 850W of peak power thanks to DJI’s mid-drive Avinox system. That power-to-weight ratio should make it fairly adept on a trail and easy to maneuver. The Avinox also delivers 105 lb-ft of torque, which is pretty impressive for a first-ever e-bike.

From a battery perspective, Avinox is also solid and will offer two flavors: a 600Wh battery and an 800Wh. The latter, according to DJI, can be charged from 0 to 75 percent in 1.5 hours by making use of GaN charging. That should come in handy if you’re the type of person (like me) who isn’t always proactive about ensuring your wheels are charged and ready to go preemptively.

What’s even more interesting is Avinox’s technology suite. Naturally, as a purveyor of drones, DJI is well-acquainted with sensors and plans to use that tie-in to imbue the Avinox with what it’s calling a “Smart-Assist Algorithm.”

That tech will use multiple sensors on the bike to “automatically and continuously adjust assistance based on riding resistance.” From what I can tell, the whole thing sounds like the e-bike equivalent of driver assist.

Riders will be able to choose from four different assist modes, too: auto, eco, trail, and turbo. There will also be a “boost” mode for more power. And a high-tech bike isn’t complete without an app, so riders will be able to download the Avinox companion app to customize the amount of ride assist levels and other parameters.

To hammer home the premium nature of DJI’s tech-focused bike, Avinox has a two-inch OLED touchscreen as an interface and readout.

Open Questions on Amflow

There’s still quite a bit we don’t know about the Amflow in particular — price and release date to name specifics — but from what info is available, DJI’s first e-bike seems like a solid first effort.

Whether DJI will be able to replicate its success with drones in the increasingly competitive e-bike space, however, is a different story. If its prowess in capturing the consumer drone market is any indication, then other e-bike makers should be on notice.