Forbidden has announced two new eMTBs, utilising the brand's high-pivot suspension design and the DJI Avinox motor – the Druid E LitE and the Druid E CorE.
Both of the bikes in the new Druid E family have two travel options, with correspondingly different battery sizes.
The Druid E LitE has 140mm of rear-wheel travel, paired with a 150mm fork and a 600Wh battery from DJI.
The Druid E CorE has 150mm of travel, a 160mm fork and a larger 800Wh battery.
While the Druid E LitE is slightly more trail-focused, the CorE is built with burlier kit, and is named to honour Forbidden's late bike builder, Cory Thornton.
Forbidden's goal was to build a bike that matches the capability and ride characteristics of the Druid mountain bike, with the added punch of the market's most powerful motor.
Why am I so excited?
As I wrote a few months ago, this could be the electric mountain bike to beat.
Forbidden's high-pivot suspension layout gives it great on-trail characteristics. It's smooth and fast, and capable on the toughest terrain.
At the same time, the DJI Avinox motor in the Amflow bike blew almost every bike tester away with its controllable, high levels of power and torque – as yet still unmatched (despite Specialized's best efforts).
Combining the two, as I hoped would happen, should make for an extremely capable eMTB.
Forbidden Druid E details
Both of the new bikes feature a carbon construction, including carbon links. There's plenty of protection on there to keep the frame safe and the ride quiet.
There's space for a full-sized bottle in the frame, as well as an accessory mount.
Oversized bearings, additional sealing and a steel idler featuring two sets of bearings are there to boost durability, while the bikes come with a lifetime warranty.
The bikes feature mixed wheel sizes. Forbidden claims this helps keep them agile and manoeuvrable, despite the added weight of the motor and battery.
Forbidden Druid E geometry
Although they're modern, the figures on the geometry sheet might not look particularly extreme.
However, there's good reason for this, according to Forbidden.
The reach figure, in particular, is fairly short (in the most modern terms), while the stack is tall.
Forbidden says the distance between the cranks and the bar is what really dictates geometric fit.
Put the front end up higher – for DH control and confidence – and you can reduce the reach, ensuring there's a consistent fit and feel.
So, don't expect any wild, stretched ride positions here.
To further complement this descending bias, there are short seat tubes to maximise dropper drop – 180mm on the smallest size – and short cranks.
The LitE has 155mm cranks, while the CorE gets 150mm.
Why DJI?
There's tons of hype around the DJI Avinox motor, and it's easy to see why brands, especially smaller, more reactive ones, are flocking towards it.
The first reason is the power – 800W peak power, with a 1,000W boost function is, frankly, ridiculous.
Then there's the lesser-discussed (but more important in my opinion) torque figure – the real grunt of an eMTB motor when you're churning up a techy climb – 120Nm here.
That surpasses the new S-Works-only torque figure of 111Nm on the new Turbo Levo, the new Druid's closest competitor, and will beat rumoured updates to Bosch's motor, as far as we understand.
It's also not a particularly heavy system, at 2.5kg (the Bosch Performance CX comes in at 2.8kg), and the UI and app are as detailed as they come.
Forbidden Druid E LitE and CorE spec and price details
At the time of writing, we are waiting for confirmed specifications and pricing. We will update the story when we have this information.
