Like most electronics, ebike motors are subject to fast-paced change and development, whether that’s power increases, reduction in battery size and weight, better integration or simply increased reliability.
But choosing the right eMTB motor – and the bike it’s fitted to – has become ever more difficult because tech leaps forward at such a pace.
After a 2021 software power update, taking peak figures to 85Nm and 600W, Bosch’s Performance Line CX motor enjoyed supremacy for several years.
In mid-2024, Chinese drone and camera manufacturer DJI disrupted the market with the Avinox drive unit. Peak power and torque figures – 1,000w and 120Nm respectively – dwarfed Bosch’s numbers, and the Avinox quickly became the must-have system.
At launch, it was only available on DJI’s own bike – the Amflow – but that’s now changed. Crestline, Forbidden and Unno, among others, are selling Aninox-equipped models, and there are rumours of more to come.
While the Avinox avalanche is in full flow, Bosch has responded with the Performance Line CX-R and a software update reserved for the latest Gen 5 CX motor.
This upped torque and power to 100Nm and 750W, going some way to keeping the German manufacturer in touch with the Chinese behemoth.
Of course, power and torque figures aren’t the whole story. How that power is delivered is just as important, as are reliability, repairability and warranty, functionality, battery life and weight, along with how good any companion smartphone app may be.
Anyone considering buying a new eMTB is likely to be looking at bikes with one of these two motors fitted, so I set out to find out which is the best and most worthy of your cash.
DJI Avinox M1 vs Bosch Performance Line CX-R details and specifications
Headline power and torque figures are the ebike’s equivalent to the cherry sitting atop a cake.
While the cherry is important, and the ingredient that’s most likely to tempt you, it shouldn’t be the biggest consideration – there’s plenty more to the cake, as there is an ebike motor.
DJI’s Avinox boasts the biggest figures on the market, maxing out at a whopping 800 per cent support ratio, 120Nm of max torque (and 105Nm of continuous torque) and 1,000W of peak power.
In the Avinox’s case, if the rider puts in 100W of power, the motor will supplement your power with an additional 800W.
The Bosch Performance Line CX-R – and the standard Gen 5 CX after its mid-2025 update – maxes out at a 400 per cent support ratio, 100Nm of torque and 750W of peak power.
In the Bosch’s case, if you put in 100W of power, the motor will contribute 400W.
Mixing modes
Bosch’s different assistance modes give riders plenty to choose from.
From the toned-down Eco up to newest, blazing eMTB+ setting, the Performance Line CX can be tuned to respond to rider input by reactively increasing or decreasing assistance or output power using in-built sensors. There are standard, non-adaptive modes, too, including Eco, Tour and Turbo.
Each mode’s characteristics can be tuned in the accompanying smartphone app, resulting in plenty of customisation and the ability to blend battery life and power according to your needs.
The Avinox has four main modes. All except Eco can access 105Nm of torque and 1,000W of power.
There’s also an Auto mode that uses sensors to tune the motor’s output on the fly. A time-limited Boost function throws the entirety of the Avinox’s armoury at the trail, accessing 120Nm of torque for up to 60 seconds.
| All figures claimed | DJI Avinox M1 | Bosch Performance Line CX-R |
|---|---|---|
| Motor power (peak) (watts) | 1,000 | 750 |
| Motor torque (peak) (Newton meters) | 120 | 100 |
| Support ratio (per cent) | 800 | 400 |
While all the motor’s outputs can be adjusted within DJI’s smartphone app, the onboard touchscreen display enables you to do the same. But if you want to ride an Avinox-equipped bike further than an initial 100km, registering your bike for the first time via the smartphone app is mandatory.
Once that’s complete, you don’t have to keep your phone with you or keep the app installed.
High-tech sauce
While the two motors' modes are similar in intent and functionality, switching from Bosch to DJI feels as if you’re going from a 56k dial-up modem to full-fibre broadband.
DJI has taken the slick ethos of its cameras and drones and ported it to ebikes. There are user-operated battery-health tools, rapid charging, bike-theft protection, customisable data screens, the deepest level of power, torque, overrun and drivetrain-protection features, freewheel gear shifting and motor-tilt angle power cut-off.
Bosch’s Smart System is hardly lacking in features, though, you just need to have your phone with you to make any meaningful changes.
Theft protection, data-screen customisation, ride recording and even navigation (on compatible screens), along with mode assistance tuning, are possible. However, the brand’s system feels more like something that’s been built and added to over iterative updates rather than redesigned from the ground up.
On the scales
DJI’s motor and batteries are lighter than Bosch’s. Weighing a claimed 2.52kg, the Avinox M1 is 178g lighter than Bosch’s motor. For the same battery capacities – 600Wh and 800Wh – DJI comes in 130g and 160g lighter respectively. DJI’s batteries are also slimmer than Bosch’s, with Avionx-powered bikes having a much sleeker silhouette.
| All weights claimed | DJI Avinox M1 | Bosch Performance Line CX-R |
|---|---|---|
| Motor Weight (g) | 2520 | 2700 |
| Battery Weight (600 Wh) (g) | 2900 | 3000 |
| Battery Weight (800 Wh) (g) | 3700 | 3900 |
Where DJI trumps Bosch in weight, Bosch offers significantly more battery-capacity options, including the 250Wh PowerMore range extender.
Our two bikes
It’s currently impossible to swap ebike motors and batteries between bikes – each model in a brand’s range is built around a specific motor, its mounting patterns and shape, and the same applies to the battery.
While I’d have loved to ride two identical bikes with the two motor systems, that’s not a practical possibility, so I’ve managed the next best thing.
The two bikes – DJI’s own Avinox-equipped Amflow PL Carbon Pro and Pivot’s Shuttle AM Team XX Eagle Transmission – share the same trail-bike intentions, with a 160mm fork and 150mm-travel rear end.
Both also have an 800Wh battery and each brand’s range-topping motor. In the Amflow camp, there’s only one Avinox motor available, while the Pivot is fitted with Bosch’s Performance Line CX-R, which is the lightest and most powerful model.
Elsewhere, the bikes are decked out with the usual kit – Fox dampers front and back, SRAM’s Transmission, carbon fibre wheels and Maxxis tyres all make an appearance.
On the scales, the Amflow PL Carbon Pro weighs 21.55kg (size large, without pedals), while the Pivot Shuttle AM Team XX Eagle Transmission is 22.62kg (size large, without pedals).
This makes the motor comparison about as fair as possible, all things considered.
How I tested
Both bikes were ridden back-to-back on the same trails, in the same conditions during the test period, to analyse everything from battery life and range through to usability, reliability and customisation.
However, without custom dyno equipment, it’s impossible to verify the claimed outputs of each brand’s motor.
It’s not only the figures that count, though – it’s out on the trails where it matters, and that’s what I've reported on.
DJI Avinox M1 vs Bosch Performance Line CX-R performance
Unsurprising dominance
The hype around the Avinox motor is to be believed.
Its power and feel outshine other ebike systems in the same way a luxury car does its budget counterparts, feeling better in almost every way.
But there’s more to how it rides than the simple arms race of more, more, more.
There’s a refinement to the Avinox’s power-delivery algorithm that mimics how our bodies interact with a bike.
Even in the highest modes with all the settings turned up, there’s a preliminary softness to its power. It’s sensitive to the nuances of rider input, which is something other motors can struggle with.
Initial power delivery doesn’t spike with a full-torque disregard for rider control or rear-wheel traction.
Instead, support eases in progressively but quickly, up to its full output. This gives you time to gather your thoughts and gain control – instead of going all-out from your initial pedal stroke, you ramp up your effort.
It’s this sympathetic human/bike relationship that’s most striking when you first use an Avinox motor, and one you may end up taking for granted until you try a different system.
But, like any machine, it can be a handful if you operate it poorly. Pedalling hard at inopportune moments causes wheelspin or front-wheel lift, but even the least powerful ebikes can be ridden unsympathetically.
Man and machine
Bosch’s Performance Line CX motors have always had a reputation for being the most 'human' like and the same is true of the latest CX-R.
It has a similarly controllable power delivery as the Avinox – it’s gentle at first, then builds with torque and watts as the rider does, but its crescendo of outright performance falls short of the Avinox’s lofty – and sustained – thump.
While the gentleness of the Bosch and Avinox are to be commended – delivering impressive initial and continuous grip – it’s the Avinox’s outright grunt that gives it a conquer-all feel.
Steep technical climbs can be ridden faster and with more conviction on the Avinox. Lifting the bike up a step or over some dicey rocks or roots is easier, not only because you can carry more momentum into any given section, but because topping up the bike’s speed is easy.
In theory, Bosch’s Race mode – reserved exclusively for the Race motor – should edge that drive unit ahead in terms of response time and sensitivity, but its initial support is overwhelming.
The lightest tap of the cranks propels the bike forward with an all-or-nothing blast of speed. That’s fine when traction is good, but as soon as it’s slippery or the terrain is uneven, it makes it much harder to control.
Dialling the Bosch back to Turbo or eMTB+ mode flattens this abrupt on-off feel, but neither Race, Turbo or eMTB+ modes have any more power than each other, or – importantly – the Avinox.
The Avinox’s taper to full chat, more power and generous support ratio culminates in a package that makes cleaning some of the wildest sections a visceral reality. And if the motor’s full-power setting is too much to handle, dropping it down to Auto makes it a more manageable beast.
Speed limits
With that power comes great responsibility. Charging up a fireroad at the speed cut-off limit is fine, but add in some tech and you need to keep your wits about you.
Advanced techniques such as feathering the rear brake, lifting and placing the front wheel or using the rear wheel’s drive to jump and change line really take advantage of all that torque and power.
While the above is also true of the Bosch, the lower average speeds you ride at – simply because the motor’s giving you less assistance for any given rider input – make getting yourself into difficulty or having to rely on certain skills to keep you out of trouble less likely.
Overrun is good on both systems – short cranks provide meaningful, controllable sustained assistance. And if the stock levels of overrun are either too little or too much, it can be tuned to suit your needs in each respective app.
Thanks to the impressive support ratio, the Avinox can sit comfortably at the speed cut-off limit with very little rider input. Fireroad ascents – almost regardless of gradient – are dispatched at top speed, requiring only limited rider input when the motor’s set to its maximum mode.
The same isn’t true of the Bosch – on my test loops, average overall speeds were between 5 and 7km/h slower on the Performance Line compared to the Avinox.
My heart rate was between 10 and 20 beats per minute higher, too.
Of course, you can turn down the Avinox’s assistance levels or use a different mode to mimic the feel and output of the Bosch, but once you’ve had a taste of the Avinox, it’s hard switching back to a system with less assistance.
Plenty of juice
With both bikes set to maximum power, it’s unsurprising the Avniox motor runs out of battery quicker. It’s got more torque and watts, which are easier to access, depleting the 800Wh battery after 1,170m of ascending over 30.6km. This is pushed to 1,450m of ascent over 34.5km in Race mode in the Bosch camp before the battery is fully flat.
It’s possible to turn down the Avinox’s torque, power and support levels to match Bosch, to create a like-for-like battery runtime comparison.
Matching support ratios was hardest; Bosch’s is 400 per cent, but the DJI’s is on a scale of one to 15. Halving that would seem sensible given the bike should amplify your input by 800 per cent when set to 15. However, with torque set to 100Nm, power to 750W and the assistance level set to these figures, the bike felt closer to Bosch’s Tour+ or eMTB modes instead of Bosch’s Turbo or Race.
Upping the Amflow’s assistance level to 11, while keeping torque and power the same, gave it the closest feel to the Bosch motor in its maximum settings. Like this, the Avinox managed 1,357m of ascent over 30.34km before the battery was discharged.
In my testing, this is slightly less than Bosch’s range, but it’s within a reasonable margin to not cause concern. Different riders in different conditions may also get different results.
The large-capacity batteries mean neither bike is likely to leave you high and dry, and each displays the percentage of battery drain relatively accurately. This makes managing each motor’s battery easy.
Frustrations and foibles
Neither system is perfect, however.
Bosch’s Mini Remote is very fragile – I’ve broken several in crashes, while just riding, or storing bikes. Knock the underside of the rubberised button away from the controller and it snaps off, the spring launches itself and the whole remote needs replacing because it isn’t repairable.
Some may get frustrated at having to use Bosch’s smartphone app to make any changes to the motor’s settings, while others will probably lament the idea of having to register the Avinox on its smartphone app before riding further than 100km.
Neither are deal breakers, though.
Once the Avinox system has run out of juice, there’s significant resistance through the cranks that you’ll have to overcome in order keep the pedals turning. Compared to the Bosch system, the difference is night and day, with the Performance Line motor’s resistance feeling like a regular bike when it’s off.
While this isn’t a serious issue, it serves as a warning that running out of battery on an Avinox bike a long way from home will be more punishing than one with the Bosch motor.
Turn up the volume
Neither drive unit makes a racket; in fact, both are very quiet on the trails even when operating at full chat. The noise they make is relatively similar – it’s a higher-pitch steady whine rather than the fluctuating turkey gobble Shimano’s EP8 emits. At lower assistance levels, they barely make more noise than your tyres on dirt or banter between mates; they’re very discreet.
Downhill, Bosch has fixed the freewheel rattle that plagued the previous iterations of the Performance Line motor – the Gen 5 is entirely silent. The Avinox is also virtually silent when freewheeling, barely clacking, clunking or rattling even on the wildest descents.
More than the motors
There’s more to it than just the motors, though.
The Avinox’s performance is virtually worthless if the bike it’s fitted to is lacklustre, and, currently, Bosch has the market sewn up in terms of choice. Bikes with Bosch CX motors span from lightweight trail eaters up to quasi-DH sleds, with a slew of others in between.
That’s brilliant for the consumer, and as it stands, you’re more likely to find a Bosch-powered bike – and an affordable one for that matter – that suits your specific needs rather than one with an Avinox drive unit.
That could all change, but the bike the motor’s fitted to has to be one of the biggest considerations when looking to make a purchase.
DJI Avinox M1 vs Bosch Performance Line CX-R verdict
DJI Avinox M1
The Avinox motor system is the one to beat in almost all respects – power, feel, tuneability and weight. Just make sure it’s fitted to a bike that’s as good.
Pros
Exceptional power, torque and assistance; unrivalled speed and uphill prowess; natural-feeling assistance; deep and usable on-bike customisation; light battery and motor; slick user interface; great battery life
Cons
Smartphone app is mandatory; motor creates pedalling resistance when it’s off; limited number of bikes with Avinox motors
Bosch Performance Line CX-R
Natural-feeling, with more than adequate power and long battery life, the fifth-generation Bosch is one of the best motors to date and comes on a wide range of bikes that should suit any rider.
Pros
Plenty of power and torque; intuitive and simple motor tuning; impressive battery life; natural-feeling support; loads of battery, controller and display options; no drivetrain or motor drag when pedalling with it off; widespread availability on bikes
Cons
Tuning modes reserved for the app; mini remote is fragile; less outright power, torque and support; heavier than the Avinox
Verdict
Going on motor performance alone, it’s impossible to ignore the Avinox’s impact on the industry. There’s a palpable buzz about the system, and trailside chat is centred around how good the motor is.
If performance is the biggest factor for you, there are very few reasons not to plump for an Avinox-powered bike.
Unfortunately, it’s never that simple. Whether the smaller selection of Avinox bikes will suit your needs or budget is a personal matter.
But I’d happily go out on a limb and say that – currently at least – the sheer number of Bosch-powered bikes means you’re more likely to find your perfect match.
That’s likely to change in the future, however, and when it does, Bosch et al. are going to have to do something very special to beat DJI’s impending dominance.
