Even if the aesthetics of a bike elude our scoring, we have to say at this point that the E1 is by far one of the most beautiful specimens from the Dietzenbach pack and, on top of that, finally has a continuous seat tube. Full of praise, we continue with the suspension. We can only speculate whether this was due to input from freeride legend Richie Schley - whatever the case, the long-travel suspension definitely sets the benchmark in this field of comparison. Sensitive with full traction, forgiving and with enough progression even on blunt landings such as the final jump on the enduro ride after six metres onto the flat. The E1 craves fast, demanding trails. It lacks playfulness for winding trails. Due to the relatively long chainstays and the very long front centre (bottom bracket to front dropout) with a normal top tube length, the E1 is reluctant to get onto the rear wheel. If in doubt, go for the smaller size. Up to a certain limit - due to the lack of fork drop on the cheapest bike in the model range - the heavy Rotwild climbs convincingly with a steep seat angle and plenty of grip on the rear wheel.
PLUS Powerful chassis, sensible equipment
MINUS Relatively heavy, no playful handling
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