The small bike manufacturer Rotwild actually has its roots in racing. Back in the nineties, the Dieburg-based company made a name for itself with its wild downhill prototypes. and Stefan Herrmann as driver a world championship title. But ever since Rotwild started building only e-MTBs, the brand's racing ambitions have been quiet. Now Rotwild is back: with its own racing team for the E-Enduro World Cup E-EDR and a specially developed enduro e-bike. The Rotwild R.EXC.
The facts about the Rotwild R.EXC
- Motor: Shimano EP801, 85 Nm max. torque
- Battery: 820 Wh (removable, approx. 3500 grams according to the manufacturer)
- Frame material: Carbon
- Suspension travel: 170 / 160 mm
- Wheel size: 29 / 27.5 inch (Mullet)
- Frame sizes: S to XL
- Price: from 9999 euros
- Weight: 22.1 kg (R.EXC Ultra, manufacturer's specification)
- Available from autumn 2024
Full carbon fibre and raised pivot point: frame and chassis of the Rotwild R.EXC
Anyone who follows Rotwild on social media will hardly be surprised by the new R.EXC. The Dieburg-based company has repeatedly revealed details about the new bike, giving viewers a glimpse behind the scenes of the development department. Now the new bike has been officially unveiled. Incidentally, the name R.EXC stands for Enduro (E), Versatility (X) and Competition (C). In keeping with this, Rotwild is also focussing on some approaches for the new bike that we didn't know from the previous models with the deer.
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One thing is clear: the chassis of the bike is made almost entirely of carbon fibre for weight reasons. Only the rocker is made of aluminium. The main frame is still reminiscent of to the lightweight Shimano bike from the 735 seriesHowever, the fibre orientation of the R.EXC is said to have been optimised again in favour of weight and stiffness.
The carbon rear triangle is completely new, with a dominant banana swingarm reminiscent of motocross designs. The rear normally squeezes 160 millimetres of travel out of the shock. However, the suspension travel can be reduced to 150 or 145 millimetres for particularly demanding uphills via additional holes in the aluminium rocker. Rotwild has set the rear pivot point slightly further up and forwards than on classic four-bar linkages. The aim is to benefit from the improved suspension performance of a high-pivot system without incurring disadvantages such as excessive brake pedalling.
Shimano motor and large battery with practical removal
The chassis houses Shimano's new EP801 motor. In terms of performance, it has almost equalled the main competitor from Bosch, but remains significantly more compact and lighter. The motor is operated via the familiar EM800 remote, the display sits behind the handlebars and shows the most important ride data. As usual, the support can be fine-tuned via the app.
Typical Rotwild: The new battery developed for the R.EXC with a carbon casing and a whopping 820 watt hours can be easily removed from the side of the down tube at the touch of a button. This solution is already familiar from other Rotwild bikes from the 375 or 735 series. For a bike with an explicit race focus, however, it is at least unusual and is clearly one of the best on the market in terms of practicality. The large battery should give the R.EXC a good range while remaining surprisingly light. Rotwild speaks of a battery weight of only around 3500 grams, which is likely to be a decisive factor in the low overall weight of the bike. Despite its significantly higher capacity, the battery would therefore only be as heavy as Bosch's 625 and lighter than the already lightweight 726 Wh battery from Darfon, which has long been considered the measure of all things.
Slack head angle, short chainstays: The geometry
Unsurprisingly, the R.EXC is longer and flatter than most previous Rotwilds, with the exception of the downhill extreme R.G 375. The steering angle of 63.3 degrees is extremely slack and should require a lot of downhill pressure on the front wheel. The steep seat angle of 78 degrees is in keeping with the times. Manual fans will be pleased with the particularly short chainstays of 436 millimetres, the bottom bracket is not explicitly low with a height of 345 millimetres (BB drop: 21 millimetres). Unfortunately, the seat tube is rather long at 465 millimetres in size L. This should make it more difficult for smaller riders to reach for a larger frame size for more reach. In order to adapt the R.EXC to different routes, the chainstays can be extended by five millimetres using a flip-chip in the rear triangle. If you reduce the suspension travel on the rocker to 150 or 145 millimetres, the geometry is slightly higher and steeper.
Rotwild R.EXC geometry at a glance (frame size L)
- Seat tube length: 465 mm
- Wheelbase: 1269 mm
- Reach: 480 mm
- Stack: 635 mm
- Steering angle: 63.3 degrees
- Seat angle: 78 degrees
- Chainstay length: 436 mm
Only from 9999 euros: R.EXC Pro and Ultra
With the new Enduro Racer, Rotwild wants to appeal to a particularly exclusive target group, which is why it starts with a high-quality Pro model for 9999 euros. The Performance Elite suspension from Fox already offers factory-level performance, Shimano's XT drivetrain and brakes, aluminium wheels from Crankbrothers and the Eightpins seatpost leave little to be desired. The Ultra model for € 11999 with carbon wheels from Crankbrothers, Fox Factory suspension and electronic XT Di2 shifting including semi-automatic (free-shift / downhill shifting while rolling) is the full package. Both bikes come ex works with Schwalbe Tacky Chan tyres with Supertrail casing and extra-soft rubber compound at the front.
Production bikes won't be available to buy until autumn 2024, until then the R.EXC will mainly be seen as a prototype in E-EDR races. This is certainly also the reason why Rotwild is officially presenting the bike now instead of waiting until series production later in the year.
BIKE assessment of the Rotwild R.EXC
At a good 22 kilos and 820 watt hours, Rotwild once again presents a strikingly light bike, with a practically removable battery. The geometry with a slack head angle and short chainstays looks extreme. We can't wait to see how the new racing Rotwild R.EXC performs off-road!
Adrian Kaether
Editor
