Rotwild may conjure images of Richey Schley in the early 2000s, but the German brand is producing some very modern ebikes these days.
While out at Bike Connection Summer 2022 in the Dolomites, Pete had the chance to swing a leg over Rotwild’s R.X735 full fat ebike which sports some neat features like its integrated dropper post, battery housing and release.
Photos courtesy of Bike Connection Summer – Roo Fowler.
Key features:
- Fox 36 Float Performance 150mm fork
- Fox Float X Performance shock
- Shimano XT 12-speed drive
- Shimano XT 4-piston brakes
- Shimano EP8 motor
- Red Deer IPU735 720Wh battery
- Crankbrothers Synthesis Enduro Alloy i9 wheels
- Eightpins H01 dropper
- 9,499.00 Euro
Rotwild are a brand working hard to shrug off the fact that many people still think of Richie Schley and those red and silver alloy bikes from the early 2000s, and on the face of it, their ebike offerings are very much in the mix.
A very near full carbon fibre frame, linkages and all, houses a semi-integrated 720Wh battery with a neat battery release that can also be screwed down for added security. The frame has also been designed around the Eightpins dropper system which uses the seat tube as the lower assembly. The R.X735 offers 144mm rear travel mated to a 140mm fork, full 29″ wheels at around the 21kg mark for a size large.
The R.X725 is available in three builds, the Core, Pro (tested here) and the Ultra. The Core starts the range off at 7,999.00 Euro, with the Ultra topping the range at 12,499.00 Euro. All are based around the same frame with the parts fitted being different. The Pro features Fox Performance dampers, Shimano XT throughout, a Shimano EP8 motor and the Red Deer IPU735 battery, Crankbrothers wheels and Eightpins dropper.
Geometry
Four sizes are on offer for the Rotwild R.X735; S, M, L and XL. I’d test a Medium in the Dolomites.
Reach on the size medium is 450mm combined with a 440mm seat tube. Head angle is 65.5 degrees with a seat angle of 75 degrees. Chainstays are 450mm across all sizes, and the size Medium wheelbase is 1219mm.
With the Fox Performance dampers fitted to the R.X735 it was merely a case of setting sag and rebound, then tweaking the brake lever position before tackling as many laps as I could muster of the ‘ebike loop’ at Bike Connection Summer in Andalo.
From the off, the R.X735 felt like most other well-thought out full fat ebikes, coming in around the 21kg mark for one with a carbon frame and decent spec. Into ‘Trail’ on the EP8 motor and I was soon buzzing my way to the first climb of the day through Andalo’s streets.
The EP8 as ever, needed a higher cadence than other motors to extract the best from the Shimano unit, and it seemed that it was only the limit of the Schwalbe Super Trail tyres fitted that was going to hold the bike back on the climbs. With the quantity of razor sharp limestone about, I was a little concerned that it would a long walk home on tyres with a casing that are often seen as weighty options on cross country bikes. The ‘Soft’ compound and 2.4″ width fitted did do a decent enough job of not becoming overwhelmed by the power of the motor, however.
With a 450mm chainstay fitted across all sizes, the smaller end of the size range does struggle to overcome the leverage out back when it matches the front end’s reach, like seen here on the medium. Getting the front wheel up steeper, slower, techy moves on the climbs requiring more of a weight shift than usual. This isn’t unique to the R.X735 though, full fat, 29″ ebikes almost always have longer rear ends owing to the motor taking up so much space around the bottom bracket.
With 85Nm on tap to help winch me up the climb, I was soon at the start of the descent on the ‘ebike loop’, something was would feel very close to home but with a distinct flavour of the Dolomites. Whoever had built this trail had done their homework. A winding singletrack made mostly of route and full loam factory dirt, interspersed with some of the usual Dolomite limestone razors.
This trail would take some time to learn to get the most out of it, but on the first few runs the R.X735 felt way more nimble and responsive than the numbers in the press release would indicate. With the rear end demanding a more wheels-on-the-deck approach than I would normally, the suspension did a solid job of tracking the ground and keeping the grip levels high.
It was only on later runs that the support in the fork was somewhat lacking. While the rear end did a decent job of ramping up towards the end stroke as well as offering decent midstroke support, the fork when things got fast, and especially on bigger hits and compressions was pretty ineffective. I’d have to wind on the compression dial on the Fox 36 to prevent this from happening, something I’ve never had to do on a 36 before.
With the compression wound up, some level of support returned, although at the expense of some of that wonderful small bump tracking that I’d enjoyed on the early runs. Had I ventured into the bike park on the other side of the valley, I am sure I could have found the bump stops with the compression dial turned all the way up.
While content to bash out the same laps, feeling taking an ebike up a charlift as something I couldn’t bring myself to do, I opted to wind up the speed to offset the increased compression and try to get some of the early magic back.
Thankfully, the XT drivetrain and brakes were, as ever, flawless. The 4-pot anchors doing sterling work of bringing the bike to heel despite its 20kg+ weight, with enough modulation to not overwhelm the Schwalbe tyres fitted. Again, while I had no issues with the tyres on the day, I feel like any real action on this bike would soon find the limit of the SuperTrail casings. Even if you’re not producing a downhill bike, an ebike should have some kind of tough-casing tyre simply to deal with the extra weight of the drive unit and battery rather than worry about the list weight in the catalogue.
That said, Rotwild assure me that this is the tyre they use on their trails, mainly root and loam, so a heftier tyre isn’t so crucial than it might be elsewhere.
The Eightpins dropper is a funky unit but worked seamlessly and the internal height adjust is a nice feature than removes the need to buy exactly the right length dropper. A full straight seat tube also means that you can fit a hefty 200mm dropper on this bike, despite the motor and being a size medium.
What do we think?
The Rotwild R.X735 is a properly damped fork and some ‘proper’ tyres away from being a real contender, especially if you’re a fan of smaller, high-end brands that you certainly won’t see many of on UK shores.
It was great fun on fast, swooping technical singletrack, which is one thing I often find ebikes a little cumbersome on.
We love:
- Nimble and responsive for a full fat ebike
- Cool semi-integrated battery
- Eightpins dropper
Could do better:
- Forks lack support
- You’d soon find the limit of the tyre casing