Crestline S180 & LS160 Review, Details & Specs - New Bosch CX Motor eMTB for Gravity Lovers [Video]

Words & Photos by Jared Erickson

Crestline has been making some of the world's best eMTBs since their inception a couple of years ago. On paper, their latest bikes offer a level of refinement and performance that rivals the industry's top dogs, but how do they actually stack up on the trail? Tune in to find out!

Intro

We've been following Crestline's story since the brand was just an idea between a couple of friends. Their desire to create a bike that placed an emphasis on pure downhill performance and adjustability was born from the fact that a bike like that didn't quite exist at the time. If you're interested in learning more about Crestline, make sure to check out the couple of episodes where we've had our good friend and Crestline co-founder Troydon on the MTB podcast.

The latest bikes from Crestline that we're discussing here are the S180 and the LS160. They both utilize the Gen5 Bosch CX motor, suspension kinematics from Cascade Components, and absolutely dialed build kits. The S180 has a more downhill oriented build and geometry whereas the LS160 has been put on a bit of a diet to shed a few pounds, and combined with slightly less travel and modified geometry, the bike is geared towards the trail/aggressive all mountain category as opposed to the enduro race bike/DH bike with a motor in the S180. I've been spending my time upon the S180, and so far it's been an absolute pleasure to ride and live with.

Suspension & Geometry

The suspension design and kinematics on these bikes are one of the main reasons why they are unique and offer an edge over the competition. Troydon and the crew at Crestline collaborated with Cascade Components as I mentioned earlier to work on the kinematics on these bikes and find the perfect balance of suppleness and support. The S180 offers 180mm of front and rear travel while the LS160 offers 160mm of travel front and rear. One of the most appreciable elements of the suspension design is the ability to change the travel in order to tailor the bike to your geographical location and riding style. You are able to change flip chip positions to change travel with minimal changes to the suspension kinematics and you can also change the stroke of the shock to change the travel - both of these can combine to modify the travel up to 30mm total from 150ish mm to 180mm. 

S180 Geo

LS160 Geo

While the geometry of the S180 and LS160 don't aren't too dissimilar, the real differentiator between these two rides is in the build kits and weight of the bikes. We'll get into that in a bit more detail below, but with less travel and less weight than the S180, it becomes clear the intentions of the LS160 are not quite as extreme as they are in the S180. 

Build Kits

Both the S180 and LS160 are offered with one build kit each, plus a frame only option. The S180 features a GX transmission, RockShox Zeb, Vivid Air rear shock, DT Swiss HX1700 wheels and a OneUp cockpit & dropper topped off with Trail one x Crestline Farlow Gap grips. SRAM Maven Silver brakes slow things down while Contiental Kryptotal Enduro/Soft tires keep things rolling. 

The LS160 has a fair bit of carbon components and other items that help lighten things up a bit. A carbon OneUp handlebar, carbon DT Swiss HXC1501 wheels, a SRAM X0 transmission and a RockShox Super Deluxe rear shock help put this bike on a diet and get the weight down to just over 47lbs when equipped with the 600wh battery. Obviously this bike isn't going to win any weight weenie awards, but a few pounds of weight savings certainly makes a difference in the way a bike handles. 

The beauty here in these bikes is that it really doesn't matter which bike you get, you can still tailor it to how you want it after you buy it. If you get the 160, you can change the flip chip/adjust the stroke of the shock and get 180mm of travel, and vice versa. If your bike came as a full 29/29 from the factory but want to set it up MX, you can do that as well and vice versa. If you want to lengthen or shorten the reach with the reach adjust headset or even put a straight tube headset in there for a downhill fork, by all means, please do. The Crestline is your oyster.

Ride Impressions

I was able to ride the S180 in the MX configuration on a mix of steep, loose, fast and technical trails over its testing period - all environments in which it thrives. The weight down low with the battery and motor combined with the slack geometry and incredible performing suspension culminates in a bike that truly inspires confidence and absolutely plows through the roughest sections of trail you can find. But to be fair, this was expected - this bike has been around in one form or another for a couple of years now and I have been enamored by them before.

The kinematics are impressive for such a heavy machine, and to be honest you can really tell there is something special going on when you ride this bike. Even when you aren't riding the gnarliest trails around, the bike has a way of making mellow trails more fun when you want them to be instead of wallowing around in all that travel. Yes, you will have to work a little harder for it, but it still craves those side hits and extra credit lines and rewards you for sending them.

Suspension action is incredibly supple off the top and ramps up nicely - like I just alluded to, you are also nicely supported while pedaling and climbing. When it comes to the RockShox Zeb and Vivid Air, this is truly an impressive suspension package that is perfectly suited to this bike and its intentions. Something I like to say about components that work well is you rarely notice them because they are doing their job, and you can absolutely say that about the RockShox suspension. It smooths out the chatter with a level of refinement that is superb, and harsh bottom outs are essentially a thing of the past with the new technology that RockShox has implemented into its offerings. 

Another notable thing here is how refined this package has become over those couple of years when it comes to the components and the battery + motor package especially. The Gen5 Bosch motor has a way of organically delivering power which is welcomed when you are ticking off technical climbs and riding tight sections of trail. It's not a total rocketship like the DJI we recently reviewed, but it's not trying to be. Its focus is on the descents and that is truly where it shines.

Speaking of descending, this is absolutely the quietest motor on chattery downhills that I've personally ever ridden. It was truly a pleasure to not hear that infamous knocking that so many ebikers know and hate, and it definitely elevated the ride experience. It can be quite disheartening when you take your fancy new ebike out on the trails only to be rudely awakened by one of the most obnoxious rattles in existence. Ok that might be a bit dramatic, but you get the point.

As I just mentioned, these components work very well together, and as a complete package the bike is very refined and dialed. There is truly only one thing I would change if this were my bike and that would be the rubber. The Enduro casing Continental tires with the "soft" compound rubber does the job but the top of the line downhill rubber would really seal the deal here with a bit more added support and traction.

The only other thing I would have loved to see on this bike is the screen on the top tube like on the RS75/50. It's not exactly a deal breaker, and you can still get your Crestline with a screen once they become available, but it was a surprise to see. With the screen, I do prefer taking note of the battery level as a percentage rather than a series of bars, and it's fun to be able to check out the other metrics that are displayed on there as well, like your drive mode and speed, etc. But then again, it's nice to just turn the bike on and not worry about any additional screens that are fighting for my eyeballs' attention. If I'm being honest with myself, I get enough screen time as it is.

Speaking of sealing the deal... the SRAM Maven brakes were one thing that truly impressed me quite a bit. I have ridden them before in short tests but this was my first time truly familiarizing myself with them. The power that comes from these is absolutely outstanding, and to me, it sets a new benchmark for what we can expect from a mountain bike brake. You are able to barely drag them when trying to modulate speed down steep sections of trail, and they have the power on tap when you really need to shut things down - even upon this 50lb machine you are able to stop shockingly quickly. I am trying to tell myself my current brakes work fine, and they do, but I am still counting down the days until I get a set of Mavens for myself. It's like when you go demo a brand new bike with all the latest gadgets and you're still stuck on your steed from 2015. You probably shouldn't have ridden that demo unless you were ready to buy it, and now you lay awake at night thinking of what it would be like to ride that bike every day. Just me?

Final Thoughts

So, what do we have here? This bike is certainly geared towards gravity riding and that is where it absolutely thrives. Despite riding with no regard for my own safety down some gnarly tracks, this bike kept pushing me and telling me to go back and ride it harder and faster. Therein lies the beauty of this bike - you can push it as hard as you want like a downhill bike on the way down and then shuttle yourself back to the top to do it all over again. The new Bosch motor isn't the fastest in the world, but it's as fast as it needs to be, and what it lacks in speed, it makes up for in refinement and being quiet on the way down. To me, that is more valuable than flat out power on a bike like this. All things considered, we have the most refined version of the true downhiller's eMTB ever made that is an absolute riot to ride, and thrives on the gnarliest terrain you can find.