Hello - first post here after reading the comments on this thread for months - I appreciate all the knowledge and experience from this community!
After years of reviews, tests and waiting for the right e-bike to come along, my wife and I took the plunge and each bought the new Trek FX+ 7s back in May. It met virtually all the checkboxes we were looking for, and the couple that we were concerned about turned out to be non-issues
. But there is one serious flaw in one of our two bikes that I’ll expand upon shortly.
First, the positives. We’ve gone on many rides so far, and we both agree - phenomenal bikes! Starting with the concerns we had - no front shocks - somehow, the structure of this bike does a great job of dampening the ride. We upgraded the tires to Bontrager Hard Case Lites, which may have contributed to this. We were concerned about the carrying the weight (~41 lbs), but the built-in slot near the hub makes it easy to lug up/down stairs - a brilliant feature. The gear shifting and braking both smooth and superb. Also like the quad lock mount that conveniently charges your phone. Another key positive - this doesn’t look like an e-bike! The TQ motor is silent and the look of this bike is very stealth, as we don’t want to cause undue attention to these expensive bikes while we ride. Our rides are mostly tow path trails in Pennsylvania and roads/streets in small towns where I can say the ride has been comfortable, confident and frankly - a joy.
Now for the issue that could be a deal-breaker for those considering these e-bikes: the range! The battery on my bike has very poor performance vs the same bikes that others I’m aware of experience. Riding the same trails at the same time and in the same level of assist and exact same motor settings, I get considerably less range than my wife, who weighs 25 lbs less than me. We’ve tested this numerous times. At 100% charge, I get 26 miles in eco mode and she gets 50% more - 39 total miles. I added the extender that is designed to get 50% more range, and with it engaged, I get that exactly - 39 miles. 10-20% more range for a lighter rider could be reasonable, but 50%? I’ve reported this issue to the local Trek salesperson, who has the same bike, and his shows 35 mile range in eco mode and he weighs 25 lbs more than me. So my range looks woefully worse - I have a poorly performing battery for sure!
This issue was reported back in June to Trek support. They had my bike tested locally, with the results transmitted to them, and there’s been no corrective response despite follow-ups by my dealer.. The Trek salesperson has voiced this battery range issue several times up the chain and has yet to receive an admission that there’s a battery problem, as they say range varies depending on trails, motor settings, rider weight - all of which we’ve accounted for and documented in our tests. They also admit there’s some expected variation in batteries they install. But 50%???!
In addition to these 3 bikes that we have experience with, the local store has received similar battery range complaints from 3 others that have purchased the FX+ 7s, so this sounds like a possible systemic issue for the first release of this new bike line. In my case, we’ve requested a battery replacement - we’re awaiting Trek’s response. If that turns out to be not possible, the dealer left the door open to return/exchange for a new bike, but I hope we don’t have to go down that path.
Any other FX+ 7s owners out there having range issues? I’d be very interested in your range estimates for 100% charged in eco mode. We’ve set our motor at 115% assist in eco mode as a frame of reference. The more data we have on rider experience, the stronger case to have corrective action by Trek.
I love this bike and want to keep it, so I hope this battery range issue gets resolved soon!
