I was thinking about about this for a while to get back to this page and give some more insight since last August. So I ride..... a lot, and everyday I love this bike more. Its and incredible piece of kit. Now over 7 months or so my riding style has changed.... a lot and I suspect yours will too as you get on with this. I find that I often don't use or need the pedal assist unit, yes I do use it for sure especially when going up steep grades or when I need to get going a little faster, but its really not how I use the bike now. Hold that thought
How as the bike held up over these miles, outstanding. I replaced with original tires at 3500 miles as they had been worn pretty well. They were replaced with tubeless, which was a great improvement in performance, if you haven't done so, I highly recommend this swap it really improves the efficiency of the bike on the road. I have had some issues with the tubeless tires, the first rear one got a low in the side wall cut (no apparent reason) so it was done for; About 2 weeks later and in fact last Saturday morning another rear tire (Bontrager hardened case - same as before) also failed. Trek replaced this tire on Saturday afternoon without additional cost. Yesterday my shifting cable snapped and again Trek ,huge shout out to them, fixed and got me back on the road in about 15 min when I peddled to the store 20 min before it closed ( I was enroute to someplace else when the cable failed). Trek Westlake Village is an incredible LBS. I also had to get the headset re-lubricated a few months ago. O I almost forgot on Saturday along with the tire, I replaced the brakes too. Thats it, no other issues in over 4500 miles and Trek was there to help when things required assistance.
I find the battery will charge to 100 percent, but usually it settles in at 97 percent these days, If I ride and it says 100 percent when starting, its no long before it reads 98 even when running on eco mode. With that in mind, just so you know when the bike is turned on, there is always a draw on the battery even without the the assist unit being active so you will some small drop in power over time. I ride this bike frequently and now, I'll unhold the thought above.
So over the course of time I have learned to work more and more with the bike in adjusting cadence, gearing and power - from myself and the bike itself. To that end I can go much further on less overall power draw. I returned from just under 100 miles with more than 30 percent power left and 5000 + feet of climbing. I have had many 50-65 mile rides without even coming close to emptying the battery usually returning with 40-50% percent. I live around the Santa Monica Mountains and as you go through this area it has some very steep areas, I know that the trip from the ocean to the saddle of mountains generally takes a 30 percent draw so I am careful on how I get to the climb. The bike affords me the opportunity to train for cadence (higher and lower) which I love to do. I did add a rear rack and last Saturday I did pick up a second battery that I can mount on the rack to carry, I didn't like the add on battery that goes on the frame, it looked to much like an oddity and I didn't want to carry an extra battery when I don't need it so this is the system I opted for. I wasn't sure if I should go through with the purchase because I really haven't needed two batteries yet. But there will be a day of climbing, like in the Sierra's, where I will want it so there it is. The bottom line is over the miles of riding over the year (total on bikes not just this one) was over 7K last year, and when you pedal a lot you become stronger and more efficient at doing it.
Things to consider - well I would love to see this bike with a compact cassette and 48 or 50 T; However, I think that you can really play with gearing as is and manipulate the inter-gear ratios by utilizing the electronics on the bike and this is where power assist unit is optimal. The gearing of it currently can make somewhat slower than a typical road / race style bike going downhill. The compact cassette would also be quite nice for improving efficiency in going uphill. Other wishes A 625 - 700 w/hr battery would be nice.
All in all this remains for me a great purchase and I just love riding this bike its a great balance of versatility, speed, and function. Its clear a lot of thought went into making this bike and I appreciate it everyday.
How as the bike held up over these miles, outstanding. I replaced with original tires at 3500 miles as they had been worn pretty well. They were replaced with tubeless, which was a great improvement in performance, if you haven't done so, I highly recommend this swap it really improves the efficiency of the bike on the road. I have had some issues with the tubeless tires, the first rear one got a low in the side wall cut (no apparent reason) so it was done for; About 2 weeks later and in fact last Saturday morning another rear tire (Bontrager hardened case - same as before) also failed. Trek replaced this tire on Saturday afternoon without additional cost. Yesterday my shifting cable snapped and again Trek ,huge shout out to them, fixed and got me back on the road in about 15 min when I peddled to the store 20 min before it closed ( I was enroute to someplace else when the cable failed). Trek Westlake Village is an incredible LBS. I also had to get the headset re-lubricated a few months ago. O I almost forgot on Saturday along with the tire, I replaced the brakes too. Thats it, no other issues in over 4500 miles and Trek was there to help when things required assistance.
I find the battery will charge to 100 percent, but usually it settles in at 97 percent these days, If I ride and it says 100 percent when starting, its no long before it reads 98 even when running on eco mode. With that in mind, just so you know when the bike is turned on, there is always a draw on the battery even without the the assist unit being active so you will some small drop in power over time. I ride this bike frequently and now, I'll unhold the thought above.
So over the course of time I have learned to work more and more with the bike in adjusting cadence, gearing and power - from myself and the bike itself. To that end I can go much further on less overall power draw. I returned from just under 100 miles with more than 30 percent power left and 5000 + feet of climbing. I have had many 50-65 mile rides without even coming close to emptying the battery usually returning with 40-50% percent. I live around the Santa Monica Mountains and as you go through this area it has some very steep areas, I know that the trip from the ocean to the saddle of mountains generally takes a 30 percent draw so I am careful on how I get to the climb. The bike affords me the opportunity to train for cadence (higher and lower) which I love to do. I did add a rear rack and last Saturday I did pick up a second battery that I can mount on the rack to carry, I didn't like the add on battery that goes on the frame, it looked to much like an oddity and I didn't want to carry an extra battery when I don't need it so this is the system I opted for. I wasn't sure if I should go through with the purchase because I really haven't needed two batteries yet. But there will be a day of climbing, like in the Sierra's, where I will want it so there it is. The bottom line is over the miles of riding over the year (total on bikes not just this one) was over 7K last year, and when you pedal a lot you become stronger and more efficient at doing it.
Things to consider - well I would love to see this bike with a compact cassette and 48 or 50 T; However, I think that you can really play with gearing as is and manipulate the inter-gear ratios by utilizing the electronics on the bike and this is where power assist unit is optimal. The gearing of it currently can make somewhat slower than a typical road / race style bike going downhill. The compact cassette would also be quite nice for improving efficiency in going uphill. Other wishes A 625 - 700 w/hr battery would be nice.
All in all this remains for me a great purchase and I just love riding this bike its a great balance of versatility, speed, and function. Its clear a lot of thought went into making this bike and I appreciate it everyday.
Attachments
Last edited:
