Trek eBike options - Colorado commuting?

[Speeedy]

Hi! I am moving from Kentucky to Superior Colorado. I will live about 10 miles from my office, and plan to sell my car and commute via eBike. I have never owned an eBike before, but do love biking.

The commute will be partially on trails and partially on roads. I would love your thoughts on the best Trek eBike to choose. I am a longtime Trek fan, and they have a dealer just a few miles away.

I am most interested in thoughts around a bike that can handle the snow-covered roads and trails in the winter. Do I go with the Allant or look at the Powerfly mountain bike options?

Thanks for your input! I am excited to join this community!

 

[MrMackyB]

Im going for my first ebike as well with a similar set of requirements. I had narrowed it down to either the Specialized Tero 5 or the Powerfly 7. The Powerfly range is more for hybrid commuting as far as I can see, the Allant is for a road based commute. Be careful as Trek bikes come in 2 variants, a 500Wh and a 625 Wh battery, so choose the one that is appropriate for you.

 

[Speeedy]

Im going for my first ebike as well with a similar set of requirements. I had narrowed it down to either the Specialized Tero 5 or the Powerfly 7. The Powerfly range is more for hybrid commuting as far as I can see, the Allant is for a road based commute. Be careful as Trek bikes come in 2 variants, a 500Wh and a 625 Wh battery, so choose the one that is appropriate for you.

Good to know - thank you for your input! Good luck on your bike journey.

 

[linklemming]

Welcome to the CO front range.

I live in louisville basically a few miles form superior. Most likely most of your commute will on the 36 bikeway
https://commutingsolutions.org/commuting-by-bike/us-36-bike-map/

I would recommend the Allant (28mph), possibly with a more offroad oriented tire change (Marathon plus MTB tires). You really dont need the fenders for most of the year

I ride about 150-200 miles a week starting in louisville about 70% offroad/gravel on rigid ebikes (DIY surly troll/bridgeclub ebikes with 2.6 tires). I also have used a iZIp Moda (similar to allant) and Juiced CCX with larger MTB tires (no fenders).

Superior is pretty bare these days due to the fires which decimated Superior (and Louisville)

 

[CodyDog]

I would go Class 3 for commuting. Most EMTB are Class 1.

 

[Speeedy]

Welcome to the CO front range.

I live in louisville basically a few miles form superior. Most likely most of your commute will on the 36 bikeway
https://commutingsolutions.org/commuting-by-bike/us-36-bike-map/

I would recommend the Allant (28mph), possibly with a more offroad oriented tire change (Marathon plus MTB tires). You really dont need the fenders for most of the year

I ride about 150-200 miles a week starting in louisville about 70% offroad/gravel on rigid ebikes (DIY surly troll/bridgeclub ebikes with 2.6 tires). I also have used a iZIp Moda (similar to allant) and Juiced CCX with larger MTB tires (no fenders).

Superior is pretty bare these days due to the fires which decimated Superior (and Louisville)

Thanks for your input! My office is actually in the Louisville area, so my commute looks like it will be partially on roads and partially on the Coal Creek trails. Does that change your opinion at all? So nice to talk to someone from the area about this!

 

[linklemming]

Thanks for your input! My office is actually in the Louisville area, so my commute looks like it will be partially on roads and partially on the Coal Creek trails. Does that change your opinion at all? So nice to talk to someone from the area about this!

The Allant will be fine on the Coal Creek Trails. Im on parts of that trail everyday. Might want to go with more offroad oriented tires as its mostly very fine gravel. I have used Continental Racekings, Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB, Schwalbe Johhny Watts(currently) and Schwalbe Smart Sams(currently). Also have used Schwalbe Super Moto-X(similar to the G-ones on the allant) which was fine as long as I didnt go too fast offroad.

The Allant is such a beautiful bike. It was on my short list when I wanted something with more range than my iZip Moda with 500wh battery. I decided to go DIY instead

I would recommend the larger battery. While you technically dont need it for your commute, you will likely ride it more than you imagine.

 

[Speeedy]

The Allant will be fine on the Coal Creek Trails. Im on parts of that trail everyday. Might want to go with more offroad oriented tires as its mostly very fine gravel. I have used Continental Racekings, Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB, Schwalbe Johhny Watts(currently) and Schwalbe Smart Sams(currently). Also have used Schwalbe Super Moto-X(similar to the G-ones on the allant) which was fine as long as I didnt go too fast offroad.

The Allant is such a beautiful bike. It was on my short list when I wanted something with more range than my iZip Moda with 500wh battery. I decided to go DIY instead

I would recommend the larger battery. While you technically dont need it for your commute, you will likely ride it more than you imagine.

OK! This is super helpful. Thank you!

 

[Sparky731]

Just turned over 4,000 miles on my Allant 7s. (2,500 previously on Verve 3). I definitely recommend a class 3 bike for commuting, especially over 100 miles per week. The 7s front suspension was a deciding factor over the 8s or 9s. Plus you get a decent rear carrier which is also important for commuting. PowerFly is a great bike — for off road trails.

Why class 3? For me it is not being able to out-pedal the bike. Also, I swapped the 500w RIB for 625w and added the 500w Range Boost.

 

[dodgeman]

Are you really prepared to commute in a Colorado winter. My son lived in Colorado and the front range gets a lot less snow than where he lived but still. On nice days it would probably be a great ride. I agree, a class 3 with the higher speed would be nice.

 

[Speeedy]

Just turned over 4,000 miles on my Allant 7s. (2,500 previously on Verve 3). I definitely recommend a class 3 bike for commuting, especially over 100 miles per week. The 7s front suspension was a deciding factor over the 8s or 9s. Plus you get a decent rear carrier which is also important for commuting. PowerFly is a great bike — for off road trails.

Why class 3? For me it is not being able to out-pedal the bike. Also, I swapped the 500w RIB for 625w and added the 500w Range Boost.

Great to hear! This is awesome advice.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

For the winter, you will have to replace your tyres with studded ones. It does not matter if it is more a regular commuter e-bike or an e-MTB. The warm season wide off-ride tyres slip identically on black ice as more narrower commuter ones do.
One winter day I painfully crashed on black ice even if my full suspension e-MTB was fitted with the most aggressive 2.6" off-road tyres. I bought Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pros on the next day. Now, I ride a lightweight e-bike on 38 mm tyres all year long. The Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus do perfectly on ice. However, do not think any tyres except fat ones could ride through fresh deep snow! It is as bad as sand!

 

[Alaskan]

The Allant is a great commuter designed ebike. It has a semi-upright ride position which makes it easier to look around and behind, helping you maintain good situational awareness, important when riding any bike but even more so when commuting on roads with so many distracted, impatient drivers on the road.

If you can afford it, the Allant 9.9S is the bomb! The bike is quick, well speced with four piston brakes, 12 speed Shimano drive train,624 wh internal battery with very comfortable geometry, very stable at speed with full, solid, alloy fenders. With its carbon fiber frame, it is quieter and transmits fewer fine vibrations to your bum and hands. It does lack a suspension so I installed a Kinekt tunable, weight adjustable seatpost https://cirruscycles.com/pages/why-kinekt

For handlebar comfort I swapped out the OEM handlebar for a Baramind that has elastomers built in that allow controlled downward flex when hitting bump, sticks, rocks, etc. Their Bam City model is perfect on an Allant https://www.baramind-bike.com/en/ they are made in France and can be ordered directly off their website.

Trek offers a second, range extending 500 wh battery option, which I did go for an have never regretted.

As I live in a very hilly area, I did swap out the standard 10-45 cassette for a 10-51 to get better hill climbing gear ratios.

I really dislike the idea of using my phone as the bike display and much prefer a dedicated display unit. So I changed out the smart phone hub for the Nyon, a far superior option )the one new in 2021 is even better. The smart phone hub has met with mostly user dissatisfaction with phones flying off the mount on heavy bumps and frequent connectivity issues.

For tires I am now riding Schwalbe Hurricane 27.5 x 2.4. They have low rolling resistance a smooth center strip for near silent running on pavement and knobby shoulders for decent performance on trails, as well as good flat protection.

These two further mods I put on the bike are certainly not necessary but kick the drive train refinement up several notches and are very nice to have. I changed out the manual derailleur for a Sram AXS wireless unit as well as an Onyx rear hub with instant engagement and silent coasting. Their classic unit, designed for mountain bikes and ebike rated is a better choice than their Vesper which has been paired down to lower the weight. https://onyxrp.com/tech/

 

[CodyDog]

The Allant is a great commuter designed ebike. It has a semi-upright ride position which makes it easier to look around and behind, helping you maintain good situational awareness, important when riding any bike but even more so when commuting on roads with so many distracted, impatient drivers on the road.

If you can afford it, the Allant 9.9S is the bomb! The bike is quick, well speced with four piston brakes, 12 speed Shimano drive train,624 wh internal battery with very comfortable geometry, very stable at speed with full, solid, alloy fenders. With its carbon fiber frame, it is quieter and transmits fewer fine vibrations to your bum and hands. It does lack a suspension so I installed a Kinekt tunable, weight adjustable seatpost https://cirruscycles.com/pages/why-kinekt

For handlebar comfort I swapped out the OEM handlebar for a Baramind that has elastomers built in that allow controlled downward flex when hitting bump, sticks, rocks, etc. Their Bam City model is perfect on an Allant https://www.baramind-bike.com/en/ they are made in France and can be ordered directly off their website.

Trek offers a second, range extending 500 wh battery option, which I did go for an have never regretted.

As I live in a very hilly area, I did swap out the standard 10-45 cassette for a 10-51 to get better hill climbing gear ratios.

I really dislike the idea of using my phone as the bike display and much prefer a dedicated display unit. So I changed out the smart phone hub for the Nyon, a far superior option )the one new in 2021 is even better. The smart phone hub has met with mostly user dissatisfaction with phones flying off the mount on heavy bumps and frequent connectivity issues.

For tires I am now riding Schwalbe Hurricane 27.5 x 2.4. They have low rolling resistance a smooth center strip for near silent running on pavement and knobby shoulders for decent performance on trails, as well as good flat protection.

These two further mods I put on the bike are certainly not necessary but kick the drive train refinement up several notches and are very nice to have. I changed out the manual derailleur for a Sram AXS wireless unit as well as an Onyx rear hub with instant engagement and silent coasting. Their classic unit, designed for mountain bikes and ebike rated is a better choice than their Vesper which has been paired down to lower the weight. https://onyxrp.com/tech/

View attachment 126216

Beautiful bike!

 

[Speeedy]

Beautiful bike!

The Allant is a great commuter designed ebike. It has a semi-upright ride position which makes it easier to look around and behind, helping you maintain good situational awareness, important when riding any bike but even more so when commuting on roads with so many distracted, impatient drivers on the road.

If you can afford it, the Allant 9.9S is the bomb! The bike is quick, well speced with four piston brakes, 12 speed Shimano drive train,624 wh internal battery with very comfortable geometry, very stable at speed with full, solid, alloy fenders. With its carbon fiber frame, it is quieter and transmits fewer fine vibrations to your bum and hands. It does lack a suspension so I installed a Kinekt tunable, weight adjustable seatpost https://cirruscycles.com/pages/why-kinekt

For handlebar comfort I swapped out the OEM handlebar for a Baramind that has elastomers built in that allow controlled downward flex when hitting bump, sticks, rocks, etc. Their Bam City model is perfect on an Allant https://www.baramind-bike.com/en/ they are made in France and can be ordered directly off their website.

Trek offers a second, range extending 500 wh battery option, which I did go for an have never regretted.

As I live in a very hilly area, I did swap out the standard 10-45 cassette for a 10-51 to get better hill climbing gear ratios.

I really dislike the idea of using my phone as the bike display and much prefer a dedicated display unit. So I changed out the smart phone hub for the Nyon, a far superior option )the one new in 2021 is even better. The smart phone hub has met with mostly user dissatisfaction with phones flying off the mount on heavy bumps and frequent connectivity issues.

For tires I am now riding Schwalbe Hurricane 27.5 x 2.4. They have low rolling resistance a smooth center strip for near silent running on pavement and knobby shoulders for decent performance on trails, as well as good flat protection.

These two further mods I put on the bike are certainly not necessary but kick the drive train refinement up several notches and are very nice to have. I changed out the manual derailleur for a Sram AXS wireless unit as well as an Onyx rear hub with instant engagement and silent coasting. Their classic unit, designed for mountain bikes and ebike rated is a better choice than their Vesper which has been paired down to lower the weight. https://onyxrp.com/tech/

View attachment 126216

This is incredibly helpful! Your Allant is awesome, and thanks so much for linking all of your mods.

I have definitely looked at the 9.9, it checks all of the boxes for sure. The only thing that seemed like a deterrent was the lack of suspension, so your advice on the seat was a good one!

Thank you!

 

[fooferdoggie]

They discontinued the 9 it looks like. buy myself I dont think I would go with 12 speed it would cost me a fortune in chains. on my 8 I dont see a need for suspension. the tires work well. on my bulls with 1.5" tires even with a decent suspension fork it was a harsh ride.