Trek Powerfly 4 & 5

[Hobie65]

I've been reading pretty much everything on ebikes the past 2 years and this year pulled the trigger on the Trek Powerfly 4 (wife) & 5 (myself). It just happened that our LBS had them both in stock when I brought my wife to shop this January. Long story short, placed a deposit on them and picked them up in April. So far I've put near 700 kms on the 5 and wife around 400kms. The bikes are just freaking awesome and we are both extremely happy with our choice. The bikes are solid, comfortable and CX motor very powerful. Right now, we are riding on 90% time on light gravel trails and bike tires are excellent for this purpose. In the event that we move to a city with more asphalt riding, we'll simply change to slicker tires.
We had LBS to install a rack and kickstand.

Only changes done to the bike were a more comfy seat for the wife and I changed my stem from 90mm to 30mm.

In conclusion, an awesome all purpose bike

I don't see much recent love for the Powerfly on the forum, so just wanted to share my experience!!

Cheers

 

[Dallant]

I've been reading pretty much everything on ebikes the past 2 years and this year pulled the trigger on the Trek Powerfly 4 (wife) & 5 (myself). It just happened that our LBS had them both in stock when I brought my wife to shop this January. Long story short, placed a deposit on them and picked them up in April. So far I've put near 700 kms on the 5 and wife around 400kms. The bikes are just freaking awesome and we are both extremely happy with our choice. The bikes are solid, comfortable and CX motor very powerful. Right now, we are riding on 90% time on light gravel trails and bike tires are excellent for this purpose. In the event that we move to a city with more asphalt riding, we'll simply change to slicker tires.
We had LBS to install a rack and kickstand.

Only changes done to the bike were a more comfy seat for the wife and I changed my stem from 90mm to 30mm.

In conclusion, an awesome all purpose bike

I don't see much recent love for the Powerfly on the forum, so just wanted to share my experience!!

Cheers

Congrats on such a great find in these days of hard to find stock! Glad to hear you’re loving them!
I was very interested in the FS4 and FS9 but could never find one anywhere. Chanced upon a Rail 5 and other than a somewhat noisy front rotor, I love the Rail!
We need pics!

 

[IOUZIP]

Just found a 2022 Powerfly FS 4 in small for the wife. We have been looking but very had to find this bike. Got the grey color. Bike shop is assembling and should be ready for X-Mas. Plan to make a few changes. Switch the display for the Nyon setup. Switch the XR3 Comp tires for Maxxis Ardent Race (Tubeless) for light trail and paved path use. Kickstand, front and rear fenders with rack. I have a Luna X1 FS medium since April 2021. Mostly XC riding green and blue.

 

[Hobie65]

Just found a 2022 Powerfly FS 4 in small for the wife. We have been looking but very had to find this bike. Got the grey color. Bike shop is assembling and should be ready for X-Mas. Plan to make a few changes. Switch the display for the Nyon setup. Switch the XR3 Comp tires for Maxxis Ardent Race (Tubeless) for light trail and paved path use. Kickstand, front and rear fenders with rack. I have a Luna X1 FS medium since April 2021. Mostly XC riding green and blue.

My wife loves her 4 and put around 900kms this summer and I around 1400kms.
We added some MugGuard short by Mucky Nutz as a front fender.
Let me know how you like the added tires. We are moving to urban center next spring and we’ll be riding more on asphalt than gravel.
Enjoy

 

[IOUZIP]

How difficult is it to push the seat dropper down on your bike? The Powerfly 4 seat dropper takes alot of effort to push the seat down. While seating it work fine but get off and try to push the seat down and she has to lean her upper body over it to push it. We will address with the dealer.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

He meant the seat-post drops with too big resistance. Decidedly something for the dealer.

 

[IOUZIP]

I have a KS dropper and the effort to push down the seat is half that of the Tranzx. Dealer said they can adjust but no way to change the pressure.

 

[Holland-Tim-Allant+8S]

To me, the Powerfly is simply brilliant. I waited 11 months for my 9 Equipped and it was worth every day and dollar. It takes the best of full suspension mountain bikes and blends in electric assist like God Himself did the engineering. The chassis is tweaked to make just good enough on road. And layered on with practical features like lights, fenders, rear rack, etc. I can’t get enough ride time on it. I couldn’t recommend it enough. Tim

 

[IOUZIP]

The Powerfly FS 4 was our choice as I always upgrade parts. The lower price of the Powerfly FS 4 over the Powerfly 9 was about $2k.

Parts installed and on order:
The seat dropper on the Powerfly 4 is a Tranzx and is too hard to compress by hand or elbow. Replacing it with a Fox Transfer and Wolf Lever.
The Bosch Puron Display is getting replaced with a Nyon Touch Display offering GPS map, and alot of new features. https://www.bosch-ebike.com/us/products/nyon
Headlight is a Magicshine ME 1000 which will plug into the Bosch motor and is controlled by the Nyon Display. https://magicshine.com/collections/bike-front-light/products/me-1000
Front Fork is a SR Suntour XCR 34, air spring which is getting replaced by a Rockshox 35 Gold RL and the rear is getting the Rockshox Sidluxe Select+
Handlebar is replaced by an 80mm riser with 4 degree rise and 12 degree backsweep from Luna
Bontrager XR3 Comp, 27.5x2.35'' tires are replaced with Maxxis Recon Race 27.5x2.6 and setup tubeless
Front and rear fenders with rear rack and kickstand
Fidlock Water bottle https://fidlock-bike.us/collections/twist/products/twist-bottle-450-deluxe-bike-base
Quad Lock handlebar mount for phone

 

[Holland-Tim-Allant+8S]

The Powerfly FS 4 was our choice as I always upgrade parts. The lower price of the Powerfly FS 4 over the Powerfly 9 was about $2k.

Parts installed and on order:
The seat dropper on the Powerfly 4 is a Tranzx and is too hard to compress by hand or elbow. Replacing it with a Fox Transfer and Wolf Lever.
The Bosch Puron Display is getting replaced with a Nyon Touch Display offering GPS map, and alot of new features. https://www.bosch-ebike.com/us/products/nyon
Headlight is a Magicshine ME 1000 which will plug into the Bosch motor and is controlled by the Nyon Display. https://magicshine.com/collections/bike-front-light/products/me-1000
Front Fork is a SR Suntour XCR 34, air spring which is getting replaced by a Rockshox 35 Gold RL and the rear is getting the Rockshox Sidluxe Select+
Handlebar is replaced by an 80mm riser with 4 degree rise and 12 degree backsweep from Luna
Bontrager XR3 Comp, 27.5x2.35'' tires are replaced with Maxxis Recon Race 27.5x2.6 and setup tubeless
Front and rear fenders with rear rack and kickstand
Fidlock Water bottle https://fidlock-bike.us/collections/twist/products/twist-bottle-450-deluxe-bike-base
Quad Lock handlebar mount for phone

That looks like more than $2k in parts but some of them are better than the 9, except the Sidluxe Select+ rear shock is what comes with the 9. I am super happy with XT and didn’t realize how much better it is than Deore. The factory headlight is the very good supernova mini2 and tires are superb LT4 Expert. Overall, I’m kinda stunned by the trimmings on the 9. Big difference from my Allant+8S. So I like what you are doing. Tim

 

[IOUZIP]

I wanted to upgrade the rear shock to another but the powerfly has such a small area in the frame for the shock. The lockout lever has a tight tolerance. A remote controlled shock lockout is possible but seems unnecessary for the powerfly. How is the SIDLuxe select+ On the Powerfly 9? Specs look good and is the latest from Rockshox.

 

[Holland-Tim-Allant+8S]

I wanted to upgrade the rear shock to another but the powerfly has such a small area in the frame for the shock. The lockout lever has a tight tolerance. A remote controlled shock lockout is possible but seems unnecessary for the powerfly. How is the SIDLuxe select+ On the Powerfly 9? Specs look good and is the latest from Rockshox.

I think the rear shock is fantastic. Mechanic said it is a high end Smart Shock. 100 mm travel is 3.84” so if it has a limitation it’s probably the chassis design more than the shock. I’m just startIng to fiddle with the air pressure and rebound plus tire pressure so I might be able to make it perform better. Regardless right out of the the shop it’s darn good. Tim

 

[IOUZIP]

I have the parts to upgrade the Powerfly FS 4 now. List is below. Bike will go into the LBS for installation this month. I did most of the installs but the items listed in bold are yet to do.

Rockshox 35 Gold RL 120mm Fork - Completed
Trek front fender (rear fender with rack on backorder) - Completed
Bosch Nyon retrofit kit - Completed
Rockshox SIDLuxe Ultimate RL rear shock 190x45mm (8x20mm hardware) - Completed
Fox Transfer 100mm dropper post (2021) with Jagwire Pro Dropper Kit - Completed
Magicshine ME 1000 Light with Bosch connector - Completed
Maxxis Ardent Race 27.5x2.6 on Alexrims MD35 setup tubeless - Completed
2.5" Riser handlebar (Luna) - Completed
FSA 155mm crank arms - Completed
Bike Horn/Alarm - Completed
Bike side mirror - Completed
Quad Lock Phone Mount - Completed

 

[Holland-Tim-Allant+8S]

I have the parts to upgrade the Powerfly FS 4 now. List is below. Bike will go into the LBS for installation on Jan 17.

Rockshox 35 Gold RL 120mm Fork
Rockshox SIDLuxe Ultimate RL rear shock 190x45mm (8x20mm hardware)
Fox Transfer 100mm dropper post (2021) with Jagwire Pro Dropper Kit
Magicshine ME 1000 Light with Bosch connector
Maxxis Ardent Race 27.5x2.6 on Alexrims MD35 setup tubeless
2.5" Riser handlebar (Luna)
Trek rear fender with rack (front fender on backorder)
bosch nyon retrofit kit
FSA 155mm crank arms

looks good. with 100 mm of rear travel any shock will be limited in what it can do over the big stuff, but ... what you give up on that extreme pays back with exceptional control on pavement, which is the great compromise that the Powerfly is all about.

i would estimate that my Powerfly 9 EQ is about 90% as good on pavement as my Allant+8S, and about 80% as good as a full mountain ebike off road. the 90% as good on pavement could be higher due to the softer ride but is held back by the Class 1 (20mph) where the Allant+8S is Class 3 (28mph)

the real beauty of the Powerfly is the ease of alternating paved and unpaved on a ride. go anywhere on any surface that interests you. i'm already discovering new places. tim

 

[tegnamo]

How difficult is it to push the seat dropper down on your bike? The Powerfly 4 seat dropper takes alot of effort to push the seat down. While seating it work fine but get off and try to push the seat down and she has to lean her upper body over it to push it. We will address with the dealer.

That's typical of a lot of droppers but you could loosen the seat post clamp screw by a quarter turn. Sometimes droppers are over tightening in the seat tube and that restricts their smoothness.

 

[IOUZIP]

Problem found

 

[IOUZIP]

After just over a month of riding the PF4 with all the changes and upgrades the bike is a very good trail bike. Paved or sand the bike does both really well. The Bosch Nyon is awesome and gives a lot of ride data. The upgraded fork and rear shock have made a big difference. If we had to do it all over again I would have gone for the more expensive PF9 FS. The PF9 FS comes with the Rockshox 35RL Gold and the Rockshox SIDLuxe Ultimate RL rear.

shock already.

 

[tegnamo]

Just got my wife a Powerfly 4 (hard tail).

It has a 38T ring. Anyone know if a 40T would fit?

 

[steve mercier]

My wife still loves her 2019 Powerfly 5 which has 17,300 trouble-free kms on it so far.

 

[Hobie65]

My wife still loves her 2019 Powerfly 5 which has 17,300 trouble-free kms on it so far.

Love my 2020 PF5, over 1400kms trouble free last summer!